Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Although not yet a well known name in the movie soundtrack business, John Debney has scored some significant movies including Elf and Bruce Almighty. His approach to The Passion Of The Christ is to create some very impressive orchestrations and atmospheres similar to Hans Zimmer's work on The Last Samurai and Gladiator. He has mixed in plenty of Middle Eastern melodies and instrumentation to give it a unique flavour. In tandem with the movie this adds drama and life to the film's narrative and on its own, this dramatic, rhythmic haunting music is beautifully memorable. There are many comparisons to be made with the soundtrack for The Last Temptation Of Christ which was created by Peter Gabriel and featured the same violinist Shankar whose shared distinctive sound only brings the works closer together. However Debney's soundtrack is less cluttered by experimentation and thus more easily accessible to a wider audience. It's a fine work which works even away from the unforgettable images of that unforgettable movie.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.