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Music Conducted By
Jerry Goldsmith

Orchestrations By
Arthur Morton
Nancy Beach

Recorded By
Alan Snelling

Performed By
Orchestra di Santa Cecilia
di Roma

Album Produced By
Jerry Goldsmith

Label
Varese Sarabande
VSD-5226

Previous Release(s)
-

Year Of CD/Film Release
1989/1989

Running Time
39:46

Availability
Normal Release

Cues & Timings

1. Underwater Camp (3:23)
2. Decompression (3:16)
3. Discovery (5:24)
4. One of Us (1:41)
5. Body Within (4:33)
6. Escape Bubbles (5:37)
7. Can We Fix It (3:25)
8. Situation Under Control (1:49)
9. It's Growing (3:10)
10. Too Hot (3:27)
11. A Lot Better (3:31)

Soundtrack Ratings

Disappointing

Functional

 Average

 Good

 Excellent

 Outstanding

Leviathan
 
Leviathan was a turning point in Goldsmith's career, or rather the film that broke his camel's back! After Leviathan and its pathetic showing at the cinema, Goldsmith decided to seek out more rewarding projects and musical opportunities. The 90's provided that change and a move to better movies. But ignoring Leviathan the movie, the score is another amazingly good one.

Goldsmith provided his score with a number of very strong cues. The main title, or Under Water Camp, is the camera's decent to the murky depths and a futuristic under water lab. Goldsmith's cue actually seems to ascend, and as we get nearer to the bottom explodes in a triumphant but elegant trumpet fanfare. It remains an impressive example of how good a theme writer Goldsmith is and this theme provides the basis for a rather delicate love theme later on and inspiration for some action later too. Talking of action, Leviathan the album provides a solid sprinkling of orchestral workouts. Cues such as Decompression provide a tension filled walk for a crewman almost out of air, and Too Hot, The Body Within and Can We Fix It introduce wild thrashing synth effects backed up by big orchestral brass as the creature lets loose. Escape Bubbles returns to the elegant statement of the main theme and builds steadily as the survivors escape to the surface, then Goldsmith introduces an action packed statement for large orchestra as the creature makes one final appearance. The cue ends in an over the top manner as the leading man and leading lady make it home safe. In the movie, due to some of the worst editing, this cue finishes far too big. Here it's a great piece of film scoring preserved on CD.

The score signs out with a nod to Alien in the form of the suspenseful It's Growing before ending the score in style with A Lot Better, a crowd pleasing rendition of his main theme, with love theme sandwiched in between. This end title is as close Goldsmith ever came to re-creating the thrill of the end credit to The Swarm. Fantastic!

Leviathan may not be a classic movie, and the score may not be one on the composer's top ten, but it's a wonderfully satisfying play and far too good for the film it was written for. Sound familiar?