Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
James Newton Howard
ReleasedMay 26, 2014 (2014-05-26)
Recorded2012–2014
StudioAbbey Road Studios, London
Genre
  • Classical
  • orchestral
Length1:11:46
LabelWalt Disney
ProducerJames Newton Howard
James Newton Howard chronology
Cut Bank
(2014)		 Maleficent
(2014)		 Nightcrawler
(2014)

Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by James Newton Howard for the 2014 film Maleficent, based on the Disney villain character Maleficent from the animated film Sleeping Beauty (1959). The film is a live-action spin-off of Sleeping Beauty, and is loosely inspired from Charles Perrault's original fairy tale. Directed by Robert Stromberg, the film stars Angelina Jolie in the titular character.

The film marked Howard's first live-action film from Disney, as he previously scored for the Disney animation films Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Treasure Planet (2002). The score album was released by Walt Disney Records on May 26, 2014. It includes 22 tracks from Howard's score, and a cover version of the song "Once Upon a Dream" performed by Lana Del Rey. The track was earlier released as a single on January 26, 2014, to coincide the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and also released for free digital download on Google Play. The score received positive reviews from critics.

Background

James Newton Howard was announced to compose the film score in October 2012.[1][2] Robert Stromberg had added that he wanted him to score for the film, in the very first place and had tracked the pre-visuals of the director's cut with his music from other films. When Howard was officially onboard, Stromberg felt that "he emotionally heightened the Maleficent with what felt like a classic film score".[3] The recording was held at the Abbey Road Studios in London.

Apart from Howard's score, the album also featured a cover version of the track "Once Upon a Dream" performed by Lana Del Rey.[4][5] The track is originally composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and written by Jack Lawrence and Sammy Fain from the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, and features as the title song for Maleficent.[6] Del Rey performed the cover version of the track on stage at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014,[7][8] where the song was also released for free digital download during its first week of availability by the Google Play Store,[9][10] and by February 4, the song was made available for purchase.[11]

Walt Disney Records released the film's soundtrack on May 26, 2014, featuring 23 tracks.[12] Recalling in a 2016 interview to Phillip Valys of Sun-Sentinel, Howard called Maleficent as one of his favourite films he had scored for.[13] He performed the orchestral score live at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, on February 19, 2016, along with the other orchestral film scores, including The Dark Knight and The Hunger Games film series.[13]

Reception

The score received positive critical response. Jonathan Broxton wrote in his review, stating "Stylistically, you can look to scores like Waterworld, King Kong, Lady in the Water and The Last Airbender for comparisons, but Maleficent is still has a sense of individual flair, and is distinct enough to stand on its own."[14] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Maleficent is big and bold, featuring memorable themes and emotional development. There isn't a hint of the malaise which seems to have overcome its composer in recent years and it is a truly impressive return to form, easily his finest score since Lady in the Water and perhaps even further back than that."[15] Mfiles.com wrote "an enjoyably old-fashioned film score experience, one perhaps lacking a defining identity, but a beautiful return to form for the composer nonetheless".[16]

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "the swell and bombast of James Newton Howard's score comes on strong in the early sequences before finding a groove".[17] Mark Hughes was more critical about the film in his review for Forbes, but praised Howard's score.[18] Heather Phares of Allmusic called the score as "foreboding yet witty" and praised Del Rey's cover of "Once Upon a Dream" calling it as "eerie and alluring" and added that it "... serves as a reminder as to why she's become one of the most in-demand soundtrack contributors of the 2010s".[19]

Andrew Barker of Variety wrote "James Newton Howard's sweeping score locates a nice sweet spot somewhere between Erich Korngold and Danny Elfman, and Lana Del Rey's gothy take on the "Sleeping Beauty" showstopper "Once Upon a Dream" makes for a fitting closer".[20] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune, in a mixed review, called the score as "sloshy and pushy".[21] Filmtracks.com wrote " Perhaps the most brilliant move that Howard made with this score was one that many listeners won't even notice, and that's because it's an intentional absence of theme that is key to the plot. Howard seemingly intended not to provide him with a theme, instead content to write meaninglessly fluffy underscore for his scenes [...] There are few downsides to the soundtrack for Maleficent on the whole. One of them is Howard's seeming inability to really clarify his themes with the obvious delineation you typically hear in massive fantasy scores. In other words, some listeners will have difficulty placing the themes and instead content themselves by soaking in the whole. It is not as taut a thematic narrative as Lady in the Water, but few scores will be. Still, you rarely find fantasy scores of this caliber in the 2010's, such spectacular orchestral majesty a truly rare commodity."[22]

Track listing

All music is composed by James Newton Howard, except where noted

Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[23]
No.TitleLength
1."Maleficent Suite"6:38
2."Welcome to the Moors"1:05
3."Maleficent Flies"4:39
4."Battle of the Moors"4:58
5."Three Peasant Women"1:04
6."Go Away"2:26
7."Aurora and the Fawn"2:28
8."The Christening"5:30
9."Prince Philip"2:29
10."The Spindle's Power"4:35
11."You Could Live Here Now"2:26
12."Path of Destruction"1:47
13."Aurora in Faerieland"4:41
14."The Wall Defends Itself"1:06
15."The Curse Won't Reverse"1:21
16."Are You Maleficent?"2:10
17."The Army Dances"1:28
18."Phillip's Kiss"2:20
19."The Iron Gauntlet"1:35
20."True Love's Kiss"2:33
21."Maleficent Is Captured"7:42
22."The Queen of Faerieland"3:25
23."Once Upon a Dream" (Lana Del Rey)3:20
Total length:1:11:46
Japan bonus track[24]
No.TitleLength
1."Once Upon A Dream" (Shinobu Otake)3:23
Total length:1:15:09

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes:[25]

  • Music composed and produced by – James Newton Howard
  • Music arrangements – Sunna Wehrmeijer, Sven Faulconer
  • Music programming – Christopher Wray
  • Recorded by – Shawn Murphy
  • Mixed by – Erik Swanson, Shawn Murphy
  • Mastered by – Dave Collins
  • Music editor – David Olson, Jim Weidman, Thomas Drescher,
  • Score editor – David Channing
  • Sound engineer – Matt Ward
  • Score recordist – Lewis Jones
  • Score co-ordinator – Pamela Sollie
  • Music preparation – Joann Kane Music Service
  • Scoring crew – Adam Miller, Greg McAllister, John Prestage, Matt Mysko
  • MIDI controller – Andy Glen, Chris Cozens, Richard Grant
  • Music librarian – Mark Graham
  • Music business affairs – Donna Cole-Brulé, Scott Holtzman
  • Executive in charge of music – Mitchell Leib
London Symphony Orchestra
  • Orchestration – Jeff Atmajian, John Ashton Thomas, Jon Kull, Marcus Trumpp, Peter Bateman
  • Orchestra conductor – Pete Anthony
  • Orchestra contractor – Isobel Griffiths, Jo Changer
  • Orchestra leader – Thomas Bowes
  • Instrumentation:
  • Bass – Allen Walley, Andy Pask, Leon Bosch, Mary Scully, Paddy Lannigan, Paul Kimber, Roger Linley, Steve Williams*, Steve Mair
  • Bassoon – Dominic Morgan, Rachel Simms, Richard Skinner, Stephen Maw
  • Celesta – Dave Hartley
  • Cello – Caroline Dearnley, Chris Worsey, Dave Daniels, Frank Schaefer, Ian Burdge, Joely Koos, Jonathan Williams, Martin Loveday, Nick Cooper, Paul Kegg, Tim Gill, Anthony Lewis, Tony Woollard, Josephine Knight
  • Clarinet – Robert Plane, Anthony Pike, David Fuest
  • Contrabass – Anthony Pike, David Fuest
  • Fiddle – Sonia Slany
  • Flute – Anna Noakes, Helen Keen, Karen Jones, Nina Robertson
  • Harp – Camilla Pay, Helen Tunstall, Skaila Kanga
  • Horn – Corinne Bailey, David Pyatt, John Thurgood, Laurence Davies, Martin Owen, Mike Thompson, Mike Kidd, Nick Korth, Nigel Black, Phillip Eastop, Richard Berry, Richard Watkins, Roger Montgomery
  • Oboe – David Theodore, Jane Marshall, Leila Ward
  • Percussion – Chris Baron, Frank Ricotti, Gary Kettel, Paul Clarvis, Sam Walton, Stephen Henderson, Bill Lockhart
  • Piano – Simon Chamberlain
  • Trombone – Andy Wood, Darren Smith, Dudley Bright, Edward Tarrant, Emma Hodgson, Mark Nightingale, Martin Kelly, Paul Milner, Peter Davies, Roger Argente
  • Trumpet – Alistair Mackie, Kate Moore, Paul Mayes, Philip Cobb
  • Tuba – Nick Hitchens, Owen Slade
  • Viola – Andy Parker, Bob Smissen, Bruce White, Clair Finnimore, Edward Vanderspar, Fiona Bonds, Garfield Jackson, Helen Kamminga, Julia Knight, Martin Humbey, Max Baillee, Paul Cassidy, Peter Lale, Rachel Bolt, Rachel Roberts, Reiad Chibah, Steve Wright, Vicci Wardman
  • Violin – Boguslaw Kostecki, Cathy Thompson, Chris Tombling, Debbie Preece, Debbie Widdup, Emlyn Singleton, Everton Nelson, Gaby Lester, Ian Humphries, Jackie Hartley, John Bradbury, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Jonathan Rees, Julian Leaper, Kathy Gowers, Lorraine McAslan, Maciej Rakowski, Mark Berrow, Martin Burgess, Natalia Bonner, Patrick Kiernan, Paul Willey, Perry Montague-Mason, Philippa Ibbotson, Philippe Honoré, Ralph De Souza, Rita Manning, Roger Garland, Steve Morris, Tom Pigott-Smith, Warren Zelinski, Sonia Slany, Thomas Bowes
London Voices
  • Chorus master – Nigel Short
  • Alto vocals – Alexandra Gibson, Claire Henry, Clara Sanabras, Clememtine Franks, Deryn Edwards, Freya Jacklin, Helen Brooks, Judith Rees, Martha McLorinan
  • Bass vocals – Adrian Peacock, Benjamin Bevan, Lawrence Wallington, Mark Williams, Michael Dore, Neil Bellingham, Nicholas Ashby, Nicholas Garrett
  • Soprano vocals – Alison Hill, Ann De Renais, Cheryl Enever, Grace Davidson, Ildiko Allen, Jacqueline Barron, Joanna Forbes Lestrange, Juliet Schiemann, Kate Ashby, Kate Trethewey, Philippa Murray, Ruth Kerr
  • Tenor vocals – Benedict Hymas, Gareth Morris, Harvey Brough, Henry Moss, Norbert Meyn, Peter Wilman, Philip Sheffield, Richard Edgar Wilson, Richard Eteson, Simon Haynes
Trinity Boys Choir
  • Chorus master – Ben Parry, David Swinson
  • Solo vocalists – Benedict Hill, William Gardner

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[26] 42
US Billboard 200[27] 123
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[28] 18

Release history

Region Date Catalog Code Ref.
United States May 26, 2014 D001908702 [25]
Europe May 26, 2014 050087296001
Canada May 26, 2014 D001908702
Japan July 2, 2014 AVCW-63031
Malaysia August 4, 2014 050087296001
South Korea December 3, 2014 DY31070
Taiwan December 10, 2014 050087296001

Accolades

Award Category Recipients Result
Hollywood Music in Media Awards[29][30] Best Original Score – Sci-Fi/Fantasy James Newton Howard Nominated
International Film Music Critics Association[31][32] Film Score of the Year Nominated
Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film Won
Film Music Composition of the Year James Newton Howard – "Maleficent Flies" Nominated
James Newton Howard – "Maleficent Suite" Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "James Newton Howard to Score Disney's "Maleficent"". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (May 23, 2014). "MALEFICENT Movie Clips and Behind-the-Scenes Footage". Collider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. ↑ admin (June 25, 2014). "Faerie Evil: The Making of Maleficent". Flickering Myth. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Lana Del Rey to release new song after the Grammys". NME. January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ McIntyre, Gina (January 26, 2014). "'Maleficent': Lana Del Rey croons "Once Upon a Dream" in Grammys spot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Lana Del Rey's Maleficent Track to Debut During Grammys - Disney News". Stitchkingdom.com. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on January 25, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Harris, Aisha (January 27, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Was Born to Sing This Creepy Version of "Once Upon a Dream"". Slate Magazine. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Hear Lana Del Rey's Creepy "Once Upon a Dream" Cover in "Maleficent" Trailer". SPIN. January 27, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ Graser, Marc (January 26, 2014). "Disney's Maleficent Takes Advantage of Grammys With Lana Del Rey Song". Variety. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (January 26, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Covers "Once Upon A Dream" For Angelina Jolie's "Maleficent"". Forbes. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Once Upon a Dream". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ "'Maleficent' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Q&A with James Newton Howard, composer of "The Dark Knight," 'The Hunger Games'". Sun Sentinel. February 18, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  14. ↑ "MALEFICENT – James Newton Howard". MOVIE MUSIC UK. June 11, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Maleficent soundtrack review | James Newton Howard | movie-wave.net". May 29, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  16. ↑ "James Newton Howard - Maleficent film score soundtrack album review". www.mfiles.co.uk. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  17. ↑ Linden, Sheri (May 28, 2014). "'Maleficent': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  18. ↑ Hughes, Mark. "Review - "Maleficent" Fails To Live Up To Its Potential". Forbes. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ James Newton Howard - Maleficent [Original Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved August 3, 2022
  20. ↑ Barker, Andrew (May 28, 2014). "Film Review: "Maleficent"". Variety. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Review: "Maleficent" ★★ 1/2". Chicago Tribune. May 29, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Filmtracks: Maleficent (James Newton Howard)". www.filmtracks.com. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  23. ↑ Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by James Newton Howard, January 1, 2014, retrieved August 3, 2022
  24. ↑ James Newton Howard - Maleficent, July 2, 2014, retrieved August 3, 2022
  25. 1 2 James Newton Howard - Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), retrieved August 3, 2022
  26. ↑ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Gregg Alexander Performs, Glen Campbell Feted". The Hollywood Reporter. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  30. ↑ "2014 winners". Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  31. ↑ IFMCA (2015). "2014 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  32. ↑ Kinetophone (February 19, 2015). "IFMCA Winners 2014". Kinetophone. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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