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King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the epic adventure monster film King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson. The film's music was initially set to be composed by Howard Shore, who recorded several cues for the film but opted out due to creative differences with the director. James Newton Howard replaced him and work on the film's score began in late-October and was completed within late-November, taking the overall duration of five weeks. Howard stated the film "as the hardest to compose" due to the hectic scoring schedule as the film was set for release on December 14, 2005.

King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by James Newton Howard
Released	December 7, 2005 (2005-12-07)
Recorded	2005
Studio	Sony Scoring Stage, California Todd-AO, Los Angeles
Genre	Film score
Length	1:14:27
Label	Decca
Producer	James Newton Howard Jim Weidman
James Newton Howard chronology
Batman Begins (2005) King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2005) Freedomland (2006)

The score was recorded at the Sony Scoring Stage, California and Todd-AO, Los Angeles. Recording sessions consisted of a 108-piece orchestra and 40-member vocal choir. The score is reliant heavily on ethnic and varied instrumentation as well as ranging vocal sounds. While Howard produced much of the film's score, additional music production is done by Jim Weidman, who also worked as the music editor. It was released on December 7, 2005 by Decca Records and received positive critical response. Howard's score received several accolades, including nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.[1]

Development

The film was initially set to be composed by Howard Shore who worked with Jackson on The Lord of the Rings film series.[2][3] Shore had completed recording for several cues in the film; however, he left the project in October 2005, due to creative differences.[3] James Newton Howard was later roped in as the film's composer after Shore's departure, and after two weeks, he started recording the score at Sony Scoring Stage, California and Todd-AO, Los Angeles.[4][5] As the film was scheduled for a December 2005 release, Howard was assigned to complete the score within five weeks, which he called it as the hardest challenge. To achieve this, he utilized six orchestrators and three conductors in order to record 15-20 minutes per day. The recording sessions involved a 40-member voice choir and 108-piece orchestra, with separate sessions for percussion, ethnic instruments and solo voices.[6]

The sessions originated at New Zealand, when Shore was set as composer, was later re-located to California, which was a "scheduling nightmare" as most sessions were booked for November. Howard managed to record the score at weekends, and choral elements were recorded during night time. The choral material consisted of "strange, unsettling vocals" as well as "weird native sounds invented by Howard". Some of the major themes were composed in three days, and during the sessions, he asked assistance from music editor Jim Weidman, who worked on the score as an additional music producer.[6]

Howard sent some of the score cues to Jackson, by communications through video-conferencing and telephone call. Through live chat, Jackson heard some of the score cues including Howard's "4M1" for which he commented "It’s a great, twisted, weird sort of sound". The scoring was completed by late-November, two weeks before the scheduled release.[6]

Jackson stated that "we'd used some elements of his earlier scores in some tracks that we had done, his sensibility and his feeling for the music seemed to relate really well to the pictures that we'd shot".[6] In order to pay homage to Max Steiner, the original composer of King Kong (1933),[7] he used some of his original score in the New York show, where Kong was put on display on stage. He also insisted Howard incorporate occasional musical nods to Steiner's score.[6]

Track listing

Additional music

The film's soundtrack includes Al Jolson's recording of "I'm Sitting on Top of the World", Peggy Lee's "Bye Bye Blackbird", and some themes from Max Steiner's soundtrack for the original 1933 film, which are "Fanfares Nos. 1, 2 and 3, The Sailors, The Aeroplane, Elevated Sequence, Jungle Dance, The Escape" and "Aboriginal Sacrifice Dance".[8] The track "Beauty Killed the Beast" was re-scored by Dirk Brossé and the Flemish Radio Orchestra to be included in the fan-made soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).[9]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
SoundtrackNet

Jonathan Broxton wrote "James Newton Howard reportedly has “never worked so hard on a score”, and despite the scurrilous rumours of teams of ghost-writers being hired to help, the quality of the end result is there for all to see, irrespective of who wrote what. There are times when you have to do what you have to do just to get the job done."[10] and concluded "King Kong is inarguably one of the finest action-adventure scores of the year".[10] James Christopher Monger of Allmusic had stated " Howard manages to pinch-hit his way through with the confidence of a starting player. Using the Depression era as a launching pad, he deftly whips jazz motifs, thunderous brass sections, and wistful choirs into a stew of "silver screen"-meets-"blue screen" harmony that may not yield any memorable themes, but manages to illuminate the film's terror, humanity, and tragedy with irrefutable professionalism."[11]

Filmtracks.com wrote "Howard score is very enjoyable, though one wishes that he would have made a few more nods to Steiner's work and incorporated more of the Kong-like sound effects outside of the island cues. A harmonically pleasing score from start to finish, Howard succeeds in the bouncing rhythms of his more playful interludes, as well as the broad strokes of strings for the love interest. An almost religious sensibility shines through in an ultra-dramatic series of cues at the end of the score, maybe due to the metaphorical struggles behind the Kong story, and while this may be a 180-degree turn from Steiner, it certainly excels in its mere beauty. Howard has produced the most easily listenable score of his career, but by no means his most creative or intellectual, and while this work will capture the attention of most casual film score collectors, it may not resonate as well with fans of the composer's eclectic styles."[12] Mfiles wrote "James Newton Howard put together something in the region of 2 hours of music for the film and the core of it has been captured on this album. The first third of the film and the soundtrack is concerned with scene setting. It establishes all the characters and their motivations, and why they end up visiting the mysterious island. The initial feeling imparted by the music is that something awaits around every corner. But once they reach the island and meet King Kong, it is clearly the relationship between Kong and the heroine which is central to this story. Although the action scenes are wonderfully realised and a feast for the eyes, it is the quieter moments which bring out the best in the soundtrack."[13]

Charts

Chart (2005–2006)	Peak position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[14]	18
US Billboard 200[15]	35
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[16]	9

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Catalog Code	Ref.
United States	December 7, 2005	Decca	4765224	[17] [18]
Canada	December 10, 2005	Decca UMG Recordings	B000571502
Europe	December 12, 2005	Decca	B000571502
Russia	December 13, 2005	UMG Russia	2600732
Australasia	December 15, 2005	UMG Australia	4765224
France	December 19, 2005	UMG France	4765224
Japan	December 21, 2005	UMG Japan	UCCL-1101

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
ASCAP Awards	Top Box Office Films	James Newton Howard	Won	[19]
Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Original Score		Nominated	[20]
Golden Globe Awards	Best Original Score		Nominated	[21] [22]
International Film Music Critics Association	Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film		Won	[23]
	Film Score of the Year		Nominated
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards	Most Intrusive Musical Score		Nominated	[24] [25]
World Soundtrack Awards	Soundtrack Composer of the Year		Nominated	[26]
	Original Soundtrack of the Year		Nominated

References

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