Assassin's Creed (soundtrack)

Assassin's Creed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2016 film Assassin's Creed directed by Justin Kurzel, based on the video game franchise of the same name. The film featured musical score composed by singer-songwriter Jed Kurzel. The album was released through Verve Music on December 21, 2016.

Assassin's Creed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
ReleasedDecember 21, 2016
GenreFilm score
Length66:27
LabelVerve
ProducerJed Kurzel
Jed Kurzel chronology
Macbeth
(2015)
Assasin's Creed
(2016)
Alien: Covenant
(2017)

Background

edit

Initially, Jesper Kyd, who originally scored for the video game franchise, was reported to do the same for the film.[1] But he ultimately replaced by Justin's brother and norm composer Jed Kurzel. Assasin's Creed is their third film together.[2] Since Jed has not been familiar with the video game series, the scoring process was more about finding the music appropriate for the film instead of being authentic to the series.[3] The score accompanying the film featured 21 tracks written and produced by Jed and was released through Verve Music on December 21.[4][5]

Reception

edit

Tim Grierson, writing for Screen International, summarized that Jed's music accompanied with the cinematography of Adam Arkapaw "give Assassin’s Creed a brooding grandeur".[6] Anton Smit of Soundtrack World wrote "The movie and score sadly do not get high praise here. But not all is bad in the Assassin’s Creed world."[7] Harry Windsor of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "composer Jed Kurzel capably steps into the blockbuster frame with a nicely hurtling score, traditional for the 15th century and electronic for this one until they begin to overlap, as the modern Assassins shake off their shackles for a franchise-bait ending that’s all too abrupt."[8] Rob Leane of Den of Geek wrote "Jed Kurzel’s memorable score – chockfull of pulsing drums – heightens these thrilling scenes even further."[9]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire described the score as "haunting" and felt that it "sounds closer to Tim Hecker than it does Hans Zimmer".[10] Elena Lazic of Little White Lies called it as an "astonishing" score that "lends a pulsating, often breathlessly exciting feel to proceedings. The loud, percussive soundtrack elevates the material and hints at what could have been: an epic personal and historical journey through time and space with repercussions for the whole of humanity."[11] Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com described it as a "thundering" score.[12] Rashid Irani of Hindustan Times wrote that "the wall-to-wall background score by the director’s younger brother, Jed Kurzel, is importunate."[13]

Track listing

edit
Assassin's Creed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Young Cal"2:38
2."The Execution"2:40
3."Abstergo"4:18
4."The Animus"4:41
5."First Regression"4:13
6."Cal Recuperates"1:25
7."The Cure for Violence"1:54
8."The Bleeding Effect"2:25
9."Research Room"3:33
10."Second Regression"3:42
11."Underground"2:27
12."The Creed"4:07
13."The Apple"3:42
14."Columbus"2:11
15."You're Not Alone"5:52
16."The Mutiny"1:24
17."Leap of Faith"1:40
18."Seville"6:28
19."The Assassinations"1:25
20."Future Glory"2:21
21."He Says He Needs Me (3D and Young Fathers)"3:21
Total length:66:27

Charts

edit
Chart performance for Assassin's Creed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Chart (2017) Peak
position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[14] 27

References

edit
  1. ^ "Jed Kurzel, The Unusual Composer". Score It Magazine. November 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Jed Kurzel to Score 'Assassin's Creed' Film Adaptation". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  3. ^ "From scoring Shakespeare to SciFi: a conversation with music artist Jed Kurzel on his eclectic career". Score It Magazine. July 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  4. ^ Nordine, Michael (December 18, 2016). "Has 'Assassin's Creed' Resolved Its Soundtrack Problem? Listen to Jed Kurzel's Score". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  5. ^ "Assassin's Creed (Original Motion Picture Score)". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Grierson, Tim (December 19, 2016). "'Assassin's Creed': Review". Screen. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  7. ^ Smit, Anton (February 7, 2017). "Assassin's Creed – Jed Kurzel". Soundtrack World. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  8. ^ Windsor, Harry (December 19, 2016). "'Assassin's Creed': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  9. ^ Leane, Rob (December 20, 2016). "Assassin's Creed review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Ehrlich, David (December 19, 2016). "Review: 'Assassin's Creed' Is Silly, Senseless and Possibly the Best Video Game Movie Ever Made". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  11. ^ Lazic, Elena (December 19, 2016). "Assassin's Creed review". Little White Lies. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  12. ^ Bumbray, Chris (December 20, 2016). "Review: Assassin's Creed". JoBlo. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  13. ^ Irani, Rashid (December 30, 2016). "Great parkour, no plot: Assassin's Creed review". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50 - 13 to 19 January". Official Charts Company. January 13, 2017. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.