David Arnold -- Stargate [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

8/10

The 1990's were a great decade for cinema.  There were a ton of great, innovative films, but there were also some very entertaining big budget B-Movies as well. Director/Writer/Producer duo, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, made two of the most enjoyable.  The first was Stargate, an action/adventure/sci-fi film that combined Egyptian mythology and outer space.  This resulted in American soldiers blasting aliens with machine guns on a desert planet, backed by excellent art design, production values, a dash of romance, and a palpable sense of wonder.  What's not to love? Without David Arnold's bombastic, awe-filled, throwback to classic cinema score, maybe not as much.
While I think Stargate would still be an entertaining film without David Arnold's music, there is no way it would hold together so enjoyably.  I'd even go so far to say, there is no way we would have received seventeen years of Stargate television spin-off glory without the excitement of David Arnold's original themes kicking off the shows every week.
Don't believe me, Dr. Jones? How can you not enjoy a fun action scene were a main character is dragged through the desert by a wild but friendly beast...especially while this is playing?

Well, if not, it's just because you're mean. How about intrigue-filled scenes where archaeologists pull a large portal to another galaxy from the sands of Egypt, backed by a score featuring delicate touches of female vocals and traditional instruments?

Or what about iconic, awe-inspiring scenes where nerdy Egyptologists gaze in wonder at the swirling entrance to a world trillions of miles away, dive in, and travel through the stars on an invisible roller coaster?
Either these musical cues just made you visualize the very scenes in Stargate they were taken from, or you don't like candy.  I wish more composers these days (uh-oh, here comes the nostalgia-train) would make their soundtracks for fun movies this fun. At least give me some themes I can hum.

1994 Milan (these YouTube tracks are all found on the original release I'm reviewing here, but were taken directly from a deluxe edition released twelve years later, which features additional tracks, hence the different track numbers)
1. Stargate Overture 3:01
2. Giza, 1928 2:10
3. Unstable 2:07
4. The Coverstones 0:58
5. Orion 1:29
6. The Stargate Opens 3:58
7. You're on the Team 1:55
8. Entering the Stargate 2:57
9. The Other Side 1:44
10. Mastadge Drag 0:56
11. The Mining Pit 1:34
12. King of the Slaves 1:15
13. Caravan to Nagada 2:16
14. Daniel and Shauri 1:53
15. Symbol Discovery 1:15
16. Sarcophagus Opens 0:55
17. Daniel's Mastadge 0:49
18. Leaving Nagada 4:09
19. Ra - The Sun God 3:22
20. The Destruction of Nagada 2:08
21. Myth, Faith, Belief 2:18
22. Procession 1:43
23. Slave Rebellion 1:00
24. The Seventh Symbol 0:57
25. Quart Shipment 1:27
26. Battle at the Pyramid 5:02
27. We Don't Want to Die 1:57
28. The Surrender 1:44
29. Kasuf Returns 3:06
30. Going Home 3:09