Composing Greatness: #8. James Horner -"House of Sand and Fog" (2003)

Scene from House of Sand and Fog

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Series Composer: James Horner

Entry: House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Collaborators (If Available): N/A

Nomination: Best Original Score

Did He Win: No

Other Nominees:
Best Original Score
-The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Howard Shore) *winner
-Big Fish (Danny Elfman)
-Cold Mountain (Gabriel Yared)
-Finding Nemo  (Thomas Newman)

Additional Information

This is to help provide perspective of where each composer is in their Oscar-nominated life as it related to the current entry.

Oscar Nomination: 9

Oscar Wins: 2

Track List

1. "An Older Life"
2. "The Waves of the Caspian Sea"
3. "Old Photos, New Memories"
4. "This is No Longer Your House"
5. "Two People"
6. "Kathy's Night"
7. "Parallel Lives, Parallel Loves"
8. "Behrani's Thoughts - Long Ago"
9. "Break-In"
10. "The Dream of Kings"
11. "The Shooting, A Payment for Our Sins"
12. "We Have Travelled So Far, It Is Time to Return to Our Path"
13. "A Return to the Caspian, And to The Iran of Old"

Note: Listen to here.

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

Theme Exploration:

"An Older Life"

Like all good James Horner scores, the beginning feels like a light coming up on a scene. It's a quiet melody that slowly introduces new instruments, most notably a chime that establishes new points in the song. As far as opening themes go, it's one of the less memorable, if just because of how brief it is. There's no time for it to build and gain a bigger atmosphere. That is for the later tracks on the album which improve upon this style with rhythms that are far more compelling and interesting than this.

Interesting Standout:
"Two People"

The score is largely the familiar atmospheric strings full of flowing melodies that come and go as the quiet moments create a sense of peace. The one moment that stands out is this lengthy piano-driven track that works as a solo of sorts. It's beautiful and manages to feature a melody that gives the entire score a deeper sense of power and purpose. Every note feels perfectly placed and captures something more melancholic underneath the surface. It's not the first time that James Horner has used this technique, but it may be among the best that he's done yet.

Best Moment:
"A Return to the Caspian, and the Iran of Old"

Like all good James Horner scores, the ending tends to be a triumphant combination of everything that the album has been building towards. In this case, it's especially true. Whereas the melodies appear sparingly before, they all come to the surface and build through an emotional mix of rhythms. The soundtrack as a whole is a quieter album that doesn't have as many standout moments in traditional Horner form. However, it still works as a concrete piece of music. Even as he continues to explore his style, he manages to make something richer and interesting within that atmosphere. 

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
Yes

For what it's worth, James Horner is never entirely the same from project to project. While this is one of his weaker nominations, he's still bringing some passion to the music that is hard to deny. The quietness gives way for something more subtle in how the melodies shift and build throughout. It has an emotional subtext that makes the whole experience more powerful. It feels dusty and manages to use everything he does well as composer in just the right ways. It's not likely to be remembered as immediately as even A Beautiful Mind before, but it's far from a total waste of a nomination.


Up Next: Best Original Score - Avatar (2009) 

Best Theme

A ranking of all themes composed by James Horner.

1. "A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics" - A Beautiful Mind (2001) 
2. "Never an Absolution" - Titanic (1997)
3. "Main Title" - Apollo 13 (1995)
4. "Main Title" - Braveheart (1995)
5. "The Cornfield" - Field of Dreams (1989)
6. "Main Title" - Aliens (1986)

7. "An Older Life" - House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Best Song

A ranking of all songs composed by James Horner.

1. "My Heart Will Go On" - Titanic (1997)
2. "Somewhere Out There" - An American Tail (1986)