Hero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(Sony)
This heavily hyped epic by internationally acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, has been labelled the next Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Both are martial arts films targeting an international market, and both recruited Chinese composer Tan Dun to write the score.
Tan's unique blending of Western music with his Chinese roots in the soundtrack for Crouching Tiger earned him an Oscar in 2001. With Hero, his knack for boosting the dramatic effect of a film shines once again.
Although bright colours dominate the screen, the dark personality of the main character, played by Jet Li, is the essence of Hero. Tan catches this trait and opts for deep violin solos by Itzhak Perlman and himself, as evident in Hero: Overture and For The World - Theme Music.
Both soundtracks for Crouching Tiger and Hero demonstrate Tan's undeniable talent, but it is the final track on the latter that earns this collection more points. Performed by Canto-pop diva Faye Wong, composed by her long-term musical partner Zhang Yadong and arranged by Hong Kong experimentalist Veronica Lee, this song brings the soundtrack to a graceful conclusion. Its electronic yet Chinese-oriented arrangement is superior to Crouching Tiger's A Love Before Time, sung by Coco Lee, which was the equivalent of Titanic's My Heart Will Go On. This is a song that challenges its audience to listen, rather than serving up another predictable dose of sweetness.