BT: Music From and Inspired by the film Monster

(DVD-Audio + CD)

 

Sound:     Music:     Extras:

 

DVD-Audio       A             B             B

CD                 B             B-            D

 

 

BT falls into the category of Electronica, with the cathartic, theatrical, reflective, take your pick type of sound, but what is interesting is that music was made for the film Monster as well as inspired by, which makes this DVD-Audio/CD combo pack all the more notable and for a few reasons.  One, we can compare the song selection here and compare that with the actual DVD of the film, and we can also see the differences between the soundtrack (the CD) and the soundtrack/inspired tracks (the DVD-Audio) and how they differ in quality.

 

First let’s get our bearings with the film Monster, which is the true story of Aileen Wuornos, who was sentenced to death after the killing of seven men in Florida, all of which were here clients since she was a prostitute.  The film serves as a biopic and garnered attention since Charlize Theron went through the pains of becoming transformed into Aileen, which it is hard to take someone so attractive and make her less attractive, even to the verge of unpleasant.  The film is gritty, violent, rough, startling, shocking, brutal, and many other words all in one, but at the same time it is also honest, deep, poignant, sophisticated, smart, daring, and bold.  

 

Rather than just be a typical biopic that would or could have served as a made-for-TV story, Monster adds a few layers, muscles up its dialog, pulls in some serious acting talent, and delivers a terrific production and portrayal of a very dangerous and disturbed individual.  The soundtrack paints an equal picture to the degree that the moods, emotions, and style of the film is dependant upon the soundtrack, just as much as the soundtrack evokes images of a similar nature.  Very few soundtracks possess this ability and the maturity of BT and the ability to see through the films layers enough to establish such a haunting and clever sound that would evoke such passionate yet startling imagery is just staggering. 

 

So that covers how the soundtrack operates, but the inspired tracks are more of just a reaction ensemble of sound that connect the listener in a way that make us think and ponder upon some of the themes throughout the film, which if this were any lesser of a musician or film, there would be little to work with, but that is not the case here.  A film like this even makes subtle statements about the roles that we assume and how we are sucked into these lifestyles that even when we try to get out of the, we just cannot.  That society keeps us down once we have hit a certain level and yet that same society that looks at us as a monster is also the same society that keeps us a monster.  If you take that even further back to some of the first inventions in filmmaking involving a monster, such as with the adaptation of Frankenstein’s own monster, it was a creation that lacked a name.  It had no identification other than outcast.  We do not let monsters into our society, but we keep them out.  Even a monster in transformation and trying to fit in (once again refer back to the monster in Frankenstein that attempted to blend in) it is our reaction to keep them out.   We are afraid and we are meant to stay that way by the standards that are above us.

 

So why was a title like this chosen for a DVD-Audio on top of just being a basic soundtrack?  DTS Entertainment has been delivering solid product for quite some time now and part of their success is based on their ability to do high quality work, but also in choosing smart projects to undertake and bring to the highest standards in the industry at the time.  With a film like Monster, which showcased BT’s work and even the inspired music tracks, there is much to work with in terms of a sonic experience.  We have subtle moments that are then interrupted with more dramatic and bold moments.  The activity hardly ever stops no matter what the mood or transition there is constant activity. 

 

Rather than give the total track listing, it is easier to point out that the CD contains 15 sounds that have been arranged for the film while the DVD-Audio contains those songs plus 9 more titles.  The differences also lie within their presentation as the CD is very compressed and sounds so limited once the expansiveness of the DVD-Audio is revealed.  One strong point here is that the film was released onto DVD with a DTS Audio option for playback, which demonstrated the high quality of the soundtrack while the film is playing, therefore in order to full gain that glory back, the DVD-Audio is the way to go, and I would give my best judgment in saying that the presentations between the film and the DVD-Audio in terms of mix are kept relatively the same, but tweeted to some degree. 

 

As with any CD, there is the compression factor, plus the limitations with discrete channels, so the DVD-Audio explores the world of multi-channel more complexly and brings more depth and life to the musical selection.  Bass is driven up quite a bit and comes more close to the DVD for the film, which offers two audio options which are Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1.  The two DTS tracks (from the DVD-Audio and the DVD) are nearly similar anyway, if not identical. 

 

This is a good place to begin for people that are skeptical on the whole DVD-Audio world and might be just starting out into the technical side of the format.  This release is somewhat similar to some degree as what The Flaming Lips did with their album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which is reviewed on this site as they released a bonus release, which offered the DVD-Audio and the basic CD, but the difference is that their DVD-Audio also had DVD-Video with it.  All in all this is an interesting package, but will hardly disappoint even the most weary consumer.

 

 

-   Nate Goss