Most people bring up the cinematography of this film which is indeed great.
However after watching it for the first time, my most memorable element I took away afterwards was the awesome score.
I'm surprised more people havent brought this up. The beautiful and haunting piano and strings during the long driving scenes ... the tense music building up to any fights or ambushes.
Great stuff all around.
Yup, it was fantastic. All during the film last night, I kept thinking "this sounds like the soundtrack to Shawshank Redemption". Sure enough, same guy: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002353/
I'm probably going to find an older reply that already says this ...
Be sure to proof your posts to see if you any words outshare
It was nominated for Best Score at the Oscars (losing to Elliott Goldenthal's score for 'Frida'), and was one of quite a few scores written by Newman during those years that won him critical acclaim and international recognition (some films are mentioned here; let's not forget the superb work he did for television over the same period of time!). That said, it was not 'The Feel-Good Movie Of 2002', and the film's grim, somber, and violent tone prevented it from attaining blockbuster status.
How would this film have fared without Newman's score? Who can say, except that, at times it is as integral an element of the film's atmosphere as its beautifully-dingy lighting and evocatively-lousy weather; at other times it deliberately seeks to be at odds with the film and its visuals, preferring an almost humorous counterpoint to the otherwise melancholy storyline. Either way, I don't think the score has been underrated. Where the film has found favour amongst critics, reviewers, and the viewing public, the score is often directly cited. When described as 'Awesome' by posters to discussion forums such as this, it may be safely assumed that the score is indirectly receiving mention.
I KNEW I couldn't have been the only one! IMO, Thomas Newman's score is one of the few film scores that holds up as a stand-alone, rather than merely as an accompaniment to its movie. My mother bought me the soundtrack to this movie for Christmas 2002, just a few months after I saw it in theaters and I still listen to it every so often to this day.
shareI agree with the OP, the score for this film was great. It really added to the tone of the movie and help develop the movie.
shareIt was nominated for the Oscar. Not sure I'd call that 'underrated'. I'd really love to see Thomas Newman finally win one. Road to Perdition was definitely better than 'Frida', which wasn't bad at all.
shareYeah, while it's my 'go to' movie when it comes to great cinematography (because not only is it great visually at times but some of it's best parts visually also happen to be great moments in the movie to. it's rare that those two things come together as well as it does in this movie.) but the score really helps boost the movie to which i think is partially why the movie really grabs me to a higher degree.
10/10 ; it's in my Top 20 movies out of the 1,925+ total movies i have seen. this movie should easily be in IMDb's Top 250 as it wipes the floor with a very high percentage of the movies in there.
it's a crime this movie is not in the Top 250 as the feeling this movie gives me is hard to come by in general, it's a rarity. but this movie seems to fly off the radar in general especially when it comes to Tom Hanks movies as there is probably a fair amount of others that are more known to the general public even thought i would have to say this is Hanks #1 movie as the only other two that could challenge it would be... Saving Private Ryan (1998)/The Green Mile (1999) (both of those also within my Top 20 movies).
i just finished re-watching Road to Perdition (2002) just now (on Dec 30th 2015) and it's still top notch for me as my previous re-watch of it was on Nov 22nd 2012.
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My Top 100-ish Movies of All-Time! = http://goo.gl/EYFYdz
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I adore films scores and I adore Thomas Newman. Probably my favorite composer. In my opinion, Road to Perdition is his best work. Next to James Horner's score for Braveheart, Road to Perdition is my all time favorite score.
Sir! I have a plan![standing up from his wheelchair] Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!
This is Newman's best score this side of "Fried Green Tomatoes" and yes, it should've taken the Oscar. But then, the Academy never really gives it to the best, only to the "due". I never tire of hearing this music.
shareAnother fan here also. I love the overall softness of the soundtrack, the eerie parts, and my favorite is the low ominous strings when Newman gets angry with Daniel Craig's character. The parts when Jude Law snuffs out that guy with the for the sake of getting a photo is really weird on a beautiful way. All in all, the sound track is awesome.
shareAmen! Thomas Newman's score was a heartbreaking mix of sorrow, danger and beauty
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