Ennio Morricone - The Mission (OST) (1986)

The Mission: (Ennio Morricone) If only Warner Brothers' 1986 production of The Mission had been slightly re-written and shot by a more capable director, it could have transcended to a level of greatness few films achieve. It had so much potential to be a classic of the highest ranks, only to be spoiled by senseless direction and characters so poorly scripted that it was hard to care about their inevitable demise.
The story has "epic" written all over it, telling of the tragedy that awaited an indigenous tribe in South America in 1750 as the imperial powers of Spain and Portugal swapped territories and therefore priorities for the Indian tribes. The now nearly extinct Guarani Indians are the focus of The Mission, converted to Christianity under the Spaniards but at danger of death or slavery upon the handover of their lands to the Portuguese. Two Jesuits fight to save a hilltop mission for the tribe, though Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro's paths have brought them to their destiny from different directions and the former decides to use passive prayer to protect the mission while the latter attempts to mount an ineffective military defense.
The procedural brutality with which the Cardinal of the region, representing the interests of the Pope, brings about the ultimate decision eventually leads to a confrontation that will assign all of the protagonists of the film their meaningless deaths. On the whole, The Mission had spectacular aspects in its favor but also nagging problems that go well beyond the narrative's depressing conclusion. The two Jesuits are poorly rendered and De Niro's character is especially underdeveloped (not to mention the miscasting of the actor).
The confrontation at the end of the picture is almost unintelligible, offering the audience no sense of clarity or vision that could have solidified the story's message. Roland Joffe, as much as he tried so desperately to make The Mission as authentic as possible (shipping in an entire tribe of extras to his desired region despite the fact that none had ever seen a movie in their lifetimes), failed to ever capture the same critical acclaim that had graced The Killing Fields a few years prior, eventually fading into obscurity after a few unimaginable disasters in the 1990's.
On the other hand, The Mission was phenomenal in its auxiliary production values, easily winning an Academy Award for cinematography with the kind of scenery rarely seen. Another widely praised element of the film was Ennio Morricone's Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning, classically-informed, and highly memorable score.

The soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986 and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the BAFTA Award for Best Music. It was selected as the 23rd best film score in American Cinema in the American Film Institute's 100 Years of Film Scores. The music was also used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Track listing

1. "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" – 3:50
2. "Falls" – 1:55
3. "Gabriel's Oboe" – 2:14
4. "Ave Maria Guarani" – 2:51
5. "Brothers" – 1:32
6. "Carlotta" – 1:21
7. "Vita Nostra" – 1:54
8. "Climb" – 1:37
9. "Remorse" – 2:46
10. "Penance" – 4:03
11. "The Mission" – 2:49
12. "River" – 1:59
13. "Gabriel's Oboe" – 2:40
14. "Te Deum Guarani" – 0:48
15. "Refusal" – 3:30
16. "Asuncion" – 1:27
17. "Alone" – 4:25
18. "Guarani" – 3:56
19. "The Sword" – 2:00
20. "Miserere" – 1:00

All songs by Ennio Morricone.

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – Virgin Records America, Inc.
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Virgin Records America, Inc.
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Virgin Records, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – Warner Bros. Inc.
• Copyright (c) – Kingsmere Productions Ltd.
• Copyright (c) – Virgin Records America, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – Virgin Records, Inc.
• Published By – Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd.
• Published By – Ennio Morricone
• Mastered At – Artisan Sound Recorders
• Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation
• Manufactured By – WEA
• Distributed By – WEA
• Recorded At – CTS Studios

Credits

• Choir – Barnet Schools Choir, London Voices
• Chorus Master [Choral Direction] – David Bedford
• Composed By, Conductor, Orchestrated By – Ennio Morricone
• Conductor [Barnet Schools Choir Musical Director] – J. Maxwell Pryce
• Conductor [London Voices Musical Director] – Geoffrey Shaw
• Engineer – Dick Lewzey
• Engineer [Assistant] – Steve Price
• Instrumentation By [Indian] – Incantation
• Mastered By – GF
• Orchestra – The London Philharmonic Orchestra

Notes

Released:  August 5, 1986 

Recorded:  September 1985-February 1986, London 

Genre:  Soundtrack

Length:  48:47 

Label - Virgin Records