Score Sample: First Knight (1995)

In the 1990s Jerry Goldsmith was trying to move away from scoring action movies. He had done a ton of them in the 1980s and was looking to do some thing different. He ended up scoring romantic comedies and dumb comedies and romantic dramas... anything to avoid action music. Every once in a while he'd do a Star Trek film. But mostly it was no action. It couldn't last. And as a fan of Goldsmith's action music, I'm glad.

One of the movies that he broke the mold on was First Knight, a movie I don't care for all that much. But for Jerry it offered romance, intrigue and betrayal... as well as some kick ass action music moments. The result was a score that may be one of Goldsmith's best from the decade. He creates three themes for the film and weaves them together, or against each other to create a rich tapestry of music. It is difficult to pick just one track to sample, but my favorite might be the end credits piece. It starts with the majestic theme for King Arthur/Camelot before diving in the love theme for Guinevere and then shifts back to a more triumphant version of Arthur's theme.

So here you are the album version of Promise Me from First Knight composed by Jerry Goldsmith.