Bicentennial Man Movie Score Review

Even though composer James Horner is probably best known for the music of epics like Titanic and Braveheart, he went back to his science fiction roots to write the film score for Bicentennial Man. This Chris Columbus directed film is based upon a short story by lauded sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov. Taking its cues from Pinocchio, this movie is about an artificial anthropomorphic robot played by Robin Williams who desires nothing but to become a real man and gain the love of Embeth Davidtz. Other cast members are Sam Neill, Stephen Root, Oliver Platt, Bradley Whitford and Wendy Crewson.

The movie score written by Horner includes the following tracks: Machine Age, Special Delivery, Magic Spirit, Gift For Little Miss, Mechanical Love, Wearing Clothes For the First Time, Wedding, Passage of Time, Search For Another, Transformed, Emotions, New Nervous System, Truer Love, Petition Denied, Growing Old, Gift of Mortality, and Then You Look at Me. This soundtrack is built upon the blueprint that Horner laid out in previous works, so it is fairly recognizable to those fans who have followed his career. In fact, in Bicentennial Man one can find shades of Searching for Bobby Fischer, The Spitfire Grill, Titanic and Deep Impact.

The score also includes a vocal track performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion, with whom Horner had worked in Titanic (most will remember the hit My Heart Will Go On). The song is called Then You Look at Me, and is performed with the powerful emotion that is a characteristic in Dion. Then You Look at Me was co-written by Will Jennings with Horner, the same team behind My Heart Will Go On. The music video for the song had a futuristic theme to match that of the movie. However, it failed to enjoy the same success that the Titanic song did.