The 33

Background

Patricia Riggen, the film's director, stated that James Horner signed the film as was picky on choosing the films and was profoundly moved by the script. Horner began recording the film score for The 33 in October 2014 at the Newman Scoring Stage in 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Riggen stated that Horner was knowledgeable about Andean music and instruments, which she felt important for the film, as it reflected the culture of the story and each emotional beat—fear, hope, desperation and triumph—adding that his score captured the heart and soul of the story. It was one of Horner's posthumous releases, after he was killed in a plane crash on June 22, 2015. The score was released on November 6, 2015, through WaterTower Music.

Reception

James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "The 33 isn't the kind of grand, dramatic work like most of the ones which will forever dominate people's lists of favourites but it's a really beautiful piece of music, full of passion and feeling, similarities with the composer's other South American-flavoured works only really superficial. Inevitably it's a somewhat bittersweet experience – but an enriching one." Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles wrote "If The 33 can and will be remembered in his vast list of scores, it will be because of its heart and its highlights. The kind of highlights James Horner seemed to write [so] easily [...] It's not the best James have ever written, but you can't deny it holds riches you'll not hear from anyone else this year, and all the years to come."

Filmtracks wrote "Perhaps more importantly, Horner concluded his career writing the music that brought him the most satisfaction in his waning years: heartfelt and respectful character drama. To that end, he succeeded." Pete Simons of Synchrotones wrote "James Horner's "The 33" is a genuinely beautiful work. Of course it's incredibly saddening to think we'll never hear this man's voice again, which means this album comes laden with 'nostalgia'. However, "The 33" can stand firmly on its own 2 (or 66) feet." Scott Tobias of Variety wrote "The musical theme, by the late James Horner, is nothing if not persistent." Blake Goble of Consequence called it "a rousing, posthumous score from James Horner that rescues this film from treacle and trite."

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "The late James Horner's score helps to push the emotional buttons while leaning way too heavily on Andean folk instrumentation." Abby Olcese of Sojourners called it a "stirring score" curated with extra poignancy. A. O. Scott of The New York Times called it a "heart-squeezing, throat-constricting score". Tasha Robinson of TheWrap described it a "miserablist score". However, Brian Formo of Collider felt "With all due respect to composer James Horner, who had a great career—full of many fantastic, classic scores—who passed away in a plane crash this year, and to whom the film is dedicated to, the music is almost always working against what we're seeing in The 33. For example, during the hellish collapse of the mountain—in which the men are struggling to outrun the tons of rubble that unleashes overpowering dust clouds and drop the men into darkness—Horner's score leaps and jumps like a Hobbit adventure fantasy. The sounds of the earthy carnage would've been more than enough, instead Horner's score tries to thrill when we should be feeling hopelessness and horror."

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes: