The Luzhin Defence

 ( Audio Product ) 

• The Luzhin Defence available on September 20 2014 from Amazon for 16.98
  
• UPC bar code 738572112721 ξ1 registered September 20 2014
  
• Product category is Audio
• Manufacturered by Silva Screen Records
  

The title of Marleen Gorris's film (based on Vladimir Nabokov's The Defense) refers to a chess strategy, and this tale of a socially challenged game master could be seen as a chess-world parallel to Shine. It's also a grand showcase for the budding talents of French composer Alexandre Desplat, whose sprightly, surprising score is one of the film's greatest revelations. Using spare piano melodies interwoven with a masterful use of the London Symphony Orchestra, Desplat's score is classically oriented (and is seamlessly augmented by portions of Shostakovich's Jazz Suite No. 2), yet evokes shifting colors of modernism, romance, and mystery that keep the listener intrigued. Using a light melodic touch that can turn darkly enigmatic in a heartbeat, Desplat's work here often recalls the music of Delerue and Morricone, and hints at great things to come. - Jerry McCulley

^ (2001). The Luzhin Defence, Silva Screen Records. Amazon. UPC 738572112721 (revised Sep 2014)