Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack to the Final Fantasy films evokes a post-apocalyptic world

Inspired by the Final Fantasy video game series, this 2001 film is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth in which the world has become infested with aliens known as Phantoms. Contact with a Phantom can consume a human’s life force, killing them instantly.

The film’s music was written by Academy-Award winner Elliot Goldenthal, whose other works include Batman Forever and Julie Taymor’s Frida. The soundtrack was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and makes full use of the ensemble’s lush sound.

‘Race to Old New York’ shows off the power of the brass section and he makes thrilling use of the strings in tracks such as ‘Toccata and Dreamscapes’ and ‘Zeus Cannon’.

The film is the most expensive video game-inspired film ever made and its sophisticated computer-animation took a team of 200 about four years to create. The film was directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy video game series, and starred Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.