When I found out that Hans Zimmer was writting the score for King Arthur, I knew I had to have it as soon as it hit the shelves. I was incredibly disappointed by the film but no matter. Had the film not been made, we prabably wouldn't have one of Hans Zimmer's greatest scores. King Arthur is a powerhouse of orchestral music. With Gladiator's success, the director and producer must have demanded a similar score. There are some cues from Gladiator in the film, but a lot of it does sound original. The album opens with the song "Tell me now" performed by Moya Brennan. The song is pretty but I'm a score fan so let's get the heart of the album. "Woad to Ruin" leaves me speechless. This almost 12-minute song has to be one of Zimmer's greatest single pieces ever! It starts off with low strings and male chorus . . . only for about three seconds, if that, then gives a loud, slow, pounding intro to Zimmer's awesome song. When the brassy theme makes its appearance it makes my arm hair rise. Talk about triumphant! The mixture of orchestra and choir is amazing. We get to the action sequence a little after five minutes into the song. This is one of my favorites for Hans Zimmer knows how to make transitions of tempo and instruments. The percussion ends the sweet, heroic moment and tosses us into the choatic battle music. The song ends with a reprise of King Arthur's theme. My next favorite song is "Budget Meeting." I'm not sure why but there is a moment in this song that reminds me of Lord of the Rings. Not that there are similarities in the music, just similarities in the moment. Whatever. This song starts with a march, then without warning throws us in the middle of the battle. We have to hold on for dear life as the orchestra and choir take us on the wildest ride of the album. This is a MUST-OWN soundtrack. My only complaint of this album, like many other Hans Zimmer works, is the lack of more music! Hans is a great composer, but there are times he disappoints me with missing cues from the film. He always leaves me begging for more. I can live with the 50+ minutes of music here and continue hoping that one day Hans Zimmer will make the one great epic score but until then, King Arthur will have to do.

If you like (or love) the soundtrack from Gladiator, you will love this this one too. It is a little more difficult relating the CD to the movie than Gladiator, but purely from a musical standpoint it has a very similar sound, is quite dramatic, and flows as a musical album. The more I listen to it, the better I like it and I liked it from the first minute.

At first viewing- I thought the music a bit too bombastic and cliched-but each time I listened, its magic began to enchant me more and more.

I have to say this film may have had flaws, but they are minor-*IF* you are not looking for some cliched Hollywood Medieval blockbuster-ie: FIRST KNIGHT or crap like that-which is what I think most people WANTED, and thus the film did poorly.

I am only disappointed that the very beautiful, haunting and moving song "We will Go Home" was not included on the CD-it is near well the centerpiece of the film-in that it foretells the grief and the dreams of these men as they think they have settled their debt to Rome...only to have their hopes dashed.

Lisa Gerrard did the added vocal interlude on it-she WAS in this film, contrary to popular belief-check the end credits in detail...

I have to say, I am somewhat obsessed with this soundtrack. Never have I listed to an album over and over to the extent that I have with this one. I think it is brilliant, from the melodic opening track, right to the end, with "Woad To Ruin" being my personal favourite. I think this is Zimmer's best work; at least out of what I heard by him. If you enjoyed the movie, you need this soundtrack. It helped make the movie as great as it was.

Did King Arthur actually exist? Historians are divided in their answers, although most believe that yes, such a man did come to the aid of the Britons during an early period of relentless Saxon assaults upon the island. Arthur, these historians believe, was not a man of the Middle Ages who was served by classic English knights, nor was the Lady Guinevere probably anything like most of us may have imagined. Instead, the Arthur of legend probably was the Duc Bellorum -- Duke of War -- said to have fought several great battles with the Saxons, the greatest of which -- Baden Hill -- is depicted in the film.

Sure, the film plays fast and loose with some known historical facts, namely the early Roman Catholic Church's influence with Rome's emperor and other leaders, the making of Bishop Germanicus to be such a villain (was he? He was later canonized as St. Germaine), and the fact that Arthur's would-be spiritual mentor, Pelagus, may or may not have been a contemporary of the real Arthur. For the sake of 'literary license,' these small items can be overlooked in Fuqua's pursuit of a unifying whole that does a respectable job of pulling together what is believed to have been true about Arthur.

Was he truly a king? No one knows, but again it appears from an early time that Britons had rallied around someone to beat back the Saxons. If Arthur wasn't a king, through the years the legends that grew up around him, his knights and their exploits made him one.

As for Arthur's knights, the movie puts forth an hypothesis supported by at least a few modern historians: that Arthur's knights were Sarmatians, known as great warriors who fought from the backs of horses. Sarmatians came from the same area as the later Cossacks, also known for their derring-do as horse cavalry.

I was entranced by this film, by the cinematography, the costumes, the grandeur of the countryside and the supreme compatibility of Hans Zimmer's magnificent score. The acting was superb as well.

Was the historical Arthur brave enough to wait behind, alone, for the inevitable Saxon onslaught as his comrades-in-arms left him? According to legend, which has been passed down since the time of Arthur, that day at Baden Hill Arthur's sword alone took over 900 Saxon lives. This account might have been slightly exaggerated in the same way that Antoine Fuqua's film has been altered to fit what is thought to have been true about Arthur.

Either way, Arthur is a man -- and a king -- for the ages. If such a man existed, he set the bar extraordinarily high for all the other heroes who would someday follow him in service to humankind and to the world.

The music in Zimmer's score is both grand and eloquent; it suits the script to a 'T.'

Neither Fuqua nor Zimmer could have done any better. King Arthur and the soundtrack are just about perfect.