The year 2001 saw the gaming behemoth Square Enix attempt to add a feature film to the canon of their astronomically successful "Final Fantasy" franchise. "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" continues to remain a fascinating film to study, due not only in part to its then revolutionary CGI rendering technology, but also the circumstances surrounding its score. Fans of the "Final Fantasy" series were expecting to see Nobuo Uematsu, the highly-respected composer responsible for scoring the majority of the "Final Fantasy" titles, also take the helm for this unique project. Alas, to the surprise of many, scoring duties were instead handed to Elliot Goldenthal, a composer known for his intelligent but none-the-less highly unusual stylings, consisting of classical majesty and atonal brutality. The composer has garnered but small but incredibly dedicated fanbase due to his unique scores, which often contain an uncomfortable, palatable sense of darkness. Despite a prolific period of mainstream composing in the 90's for films such as "Alien�", "Demolition Man" and the later "Batman" sequels, Goldenthal was still a lesser-known name than Uematsu, even within the film scoring community, and the disparity in styles between the two composers originally turned many people away from the score. Which is a shame, because Goldenthal’s score to "The Spirits Within" is a majestic choral masterpiece of powerful brass fanfares, sinister gothic disharmony and plaintive, mournful statements of love and loss.

The official soundtrack featured fifty glorious minutes of Goldenthal's bombastic, operatic and gothic score, along with two songs from the end credits, one of which was adapted from one of Goldenthal's main themes from the film. Like almost all of Goldenthal's albums, much of the music is collected into suites and played out of order, which drives a completionist like myself nuts...when anyone else does it. For some reason, I've come to adore Goldenthal's album presentations of his works, as despite the chronological screwiness, they make for very enjoyable album experiences. Heaven forbid anyone other than Goldenthal attempt this, though… It probably helps that many of Goldenthal's works don't play so well outside of the film in a complete form (particularly "Titus" and "Alien�"). Having said that, due to its more melodic and lyrical nature, "The Spirits Within" is one of the easiest of Goldenthal's scores to digest, particularly in its complete form.

Even if the cues are split up and placed in their proper order, an astounding 15 minutes of the 50 minute album features music that never made it into the film and much of the other music is either expanded or distinctive in one way or another. In fact, of the 16 tracks on the official album, only 5 of them appear in the film as they're presented on the album (not counting the songs, which play over the end credits). Years later, the DVD release of the film became one of the first to offer the isolated score for the movie, although unlike many other isolated scores, it features commentary (by Goldenthal himself) over a few of the tracks, so clean rips of the complete score are not available. Hence, despite using the album to fill in gaps, this remains a significantly expanded, but still incomplete score.

Of course, getting a hold of this score in its most complete form is a difficult task (otherwise, threads such as this wouldn’t exist and I’d be a happier man). Even the availability of the cue numbers doesn't provide much help in sifting and sorting through the music available. A plethora of versions of the isolated score exist. Many thanks to ManofDestiny, bishtyboshty and PeteCo for uploading the different versions of the isolated score here (Thread 89731), which formed the basis of the release presented here. Most incorporate the tracks from the album in them, but without splitting the individual cues, often leading to incorrect placements within the score (including the tracks that were ultimately unsued). The version to come closest to offering the most music in proper, chronological order was from ffshrine user PeteCo (although he himself did not make it, hence questions can’t be asked about why certain cues were split and other peculiarities). That version is, so far, the only version to split and rename tracks from the album and place them in their proper chronological order. It is nigh perfect, except for perhaps one flaw; and that is its overzealousness in splitting the tracks into individual cues (as per the slate numbers/cue sheets, it seems) to the point where a few of the cuts sound too abrupt and awkward. This version seeks to remedy that.

As can be gleaned from above, the basic backbone of the version is the PeteCo version, while utilising combined tracks from the more prolific forty-track expanded score (I’ll refer to it as the “other” bootleg). Some of the album tracks which were separated in the PeteCo version are reassembled back together in this version. As always, read the “Analysis” below for a detailed overview of which tracks have been combined and what-not. Despite the collection of tracks into combined versions, everything in this release is still presented in chronological order.

Despite presenting this in mp3 format, everything in this release was sourced from lossless; that is to say, every track was originally FLAC before being converted to 320kbps mp3, which was necessary for some of the simple editing done here and there (although, as always, there was no quality loss or re-encoding in the editing so there has been no loss in quality, apart from the initial necessary transition from FLAC to mp3).

tl:dr: This release of the score is mainly PeteCo’s expansive and chronologically correct version but with several smaller cues combined together to reduce abrupt cuts due to the lack of fade-ins and outs. Several tracks were renamed for clarity and the OST tracks are no longer placed where they don’t belong in the score. All of the alternates for the score (of which there are quite a few) have been placed towards the end of the presentation as per usual. Also as per usual, I've collected a variety of custom album covers for your viewing pleasure, a small sampling of which are presented above.


ANALYSIS (EXPANDED SCORE):

CD 1:

1. The Spirit Within (Film Version) (2:05) – The first, and most major, of the new additions from the PeteCo version. Strangely enough, although sound quality is uniformly high and consistent for all of the tracks in this release, this track is an exception, sounding very muffled and tinny. It could just be that this was how the track was presented in the film but given that it doesn’t appear in any other expanded version of the score, it is more likely that it was ripped from the movie and underwent editing to filter out voices and SFX.
2. The Phantom Plains (1:43) – One of the few tracks that is exactly the same on both the OST and expanded score.
3. Searching For Lifeforms (3:30) – No differences between bootlegs.
4. No Way Out (2:57) – Also known as “Surrounded By Phantoms”. Apart from that, no differences between bootlegs.
5. Barrier City (0:31) – This is the film version of the first thirty seconds of the “Flight To The Wasteland” cue from the OST.
6. Code Red (2:05) - One of the few tracks that is exactly the same on both the OST and expanded score.
7. Sixth Spirit (1:58) - No differences between bootlegs. Curiously, as with most of Elliot Goldenthal’s scores, this cue features one of the major themes from “Alien�” in the last twenty seconds.
8. Council Assembly (3:05) - No differences between bootlegs.
9. A Child Recalled (2:26) - One of the few tracks that is exactly the same on both the OST and expanded score. Also known as “Child Recalled” on some of the bootlegs.
10. Music For Dialogues (Film Version) (1:12) – Also known as “Irratic Behaviour” and “Music For The Dialogue (Film Version)”. Appears to be a combination of extracts from the tracks “Music For Dialogues” and “Blue Light” from the OST.
11. The Dream’s The Same (1:53) –An excerpt from the “Toccata And Dreamscapes” track from the OST. It is the second track (after “Toccata” and before “Death Of Planet (Album Version)).
12. Tuscon Flight (0:23) – An abridged version of the track “Security Breach”. Also known as “Bouys”.
13. Tuscon Wasteland (1:35) – This is the minute and a half of music following the first thirty seconds of “Flight To The Wasteland” from the OST. Some bootlegs mix and abridged the cue differently, but they all feature the same material.
14. Seventh Spirit (2:15) – On the PeteCo version this is presented as two separate tracks (“Phantoms Attack” and “Incoming”). However, due to the lack of a fade-in for “Incoming”, I combined the two together into a single seamless cue (or more accurately, took it from the last two minutes of the track “Toccata and Dreamscapes” from the album so the cue was already joined).
15. Death Of Planet (7:19) – On the PeteCo version, this is presented as four separate tracks, “Death Of A Planet”, “An Incident”, “She’s Dying” and “Spiritual Support”. Since most versions present these four tracks as a single cue, and due to the awkward cuts in those cues (similar to “Phantoms Attack” and “Incoming”) I just used the single suite from the other bootlegs instead of the four separate tracks.
16. Waking (0:18) – On the PeteCo version this short cue is combined with the first part of the next track. Since I wanted to put the next two tracks together I left this track by itself as it is usually presented in the other bootlegs.
17. Phantoms Explained (3:47) – A combination of most of the previous track “Ake Wakes” and “Phantoms Explained”, which is itself the final three and a half minutes of “Flight To The Wasteland” from the OST. Again, the cut between the two was awkward so they’re both presented here as a single track.
18. Security Breach (1:42) - No differences between bootlegs.
19. Evacuation (2:30) - No differences between bootlegs.
20. Code Red Reprise (0:47) – Also known as “Rough Riders. As the title implies, an abridged version of the “Code Red” cue. Apart from that, no differences between bootlegs.
21. The Bandit (1:37) – Also known as “Injured”. Apart from that, no differences between bootlegs.
22. Escape (8:12) – The PeteCo version presents this track as three separate cues, “Escape”, “Dead Rain (Film Version) and “Gray’s Standoff”. Again, the cuts for these cues were less than stellar so I just used the combined version from the other bootlegs.


CD 2:

1. The Kiss (4:15) - One of the few tracks that is exactly the same on both the OST and expanded score.
2. Dr Sid’s Plan (1:02) – The only track not present on the PeteCo version. An extension of the material in the last thirty seconds of “The Kiss”, the fact that it is not in the PeteCo version leads one to believe that it is an actually an edit.
3. Hein (1:12) – Also known as “Sid’s Plan” on the PeteCo version (although it is not the same as the cue above, to make matters confusing).
4. Phantom Crater (2:10) – Also known as “The Phantom Crater / Zeus Fires” and “Phantom Center”. Apart from that, no differences between bootlegs.
5. Eighth Spirit (13:44) – A monster of a cue, this was split into several smaller tracks in PeteCo’s version; “Emergency Landing”, “Zeus Fires Again”, “Not A Good Place To Be”, “The Eighth Spirit” (not to be confused with the cue of the same name from the album, which is placed at the start of this cue) and “Winged Serpent (Film Version)". Again, abrupt cuts abound in this version; hence I used the single suite as presented in the other bootlegs.
6. Injured Gaia (0:27) – Also known as “An Injured Gaia”. A brief stinger that I’ve only ever seen on one other bootleg.
7. Adagio And Transfiguration (5:24) – The last track of the expanded score, as well as the last of the tracks that are exactly the same on both the OST and expanded score.
8. The Spirit Within (Album Version) (2:06) – The album version of the first track, “The Spirit Within”.
9. Barrier City (Album Version) (0:41) – The album version of the fifth track, “Barrier City” (the first forty seconds of “Flight To The Wasteland”).
10. Music For Dialogues (Album Version) (2:19) – The album version of the tenth track, “Music For Dialogues”.
11. Death Of Planet (Album Version) (1:30) The album version of the first minute of the fifteenth track, “Death Of Planet” (the third section of the “Toccata And Dreamscapes” track, after “The Dream’s The Same” and before “Phantoms Attack” and “Incoming”).
12. Race To Old New York (Unused) (1:21) - This cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film.
13. Winged Serpent (Unused) (1:35) - Parts of this cue are used frequently throughout the score (mostly during the end of “Eighth Spirit”)[/B], but the cue as it plays in the OST doesn’t appear in the film.
14. Toccata (Unused) (3:06) – The first three minutes of the “Toccata And Dreamscapes” track, which was ultimately never used in the film.
15. Dead Rain (Unused) (1:51) - Remixed versions of this cue play throughout the score, particularly towards the end of “Escape”, but the cue as it plays in the OST doesn’t appear in the film.
16. Blue Light (Unused) (3:30) - Although parts of this cue were combined with extracts from the “Music For Dialogues” track on the OST, most of this cue remained unused.
17. Zeus Cannon (Unused) (3:24) - This cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film.
18. The Dream Within (4:43) – The Lara Fabian song that plays over the end credits of the film. Interestingly, Goldenthal himself was heavily involved in this songs creation, and it utilises his humanity/love theme from the tracks “A Child Recalled” and “The Kiss”.
19. Spirit Dreams Inside (English) (3:42) – A mostly unrelated hard rock song by the Japanese group L'Arc~en~Ciel that plays over the end credits of the film. This version contains the lyrics in English.
20. Spirit Dreams Inside (Japanese) (3:45) - A mostly unrelated hard rock song by the Japanese group L'Arc~en~Ciel that plays over the end credits of the film. This version contains the lyrics in native Japanese.
21. Redrum (Bonus) (2:10) – The music by the group Immediate Music for one of the trailers for the film.
22. Blasphemy (Bonus) (1:12) - The music by the group Immediate Music for one of the trailers for the film.
23. Scoring (Bonus) (2:06) – A small commentary track by Goldenthal himself describing the production of the score, as well as the themes contained within and the scoring techniques used to create the soundscape for the film.


ANALYSIS (OST):

1. The Spirit Within (2:06) – Meant to be the first track heard in the film, it was ultimately replaced with a more electronic ambient cue.
2. Race To Old New York (1:21) – This cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film.
3. The Phantom Plains (1:42) – Plays exactly the same in the film as it does on album.
4. Code Red (2:05) - Plays exactly the same in the film as it does on album.
5. The Kiss (4:15) - Plays exactly the same in the film as it does on album, although it is placed chronologically out of order (occurs towards the end of the film rather than near the beginning).
6. Entrada (0:55) - This cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film.
7. Toccata And Dreamscapes (8:30) – A suite featuring five different tracks:


Toccata (start – 3:06, this cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film)

Death Of A Planet (3:06 – 4:36, an alternate version of the “Death Of A Planet” cue, which in this version is combined into the “Death Of Planet” suite)

The Dream’s The Same (4:36 – 6:32)

Phantoms Attack (6:32 – 7:42, combined in this version with the “Incoming” cue)

Incoming (7:42 – end, combined in this version with the “Phantoms Attack” cue)
8. Music For Dialogues (2:19) – Although parts of this cue were combined with extracts from the “Blue Light” track on the OST, most of this cue remained unused.
9. Winged Serpent (1:35) – Parts of this cue are used frequently throughout the score (mostly during the end of “Eighth Spirit”), but the cue as it plays in the OST doesn’t appear in the film.
10. Zeus Cannon (3:25) - This cue was ultimately never used in the film. It is unclear where the cue fits chronologically in the film.
11. Flight To The Wasteland (5:57) – Another suite featuring four tracks:


Barrier City (start – 0:41, an alternate version of the “Barrier City cue)

Tuscon Wasteland (0:41 – 2:15)

Ake Wakes (2:15 – 3:15, the first 16 seconds of “Ake Wakes” is a different track, titled “Waking” in this version, and is combined with “Phantoms Explained” in this version)

Phantoms Explained (3:15 – end, combined in this version with the “Ake Wakes” cue)
12. A Child Recalled (2:26) - Plays exactly the same in the film as it does on album.
13. The Eighth Spirit (0:51) – Plays at the beginning of the “Eighth Spirit” cue.
14. Dead Rain (1:51) – Remixed versions of this cue play throughout the score, particularly towards the end of “Escape”, but the cue as it plays in the OST doesn’t appear in the film.
15. Blue Light (3:30) - Although parts of this cue were combined with extracts from the “Music For Dialogues” track on the OST, most of this cue remained unused.
16. Adagio And Transfiguration (5:24) - Plays exactly the same in the film as it does on album.


SOURCES:

Filmtracks: Filmtracks: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Elliot Goldenthal) (http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/final_fantasy.html)

ffshrine: (PeteCo & other bootleg uploads)
Final Fantasy – the Spirit Within DVD isolated expanded Score (Lossless) (Thread 89731)

Film Cue Database: (Film Cue Titles & Slates) FILM CUE DATABASE: Elliot Goldenthal (http://filmcues.blogspot.de/search/label/Elliot%20Goldenthal)

Wikipedia: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001 film) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy:_The_Spirits_Within)


Download:


http://www.4shared.com/rar/MV--k-Bzce/eg_ff_tsw_es.html?
OR
http://www.mediafire.com/download/7kec6i9tf8yazlw/EG_FF_TSW_ES.rar

Thank You for this :)

Scott

many greatful and eternal thanks GlassButterflies!!!

Thanks for all your hard work on this project...I look forward to giving it a listen. :)

Thank you for this version!

interesting analysis of this project and score. but i don't get it why you release it as mp3 and omit a lossless version.
you had the lossless sources... so why not stay lossless till the end and release a lossless album and a finalized mp3 version,
for those who prefer this format?

Sounds interesting. did any of the versions manage to preserve the dark fanfare to close "Death of a Planet"? I tried my own edit by microediting the uninterrupted isolated score with a dvd rip of the close, using the rear channels. It wasn't bad, the only thing was the asteroid flyby whoosh...

Thanks.

Thank you very much.

Thank you

thanks

Thanks!

Love me some Aki, Thanks Glass.

Fans of the "Final Fantasy" series were expecting to see Nobuo Uematsu

I wasn't. I was happy to see Goldsmith take on the franchise.
I just didn't like the blu-ray never got an audio HD transfer of the iso score.


there was no quality loss or re-encoding in the editing...apart from the initial necessary transition from FLAC to mp3

Technically, if you used the isolated score, then there was some quality degredation.
AC3 to FLAC then (edits in FLAC) to MP3 has a one-generation degrading quality drop.
AC3 <-> FLAC <-> MP3
You can remove the lossless parts from that chain and effectively get:
AC3 <-> MP3


Also, I can't find my DVD of FF:TSW to check the audio format. I believe it's 5.1@448?
Google search reveals it to be AC3 in 5.1 but doesn't mention bitrate.

Downmixing the audio to stereo also alters the original audio as well.

Just a technical analysis.
:smrt:

Thanks for the work though, I've been wanting to search for this again in its most complete form.

The other thing I wanted to do was rip the DVD iso score and just trim the AC3 and leave it as is and let my media players handle the downmix.
There's an AC3 trimming tool that losslessly trims/cuts AC3 audio without re-encoding, which would be perfect for iso scores in AC3 formats (FF:TSW, The Corruptor, House of 1000 Corpses, etc).

:goodsparky:

It's most likely to be 448 for maximum compatibility.

I agree, downmixing can be an issue. Best to take a listen to the FL & FR channels alone and see if they're ok.

so why not stay lossless

Given that some of the sources are actually lossy-sourced lossless, I wouldn't complain about the file size of the edited FLAC work.

AC3 <-> FLAC <-> FLAC seems less degraded (except for the stereo downmix, which is liveable).

+1 if the FLAC work can be upped.
The FLAC I would keep on my external and listen to on my system with my sub-wOOOfer and the MP3's would go on my portable Sony.

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------


It's most likely to be 448 for maximum compatibility.

I agree, downmixing can be an issue. Best to take a listen to the FL & FR channels alone and see if they're ok.

I've seen The Corruptor isolate score to be 448 when it's multichannel.
Most others in stereo (Rush Hour, The Matrix) are usually 192.

I imagine using something like eac3to or some other audio-developed program would downmix intelligently.
eac3to can downmix to simple stereo (or Dolby Pro Logic :notgood: ) and detect clipping if any (and do a peak-normalization in a second pass).
Foobar would need to downimx to simple stereo and then a secondary filter applied to reduce peak if clipping found ("AdvancedLimiter" or similar).

I wish portable media players would take advantage of "ReplayGain" tags.
Iso scores would benefit greatly from RG tagging.

Definitely a minefield.

Thanks

Hope ya'll enjoying this fantastic score in most of its majestic beauty! Here's hoping one day we can hear it in all of its glory.


interesting analysis of this project and score. but i don't get it why you release it as mp3 and omit a lossless version.
you had the lossless sources... so why not stay lossless till the end and release a lossless album and a finalized mp3 version,
for those who prefer this format?

The reason lossless isn't provided is due to the edits I've made, which required me to convert the tracks to mp3 first. I don't actually have a program that allows me to do the edits in lossless, since I'm not a skilled editor at all (in fact, I don't even consider myself one, and have admitted how crappy an editor I am in past threads). I am aware that most people prefer releases in lossless, and indeed, using my instructions in the analysis section one could probably put together a release very similar to this one without editing whatsoever.

But allow me to make things clear; I don't really have an interest in being an editor like "SonicAdventure", nor will I come close to him in terms of quality releases (which, given his massive plethora of releases today and the amazing quality of those releases, should be quite clear). Nor am I here to dictate to anyone what the best way to listen to a given score is; rather I am here to provide people with an overview of what music is available for a given film and provide them with the tools necessary to collate together their own listening experiences, depending on their tastes (some people are completionists, some people just prefer highlights, and others still fall somewhere in the middle).


Sounds interesting. did any of the versions manage to preserve the dark fanfare to close "Death of a Planet"? I tried my own edit by microediting the uninterrupted isolated score with a dvd rip of the close, using the rear channels. It wasn't bad, the only thing was the asteroid flyby whoosh...

No, unfortunately, and you're not the only one disappointed. I heard from a few people who've really wanted that particular piece of music, but as far as I can tell it hasn't been released in a clean form anywhere.

I am interested in hearing that edit you have, though, if you'd be willing to share it?


Technically, if you used the isolated score, then there was some quality degredation.
AC3 to FLAC then (edits in FLAC) to MP3 has a one-generation degrading quality drop.

Ah yes, I was aware of that. I actually wasn't the one who extracted the iso score, this release is simply an amalgamation of the various versions of the isolated scores I could get my hands on. You give me too much credit, I'm no good at editing at all!

So when I made my comment on "quality degradation" I meant it in terms of converting from the sources I had (in lossless), but you are correct in saying that they were never truly lossless to begin with.

Thanks!

Thank you share!

@Glass, I have a 320 mix of that cue, which I called She's Dying - Spiritual Support. however, my version of the source dvd is PAL, so I am not sure of the speed of the track. If you still want it, let me know, and I will upload it :)

@Glass, I have a 320 mix of that cue, which I called She's Dying - Spiritual Support. however, my version of the source dvd is PAL, so I am not sure of the speed of the track. If you still want it, let me know, and I will upload it :)

Yeah, I'd love to check it out!

Here it is....it's not perfect.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/us9ymm

I did lower the frequency to match the speed of the OST track reference.

Thanks!

thanks for your hard work on this, can't wait to revisit this score!

Thanks !

There is one piece of music missing that no one had noticed!!!

Adagio And Transfiguration (film version) Yes....the film version is slightly different. Unfortunately on the isolated score Eliot Goldenthal talks over this part so it could be easily missed. Its the part just as gia is being saved, the moment as the two main characters let go of each others hands and admit their love for each other, there is this great Choral rise thats far more epic than the album version which is a bit fast and has no choir. Check it out!

Thanks for this release though! very awesome!

Thank you!

There is one piece of music missing that no one had noticed!!!

Adagio And Transfiguration (film version) Yes....the film version is slightly different. Unfortunately on the isolated score Eliot Goldenthal talks over this part so it could be easily missed. Its the part just as gia is being saved, the moment as the two main characters let go of each others hands and admit their love for each other, there is this great Choral rise thats far more epic than the album version which is a bit fast and has no choir. Check it out!

Thanks for this release though! very awesome!

There's actually quite a bit of music missing from this release (the thread title is "Most Complete", and it is, but it's much closer to a normal "expanded" score than my other "Most Complete" threads). Unfortunately, the isolated score from the DVD isn't complete, mostly in the form of unfinished tracks. Examples being the very short "Injured Gaia" which is clearly part of a longer cue, and the ending fanfare of "Death Of Planet", which Bioscope was nice enough to upload his own rip of that cue (http://forums.ffshrine.org/f92/final-fantasy-spirits-within-2001-most-complete-176237/#post2725926) (mostly clean except for the sound of the asteroid).

Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath for more music being released for this film soon. The filmed bombed pretty badly at the box office, isolated scores are uncommon to begin with so a new DVD/Blu-Ray release with a proper isolated score seems unlikely, and Elliot Goldenthal scores don't really get "Deluxe"/expanded treatment often (the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are "Batman Forever" and "Pet Semetary").

many grateful thanks for the link GlassButterflies!!!