The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Score)
Film score by
ReleasedNovember 25, 2013
StudioAIR Studios, London
GenreFilm score
Length1:14:58
LabelRepublic
ProducerJames Newton Howard
The Hunger Games soundtrack chronology
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

(2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Score)
(2013)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

(2014)
James Newton Howard film score chronology
After Earth
(2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
(2013)
Parkland
(2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Score) is the score album to the 2013 film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. James Newton Howard who scored the predecessor, returned to score Catching Fire in October 2012.[1] The score was released by Republic Records on November 25, 2013, which includes twenty-nine tracks from Howard's score. A cue from the album, "We're a Team" was co-written by members of the British rock band ColdplayGuy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris Martin.[2][3] The band also performed the song "Atlas" which released as the lead single from the soundtrack on September.[4][5]

Reception

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James Christopher Monger of AllMusic praised the score as an "ethereal mix of stoic melodies and bold action cues" that conveyed the film's darker theme, but maintained a "soulful undercurrent" to reflect the protagonist's emotional journey.[6] Filmtracks.com wrote: "Howard improves upon his work in the franchise with this sequel, finally having the time to adequately develop his many themes into better representations of concepts in the film. The issue with this music continues to be muddy attributions of those themes and the composer's seeming inability to really shine with any of them. None of Howard's themes enunciates itself with enough consistency and clarity to truly serve as the franchise's musical identity [...] Some of Howard's own themes, especially the love theme, could still evolve into that dominant identity, but he may never get the opportunity if the productions insist upon having outside influences define the songs or source cues."[7]

Music critic Jonathan Broxton opined that the album is not competent with the predecessor's music, where the action music is "generally excellent" and rises to "exceptional emotional highs" in some occasion, but felt that the score is less than what demanded.[8] James Southall of Movie Wave criticised it as a "huge step down from the first score" with the majority of the album is a "tiresome drone" and hardly left anything from the predecessor's score. He disappointed on Howard failing to "grasp on a fine, distinctive score and extend it into something to give the series' a musical backdrop" and instead sounded it like a "Brand X score from that year".[9] Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles criticised the score as "long, boring, unrenewable" and lacked the highlights of the predecessor.[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by James Newton Howard, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Katniss" 1:42
2."I Had to Do That" 2:22
3."We Have Visitors" 3:01
4."Just Friends" 1:29
5."Mockingjay Graffiti" 1:44
6."The Tour" 5:56
7."Daffodil Waltz" 0:26
8."Waltz in A (Op. 39, No. 15)" 0:43
9."Fireworks" 3:05
10."Horn of Plenty" 0:36
11."Peacekeepers" 5:55
12."Prim" 2:08
13."A Quarter Quell" 2:05
14."Katniss is Chosen" 3:18
15."Introducing the Tributes" 1:29
16."There's Always a Flaw" 1:48
17."Bow and Arrow" 1:07
18."We're a Team"1:52
19."Let's Start" 2:02
20."The Games Begin" 4:43
21."Peeta's Heart Stops" 2:10
22."Treetops" 1:22
23."The Fog" 4:58
24."Monkey Mutts" 4:44
25."Jabberjays" 1:33
26."I Need You" 3:57
27."Broken Wire" 3:53
28."Arena Crumbles" 1:43
29."Good Morning Sweetheart" 3:07
Total length:1:14:58

Credits

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Credits adapted from CD liner notes.[11]

Instruments
Vocals
Orchestra and choir
Management

References

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  1. ^ "James Newton Howard to Return for 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'". Film Music Reporter. October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  2. ^ "Coldplay written "Atlas" and "We're a Team" for The Hunger Games". Coldplaying.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Grow, Kory (October 15, 2013). "Coldplay's 'Hunger Games' Song Honored". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Billboard Staff (August 9, 2013). "Coldplay Spinning 'Atlas' on 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Soundtrack". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  5. ^ McNary, Dave (August 9, 2013). "Coldplay Song On 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Soundtrack". Variety. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Christopher Monger, James. "Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [Original Motion Picture Score]". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "Filmtracks: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (James Newton Howard)". www.filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE – James Newton Howard". MOVIE MUSIC UK. December 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  9. ^ Southall, James (December 15, 2013). "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack review". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Glorieux, Thomas. "James Newton Howard: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". Maintitles.net. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Score), by James Newton Howard". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2023.