The Touch

THE TOUCH tells the story of a Chinese family of martial arts acrobats who are, in secret, the guardians of a holy treasure. Their ingrained acrobatic skills (their unique “touch”) allow only them to access the hidden relic. When a ruthless treasure hunter (Roxburgh) kidnaps a member of the family in order to procure the object, the rest of the family, including the eldest daughter’s American ex-boyfriend (Chaplin), pursues him in order to rescue their sibling and recover the treasure. 

The score for THE TOUCH was recorded in Beijing at Oasis Studios and performed by members of the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Aside from the Chinese soloists, the score was designed for a standard Western symphonic orchestra, enhanced by layered percussion tracks, which were recorded ahead of time in L.A. and to be mixed in later with the orchestral recordings. 

Released in the US by Miramax in 2002, THE TOUCH was far from the success that Yeoh and Pau had hoped for but all parties involved agreed that the score was a masterpiece. The music was issued twice on CD in Hong Kong and once on a 5.1 mix on DVD in China over a decade ago and all previous releases became immediately scarce. 

BUYSOUNDTRAX Records presents THE TOUCH on compact disc again for its first release in the USA. The music has been remastered for much improved sound, along with bonus tracks not available on the previous CD releases. The booklet includes exclusive new liner notes by author Randall Larson, including new insights from Poledouris colleagues Tim Boyle and Eric Colvin, along with the film’s editor, Marshall Harvey on the creation of this unique score, one of the last scores in Basil Poledouris’ filmography. 

1. Legend Of The Touch (2:16)

2. The Monkey King Enthralls (1:44)

3. The Loveable Thief (0:32)

4. The Heart Of Don Huang (1:37)

5. In The Heart Of The Night (2:43)

6. Memories Of Days Gone (3:38)

7. Trouble Under Blue Skies (5:31)

8. To The Rescue (0:51)

9. "Who Will Know?" (1:39)

10. Glimpses Down The Path (2:10)

11. A Light Dimmed (2:29)

12. Farewell King Soul (1:47)

13. Healing Of Hearts (3:20)

14. Thru' The Forest (3:11)

15. Secrets Revealed (4:23)

16. "I'll Never Leave You" (4:48)

17. Destiny Awaits (12:49)

18. I Believe (4:30)

19. Time To Choose 03:28)

20. The Touch (3:56)

vocal by Kelly Chen