F*ck yea. This score is awesome. The duo of BALLETTO and THE OVATION alone are worth the price. What a theme! Possibly my very favorite Conti melody, it's just gorgeous. Delerue would be proud to call it his own!
I LOVE "symphonic Conti" - This, NORTH AND SOUTH, THE FORMULA, F.I.S.T., MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, his spectacular titles themes from DYNASTY and FALCON CREST... This guy really knows what he's doing in front of a symphony orchestra. Wonderful music!
I want to thank you,zooba. I am a soundtrack collector and for years I have avoided this CD coupled with FIST. I never saw the movies. I ordered it at Amazon a few days ago and I am playing it now. What a wonderful treat. Both scores are superb. Thanks again for your post. The man who gave us ROCKY and THE RIGHT STUFF did it again.
Hey Zooba, I'm late to the party, very late. Can clearly recall the review in New York Magazine (?) back there in '78 and the talk of Sorvino playing Jimmy Breslin and all. And if you grew up in the area you knew Jimmy Breslin. So there I am the other night FINALLY seeing it 44 freakin' years later courtesy of m'spanking new DVD and now I love Slow Dancing In The Big City too!
It is clear John G. Avildsen had decided I'm gonna make a little labor of love that probably ain't gonna make much but what the hell, I won the Big O for Rocky and made a pot of dough and I can do whatever I want. Good! The opening scenes established the "Lou Friedlander"/Breslin connection perfectly, just perfectly, and Sorvino's performance was infectious. In fact, I sat there saying to myself this looks so familiar. What is it--aha, he's channeling Marty. That's it. And it works!
Mr. Conti knocked it out of the park with the ballet. And what a treat to see him playing (literally & figuratively) the rehearsal pianist. That's another thing that set me off into another world: He was like 36 here...I meet him for an extended conversation when he was like 60...and now I see him at like 80 in the Bonus interview. Talk about full circle. Wow.
The stirrings of film music fandom and then the joys of arriving at this place, ya know?
and the talk of Sorvino playing Jimmy Breslin and all. And if you grew up in the area you knew Jimmy Breslin. So there I am the other night FINALLY seeing it 44 freakin' years later courtesy of m'spanking new DVD and now I love Slow Dancing In The Big City too! 