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Kritzerland is proud to present a new limited edition world premiere soundtrack release, two scores on two CDs for a one-CD price:
ETHAN
GEORGE GROSZ’S INTERREGNUM
Music Composed and Conducted by Paul Glass
Ethan is a mystery. It’s not only a lost film, it’s a film that most people have never heard of, let alone seen. The 1964 low-budget film, shot in Techniscope and color, stars Robert Sampson as a priest working in a little village in the Philippines. His faith is tested by a Muslim woman, he has a fall from grace, finds himself and his faith again, only to have a tragic end. It had a very brief release and disappeared completely, having only one release in the early days of VHS. It’s certainly not a great film, but it’s an interesting one that deals with interesting subjects and was especially bold for a 1964 film.
The one area in which Ethan soars is its score by composer Paul Glass. Glass composed his first film score in 1957. But his first mainstream film score for a major studio was in 1964 with the Paramount film Lady In a Cage, the same year as his score for Ethan. He had two distinct styles for his film scores – avant-garde (Lady In a Cage) and a more accessible harmonic style (Ethan, and subsequently, Bunny Lake is Missing in 1965). Ethan almost seems like a dry run for the Bunny Lake is Missing score, with which it definitely has things in common. Ethan is a beautiful score, with haunting themes that are developed with wonderful variety throughout its playing time.
As a companion piece, we also include Paul Glass’s score for the short film George Grosz’s Interregnum. Made in 1960, Interregnum was narrated by the legendary Lotte Lenya. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. A portrait of Nazi brutality as told through the images of artist George Grosz, the film is powerful and memorable. Glass’s score for Interregnum falls firmly into his avant-garde style and fits perfectly with the imagery of the film.
Both scores are presented complete and in stereo from Mr. Glass’s personal tapes. We are thrilled to have two more Paul Glass scores on CD. Lady In a Cage and Overlord and Hustle are also available on Kritzerland.
Paul Glass had a completely unique musical voice in film music back then and hearing his work today, his musical voice remains completely unique.
Ethan/Interregnum is limited to 1000 copies only and the two-CD set is priced at $19.98, plus shipping. CDs will ship by the last week of February. However, on average we usually ship two to four weeks ahead of the official ship date. To place an order, see the cover, or hear audio samples, just visit www.kritzerland.com.
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Thank you Bruce, I'm looking forward to this. Particularly Interregnum.
They're both perfect examples of everything this composer does brilliantly. The samples tell all.
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In what sense is "Ethan" a "lost film"?
In the sense that it had one VHS release early on from a tiny label and has otherwise not been available for viewing for a very long time? I'm not sure it's ever even been on TV.
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I'm so glad (and so are others, too, I hope) that Mr. Glass is permitting his personal tapes to be prepared for soundtrack albums!
Both these titles are very welcome to me, and I hope there is further titles yet to come.
Paul Glass did not write a large body of film and TV music, so ANY release of his music contributes to a significant portion of his filmography/discography.
My hopefuls for future albums of Paul Glass include:
"The Abductors" (1957)
"Fear No More" (1961)
"Nightmare In The Sun" (1965)
"To The Devil - A Daughter" (1976)
The 1970s Made-for-TV Movies, such as "Sole Survivor"
and ...
episodic television scores for series like "Night Gallery" and "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense"
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You see what I'm saying about the tiny label VHS release. It is the CHEESIEST thing imaginable and in fact the cover art has NOTHING to do with the film at all - that was done by the label itself, that photo - that person and no one who even looks like that person appears in the actual movie. The film was shot in Technicscope and printed in Technicolor, two things you would never know from this pan-and-scan washed out tape.
The film itself is not uninteresting - the lead actor will probably be recognizable to any TV fan - Robert Sampson. For 1964 the film includes a sex scene with a lot of nudity, which was practically unheard of for 1964, and if the film did end up playing in the US it was certainly without that scene.
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Has "George Grosz' Interregnum" ever gotten a home video release? I know of its score (it was mentioned in Irwin Bazelon's book "Knowing The Score"?).
Not an "official" release - but there is a DVD of it - I got it on amazon.
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