I recently re-watched my Blu-ray of WINGS (1927). It features a new recording of the original 1927 score composed/compiled by J.S. Zamecnik. Right from the start, I was put off by the rather rinky-dink sound of the music. It sounded more like a parody of silent film music than the kind of scores one can hear in such films as DON JUAN (1926), SUNRISE (1927) or METROPOLIS (1927). I looked up J. S. Zamecnik on YouTube and found a ton of videos posted by someone who goes by the name "EMG Colonel." He has a large collection of 78 RPM discs that could be used to accompany silent films, including many by Zamecnik. Here are just a couple of samples:
Even though he is playing these records on an acoustic gramophone, you can still hear the fullness of the orchestrations. Now, if you have the Blu-ray or the La La Land CD, listen to the WINGS music as reconstructed/orchestrated by Dominik Hauser, and notice how it really misses the mark.
