I stumbled on this film tonight on Showtime. I probably missed the first half hour or more but I got drawn into it none the less. The score was a standout. Fortunately the credits were at the end so I could discover that Elmer Bernstein was the composer. I know the film is at least five years old and perhaps I should have known, but it was pleasant news to me.
Even better news was when I checked amazon.com - there is a marketplace seller who has copies available for $1.75!
I agree - this is a great score. It's sad in a way that Bernstein had to turn down LA Confidential because he was already doing this (because of the relative profiles and successes of the films) but it's dynamite stuff.
I think Hoodlum will always remain the best deal I'll ever get on a soundtrack. When I bought it off Amazon a few years back, I got a copy for one cent. It was definitely worth every penny.
I stumbled on this film tonight on Showtime. I probably missed the first half hour or more but I got drawn into it none the less. The score was a standout. Fortunately the credits were at the end so I could discover that Elmer Bernstein was the composer. I know the film is at least five years old and perhaps I should have known, but it was pleasant news to me.
Even better news was when I checked amazon.com - there is a marketplace seller who has copies available for $1.75!
I just picked it up last week from them. Great score at a bargain!
This is the only thread I can find on here about this score. Elmer Bernstein is one of my favorite composers, but I somehow haven't heard a note of "Hoodlum" until today. How on Earth is this score never discussed? It's a magnificent, late masterwork.
Jazzy, sensitive, soaring, quirky, and just beautiful! Classic Bernstein. God how I miss him.
Yes! A wonderful score. The Prologue cue in particular is a stunner. This album came out when I was starting to really get into collecting soundtracks and I knew I'd made a good decision picking it up when the full orchestra first comes sweeping in during that opening cue. It definitely put Elmer Bernstein up there on my list of composers to look into and remains near and dear to me. Love it!
It is a very good score, and a worthy operatic contribution to the gangster genre. Bernstein had a very fruitful collaboration with Bill Duke, whom he also worked for on The Cemetery Club and A Rage In Harlem.
It is a very good score, and a worthy operatic contribution to the gangster genre. Bernstein had a very fruitful collaboration with Bill Duke, whom he also worked for on The Cemetery Club and A Rage In Harlem.
It seems like these collaborations with Bill Duke are among the least-discussed of late Bernstein. What do you think of The Cemetery Club and A Rage In Harlem?
Bernstein's 90s scores don't get the attention they deserve (aside from perhaps Age of Innocence). Another underrated one besides Hoodlum is Twilight (the modern noir, not the vampire movie).
Bernstein's 90s scores don't get the attention they deserve (aside from perhaps Age of Innocence). Another underrated one besides Hoodlum is Twilight (the modern noir, not the vampire movie).
Yavar
Totally agree on HOODLUM and TWILIGHT! I'd love to see a legitimate release of the full Bernstein score for 1995's DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (much of which was dropped from the film in favor of period songs, it seems) as well. I have an unmentionable of this which includes the orchestral cues, and they are quite striking, bluesy and steamy and tensely dramatic, among his best ever, imo.
I've seen "Devil in a Blue Dress" and that has a very nice score - particularly the final scene - but yes, there wasn't too much of it so I'm not surprised to learn that much of Bernstein's work was dropped. I'd love to hear the entire score.
Here's the finale music from "Devil in a Blue Dress"
In addition to "The Age of Innocence," I see "The Grifters," "Frankie Starlight," and "The Good Son" discussed among Bernstein fans, as well as his rejected "The Scarlet Letter," but it seems like almost everything else from this decade is waiting to be rediscovered. Looking over the list of movies he scored in the '90s, a lot of them didn't really find their audience, and most of them are little known today. I look forward to catching up with many of these scores, though a few are unreleased (including five more known rejected scores).
