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Posted: |
Jul 6, 2009 - 1:40 PM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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This William Wyler classic(?) from 1966 is actually a film I HAD seen before, but so many years ago that I had forgotten much of it.
It's an A-list picture, of course, and works quite well as a romantic comedy even though it's pretty run-of-the-mill as far as "heist movies" go. Everyone's "charming", including the guards at the museum, and it radiates a sense of suave class throughout.
However, I do think it drags on for a bit too long after the heist itself; when the air has gone out of the "narrative balloon", so to speak.
Williams' music is a breezy listen, except the music for the "prowling" scene (O'Toole's break-in in the Hepburn mansion), which is a brief outburst of dissonance. It either mickey-mouses the moves of the protagonists or provides musical setpieces for the comic setpieces themselves (the unlocking of the closet, the madness that ensues when the theft of the Venus is discovered).
I loved how his expansive love theme almost "opened the space" of the claustrophobic closet hiding our two lovebirds.
The Intrada CD filled an important hole in Williams' discography (coupled with BACHELOR FLAT, also important for fans like myself!), and I am thankful that it includes the superior LP arrangement in addition to the full score.
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I had the Japenese LP of 'How' many moons ago and loved the clips hey used in the BBC's John Williams docco shown during the opening week of 'Empire Strikes Back' in 1980. It's great the album and original tracks both included...young Johnny Williams at his best. Yep i'm loving this cd!
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its a must for WILLIAM'S fans.
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The sequel doesn't quite live up to the original.
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I missed the Intrada release. Is there much music missing from the album presentation?
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I can only add that if you like 60's Henry Mancini albums, you will like the Intrada album as well. It has a ton of melodies and is just the right length.
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The original album is a re-recording. In fact, it's the first feature project for Williams for which he got to do his own soundtrack album.
For the Blu-Ray music track I revisited the transfers and did what I could with the material. Everything from the score is there with the exception of one small cue and one source cue that come from the M&E, and two other cues in which I had to subtly incorporate the M&E because the main "A" stem of the music was completely gone. I think it is all now quite listenable and fine for an isolated music track, but the deterioration of some of the tape is such that it is not quite good enough to revisit on CD as fully as it is presented on the Blu-ray.
Mike M.
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The original album is a re-recording. In fact, it's the first feature project for Williams for which he got to do his own soundtrack album.
Mike M.
Before, there was also the Checkmate album (1960) (also a re-recording), but it was a TV series soundtrack... Then in 1963, there was an album for Diamond Head. Probably a re-recording too, I frankly ignore it.
So the sound is not good enough for a new CD release? Okay... we'll try to find the old 2008 Intrada Special Collection CD instead!
The music sounds better on the Blu-Ray, but beyond the cues included on the Intrada release are some that might not be good enough for a future reissue even though they are listenable as part of the isolated music track. Make sense?
The album for Diamond Head was motivated by the song and James Darren's Colpix contract. How to Steal a Million is the first time Williams was offered the chance to produce his own album based entirely on his own music. It was at that point that Lionel Newman recommended Leslie Bricusse (who was at Fox working on Doctor Dolittle) to write lyrics for the main theme.
Mike M.
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D.P.
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All I know is that he says that Million is "the first time I was given the opportunity to create a soundtrack album." And that is absolutely true.
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What I said was "he got to do his own" and then later related his statement "first time I was given the opportunity to create." That fact remains true even though Diamond Head was an album for a feature that contained his music, albeit driven by a song he did not compose. And he does remember that.
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