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Great great news!!!
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NOW...if we can just get the complete soundtrack on CD....
That may be a bit much to ask for. I'd settle for just getting the LP on CD.
You can't get either the original soundtrack or the part rerecording on C.D.. Legal problems.
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A wonderful musical with some fine songs and a great score. Never got the credit it deserve, probably due to the time it was release, an era when many musicals were critically torned apart.
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A wonderful musical with some fine songs and a great score. Never got the credit it deserve, probably due to the time it was release, an era when many musicals were critically torned apart.
This was when the film musical was in a decline.
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I think I would put Scrooge as one of my favorite films, so darn good, the music is just the best.
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Posted: |
Aug 9, 2011 - 9:49 PM
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By: |
manderley
(Member)
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With one of my friends, we've attempted to transfer the LP to CD-R at least three times. They're all awful because the recording on the LP is awful. The Finney talk songs sound like muddy mush and the whole thing is very difficult to listen to. The Kenneth More material ain't so good either! 
If a CD is ever made, I suspect they will have to find the original elements, hopefully as separate units, and try to fix some of the vocals.
I rarely complain about the sound quality of old material, but this one has me stumped as to why it's so poor. I can't imagine what happened with the LP master.
It will be interesting to hear exactly what they have done with the stereo soundtrack of the film on the Blu-Ray, and, in fact, it may work better to pull a CD off that than what exists elsewhere as the LP record master.
But, I also agree. This musical version of SCROOGE is right up there with the best of them.
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Posted: |
Aug 9, 2011 - 10:14 PM
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By: |
Eric Paddon
(Member)
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I have to admit, as much as I enjoyed the score and the film as a child, the film as a whole doesn't hold up well for me each Christmas compared to superior film versions of the story (Sim, Scott). For one thing, there's a curious lack of regard for the true meaning of Christmas in this telling in which seemingly the only lesson Scrooge needed to learn was to get drunk, party and have a good time. Not getting a chance to hear Kenneth More show the children Ignorance and Want and depart with a mocking echo of Scrooge's, "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" was a crime of the script, and the Hell sequence in addition to being ridiculous, totally distorts the character of Marley completely, turning him from the one true friend Scrooge had ever known into a silly sadistic fop.
Despite these problems I have come to see in the film over the years, I still find a place for it each year because I am nostalgic for the score and for what viewing the film on TV meant as a child (in which the Hell sequence I will note was *always* edited out), and also because I do take satisfaction that the material has at least been done better in other tellings as well.
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I love this movie and will definitely pick this up.
Let's hope problems can be overcome and we see a CD soon.
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A recent Christmas gift I got early!! The Blu-ray signed by the composer, the GREAT Leslie Bricusse.
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In the last week and a half, I've watch:
Seymour Hicks - SCROOGE 1935 - Excellent Scrooge, and a slightly different approach (DVD)
Alistair Sim - SCROOGE 1951 - Another excellent Scrooge, and a fairly text-book presentation of the tale. (Blu)
Mr. Magoo - MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL 1962 - Great Broadway-style approach to the story, and another good Scrooge. One of the very best versions. (Blu)
Albert Finney - SCROOGE 1970 - Another musical, with superb Ian Fraser arrangements that make the songs sound better than they actually are. Longer than it needs to be, and Finney is completely mediocre as Scrooge. "A Christmas Carol", which plays over the credits remains beautiful, and "Thank You Very Much" remains, beyond catchy! (Blu)
George C. Scott - A CHRISTMAS CAROL 1984 - The gold-standard presentation of the material. It is perfectly cast. Flawless. (Blu)
Kelsey Grammer - A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MUSICAL 2004 - All too bright, but Grammer and most of the cast is fine, and it's my favorite score of the musical versions. Although the staging of the musical numbers is far below that of 1970's SCROOGE. (DVD)
Jim Carrey - DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL 2009 - Despicable motion-capture, and annoying Jim Carrey somehow work just fine. Carrey in multiple roles, impresses. There is really only one scene and one omission that do not work. Otherwise, a very good edition. (Blu)
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Posted: |
Dec 2, 2011 - 11:00 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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It will be interesting to hear exactly what they have done with the stereo soundtrack of the film on the Blu-Ray, and, in fact, it may work better to pull a CD off that than what exists elsewhere as the LP record master.
Based on the following reviews of the sound quality on the Blu-ray, it would seem that the music has benefited greatly by the new transfer.:
Home Theater Forum:
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix does a glorious job with the musical portions of the program. Individual instrumentation in the orchestrations can be easily heard in various channels, and the split channel vocals give the soundstage an impressively broad range. . . . The LFE channel offers nice bass support for the music, and those thunderous rumbles in the hell sequence also offer some nice opportunities for your subwoofer.
Blu-ray.com
Scrooge, much like another late-sixties British film musical, Oliver!, always suffered from a strangely "cramped" sounding audio mix, and the good news is that somewhat muffled sound is completely gone from this glorious new lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Bricusse utilizes a large amount of antiphonal singing throughout his score to Scrooge, and the separation of soloists and even choirs who are singing "against" each other is very artfully rendered on the 5.1 track. Best of all are Ian Fraser's beautiful orchestrations, which evoke Christmas with lots of colorful effects like glockenspiels and bells. Dynamic range is also very, very good, capturing everything from Scrooge's remorseful whispers as he begins to regret his life decisions to the thundering sounds of church chimes which nearly deafen the unbelieving Scrooge when Marley is about to make his entrance. The surround channels are very well utilized for the score, and occasionally for other effects as well (listen to the nice panning effect when the apparition of the funeral cortege occurs early in the film). Dialogue is crisp and clear, and the entire mix is extremely well prioritized.
High-Def Digest
'Scrooge' receives a welcome upgrade to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and the enhanced clarity and fidelity render the previous Dolby Digital 5.1 track that graces the 2003 DVD obsolete. As soon as the opening credits begin to roll, there's noticeable stereo separation across the front channels that isolates various vocal parts in the song 'A Christmas Carol,' and the overall brightness of tone and excellent dynamic range immediately arrest the senses. High ends resist distortion and bass tones exude just the right amount of weight to complement the action without intruding upon it. . . .
Of course, Leslie Bricusse's marvelous score is the meat and potatoes of this track, and whenever voices are raised or orchestrations swell, the resultant audio is literally music to our ears. The songs benefit from a slight volume boost that punches up fidelity, but whether the tune is a lilting solo or full-scale ensemble piece, the sound is always perfectly modulated so we can hear vocal nuances and distinguish the abundant counter melodies and harmonies that are such a major part of the music.
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Oh yes, it sounds beautiful. Even more annoying that the Overture is missing!
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