Quartet has announced two new CDs due in the next few weeks -- John Williams' Emmy-winning score for the 1968 TV movie version of HEIDI, starring Jennifer Edwards (daughter of Blake) and Maximilian Schell (not Jason Robards, as I'd originally reported; Robards was in the 1993 version -- thanks to "Judy the Hutt" for the correction), a program which earned infamy when NBC cut off the end of a Raiders-Jets football game to air the movie; and an expanded edition of Ennio Morricone's score for FATTI DI GENTE PERBENE.
Tomorrow night (Saturday, May 11), the Golden State Pops Orchestra is presenting a concert celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Varese Sarabande, with scheduled appearances by John Debney, Cliff Eidelman, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, Mark Isham, Christopher Lennertz, Joel McNeely, Diego Navarro, John Powell, Brian Tyler, Austin Wintory and Hans Zimmer. The concert is currently sold out, but their e-mail address is tickets@gspo.com if you want to inquire about their standby ticket policy.
Intrada plans to release one new Special Collection CD next week.
Groundbreaking stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen died in London on Tuesday, May 7th at the age of 92. Harryhausen was perhaps the only visual effects artist who could truly be called an auteur, as he was unusually involved with the development and production of nearly all of his films, which included many fantasy classics which inspired several generations of filmmakers and fans (including myself -- Harryhausen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Bernard Herrmann, who worked extensively with both filmmakers, were my holy trinity when I was a teenage film obsessive). Harryhausen never won the Visual Effects Oscar, though his first feature, the original Mighty Joe Young, won in that category for Harryhausen's mentor and inspiration, King Kong animator Willis O'Brien, but Harryhausen did win the Academy's 1991 Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his contribution to effects filmmaking. On that year's Oscar ceremony, Tom Hanks remarked that for many, Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made, but for him it's Jason and the Argonauts. Besides his behind-the-camera contributions, Harryhausen had cameos in his friend John Landis' films Spies Like Us (in a scene with Terry Gilliam, cinematographer Robert Paynter and miniature effects master Derek Meddings), Beverly Hills Cop III and Burke and Hare, and made a brief but charming appearance in the remake of Mighty Joe Young alongside the original film's leading lady, Terry Moore. Along with cherished films and unforgettable effects sequences -- including the destruction of Washington D.C. in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, the rampage of the Cyclops from 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the battle with the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts, the roping of an Allosaurus in The Valley of Gwangi, the swordfight with the six-armed Kali statue in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and the stalking of the Medusa of Clash of the Titans -- Harryhausen's films and effects inspired some of the finest and most beloved film music ever written. The following are his features and their composers:
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (Roy Webb)
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (David Buttolph)
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (Mischa Bakaleinikoff, library music)
EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (Mischa Bakaleinikoff, library music)
20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (Mischa Bakaleinikoff, library music)
THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (Bernard Herrmann)
THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER (Bernard Herrmann)
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (Bernard Herrmann)
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (Bernard Herrmann)
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (Laurie Johnson)
ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (Mario Nascimbene)
THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (Jerome Moross)
THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (Miklos Rozsa)
SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (Roy Budd)
CLASH OF THE TITANS (Laurence Rosenthal)
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Bandolero - Jerry Goldsmith - La-La Land
Breakheart Pass - Jerry Goldsmith - Kritzerland
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman - Perseverance
Commando Di Spie - Nico Fidenco - GDM
Fear - Henry Mancini - Quartet
The Fourth War - Bill Conti - Music Box
The Gambler - Jerry Fielding - Quartet
Il Demonio - Piero Piccioni - Beat
Il Marchio Di Kriminal - Piero Umiliani - Beat
Killer Force/The Corrupt Ones - George Garvarentz - Music Box
Robot & Frank - Francis and the Lights - Hallowell House [CD-R]
Scary Movie 5 - James L. Venable - Lakeshore [CD-R]
Sesso Nero - Nico Fidenco - Beat
Slalom - Ennio Morricone - GDM
Varese Sarabande: A 35th Anniversary Celebration - various - Varese Sarabande
What Maisie Knew - Nick Urata - Milan
Willard - Shirley Walker - La-La Land
IN THEATERS TODAY
Aftershock - Manuel Riveiro
And Now a Word from Our Sponsor - Erica Procunier
Assault on Wall Street - Jessica de Rooij
Desperate Acts of Magic - Bruce Kiesling
Erased - Jeff Danna
The Great Gatsby - Craig Armstrong - Song CD on Interscope
He’s Way More Famous Than You - Jeff Beal
No One Lives - Jerome Dillon
Peeples - Aaron Zigman
Sightseers - Jim Williams
Venus and Serena - Wyclef Jean
White Frog - Steve Pranoto
COMING SOON
May 14
Doctor Who: The Krotons - Brian Hodgson - Silva
Himalaya: The Rearing of a Chief - Bruno Coulais - Varese Sarabande
May 21
Before Midnight - Graham Reynolds - Milan
Charmed - J. Peter Robinson - La-La Land
Fatti Di Gente Perbene - Ennio Morricone - Quartet
Heidi - John Williams - Quartet
Love Is All You Need - Johan Soderqvist - MovieScore Media
Rosewood - John Williams - La-La Land
Sexykiller - Fernando Velazquez - MovieScore Media
To the Wonder - Hanan Townshend - Lakeshore
May 28
Copper - Brian Keane - Valley
Epic - Danny Elfman - Sony
Pain & Gain - Steve Jablonsky - Varese Sarabande
Star Trek Into Darkness - Michael Giacchino - Varese Sarabande
June 4
After Earth - James Newton Howard - Sony
June 11
Fringe: Season 5 - Chris Tilton - Varese Sarabande
Hammer of the Gods - Benjamin Wallfisch - MovieScore Media
The Last Exorcism Part II - Michael Wandmacher - ScreamWorks/MovieScore Media
The Last Stand - Mowg - Red River
The Last of Us - Gustavo Santaolalla - Sony
Man of Steel - Hans Zimmer - Watertower
Metsan Tarina - Palo Aalito - MovieScore Media
Stuck in Love - Mike Mogis & Nathaniel Walcott, songs - Varese Sarabande
Warm Bodies - Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders - Red River
June 18
Monsters University - Randy Newman - Disney
June 25
The Lone Ranger - Hans Zimmer - Disney
July 16
Only God Forgives - Cliff Martinez - Milan
Date Unknown
Caprica (the series) - Bear McCreary - La-La Land
I Malamondo - Ennio Morricone - GDM
I, the Jury - Bill Conti - La-La Land
Il Richiamo Del Lupo (The Great Adventure)/Tre Per Una Grande Rapina (Le Mataf) - Stelvio Cipriani - GDM
Into the West - Geoff Zanelli - La-La Land
The Killer Likes Candy (Un Killer Per Sua Maeasta) - Gianni Marchelli - GDM
The World of Suzie Wong - George Duning - Kritzerland
Young Justice - various - La-La Land
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
May 10 - Max Steiner born (1888)
May 10 - Dimitri Tiomkin born (1899)
May 10 - Jay Ferguson born (1947)
May 10 - Isaac Hayes begins recording his score for Shaft (1971)
May 11 - Alexander Courage begins recording his score for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
May 11 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Up the Long Ladder" (1989)
May 12 - Gordon Jenkins born (1910)
May 12 - Burt Bacharach born (1928)
May 12 - Klaus Doldinger born (1936)
May 12 - Humphrey Searle died (1982)
May 13 - David Broekman born (1902)
May 13 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score to Predator (1987)
May 14 - Charles Gross born (1934)
May 14 - Kenneth V. Jones born (1924)
May 14 - Tristram Cary born (1925)
May 14 - Frank Churchill died (1942)
May 14 - David Byrne born (1952)
May 14 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957)
May 15 - Bert Shefter born (1902)
May 15 - John Lanchbery born (1923)
May 15 - Brian Eno born (1948)
May 15 - Mike Oldfield born (1953)
May 15 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
May 15 - Gordon Parks begins recording his score for Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
May 15 - David Munrow died (1976)
May 15 - Billy Goldenberg records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Secret Cinema" (1985)
May 15 - John Green died (1989)
May 15 - Alexander Courage died (2008)
May 16 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score to Hawaii (1966)
May 16 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for Back to the Future (1985)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
IRON MAN 3 - Brian Tyler
"Cinematographer John Toll and production designer Bill Brzeski add class to the generic proceedings, Brian Tyler's ultra-energetic score doesn't grate the way soundtracks for such films often do and the special and visual effects are tops when they count."
Todd McCarthy, Variety
KISS OF THE DAMNED - Steven Hufsteter
"Harking back to the cheesy sex-and-sucking extravaganzas of the 1970s -- only with worse acting and shinier production values -- 'Kiss of the Damned' tries to give the vampire movie something it most definitely does not need: class. To that end, this first feature from Xan Cassavetes (John Cassavetes’s daughter) gathers a stately lakeside mansion, throbbing organ music and costumes that signal moneyed decadence."
Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times
"There’s also a fun soundtrack reminiscent of the cult classic 'Vampyros Lesbos,' and some great Euro-trashy atmosphere."
Farah Smith Nehme, New York Post
"A trashy vampire flick in art-film drag, 'Kiss of the Damned' satisfies on neither level. Drawing on a host of Euro-horror influences including but far from limited to a synth score reminiscent of Dario Argento's Goblin-performed soundtracks, Xan Cassavetes's pastiche follows lonely bloodsucker Djuna (Josephine de la Baume) as she whiles away her existence in an upstate New York mansion watching classic Hollywood flicks."
Andrew Schenker, Village Voice
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED - Johan Soderqvist
"As movies have taught us before (and no doubt will again), a little Mediterranean sunshine and a few plucks of soundtrack mandolin go a long way toward healing heartache."
Ben Kenigsberg, The Onion
"So, it has to be admitted, is a bit more subplot than the script can hold. And [writer-director Susanne] Bier definitely provides further ammunition to her critics by depending on an intrusive score (if you're not going to use Dean Martin's 'That's Amore' ironically at this point, please -- don't use it at all)."
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
"From the earliest glimpses, Bier and cinematographer Morten Soborg swoon over the postcardy splendors of the Amalfi Coast, with its breathtaking views and picturesque citrus groves. They also heat up the colors to overstated but eye-catching extremes. Bier slathers occasionally on-the-nose music choices ('That’s Amore' is heard what seems like 100 times) onto the soundtrack, alongside a score by Johan Soderqvist that ranges from insistently jaunty to pensive. But as calculated as it all is, there’s something seductive about the film’s old-fashioned visual and emotional vibrancy."
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films, at the following L.A. movie theaters: AMPAS, American Cinematheque: Aero, American Cinematheque: Egyptian, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.
May 10
BAD DREAMS (Jay Ferguson) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE FRENCH CONNECTION (Don Ellis), TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (Wang Chung) [Cinematheque: Aero]
GONE WITH THE POPE [New Beverly]
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (Ennio Morricone) [Nuart]
MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE (John DuPrez), THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (Michael Kamen) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
PORTRAIT OF JASON [AMPAS]
THE STORY OF ADELE H (Maurice Jaubert), THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN (Maurice Jaubert) [New Beverly]
May 11
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE STORY OF ADELE H (Maurice Jaubert), THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN (Maurice Jaubert) [New Beverly]
STRICTLY BALLROOM (David Hirschfelder) [New Beverly]
May 12
THE LOVED ONE (John Addison) THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (Johnny Mandel) [New Beverly]
MEMOIRS OF PRISON [UCLA]
PSYCHO (Bernard Herrmann), MOMMIE DEAREST (Henry Mancini) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Richard Rodgers, Irwin Kostal) [Cinematheque: Aero]
WINGED MIGRATION (Bruno Coulais) [UCLA]
May 13
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, THE BOYS IN THE BAND [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE LOVED ONE (John Addison) THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (Johnny Mandel) [New Beverly]
May 14
RED ROCK WEST (William Olvis), KILL ME AGAIN (William Olvis) [New Beverly]
WRITTEN ON THE WIND (Frank Skinner) [LACMA]
May 15
RED ROCK WEST (William Olvis), KILL ME AGAIN (William Olvis) [New Beverly]
WAR PARTY (Chaz Jankel) [Silent Movie Theater]
May 16
BACK TO SCHOOL (Danny Elfman), M*A*S*H (Johnny Mandel) [Cinematheque: Aero]
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (Burt Bacharach) [New Beverly]
VALLEY GIRL [LACMA]
May 17
BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET [LACMA]
DEATH BECOMES HER (Alan Silvestri) [Nuart]
MANSON (Paul Watkins, Brooks Poston) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE OUTSIDERS (Carmine Coppola), RUMBLE FISH (Stewart Copeland) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
PORTRAIT OF JASON [New Beverly]
TANGO & CASH (Angelo Badalamenti) [Silent Movie Theater]
May 18
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Alan Silvestri), BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (Alan Silvestri), BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III (Alan Silvestri) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
IN COLD BLOOD (Quincy Jones), ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (William James Guercio) [Cinematheque: Aero]
MANSON (Paul Watkins, Brooks Poston) [Silent Movie Theater]
PORTRAIT OF JASON [New Beverly]
May 19
ELMER GANTRY (Andre Previn) [UCLA]
MANSON (Paul Watkins, Brooks Poston) [Silent Movie Theater]
PORTRAIT OF JASON [New Beverly]
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Alex North), WHO AM I THIS TIME? (John Cale) [Cinematheque: Aero]
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