Next week Intrada releases two scores from very different eras of filmmaking. THE YOUNG SAVAGES, a 1961 adpatation of Evan Hunter's novel A Matter of Conviction, was the feature directing debut of John Frankenheimer, pitting district attorney Burt Lancaster against muderous juvenile delinquents. The film was also the feature scoring debut of David Amram, who went on to compose The Manchurian Candidate for Frankenheimer as well an unused score for Seven Days in May. Their other new release features Vince DiCola's score for 1986's beloved (by a certain generation) animated feature TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE, featuring Orson Welles as the voice of Unicron.

Music Box has announced two new CDs due this month - Angelo Badalamenti's score for the 1987 noir TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE, adapted by director Norman Mailer from his own novel, starring Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rosselini, Wings Hauser, Lawrence Tierney, Penn Jillette and Frances Fisher, featuring 10 minutes of music not included on the original Varese Sarabande LP; and a CD featuring three scores by Michel Korb -- AFRIKAOILI, TRAVAIL D'ARABE and LES 4 SAISONS DESPIGOULE.

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Angelique - Nathaniel Mechaly - Sony (import)
Belle et Sebastian - Armand Amar - Gaumont
Death Played the Flute - Daniele Patucchi - GDM
The Family [Malavita] - Evgueni Galerpine, Sacha Galperine - Europa
John Wayne at Fox - The Westerns - Elmer Bernstein, Hugo Montenegro, Lionel Newman - Kritzerland
Kill Your Darlings - Nico Muhly - Sony (import)
The Longest Day - Maurice Jarre - Milan (import)
Sabrina/We're No Angels - Frederick Hollander - Kritzerland
Thief - Tangerine Dream - Perseverance

IN THEATERS TODAY

Open Grave - Juan Navazo
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones - no score

COMING SOON

January 7
The Abyss: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Brass Target - Laurence Rosenthal - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Runaway: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Star Trek Nemesis: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Suspect - Michael Kamen - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Transformers: The Movie - Vince DiCola - Intrada Special Collection
Vibes - James Horner - Varese Sarabande CD Club
The Young Savages - David Amram - Intrada Special Collection
January 14
Afrikaioli/Travail D'arabe/Les 4 Saisons Despigoule - Michel Korb - Music Box
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - Patrick Doyle - Varese Sarabande
Labor Day - Rolfe Kent - Warner Bros.
Oldboy - Roque Banos - Varese Sarabande
Ride Along - Christopher Lennertz - Varese Sarabande
Tough Guys Don't Dance - Angelo Badalamenti - Music Box
January 21
I, Frankenstein - Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil - Lakeshore
Person of Interest: Season Two - Ramin Djawadi - Varese Sarabande
January 28
Big Bad Wolves - Frank Ilfman - MovieScore Media/Kronos
El Tiempo Entre Costuras - Cesar Bonito - MovieScore Media/Kronos
February 4
The Monuments Men - Alexandre Desplat - Sony
RoboCop - Pedro Bronfman - Sony
February 11
The Lego Movie - Mark Mothersbaugh - Watertower
A Winter's Tale - Hans Zimmer, Rupert Gregson-Williams - Watertower
Date Unknown
Anton - Daniel Tjernberg, Mikael Tjernberg - Intermezzo
The Best of Silent Hill - Akira Yamaoka - Perseverance
The Buccaneer - Elmer Bernstein - Kritzerland
A Christmas Carol/A Child Is Born - Bernard Herrmann - Kritzerland
Colpo Di Mano - Stelvio Cipriani - GDM
Die Spionin - Nic Raine - MovieScore Media/Kronos
The Doll Squad - Nicholas Carras - Monstrous Movie Music
Firefly: Music for Solo Piano - Greg Edmonson - Buysoundtrax
House of Forbidden Secrets - Fabio Frizzi - Beat
Ladyhawke - Andrew Powell - La-La Land
Le Ruffian - Ennio Morricone - Beat
Legends of Chima - Anthony Lledo - MovieScore Media/Kronos
Libera, Amore Mio! - Ennio Morricone - GDM
Music on Hold - Guillermo Guareschi - Howlin' Wolf
Omaggio a Donaggio - Pino Donaggio - MovieScore Media/Kronos
Patrick - Pino Donaggio - Quartet
Sherlock: Series Three - David Arnold, Michael Price - Silva
Silent Night - Kevin Riepl - Howlin' Wolf
Three Days (of Hamlet) - Jonathan Beard - Buysoundtrax

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

January 3 - George Martin born (1926)
January 3 - Van Dyke Parks born (1941)
January 3 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for Ada (1961)
January 3 - Bernhard Kaun died (1980)
January 4 - Lionel Newman born (1916)
January 4 - Joe Renzetti born (1941)
January 4 - Michael Hoenig born (1952)
January 4 - Franz Waxman begins recording his score to Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)  
January 4 - John Green begins recording his score to Raintree County (1957)
January 4 - Laurence Rosenthal begins recording his score for A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
January 5 - Leighton Lucas born (1903)
January 5 - Chris Stein born (1950)
January 6 - Mario Nascimbene died (2002)
January 7 - Leigh Harline begins recording his score for The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
January 7 - Jerry Goldsmith records the pilot score to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964)
January 8 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score to On Dangerous Ground (1951)
January 8 - Ron Goodwin died (2003)
January 9 - Robert F. Brunner born (1938)
January 9 - Jimmy Page born (1944)
January 9 - Anton Karas died (1985)
January 9 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for The Delta Force (1986)
January 9 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Vanishing (1993)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

AMERICAN HUSTLE - Danny Elfman

"Notably, this is Russell’s first foray into period filmmaking (not counting his First Gulf War drama 'Three Kings'), and he and his collaborators -- particularly production designer Judy Becker, costume designer Michael Wilkinson, composer Danny Elfman and above all music supervisor Susan Jacobs -- have hurled themselves into their mid-’70s New Jersey milieu with a palpable delight in the garish excesses of the era."

Justin Chang, Variety

"A key element is the energizing use of music, perfectly attuned to every turn the action takes. Danny Elfman’s cool connective score follows the lead of the Duke Ellington number 'Jeep’s Blues,' smoothly integrated into a killer collection of cocktail tunes, brassy jazz and primo ‘70s nuggets that includes tracks from Chicago, America, Jeff Lynne, Steely Dan, Donna Summer, Elton John, David Bowie and the Bee Gees. Oh, and extra points for using the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes original of 'Don’t Leave Me This Way,' instead of the heard-to-death Thelma Houston redo.

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

HER - Arcade Fire

"Not that anyone could accuse 'Her' of faking it. The film oozes with feeling, its empathy for lonely, damaged romantics expressed through the intimacy of its gorgeous compositions and the buzzing ache of its Arcade Fire soundtrack. (Forget 'Reflektor' -- this is the band’s true triumph of 2013.)"

A.A. Dowd, The Onion AV Club

"Lensed with comforting, warm pastels, director of cinematography Hoyte van Hoytema ('The Fighter,' 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy') has a keen eye for the movie’s soft emotional temperature. His camera, while intimate, is never disruptive. The film’s music -- a gorgeous, wistful mix of melancholia and hopefulness -- is bisected: the score is composed by the Arcade Fire and fellow AF collaborator Owen Pallet also contributed, but to all of the musicians’ credit, the various dreamy timbres are very much like a unified holistic piece (and it’s surely one you’ll be setting to repeat on your iPod in the months to come)."

Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist 

"Jonze’s conception of the near future -- no date is ever given, but I would say we’re somewhere around 2040 -- doesn’t strive for full scientific or cultural coherence, but it’s witty, lovely and a teensy bit frightening, like a dystopia that doesn’t recognize itself as such. This is a quiet, actorly film that never tries to impress you with its hipness, but from a technical point of view it’s also state-of-the-art. From the strange and dreadful future fashions designed by Casey Storm to the slightly disorienting color scheme to the melancholy score by Arcade Fire to Hoyte Van Hoytema’s gorgeous cinematography, 'Her' is an immersive universe that’s sometimes faintly satirical but more often lovelorn and transcendent."

Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com

"It’s possible I let myself be seduced too much by the surfaces of 'Her,' which is, arguably, something of a cinematic luxury product, with drifty ambient music by Karen O, The Breeders, and Arcade Fire, gorgeous ochre-toned cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema, and clever costume design by Casey Storm (in the near future, Hollywood-waisted tweed trousers will apparently come roaring back into style; diet accordingly)."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

"In 'Her,' Jonze transforms his music-video aesthetic into something magically personal. The montages -- silent, flickering inserts of Theodore and his ex-wife recollected in tranquility -- are sublime. The soundtrack (songs by Karen O, Arcade Fire, The Breeders, and others) is unusually sensitive to the movement of the psyche. At one point, Samantha composes a piece of music to create a new way of capturing -- in lieu of a photo -- a wonderful afternoon. She’s doing what Jonze has been trying to do all his life -- and what he does, in 'Her.'"

David Edelstein, New York 

"The director's visual panache, live-wire technical skills and beguilingly offbeat musical instincts work overtime to paper over what can only be conveyed in extended conversation. (Not collaborating with cinematographer Lance Accordfor the first time, Jonze benefits from great work behind the camera by Hoyte van Hoytema, while the score by Arcade Fire casts a spell of its own.) The feeling at the end is that of a provocative if fragile concept extended somewhat beyond its natural breaking point."

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG - Howard Shore

"'The Hobbit' comes to theaters at a time when terrorism still exists, but this new trilogy thus far doesn't feel as urgent or topical. It's mostly an escapist fantasy that Jackson effortlessly enlivens with inventive set pieces and his faultless sense of spectacle. (And let's not forget Howard Shore's great scores, which help give the movies such towering grandeur.)"

Tim Grierson, Deadspin

"As ever, in terms of logistical mastery and marshaling of resources in service of a grandly involving bigscreen entertainment, one couldn’t ask for a better ringmaster (so to speak) than Jackson. There’s an unmistakable pleasure in being transported back to his Middle-earth, in being cushioned by the lush strains of Howard Shore’s score and dazzled by the elaborately detailed sets created by production designer Dan Hennah and his team, seamlessly integrating Weta’s topnotch visual effects."

Justin Chang, Variety

HOURS - Benjamin Wallfisch

"[Paul] Walker gracefully balances the drama on his shoulders. His character’s situation seems all the more dire as Heisserer shrewdly amps up the tension with Benjamin Wallfisch’s propulsive musical score, Jaron Presant’s nimble lensing (with an Arri Alexa Plus digital camera) and Sam Bauer’s sharp editing."

Joe Leydon, Variety

THE LAST DAYS ON MARS - Max Richter

"There are moments at the start of Ruairi Robinson’s feature-length directorial debut that seem promising, if by the numbers. There is spectacular footage of dust storms and an eerie strings-heavy soundtrack that creates an effective atmosphere of doom. 'The Last Days on Mars' was never going to be 'Gravity,' but it looked like it could aspire to be something in the vein of this year’s similarly themed and highly enjoyable found footage flick 'Europa Report.'”

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

“What keeps ‘The Last Days on Mars’ from completely imploding is the accomplished craft. The composer is no less a talent than Max Richter, whose ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ provided Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ with its haunting central melody. (Richter’s other screen credits include ‘Waltz with Bashir,’ ‘Lore,’ ‘Wadjda,’ and ‘The Congress.’) The Mars landscapes -- captured in real life in the deserts of Jordan-- are handsomely treated by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who seems in the midst of a breakthrough (he shot ‘Philomena, ‘for instance) after years of hard, strong work for director Andrea Arnold (‘Red Road,’ ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘Wuthering Heights’). Production designer Jon Henson, meanwhile, helps lay the groundwork for a sci-fi film that, on a relatively meager budget, has no problems persuading us of its surface authenticity.”

Danny King, Paste Magazine

"Robinson is expert at creating that pressure. Working with editor Peter Lambert and composer Max Richter, he ratchets up tension as the dwindling crew members play cat and mouse games with those zombies, trying desperately to stay one step ahead of the undead."

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

"Max Richter’s fine score lends the production a touch of class and grandeur."

Justin Chang, Variety

“The establishing scenes are terrific, with cinematographer Robbie Ryan prowling the barren landscape in hazy light, and the visual effects team whipping up truly menacing dust storms accompanied by Max Richter’s score, by turns melodic, moody and urgent. There’s also a potent sense of the claustrophobia of people stationed in a remote outpost, tinged with notes of dread. Robinson is not shy about drawing inspiration from the cream of the genre, including '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Alien,' though comparison with Duncan Jones’ more recent 'Moon' will be inevitable.”

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

LONE SURVIVOR - Explosions in the Sky, Steve Jablonsky

"There’s a touch of the mythic to the film’s opening passage, in which Mark Wahlberg -- cast here as Luttrell -- waxes poetic about the storm that exists inside warriors, his voice-over musings set to a triumphantly rousing score by Explosions In The Sky."

A.A. Dowd, The Onion AV Club

"Not that the surface level characters are necessarily an issue. Berg needs only relatable eyes through which to immerse us into the later battle. Worryingly, he does this quickly, and with a maximum of broad clichés and shortcuts: Foster gazes at a picture of his wife as he IMs her on his computer, Lt. Commander Kristensen (Eric Bana) makes fun of the new recruit (Alexander Ludwig), while Hirsch jokingly describes to Wahlberg and Kitsch his significant other’s ideas for interior decorating. However accurate the background detail, the approach comes off as Mad Libs motivation, and alongside the constantly booming score by Explosions In The Sky and Steve Jablonsky, subtlety sneaks out the door early on."

Charlie Schmidlin, The Playlist

"Berg is no stranger to enclaves of American masculinity ('Friday Night Lights') or infernos in the Middle East ('The Kingdom'), but 'Lone Survivor''s life-in-the-military prologue doesn’t inspire much confidence: The character delineation is weak, the observations pedestrian, the style marred by recruitment-video aesthetics, all grinding voiceover and overactive music (by the never-subtle Steve Jablonsky and the instrumental rock band Explosions in the Sky). Compared with the intimacy and insight of 'Restrepo,' Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s 2010 documentary about Army troops in Afghanistan, the blend of camaraderie and competitiveness here comes off as second-rate macho bluster. But the film begins to find its footing as it lays out the strategic groundwork for Operation Red Wings, a mission targeting Taliban commander Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami) and his fighters in the mountains of Kunar, where Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz and Axelson are sent in as a surveillance-and-reconnaissance team."

Justin Chang, Variety

"Berg's work here is at the top of his range, as previously displayed in 'Friday Night Lights' and his other Middle East-set film, 'The Kingdom,' and a far cry from his cringe-worthy most recent outing, 'Battleship,' even though his key collaborators -- cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler, editor Colby Parker Jr. and composer Steve Jablonsky -- carry over from that job. The film is rugged, skilled, relentless, determined, narrow-minded and focused, everything that a soldier must be when his life is on the line."

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

TIM’S VERMEER - Conrad Pope

"One can’t help but laugh as Jillette supplies a running commentary on his friend’s lunatic scheme, for which (if Penn is to be believed) he even learned to read Dutch. Getting a perfectly calculated musical assist from master orchestrator Conrad Pope, whose score conveys the sheer intensity of Jenison’s focus, Teller observes the dedicated inventor grinding his own lenses, mixing period-appropriate oil paints and sitting down for months on end to create what, for all intents and purposes, amounts to a hand-painted color photograph of the scene."

Scott Foundas, Variety

TWICE BORN - Eduardo Cruz

“Castellitto's script -- which he co-wrote with his wife, Margaret Mazzantini, based on her novel -- jumps back and forth between Gemma's exploration of the city with her son and her memories of her exciting and dangerous past. Regardless of the time period, the score is jarringly ill-suited; perky techno music plays while Gemma thinks she's miscarrying, for example. Then at some point, the memories seem to come from an omniscient source—because the big reveal as to her son's true paternity comes as a shock to Gemma herself."

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

"Cruz and Hirsch manage to create chemistry at points, working hard against affected dialogue. Yet 'Twice Born''s central plot -- Gemma and Diego's attempts to have a child -- seems markedly small against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. Unfortunately, without any insight into or significant narrative consideration paid to the siege, the war's horror only serves as an excuse for overwrought music, tracking shots through rubble, and sensational slow-motion sequences."

Zachary Wigon, Village Voice

"With the exception of the score, which is as fragmented as the narrative, tech package is slick."

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety

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.

January 3
BLUE VELVET (Angelo Badalamenti) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE BLUES BROTHERS (Richard Hazard, Ira Newborn; "God Music" by Elmer Bernstein) [Nuart]
LET US LIVE (Karol Rathaus), EAST OF FIFTH AVENUE [UCLA]
RAGING BULL, ROCKY (Bill Conti) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (Leonard Rosenman) [Cinematheque: Aero]

January 4
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Alan Silvestri), BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (Alan Silvestri), BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III (Alan Silvestri) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
8 1/2 (Nino Rota) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE NIGHT MAYOR, WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND [UCLA]

January 5
THE GODFATHER PART II (Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]

January 6
THE FINAL EDITION, ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE [UCLA]

January 7
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (Dimitri Tiomkin) [LACMA]
SWEET CHARITY (Cy Coleman) [New Beverly]

January 8
THE PATENT LEATHER KID [Silent Movie Theater]
SWEET CHARITY (Cy Coleman) [New Beverly]

January 9
NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (Joe Hisaishi), CASTLE IN THE SKY (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
NIGHTMARE ALLEY (Cyril Mockridge) [Silent Movie Theater]
SIDEWALK STORIES (Marc Marder) [LACMA]

January 10
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Carter Burwell), THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (Dick Hyman) [New Beverly]
FRITZ THE CAT (Ed Bogas, Ray Shanklin), HEAVY TRAFFIC (Ed Bogas, Ray Shanklin) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE HAMMER (John Swihart, Matt Mariano) [Silent Movie Theater]
HOUSE (Asei Kobayashi, Mikki Yoshino) [Nuart]
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND (Raul Lavista), THE SKELETON OF MRS. MORALES (Raul Lavista) [UCLA]

January 11
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Carter Burwell), THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (Dick Hyman) [New Beverly]
CINEMA PARADISO (Ennio Morricone) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
FRENCHMAN'S CREEK (Victor Young), ADVENTURES OF CASANOVA (Hugo Friedhofer) [UCLA]

January 12
THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (W. Franke Harling) [UCLA]
HEAVY METAL (Elmer Bernstein), AMERICAN POP (Lee Holdridge) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
INTOLERANCE [Cinematheque: Aero]
THIS ISLAND EARTH, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE [New Beverly]