The latest two CDs from Intrada feature previously unreleased scores which will be a particular treat for fans of action-packed genre films of the 1970s.

Steven Spielberg first truly began to make a name for himself with the 1971 TV movie DUEL, adapted by the great Richard Matheson from his own short story. Dennis Weaver (in a memorable performance far different from his signature McCloud role) plays a businessman whose drive across the desert becomes a nightmare when a faceless truck driver seems determined to run him off the road. From this simple premise came one of the greatest of all made-for-TV movies and a shining example of the "ABC Movie of the Week," a series which brought us such classics as The Night Stalker and Trilogy of Terror (like Duel, both written by Matheson). Two-time Emmy winner Billy Goldenberg, who had previously worked with Spielberg on the Night Gallery pilot and the classic Name of the Game episode "LA 2017," wrote the unnerving score, much of which was dropped from the final cut and is being heard here for the first time.

The commercial and critical success of Duel led to an entire subgenre of thrillers about people being menaced by vehicles and drivers -- and sometimes vehicles without drivers, like the 1974 ABC Movie of the Week Killdozer. Following the gargantuan success of Jaws, which inspired a whole new flood of monster movies, and The Exorcist, which put demonic horror on the map, this subgenre had a memorable bigscreen entry in THE CAR, with James Brolin (you know -- Josh's dad) as a small town sheriff who finds an unexpected menace in a driverless car of seemingly Satanic origin. The film was directed by Elliot Silverstein (Cat Ballou, A Man Called Horse), and the exciting score was composed by Leonard Rosenman, fresh from his back-to-back Oscars for Barry Lyndon and Bound for Glory (Rosenman had also recently scored the chase-horror film Race with the Devil, suggesting he was in danger of being typecast for demonic car pursuits).

La-La Land has announced three upcoming releases for March. On March 10 they will present a new release of one of Jerry Goldsmith's scariest scores, for director Richard Attenborough's 1978 film version of William Goldman's novel MAGIC, starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Ed Lauter and Burgess Meredith, as well as the first-ever release of the score for director John Irvin's first feature, the gripping 1981 film version of Frederic Forsyth's novel THE DOGS OF WAR. Christopher Walken starred in Dogs as a mercenary whose visit to an African nation quickly goes south, leading to a violent takeover. The score was composed by the eclectic Geoffrey Burgon, whose resume encompassed everything from religious music to the scores for Monty Python's LIfe of Brian and Brideshead Revisited. Burgon had previously worked with Irvin on the acclaimed miniseries version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and they would later reteam for such projects as Turtle Diary and the Patrick Bergin/Uma Thurman version of Robin Hood. On March 24, La-La Land will release a two-disc edition of the 1954 epic THE EGYPTIAN, whose score was a historic collaboration between two of the all-time greats, Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann.

Varese Sarabande will release Hans Zimmer's score for Neill Blomkamp's just-released science-fiction action film CHAPPIE on March 17. They are also expected to release a CD of Tim Jones' music for the long-running spy action-comedy TV series CHUCK on April 7, though it has not yet been announced on their site. Amazon also lists a planned Varese soundtrack for Aaron Sorkin's TV series The Newsroom, but there is no word on which seasons or composers woud be represented on the disc -- Thomas Newman wrote the main theme, with Alex Wurman, Johnny Klimek and Jeff Beal each scoring a season of episodes.

A new label, Dragon's Domain, is presenting A SOUND OF THUNDER as their inaugural soundtrack release. Genre fave Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, Outland, 2010) directed this adaptation (filmed in 2002, released in 2005) of Ray Bradbury's classic short story about the perils of time travel. The eclectic cast included Sir Ben Kingsley, indie stalwart Ed Burns, Catherine McCormack and future Selma star David Oyelowo (he wasn't nominated for Sound of Thunder either), and the score was composed by Nick Glennie-Smith (The Rock, The Man in the Iron Mask).

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

After the Fall - Marc Streitenfeld - Lakeshore
Alles Ist Liebe - Annette Focks - Alhambra
The Car - Leonard Rosenman - Intrada Special Collection
Diario Di Un Maestro - Fiorenzo Carpi - Digitmovies
Duel - Billy Goldenberg - Intrada Special Collection
Geometra Prinetti Selvaggiamente Osvaldo - Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, Vince Tempera - Beat
Justine - Bruno Nicolai - Digitmovies
La Regina Delle Amazzoni - Roberto Nicolosi - Digitmovies
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Thomas Newman - Sony
Testament of Youth - Max Richter - Milan (Import)
Una Storia Damore - Francesco De Masi - Beat
The Wild Eye - Gianni Marchetti - Beat

IN THEATERS TODAY

Avenged - Cesar Bonito
Buzzard - no original score
Chappie - Hans Zimmer - Score CD due March 17 on Varese Sarabande
Deli Man - Lorin Sklamberg
Faults - Heather McIntosh
Hacker's Game - Cyril Morin
Hayride 2 - Fleetwood Covington
An Honest Liar - Joel Goodman
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken - Lucas Vidal
Merchants of Doubt - Mark Adler - Score CD due April 7 on Lakeshore
Road Hard - Andrew Johnson
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Thomas Newman - Score CD on Sony
Straight Outta Tompkins - Robby Benson
That Guy Dick Miller - Jason Brandt
These Final Hours - Cornel Wilczek
Two Men in Town - Eric Neveux
Unfinished Business - Alex Wurman - Score CD due April 7 on Lakeshore
Wild Canaries - Michael Montes

COMING SOON

March 10
Bankstas - Steve London - Phineas Atwood
Chicago Fire: Season One - Atli Orvarsson - Phineas Atwood
Chicago Fire: Season Two - Atli Orvarsson - Phineas Atwood
Cinderella  - Patrick Doyle - Disney
The Dogs of War - Geoffrey Burgon - La-La Land
Magic - Jerry Goldsmith - La-La Land
Reach Me - Tree Adams - Phineas Atwood
Red Army - Christophe Beck, Leo Birenberg - Milan
Regarding Susan Sontag - Laura Karpman, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum - Phineas Atwood
Shrunken Heads - Richard Band - Wizard
Wolf Hall - Debbie Wiseman - Silva (import)
March 17
Chappie - Hans Zimmer - Varese Sarabande
Galavant - Alan Menken - Disney
Jupiter Ascending (U.S. release) - Michael Giacchino - Varese Sarabande
Suite Francaise - Rael Jones - Sony (import) 
Virunga - Patrick Jonsson - Varese Sarabande
March 24
The Egyptian - Alfred Newman, Bernard Herrmann - La-La Land
It Follows - Disasterpeace - Milan
March 31
The Cobbler - John Debney, Nick Urata - Lakeshore
The Face of an Angel - Harry Escott - Silva (import)
Furious 7 - Brian Tyler - Back Lot
April 7
Chuck - Tim Jones - Varese Sarabande
Debug - Timothy Williams - VMI
Desert Dancer - Benjamin Wallfisch - Varese Sarabande
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief - Will Bates - Milan
Good Kill - Christophe Beck - Lakeshore
Merchants of Doubt - Mark Adler - Lakeshore
Playing It Cool - Jake Monaco - VMI
Unfinished Business - Alex Wurman - Lakeshore
Words and Pictures - Paul Grabowsky - VMI
Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal - Javier Navarrete - Lakeshore
April 14
A Brief History of Time - Philip Glass - Orange Mountain
May 5
Demonic Toys - Richard Band - Full Moon
Girlhouse - tomandandy - Phineas Atwood
Journey to Space - Cody Westheimer - Phineas Atwood
Meridian - Pino Donaggio - Full Moon
The Rewrite - Clyde Lawrence - Phineas Atwood
May 12
Max Max: Fury Road - Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) - WaterTower
Date Unknown
Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain - Benjamin Wallfisch - MovieScore Media
Il Fiume Del Grande Camiano - Stelvio Cipriani - CSC
Intersection - James Newton Howard - Quartet
La Fille Du Garde Barriere - Eric Demarsan - Music Box
Les Temoins/Les Oubliees - Eric Demarsan - Music Box
L'Istruttoria E' Chiusa Dimentinchi/Il Diavolo Nel Cervello - Ennio Morricone - GDM
Nessuno Si Salva Da Solo - Arturo Annecchino - GDM
Palimpsest: A Hypnotic Mystery - Bartek Gliniak - MovieScore Media
Soapdish - Alan Silvestri - Quartet
A Sound of Thunder - Nick Glennie-Smith - Dragon's Domain
The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie: Sponge Out of Water - John Debney - Varese Sarabande

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

March 6 - Richard Hageman died (1966)
March 7 - King Kong premieres in New York (1933)
March 7 - Miklos Rozsa wins his first Oscar, for Spellbound score (1946)
March 7 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Allegiance" (1990)
March 7 - Gordon Parks died (2006)
March 7 - Michael Giacchino wins his first Oscar, for Up (2010)
March 8 - Dick Hyman born (1927)
March 8 - Bruce Broughton born (1945)
March 8 - Jerry Goldsmith records his score for the pilot to Dr. Kildare (1961)
March 8 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording orchestral cues for Logan's Run score (1976)
March 8 - William Walton died (1983)
March 9 - John Cale born (1940)
March 9 - Richard Stone died (2001)
March 10 - Arthur Honegger born (1892)
March 10 - Lost Horizon premieres in Los Angeles (1937)
March 10 - Charles Previn, head of the Universal Music Department, wins the Score Oscar for One Hundred Men and a Girl, for which no composer is credited (1938)
March 10 - Brad Fiedel born (1951)
March 10 - Marc Donahue born (1953)
March 11 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score to Lili (1952)
March 11 - David Newman born (1954)
March 11 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Heart of Glory" (1988)
March 12 - Georges Delerue born (1925)
March 12 - David Shire begins recording his score for Short Circuit (1986)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

MR. TURNER - Gary Yershon

"From there, urged on by Gary Yershon's vital, astringent musical score, 'Mr. Turner' reveals a bit more of the artist at its center in each scene."

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

"Dick Pope’s light-flooded cinematography turns the movie theater screen into a capacious canvas that’s equally suited to grand outdoor vistas (a vivid coral-tinged sunset on the Thames) and humble domestic interiors (a rough kitchen table on which sits the head of a just-butchered, still-hairy pig). The score by Gary Yershon is unexpectedly modern and spare, interrupting the sense of period verisimilitude and leaving the viewer a little off balance, as if to remind us that Turner, too, wasn’t quite of own time."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

"The topnotch tech credits extend to production designer Suzie Davies and costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who make their own invaluable contributions to bringing the film’s 19th-century world so vividly to life. Composer Gary Yershon’s original score alternates an atonal woodwind theme with sharp, staccato strings to create something like the musical equivalent of Turner’s restless, roiling spirit."

Scott Foundas, Variety

RED ARMY - Christophe Beck, Leo Birenberg

"Wittily edited and beautifully scored, 'Red Army' is not just a terrific film but an important one -- even if you don’t give two hoots about ice hockey."

Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

WE ARE THE GIANT - Philip Sheppard

"Wrapped around the three accounts are slickly produced graphics (scored with soaring music) that invoke popular uprisings before and beyond the Arab Spring, from the American Revolution to more recent upheavals in Poland, South Africa, China, Burma and other countries."

Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com

"Director Greg Barker (the Emmy-winning 'Manhunt') overdoes things a bit with composer Philip Sheppard’s brawny score and a slick technical package that, paradoxically, provides little in the way of relevant current sociopolitical grounding but lots of distracting quotations from historical figures and other textual interludes. Still, the captured scenes of brutality by these despotic regimes, including police beatings and army shellings, have a grim, stirring currency."

Brent Simon, Paste Magazine

"Filmmaker Greg Barker seems interested only in the rebels' personal stories, not in their causes. The film splices together three disparate narratives with few parallels and provides no historical or cultural context. It doesn't even begin to cover the scale and toll of the cataclysm in any of the three countries, not to mention the Arab Spring as a whole. Barker just hammers home the human-interest angle with a stirring score that serves to instruct the appropriate emotional response to each scene. The tacked-on uplift in the end is beyond comprehension, given that some of its subjects remain in peril."

Martin Tsai, Los Angeles Times

"Packaging is high-grade if, as noted, often simply overcooked on the design level. Philip Sheppard’s original score also errs on the side of excess, frequently pouring on more percussive bombast than necessary."

Dennis Harvey, 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, Arclight, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.

March 6
BATTLE ROYALE (Masamichi Amano) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
CHILDREN OF PARADISE (Maurice Thiriet) [Cinematheque: Aero]
DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET (The Can) [UCLA]
GHOSTBUSTERS (Elmer Bernstein) [Silent Movie Theater]
HACKERS (Simon Boswell) [Nuart]
THE MATRIX (Don Davis), FIGHT CLUB (Dust Brothers) [New Beverly]

March 7
COURAGE MOUNTAIN (Sylvester Levay)[New Beverly]
FLETCH (Harold Faltermeyer) [Silent Movie Theater]
MacGRUBER (Matthew Compton) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE MATRIX (Don Davis), FIGHT CLUB (Dust Brothers) [New Beverly]
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (Allan Gray), BLACK NARCISSUS (Brian Easdale) [Cinematheque: Aero]
POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (Mac Chew, Jenny Chinn, Jonathan Lee) [New Beverly]
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (Dale Butts), THE GUILTY (Rudy Schrager) [UCLA]
THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (Vince Di Cola), G.I. JOE: THE MOVIE (Jon Douglas, Robert J. Walsh)[Cinematheque: Egyptian]

March 8
BACHELOR'S AFFAIRS, SOCIETY GIRL [UCLA]
BIG (Howard Shore) [Silent Movie Theater]
COURAGE MOUNTAIN (Sylvester Levay)[New Beverly]
THE DESCENT (David Julyan) [Silent Movie Theater]
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (Maurice Jarre) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
MAGNOLIA (Jon Brion) [New Beverly]
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (Ennio Morricone) [Cinematheque: Aero]
WAY OUT WEST, THE MUSIC BOX [UCLA]

March 9
FIGHT CLUB (Dust Brothers) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
MAGNOLIA (Jon Brion) [New Beverly]

March 10
CHUNKING EXPRESS (Fan-Kei Chan, Michael Galasso, Roel A. Garcia), DAYS OF BEING WILD (Terry Chan) [New Beverly]
THE IRON GIANT (Michael Kamen) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
MEAN GIRLS (Rolfe Kent) [Arclight Hollywood]
STOLEN KISSES (Antoine Duhamel) [LACMA]

March 11
APOCALYPSE NOW (Carmine Coppola, Francis Coppola)[Arclight Hollywood]
JERRY MAGUIRE (Nancy Wilson), THE OBJECT OF BEAUTY (Tom Bahler) [New Beverly]
NOW I'LL TELL (Arthur Lange), DISORDERLY CONDUCT [UCLA]

March 12
JERRY MAGUIRE (Nancy Wilson), THE OBJECT OF BEAUTY (Tom Bahler) [New Beverly]
TAXI DRIVER (Bernard Herrmann), BRINGING OUT THE DEAD (Elmer Bernstein)[Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (Max Steiner), WHITE HEAT (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque: Aero]

March 13
DAZED AND CONFUSED, SWINGERS (Justin Reinhardt) [New Beverly]
DUST DEVIL (Simon Boswell) [Silent Movie Theater]
EMPIRE RECORDS [Nuart]
THE NAVIGATOR, SEVEN CHANCES [Cinematheque: Aero]
PRIVATE PROPERTY (Alex Kompinsky, Pete Rugolo) [UCLA]
THE TALES OF HOFFMAN [Silent Movie Theater]

March 14
BABE (Nigel Westlake) [New Beverly]
BEFORE SUNRISE [New Beverly]
DAZED AND CONFUSED, SWINGERS (Justin Reinhardt) [New Beverly]
THE FIRST LEGION (Hans Sommer), JOURNEY INTO LIGHT (Paul Dunlap, Emil Newman) [UCLA]
HER SISTER'S SECRET (Hans Sommer), EXILE EXPRESS  (George Parrish) [UCLA]
THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (Gary Chang) [Silent Movie Theater]
MOLLY O' [Silent Movie Theater]
SHERLOCK JR., THE CAMERAMAN [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE TALES OF HOFFMAN [Silent Movie Theater]

March 15
ANGEL'S FLIGHT (Jaime Mendoza-Nava) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
BABE (Nigel Westlake) [New Beverly]
ED WOOD (Howard Shore), IN THE SOUP (Mader) [New Beverly]
HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR (Georges Delerue), LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD (Francis Seyrig) [Cinemathque: Egyptian]
MY BEST GIRL [UCLA]
PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (Bob Dylan) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE SCARECROW, GO WEST [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE TALES OF HOFFMAN [Silent Movie Theater]