The latest CD from Kritzerland pairs two scores composed by Bernard Herrmann for 20th Century Fox suspense films -- the 1945 psychological thriller HANGOVER SQUARE, with Laird Cregar as an emotionally disturbed pianist- composer, for which Herrmann composed the score as well as an original concerto for Cregar's character, a score which Stephen Sondheim cited as an inspiration for his masterpiece Sweeney Todd, and including previously unreleased cues; and 5 FINGERS, the WWII espionage thriller with James Mason as a valet who passed top secret information to the Nazis, which earned Oscar nominations for screenwriter Michael Wilson and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (it was Herrmann's only project with Mankiewicz after their classic The Ghost and Mrs. Muir).
Intrada plans to release one new CD next week.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The Aristocats - George Bruns - Disney
The End of the Tour - Danny Elfman - Lakeshore
Grandma - Joel P. West - Lakeshore
Hitman: Agent 47 - Marco Beltrami - La-La Land
The Last Boy Scout - Michael Kamen - La-La Land
Mr. Holmes - Carter Burwell - Lakeshore
IN THEATERS TODAY
Blood Punch - Adam Berry
Butterfly Girl - Emily Bell, John Evans
Guidance - Joseph Murray, Lodewijk Vos
The Mend - Judd Greenstein, Michi Wiancko
No Escape - Marco Beltrami - Score CD due Oct. 2 on Lakeshore
A Reason - Kim Planert
The Second Mother - Vitor Araújo, Fábio Trummer
Unsullied - Jason Solowsky
We Are Your Friends - Segal [Matthew Simpson]
When Animals Dream - Mikkel Hess
Windsor Drive - Karsten Shreve
Z for Zachariah - Heather McIntosh - Score CD due Sept. 4 on Varese Sarabande
Zipper - H. Scott Salinas
COMING SOON
September 4
Z for Zachariah - Heather McIntosh - Varese Sarabande
September 11
The Boy - Hauschka - Milan
The Genius of Film Music - various - Naxos
Wolf Totem (U.S. release) - James Horner - Milan
September 18
Barely Lethal - Mateo Messina - Phineas Atwood
Cartel Land - H. Scott Salinas, Jackson Greenberg - Phineas Atwood
Cooties - Kreng - Milan
Everest - Dario Marianelli - Varese Sarabande
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - John Paesano - Sony
Night of the Demons - Dennis Michael Tenney - Lunaris
Sicario - Johann Johannsson - Varese Sarabande
September 25
Assassin's Creed - Jesper Kyd - Sumthing Else
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - Jesper Kyd - Sumthing Else
Assassin's Creed Revelations - Jesper Kyd, Lorne Balfe - Sumthing Else
Assassin's Creed II - Jesper Kyd - Sumthing Else
Assassin's Creed III - Lorne Balfe - Sumthing Else
Outlander Vol. 2 - Bear McCreary - Madison Gate
The Walk - Alan Silvestri - Sony
October 2
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Bear McCreary - Hollywood
He Named Me Malala - Thomas Newman - Sony
Jenny's Wedding - Brian Byrne - Varese Sarabande
Narcos - Pedro Bromfman - Lakeshore
No Escape - Marco Beltrami - Lakeshore
October 9
Goosebumps - Danny Elfman - Sony
Date Unknown
Alfredo Alfredo - Carlo Rustichelli - Digitmovies
Hangover Square/5 Fingers - Bernard Herrmann - Kritzerland
I Caldi Amori Di Una Minorenne - Gianni Ferrio - Digitmovies
La Morte Viene Da Manila - Francesco De Masi - Beat
Maria Di Nazaret/L'Uomo Che Sognava Con L'aquile - Guy Farley - Caldera
Mark Donen Agente Zeta 7 - Aldo Piga - Beat
Rapsodia Satanica/The Leopard - Pietro Mascagni/Nino Rota - Capriccio
Uccidete Johnny Ringo - Pippo Caruso - Digitmovies
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
August 28 - Ustad Vilayat Khan born (1928)
August 28 - Annette Focks born (1964)
August 29 - Anthony Adverse released in theaters (1936)
August 29 - Victor Young begins recording his score to The Tall Men (1955)
August 29 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Charlie X" is recorded (1966)
August 29 - Recording sessions begin for Richard Rodney Bennett's score for Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
August 30 - Conrad Salinger born (1901)
August 30 - John Phillips born (1935)
August 30 - Axel Stordahl died (1963)
August 30 - Sol Kaplan's score for the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine" is recorded (1967)
August 30 - Emil Newman died (1984)
August 30 - Bernardo Bonezzi died (2012)
August 31 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for The Swan (1955)
August 31 - Alexander Courage's score for the Star Trek episode "The Naked Time" is recorded (1966)
August 31 - Jeff Russo born (1969)
September 1 - Franz Waxman begins recording his score for Sunset Blvd. (1949)
September 1- Victor Young begins recording his score for Strategic Air Command (1954)
September 1 - Gil Melle begins recording his score for The Organization (1971)
September 1 - Marc Donahue died (2002)
September 1 - Erich Kunzel died (2009)
September 2 - Armando Trovajoli born (1917)
September 2 - Hugo Montenegro born (1925)
September 2 - Steve Porcaro born (1957)
September 2 - Alex Heffes born (1971)
September 2 - Tadeusz Baird died (1981)
September 2 - Clifton Parker died (1989)
September 3 - Anthony Collins born (1893)
September 3 - Richard Markowitz born (1926)
September 3 - Kevin Kiner born (1958)
September 3 - Alexandre Azaria born (1967)
September 3 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score for Glory and Honor (1997)
September 3 - Pierre van Dormael died (2008)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
CUT BANK - James Newton Howard
"The quivering, suspenseful score drives the action along well enough over the beautiful cinematography by Ben Richardson ('Beasts of the Southern Wild'), who frames a stark field of yellow flowers early on and cements the one lingering moment of the film overall. He brings a golden glow to the rural surroundings that keep the film afloat even when the narrative lags, and he even makes Liam Hemsworth into a formidable thriller hero, occasionally."
Charlie Schmidlin, The Playlist
"On a technical level, 'Cut Bank' registers as something like an imitation of a ’90s thriller imitating a ’70s thriller, down to James Newton Howard’s surprisingly generic score. It was a welcome if inevitable choice to use Hank Williams, Jr.’s song 'Cut Bank, Montana' over the closing credits, though it’s too bad the film doesn’t pack the same punch as the tune."
Geoff Berkshire, Variety
MONKEY KINGDOM - Harry-Gregson Williams
"The film also may raise some touchy questions about sex, and sexual stereotypes. Fey describes Kumar as a 'hunky monkey,' and every scene that involves reproduction is scored to funk or reggae. Apparently, Sri Lankan wildlife mates to Africa-rooted rhythms. A Taylor Swift end-credits ditty is also a miscalculation, but Harry Gregson-Williams' score is deft and less sugary than the birthday cake the macaques consume in one slapstick scene."
Mark Jenkins, NPR
"Music from Harry Gregson-Williams suits the film’s dynamics well, and the use of the theme song from 'The Monkees' is just dumb enough to be clever."
Andrew Barker, Variety
"The narration is overused, but at least Fey makes an engaging hostess. The musical score by Harry Gregson-Williams is a cut above the syrupy scores found in many of these films, and there are even some witty song cues like the theme song from the TV show 'The Monkees,' which introduces our menagerie."
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter
1915 - Serj Tankian
"There might be an engaging film buried beneath the severe dialogue, portentous music and ominous shadows of '1915.' But a relentless and heavy-handed script makes the effort to find it seem futile."
Ken Jaworski, New York Times
"'1915' begins heavy-handedly: On a Los Angeles stage is theater director Simon (Simon Abkarian), who’s in the middle of a cast pep talk before a one-night-only performance of his play on the Armenian tragedy. The speech is dramatic -- you’d expect nothing less from a theater director. He tells the actors, 'Denial ends today,' and 'Tonight, the fate of the dead will be in your hands… Bring them back to life or you’ll die with them.' Simon’s sermonizing is emphasized by Serj Tankian’s (System of a Down) score, which distracts with a rush of violins and the orchestral swells during the monologue. It’s all a bit too much, too soon."
Christine N. Ziemba, Paste Magazine
THE ROAD WITHIN - Josh Debney, The Newton Brothers
"Not unlike 'Little Miss Sunshine' (a film invoked in the press materials), 'The Road Within' seeks to mine humor and feeling from its characters’ various scars and setbacks, while also celebrating their momentary triumphs and fleeting acts of rebellion. For all the movie’s apparent empathy, however -- signaled by an overactive score by Josh Debney and the Newton Brothers -- there’s finally something a bit mechanical about the way it invites us to laugh at their personal failings one minute and weep at them the next, and also something uncomfortably manipulative about the way certain compulsions are milked for specific emotional effects."
Justin Chang, Variety
"It sounds like immediate condemnation to say that the best part of 'Zombeavers' is the swanky lounge song that plays over the film’s end credits, but that’s not entirely true. Although the film can’t quite overcome its shoestring budget often enough to frighten or provoke laughs at a steady clip, there are effective nuggets of both that one can mine out to salvage the experience. Rather, acknowledging the song is simply giving one more credit where credit is due, because it manages to make one’s last impression of 'Zombeavers' a bemused chuckle and head shake, at right about the time the Bill Murray-like lounge singer belts: 'So board up the doorways and windows my friend / It won’t do any good / Those furry round bastards are fully equipped / They’ll chew right through the wood.' By the time the final shots roll, a bizarre stylistic change has come over the movie, recalling shots from the likes of 'High Tension' or 'Martyrs.' These influences aren’t present for long, but they’re what I’ll remember. Well, that and the 'Zombeavers' lounge song."
Jim Vorel, Paste Magazine
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, Crest, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.
August 28
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (John Williams) [Nuart]
SPIRITED AWAY (Joe Hisiashi), PONYO (JUoe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
SUSPICION (Franz Waxman), NOTORIOUS (Roy Webb) [New Beverly]
TRUE ROMANCE (Hans Zimmer) [New Beverly]
August 29
ARABIAN ADVENTURE (Ken Thorne) [New Beverly]
BLAST OF SILENCE (Meyer Kupferman) [Silent Movie Theater]
FISH TANK [Silent Movie Theater]
HANDS ON A HARDBODY (Neil Kassanoff) [New Beverly]
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (Joe Hisaishi), CASTLE IN THE SKY (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW? (Arthur Kay), NO GREATER GLORY (Louis Silvers) [UCLA]
SUSPICION (Franz Waxman), NOTORIOUS (Roy Webb) [New Beverly]
August 30
ARABIAN ADVENTURE (Ken Thorne) [New Beverly]
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), MINNESOTA CLAY (Piero Piccioni) [New Beverly]
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
PORCO ROSSO, THE WIND RISES (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE RED KIMONA, OLD IRONSIDES [UCLA]
3 WOMEN (Gerald Busby) [Silent Movie Theater]
UNCLE BUCK (Ira Newborn) [Crest]
August 31
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), MINNESOTA CLAY (Piero Piccioni) [New Beverly]
September 1
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), CRY FOR A PROSTITUTE [New Beverly]
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (Max Steiner) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Leith Stevens) [LACMA]
September 2
ANNIE HALL [Arclight Hollywood]
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), LAST MAN STANDING (Ry Cooder) [New Beverly]
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (Michio Mamiya), FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (Satoshi Takebe) [Cinematheque: Aero]
September 3
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), LAST MAN STANDING (Ry Cooder) [New Beverly]
September 4
CLUE (John Morris) [Nuart]
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID (Miklos Rozsa), NOTORIOUS (Roy Webb) [Cinematheque: Aero]
DJANGO UNCHAINED [New Beverly]
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), YOJIMBO (Masaru Sato) [New Beverly]
THE MUTILATOR (Michael Minard) [Silent Movie Theater]
September 5
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Ennio Morricone), YOJIMBO (Masaru Sato) [New Beverly]
FIVE DEADLY VENOMS (Cheng Yun Yu) [New Beverly]
MICROWAVE MASSACRE (Leif Horvath) [Silent Movie Theater]
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (William Alwyn) [New Beverly]
September 6
THE MALTESE FALCON (Adolph Deutsch), THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (Adolph Deutsch) [New Beverly]
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Alex North) [Arclight Culver City]
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (William Alwyn) [New Beverly]
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