The latest release from La-La Land presents Harry Manfredini's scores for FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER and FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING on a two-disc set, featuring the same sequencing as their earlier boxed-set of Manfredini's first six Friday scores.
Intrada has postponed their latest soundtrack release to next week, when they will also be releasing another new soundtrack CD previously scheduled for the week after.
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced the nominations for this year's Primetime Emmys, including the following music categories:
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
The Commuter (Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams) - Harry Gregson-Williams
Crazy Diamond (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams) - Cristobal Tapia De Veer
Godless: Homecoming - Carlos Rafael Rivera
March Of The Penguins 2: The Next Step - Cyril Aufort
USS Callister (Black Mirror) - Daniel Pemberton
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
Marvel's Jessica Jones: AKA Playland - Sean Callery
Once Upon A Time: Leaving Storybrooke - Mark Isham, Cindy O'Connor, Michael Simon
SEAL Team: Pattern Of Life - W.G. Snuffy Walden, A. Patrick Rose
Star Wars Rebels: Family Reunion - And Farewell - Kevin Kiner
Westworld: Akane No Mai - Ramin Djawadi
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Godless - Carlos Rafael Rivera
The Last Tycoon - Mychael Danna
Marvel's The Defenders - John Paesano
Somebody Feed Phil - Mike S. Olson, Bridget Ellen Kearney, Michael Calabrese, Rachael Price
The Tick - Chris Bacon
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS
Big Mouth: Am I Gay? - "Totally Gay" - Music and Lyrics by Mark Rivers
A Christmas Story Live! - "In The Market For A Miracle" - Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
The Good Fight: Day 450 - "High Crimes And Misdemeanors" - Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Coulton
If You're Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast - "Just Getting Started" - Music by Dave Grusin, Lyrics by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman
Saturday Night Live: Host: Chance The Rapper - "Come Back Barack" - Music and Lyrics by Eli Brueggemann
Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life - "The Buddy Song" - Music and Lyrics by Steve Martin
OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live At The Apollo - Bruno Mars
Elton John: I'm Still Standing - A Grammy Salute - Davey Johnstone
The Oscars - Harold Wheeler
Super Bowl LII Halftime Show Starring Justin Timberlake - Adam Wayne Blackstone
Tony Bennett: The Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song - Gregg Field
OUTSTANDING MUSIC SUPERVISION
Atlanta: Alligator Man -Jen Malone, Fam Udeorji
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Pilot -Robin Urdang, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino
Stranger Things: Trick Or Treat, Freak - Nora Felder
This Is Us: That'll Be The Day - Jennifer Pyken
Westworld: Akane No Mai - Sean O'Meara
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot - Danny Elfman - Sony
Edie - Debbie Wiseman - Silva
Eighth Grade - Anna Meredith - Columbia
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter/Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - Harry Manfredini - La-La Land
Les B.O. Introuvables - Jacques Dutronc, Christian Dorisse, Alain Goraguer, Lino Leonardi, Raymond Lefevre, Francois Rauber - Music Box
Shock and Awe - Jeff Beal - Varese Sarabande
IN THEATERS TODAY
Gauguin - Warren Ellis - Score CD on Milan
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation - Mark Mothersbaugh - Score CD on Sony
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Mia Doi Todd, Saul Williams
7 Splinters in Time - Gabriel Judet-Weinshel
Skyscraper - Steve Jablonsky - Score CD due Aug. 3 on Milan
COMING SOON
July 20
Genius: Picasso - Lorne Balfe - Milan [CD-R]
1922 - Mike Patton - Ipecac
Teacup Travels - Rasmus Borowski, Alexius Tschallener - Tadlow
July 27
Flowers II - Arthur Sharpe - Silva (import)
Mosaic - David Holmes - Touch Sensitive (import)
August 3
Skyscraper - Steve Jablonsky - Milan
August 10
James Horner: The Classics - James Horner - Sony
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies - Jared Faber - WaterTower
August 17
Slender Man - Ramin Djawadi - Sony
August 24
The Darkest Minds - Benjamin Wallfisch - Milan
Legion: Season 2 - Jeff Russo - Lakeshore
August 31
Kin - Mogwai - Rock Action (import)
Date Unknown
Advise and Consent - Jerry Fielding - Kritzerland
The Bear - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
Kaufman's Game - Philippe Jakko - Music Box
La Colonna Infame - Giorgio Gaslini - Saimel
La Tigre E Ancora Viva: Sandokan Alla Riscosa! - Guido & Maurizio DeAngelis - Digitmovies
Mission: Impossible - Fallout - Lorne Balfe - La-La Land
95 - Panu Aaltio - Quartet
Noi Damme Siano Fatte Cosi' - Armando Trovajoli - Beat
Orzowei Il Figlio Della Savana - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Digitmovies
The Prisoner of Zenda - Henry Mancini - La-La Land
Rabbia Furiosa - Maurizio Abeni - Digitmovies
Super Furball - Panu Aaltio - Quartet
A Tribute to Michael Kamen - Michael Kamen - Quartet
Two North(s) & A Little Part of Anywhere - Pascal Gaigne - Quartet
Verano Azul - Carmelo Bernaola - Saimel
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
July 13 - Ernest Gold born (1921)
July 13 - Per Norgaard born (1932)
July 13 - Richard Markowitz’s score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of Jack O’Diamonds” is recorded (1967)
July 13 - You Only Live Twice opens in New York (1967)
July 13 - Roger Edens died (1970)
July 13 - Maurice Jarre begins recording his unused score for Jennifer 8 (1992)
July 14 - Michel Michelet born (1894)
July 14 - Elliot Kaplan born (1931)
July 14 - J.A.C. Redford born (1953)
July 14 - Joe Harnell died (2005)
July 15 - H.B. Barnum born (1936)
July 15 - Geoffrey Burgon born (1941)
July 15 - Paul Sawtell begins recording his score for The Hunters (1958)
July 15 - Bill Justis died (1982)
July 15 - Dennis Wilson died (1989)
July 15 - Derek Hilton died (2005)
July 16 - Goffredo Petrassi born (1904)
July 16 - Fred Myrow born (1939)
July 16 - Stewart Copeland born (1952)
July 17 - Piero Umiliani born (1926)
July 17 - Wojciech Kilar born (1932)
July 17 - Peter Schickele born (1935)
July 17 - Kenyon Hopkins begins recording his score for The Hustler (1961)
July 17 - Stanley Wilson died (1970)
July 17 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score to Babe (1975)
July 17 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score to Eloise at Christmastime (2003)
July 18 - Barry Gray born (1908)
July 18 - James William Guercio born (1945)
July 18 - Nathan Van Cleave begins recording his score for The Lonely Man (1956)
July 18 - Richard Markowitz records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Golden Cobra” (1966)
July 18 - Abel Korzeniowski born (1972)
July 18 - David Shire records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Hell Toupee" (1985)
July 19 - Paul Dunlap born (1919)
July 19 - Tim McIntire born (1944)
July 19 - Dominic Muldowney born (1952)
July 19 - Gerald Fried's score for the Star Trek episode "Amok Time" is recorded (1967)
July 19 - Gerald Fried's score for the Star Trek episode "The Paradise Syndrome" is recorded (1968)
July 19 - Ramin Djawadi born (1974)
July 19 - Van Alexander died (2015)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
THE NEON DEMON - Cliff Martinez
"As in his last two features ('Drive' and 'Only God Forgives'), Refn drenches the film in the electro synth of Cliff Martinez. Pulsating, dark and seductive, it drives Refn’s scenes, even the most ponderous and self-indulgent ones. As in those earlier films, the score is the best thing about the movie. Natasha Braier’s ravishing photography, which sets the macabre mood from the opening image of Jesse drenched in blood and playing dead for a fashion shoot, comes a close second. At 'The Neon Demon''s best, sound and image combine to create sequences of surreal beauty and sinister menace, as dizzying as those of Dario Argento and as hallucinatory as Alejandro Jodorowsky."
Jamie Dunn, The Skinny
"The most noteworthy dialogue comes not from voices, but the brilliant score of Cliff Martinez, recreating the ambience of the film and miraculously filling in some story gaps, too. 'Neon Demon' is less a full movie, and more like an expensive fashion shoot with a photographer who thinks he’s something between Michelangelo and Helmut Newton...Still, the motel appears warm compared to the empty mansion Ruby is house sitting and invites her to when Jesse decides she needs help. And this is where the plot’s announced promise begins to unfold and the horror story finally comes to light. In terms of story, it’s too little, too late. But in terms of beauty, it soars. It’s brilliantly filmed, brilliantly scored. But like Jesse, it’s sure full of itself."
Talia Soghomonian, Collider
"Refn’s visual style remains singular. His sensibility has evolved from the grimy epics of the 'Pusher' trilogy and 'Bronson' into coexisting shards of operatic beauty and thudding violence. He’s not unlike a cross between Bernardo Bertolucci, Harmony Korine and a Giorgio Armani ad. Regular collaborator Cliff Martinez’s score stings and sparkles in all the right ways as well, with floating arpeggios and trembling vocoder vamps.
Michael Snydel, Paste Magazine
"The picture is a meditation on how our culture ravenously consumes youth and female beauty, and the damage it can cause to those who pursue it -- but this ain't 'Showgirls,' and viewers looking for a campy, Peaches Christ-ready T&A-fest from the feminist 'Neon Demon' will be sorely disappointed. Though nubility abounds, there's no nudity -- until what the MPAA with its usual judginess calls 'a scene of aberrant sexuality' in the third act, which also happens to be the hottest sex scene since Neon Bull (no relation). 'The Neon Demon' is also gorgeous and dream-like, with a pink-and-purple-heavy color palette in the early going that you just want to live inside, all aided by Cliff Martinez's Goblin-tinged synth score. If 'Only God Forgives' evoked 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,' then this is Refn's 'Mulholland Drive,' and the best film to play in theaters so far this year."
Sherilyn Connelly, SF Weekly
"The movie’s narrative, such as it is, includes intimations of vampirism, sexual frustration culminating in necrophilia, and more unpleasant stuff. Mr. Refn composes striking images, but they’re all secondhand: faux Fellini, faux David Lynch and so on. (Cliff Martinez’s electronic score is also pastiche-like, but a far wittier concoction over all.)"
Glenn Kenny, New York Times
"Refn ('Drive,' 'Only God Forgives') gets off to a promising start with a bloody photo shoot in an austere Los Angeles studio. Cliff Martinez’s dazzling score sets a seductive, creepy tone. Then we meet aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning), who has been in town for two seconds before a mega-agent (Christina Hendricks, deliciously vile) tabs her as the next 'It Girl.'"
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
"Some viewers have complained that 'The Neon Demon' slides too far into the gruesome Italian horror-movie vein known as giallo in the final act. I would say, first of all, consider yourself cautioned. Then I would ask, what the hell do you expect? From the Helmut Newton-style images to the throbbing industrial score by Cliff Martinez (in Refn’s movies, music is always a defining element) to the terrifying, affectless performances of Lee and Heathcote as the monster-models, no aspect of 'The Neon Demon' points toward a satisfying, naturalistic or audience-friendly wrap-up. If you want to see Tony Scott’s porny vampire drama 'The Hunger' again -- to cite another obvious influence -- hey, I just checked and it costs $2 on Amazon. But if you want a movie that eviscerates 'The Hunger' and eats its bloody insides while daring you to look away, here it is.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"None of that matters, though. The plot and characterization in 'The Neon Demon,' such as it exists, is designed solely to be a delivery mechanism for Refn and DP Natasha Braier‘s slick, synthetic, ultra-pop, neon-gothic imagery and for Erin Benach‘s fetishizable costumes, scored to Cliff Martinez‘s predictably excellent pulsating soundtrack: an electro dream tinged with scuzzed-up fairytale music-box motifs. The plot is the mere excuse for an already notorious lesbian necrophilia scene, and a potentially seizure-inducing epileptic-trapeze-bondage-themed party sequence. And for every memorable image or swoony sequence that is even nominally justified by the story, there are two or three that aren’t: wildcats in motel rooms, flashing triangular installations, and endless closeups of Elle Fanning’s changeable, slightly asymmetrical face. One moment kewpie-doll cute, the next angular and insolent, Refn’s constant return to Fanning’s face is an essay in itself, about the beholder and the beheld, and about how very wrong Keats was in suggesting an equivalence between beauty and truth."
Jessica Kiang, The Playlist
"Only Refn and film grad students know for sure, but what 'The Neon Demon' does do is offer up a magnificently beautiful bauble, full of glittering diamonds, hard candy, and fresh meat. With cinematographer Natasha Braier, Refn goes full Kubrick, all slow zooms and meticulously over-crafted sets. And frequent music collaborator Cliff Martinez adds a dizzying soundtrack that hypnotizes and jars with equal measure. In short, it's basically a feature-length music video with some dialogue and a bloody ending, as written by Dario Argento, and shot by Helmut Newton. Which is right up my alley, which is probably saying too much."
Josh Kupecki, The Austin Chronicle
"You can’t argue Refn doesn’t have style -- his use of icy-colored lights and his menacingly bass-heavy score are hypnotic, for sure -- but to what end? 'The Neon Demon' bills itself as a cultural critique and ends up being a prime example of its target. Like Refn’s one-dimensional women, this movie thinks it’s profound when it’s really just drop-dead gorgeous."
Sara Stewart, New York Post
"She does find some support, including a gentle male suitor (Karl Glusman, 'Love'), who basically hangs around and tries to cheer her up, and a quietly seductive makeup artist, Ruby (Jena Malone, a highlight), whose stern gaze belies naughtier intentions. Beautifully captured with a spectacular color scheme underscored by Cliff Martinez’s synth-heavy score, 'The Neon Demon' apes the way 'Drive' elevated mood to a driving force of the narrative."
Eric Kohn, IndieWire
"The sadness of 'The Neon Demon' and 'Only God Forgives,' is that Refn is undeniably skilled at the shock he’s so obviously desperate to provide. This movie is scored, like his previous films, by Cliff Martinez, and the pulsating, hypnotic soundtrack gives Refn’s worlds the illusion of depth and scope. Refn can hit you, but there’s nothing behind his jabs. Refn never tries to invest in anything other than his his fevered insistence you pay attention to him. At Cannes this year, Refn blasted Lars Van Trier -- his clear forerunner in indie auteur foot-stomping -- saying he was 'over the hill' and has 'done a lot of drugs.' Refn and Von Trier have some surface similarities: They both love attention, they both have clear technical skill and they both are willing to pound their audiences into submission. But Von Trier, for all his faults, has real feeling behind his movies; they are, in their different ways, about his own insecurities, fears, and battles with his own depression. Von Trier goes all in, for better or worse. Refn’s movies are all about Refn jerking you around just for the sake of it. He has nothing new to say, nothing worthwhile to add. He’s screaming in your face. And sometimes you just have to let a child cry himself out."
Will Leitch, The New Republic
"Jesse’s a quintessential innocent in a breezy goddess dress, while veteran models -- and frenemies -- Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee) wear an armor of form-fitting haute couture as they haze the new girl with talk about sex and 'red rum' lipstick in a dance club’s vintage ‘30s French Baroque bathroom. The many-mirrored restroom (borrowed from the historic Los Angeles Theatre) also reflects a multitude of velvet walls framing Jesse and her new makeup-artist friend Ruby (Jena Malone), while a hypnotic dance-beat soundtrack from Cliff Martinez drowns them in sound."
April Wolfe, L.A. Weekly
"So he gets what he wants. Does it work? Depends on your definition. The performances are terrific, particularly Malone -- even when she’s listening, she’s interesting -- and Fanning, who manages to be both present in the moment and a closed-off enigma, a perpetual question mark. Is she shy, or is she hiding something? The images (captured by Natasha Braier) are gorgeous, richly saturated and beautifully arranged. Cliff Martinez’s music is the business, so tightly synced to the picture and its tones that it feels less like accompaniment than parallel dialogue. And his sense of mood remains tip-top -- particularly in establishing a sense of overall dread, an unsettling and constant undertone of Jesse’s potential victimization. There are plenty of disturbing scenes and moments that speak in the language of assault (if not the explicit imagery). Refn knows he’s playing with dynamite in these scenes, but it doesn’t feel like exploitation; it feels like awareness. (Mary Laws and Polly Stenham collaborated with him on the script.)"
Jason Bailey, Flavorwire
"'The Neon Demon' often looks as stunning as a magazine shoot or an ultra expensive fragrance commercial. The screen is drenched in colour and there is almost something mathematical or architectural about the way Refn uses angles, lines, shapes and space. The throbbing, electronic soundtrack and pulsating lights create a trance-like state as if Jesse is a modern-day 'Alice in Wonderland.' Unfortunately, the satirical elements come off as laughably shallow and the descent into necrophiliac sex and eye-popping gore is entirely risible, as Refn seems determined to prove this is a dog-eat-dog business in the most literal way."
Allan Hunter, The List
"The 'demon' of the title is also literal, and gives us the film's best sequence: an occult-looking symbol, it possesses Fanning's character at a point where her innocence tips over into self-love, kicking off the film's way-over-the-top but blackly comic climax. For all its visual wizardry and the soothing burr of Cliff Martinez's low-key score, it's hard to bear the film's long scenes of near-silence with only snatches of stilted dialogue and endless ponderous interactions between models. There's little humour, and strip away the styling and what it has to say about fashion has been said a thousand times before. But there's a mesmerising strangeness to Refn's vision that can't be denied, and Fanning does an especially good job of portraying innocence lost in the belly of the fashion beast."
Dave Calhoun, Time Out London
"The film’s main allures are its visual and aural sensations, based in Elliott Hostetter’s elaborate production design, costume designer Erin Benach’s endless parade of eye-catching creations, Natasha Braier’s lustrous cinematography, Cliff Martinez’s seductive score and Refn’s undeniable visual panache. There have been many previous occasions when sumptuous filmmaking craft has been placed at the service of dubious and derelict material, but 'The Neon Demon' is this year’s model."
Todd McCarthy, 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, Arclight, LACMA, Laemmle, New Beverly, Nuart and UCLA.
July 13
DONNIE DARKO (Michael Andrews), THE EVIL DEAD (Joseph LoDuca) [Cinematheque: Aero]
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (Harry Manfredini) [Nuart]
July 14
CITIZEN KANE (Bernard Herrmann), HARD EIGHT (Michael Penn, Jon Brion) [Cinemathque: Aero]
July 15
BIG (Howard Shore) [Laemmle Ahyra Fine Arts]
ERASERHEAD (Peter Ivers), BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Carter Burwell) [Cinematheque: Aero]
OLIVER! (Lionel Bart, John Green) [Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts]
July 17
THE LAND BEFORE TIME (James Horner) [LACMA]
July 18
FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (Nicola Piovani) [Laemmle Royal]
July 19
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (Elmer Bernstein) [Laemmle NoHo]
FRESH HORSES (David Foster, Patrick Williams) [LACMA]
IN A LONELY PLACE (George Antheil), DEADLINE--U.S.A. (Cyril Mockridge) [Cinematheque: Aero]
July 20
CASABLANCA (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque: Aero]
LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN, SUMURUM [UCLA]
McCABE AND MRS. MILLER (Leonard Cohen), PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (Bob Dylan) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
YELLOW SUBMARINE (George Martin, The Beatles) [Nuart]
July 21
DESIGN FOR LIVING [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
LA DOLCE VITA (Nino Rota) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
TO BE OR NOT TO BE (Werner R. Heymann), ONE HOUR WITH YOU (Richard A. Whiting) [UCLA]
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (Max Steiner), KEY LARGO (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque: Aero]
July 22
THE INNER SCAR (Nico), I CAN NO LONGER HEAR THE GUITAR (Faton Cahen) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
PRINCESS MONONOKE (Joe Hisaishi) [Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arta
ROMAN HOLIDAY (Georges Auric) [Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts]
SABRINA (Frederick Hollander), THE CAINE MUTINY (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
This week I inaugurate a new section of my Friday column, in which I opine on whichever scores, books, films or television shows I feel like blabbing about, strategically situated at the end of the column so it can be safely ignored by most readers. This week I present my lists of the best, worst and favorite films of the year so far:
BEST FILMS OF 2018 SO FAR:
First Reformed
The Green Fog
Hereditary
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Lean on Pete
Leave No Trace
The Rider
Thoroughbreds
You Were Never Really Here*
WORST FILMS OF 2018 SO FAR:
Blumhouse's Truth or Dare
Kings
Krystal
Ray Meets Helen
Submergence
THE FILMS OF 2018 I'VE ENJOYED THE MOST:
Annihilation
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infnity War
Deadpool 2
The Green Fog
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
A Quiet Place
Solo: A Star Wars Story
*One of the highlights of my moviegoing year so far was when I saw You Were Never Really Here at Arclight Hollywood in a Saturday afternoon screening. When the Arclight usher came out to introduce the film as per the chain's custom, it was actually Joaquin Phoenix in an Arclight uniform.
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