Released by Special Arrangement with Turner Classic Movies Music

This CD features two classic scores for George Pal films in their definitive stereo editions: Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961) and The Power (1968).

Atlantis: The Lost Continent was one of George Pal's less-successful productions, a chronicle of the legendary lost continent of Altantis. Anthony Hall (actually a singer/songwriter named Sal Panto) played Demetrios, a Greek fisherman who ends up leading a revolution against Atlantis' corrupt ruling class. The film blended sword-and-sandal adventure with the fantasy elements and special effects for which Pal was known.

Scoring Atlantis: The Lost Continent was Russell Garcia, who the year before had produced a memorable science fiction score for Pal's The Time Machine. Garcia carried over his romantic, full-blooded approach from The Time Machine for Atlantis, providing fully developed melodies and aggressive action music. Atlantis has previously been released only in excerpts; this is the complete score, including passages deleted from the finished film.

The Power (1968) was one of George Pal's most offbeat films, starring George Hamilton as the head of a government think tank attempting to track down "Adam Hart," a mysterious mastermind with mental powers beyond that of ordinary humans. The film marked the return to cinema of Miklós Rózsa (who had not scored a film since 1963), who was more than able to accompany the film's noir-like plot, fantasy elements and suspense. At Pal's request, Rózsa interpolated the Hungarian cymbalom instrument as a flamboyant color; both Rózsa and Pal were Hungarian, as was the character of Adam Hart.

The Power has previously been available in unauthorized form on LP and CD. Unfortunately, the complete master tapes to the film have deteriorated beyond use, so this "private" 29:39 album program is all that survives of the original soundtrack. It is presented here in its first authorized edition, remastered from Citadel Records' original 1/4" stereo tape.