La-La Land has announced their June batch of releases, which are now available to order: a two-disc edition of John Williams' popular score for the original JURASSIC PARK; an expanded two-disc edition of James Horner's score for the third Jack Ryan film, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER; and a re-release of their expanded edition of Horner's previous Jack Ryan score, PATRIOT GAMES.
The latest release from Quartet is a remastered reissue of Jerry Fielding's score for Sam Peckinpah's BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA.
Vintage John Wiliams quote of the week, from a Films and Filming intervew by Derek Elley, in 1978:
"Early next year I may also do a project called Alien, directed by Ridley Scott."
Goldsmith's Alien is one of my all-time favorite pieces of film music, but it's fascinating to ponder how Williams might have aproached the project. At the time of the interview he was composing the score for Superman, and the article mentions that he was also set to work on Quintet and Meteor, both of which were ultimately scored by other composers (Tom Pierson and Laurence Rosenthal, respectively). It has long amused me that during that period he was shrewed enough to bail on The Sentinel, Quintet, Meteor, Inchon and Heaven's Gate, but still ended up scoring Heartbeeps and Monsignor. It's almost as if his agent told him he couldn't bail on every bad film, or else it might seem like he was cheating.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Clear and Present Danger - James Horner - La-La Land
Jurassic Park - John Williams - La-La Land
Jurassic World: Dominion - Michael Giacchino - Backlot
Masters of the Universe: Revelation: Vol. 2 - Bear McCreary - Sparks & Shadows
Patriot Games [re-issue] - James Horner - La-La Land
IN THEATERS TODAY
Both Sides of the Blade - Stuart Staples
Olga - Pierre Desprats
Thor: Love and Thunder - Score by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad, Themes by Giacchino
COMING SOON
July 15
La casa strega/Mia moglie e' una strega - Detto Mariano - Beat
July 22
Clark - Mikael Akerfeldt - Inside Out
The Northman - Robin Carolan, Sebastian Gainsborough - Sacred Bones
Coming Soon
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia [remastered reissue] - Jerry Fielding - Quartet
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
July 8 - Bob Alcivar born (1938)
July 8 - Jay Chattaway born (1946)
July 8 - John Addison records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "The Pumpkin Competition" (1986)
July 9 - Richard Hageman born (1882)
July 9 - Elisabeth Lutyens born (1906)
July 9 - Earle Hagen born (1919)
July 9 - Paul Chihara born (1938)
July 9 - Harald Kloser born (1956)
July 9 - Conrad Salinger died (1961)
July 9 - Dickon Hinchliffe born (1967)
July 9 - Joseph Mullendore records his score for the Land of the Giants episode “Terror-Go-Round” (1968)
July 9 - Jerry Fielding begins recording his score for The Outfit (1973)
July 9 - James Horner records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Alamo Jobe" (1985)
July 9 - Ken Thorne died (2014)
July 9 - Michael Masser died (2015)
July 10 - Jimmy McHugh born (1893)
July 10 - Don Costa born (1925)
July 10 - Bruce Fowler born (1947)
July 10 - Recording sessions begin for Richard Rodney Bennett’s score for L’Imprecateur (1977)
July 10 - Robert Mellin died (1994)
July 11 - George Gershwin died (1937)
July 11 - David Baerwald born (1960)
July 11 - Alexei Aigui born (1971)
July 11 - Georges Delerue begins recording his score for Maxie (1985)
July 12 - Yasushi Akutagawa born (1925)
July 12 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns For Adonais?" is recorded (1967)
July 12 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Elaan of Troyius" is recorded (1968)
July 12 - Michael Small begins recording his score for Marathon Man (1976)
July 12 - Eddy Manson died (1996)
July 12 - James Bernard died (2001)
July 12 - Benny Carter died (2003)
July 13 - Ruby Raksin born (1917)
July 13 - Ernest Gold born (1921)
July 13 - Per Norgaard born (1932)
July 13 - Richard Markowtiz’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 - Jan Krenz born (1926)
July 14 - Elliot Kaplan born (1931)
July 14 - J.A.C. Redford born (1953)
July 14 - Harry Geller records his score for the Land of the Giants episode “The Inside Rail” (1969)
July 14 - Benny Golson records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “Blind” (1971)
July 14 - Joe Harnell died (2005)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
THE FORGIVEN - Lorne Balfe
"The film looks and sounds great, with cinematographer Larry Smith ('Only God Forgives') capturing bright reds and blues amid the sweltering desert, and Lorne Balfe’s music immersing us in Northern Africa. As Jo, Chastain upholds her reputation as an actor with a firm hand on the intensity dial. The ability of the reigning Best Actress Oscar winner to turn the removal of sunglasses into edge-of-your-seat drama rarely disappoints. Fiennes has more opportunity for nuance, with David seeking to 'cross the bridge and have done with things,' one of many lines that he says with a convincing spontaneity. He’s so convincingly loathsome from the first moment he sees the Moroccan shoreline that every sidelong glance hinting at an emerging conscience feels surprising yet earned; his first sign of fear, in a tense, lamplit scene opposite Kanater, brilliantly lays the groundwork for the denouement to come. And Abbott is a great fit for McDonagh’s palpable cynicism; there’s something appropriately off-putting about him, like everything Tom does hides his self-loathing."
Jack Smart, The Onion AV Club
HATCHING - Steig Berge Svenen
"Accompanied by soft, distant music from Steig Berge Svensen with vocals both lilting and disquieting, the opening images have DP Jarkko T. Laine’s camera floating over an immaculate community of identical-looking homes, the streets separating them eerily empty aside from a cawing bird."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE JANES - Max Avery Lichtenstein
"The inspiring present-day testimony and the evocative backdrop of Chicago circa 1970, seen from a female perspective (with material by Vivian Maier in the mix) are edited with superb energy by Kristen Huntley. There’s terrific energy too in Max Avery Lichtenstein’s score, its subtle mix in tune with the saga’s layers of spiritedness and suspense."
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
LIGHTYEAR - Michael Giacchino
"The most important thing to know is that every failed attempt to reach his goal results in Buzz missing four years of life back home. Everyone gets older while he stays the same age. 'Lightyear' represents much of this repeated passage of time in a montage scored by Michael Giacchino; it’s reminiscent of the opening scene in 'Up.' Buzz’s unwillingness to accept failure keeps him from celebrating the marriage of Hawthorne and her girlfriend, the birth of their daughter, and far too many in-jokes and experiences for him to count. Each character fits neatly into the familiar roles the genre specifies: Flawed heroes seeking redemption, rookies hoping to prove themselves, villains with secrets, and so on. The score by Michael Giacchino is one of his best, a delectable spoof of bombastic space movie music that elevates every scene it plays under."
Odie Henderson, RogerEbert.com
"'Lightyear''s 'Star Wars' allusions -- which adapt Colin Cantwell’s retro pseudo-dogfighter ship designs, its broad Darth Bad Guy (James Brolin’s Emperor Zurg) and laser swords -- are spot-on without being devotional. MacLane films with an eye for an era’s aesthetic. The domed space colony blends the alt-history realism of 'For All Mankind' with a technicolor Frank R. Paul-esque futurism. It’s all enhanced by the same dedication to legible lighting and landscaping that makes every Pixar film feel like the real world seen through a magical filter. The vastness of space, the fragility of the technology required to survive and navigate it, the compelling beauty of its unknown—it’s all communicated through detailed, delectable animation. Blocky-rubber characters pop from granulated, tactile environments. Alongside Michael Giacchino’s fanfare-filled score, these design choices are as strikingly pulpy as the movie’s lightspeed-quick pace. They make even the most obvious detours tolerable."
Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
"The textured visuals are often breathtaking, pulsing with luminous color, and the detailed character work is delightful, matched by strong contributions from the voice actors. Involvement in the story is enriched at every turn by Michael Giacchino’s robust orchestral score, which ranges from quiet, intimate moments through hard-charging suspense to triumphal jubilation. The film gets in on the MCU act with a jokey mid-credits sequence and then a more dramatic one at the very end, opening the door to a sequel."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
WATCHER - Nathan Halpern
"Early on, Okuno skillfully plays with the subjectivity of Julia’s fears, depicting the young woman’s experience with a certain ambiguity that’s heightened by feelings of isolation that stem from cultural and language barriers. In a clever touch, none of the Romanian dialogue is subtitled, further keying us to Julia’s state of alienation. This sense of unease is bolstered by Nathan Halpern’s stark, unsettling score and a wonderfully subdued performance by Monroe, who often expresses the agony of living in constant fear without the aid of dialogue."
Derek Smith, Slant Magazine
"Given the recycled archetypes and often predictable plotting, it takes quite some skill, and Nathan Halpern’s fine, suspenseful score, to preserve a sense of eeriness. Benjamin Kirk Nielsen’s unshowy photography is a stealth virtue here too, remaining in such a naturalistic register that the few jump scares land and the genre-mandated minimum of bloodletting is queasily effective. It also hides the joins of the trickery required to keep the sinister man’s identity fluid: His face is usually glimpsed in peripheral vision or backlit or in a hurried sidelong glance that stops fearfully short at his chin. His features are a permanent blur, like a hazy memory or an incomplete photofit, an uncanny effect that doesn’t fully dissipate even when we do get a good look at him (it helps that he’s played by Burn Gorman bringing Crispin Glover levels of weirdo realness)."
Jessica Kiang, Variety
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
July 8
BATMAN FOREVER (Elliot Goldenthal) [New Beverly]
BLOOD FOR DRACULA (Claudio Gizzi), FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN (Claudio Gizzi) [BrainDead Studios]
DJANGO UNCHAINED [New Beverly]
GIANT (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Fine Arts]
MAGIC MIKE XXL [Alamo Drafthouse]
MALCOLM X (Terence Blanchard) [Aero]
THE MOON HAS RISEN (Takanobu Saito), LOVE LETTER (Ichiro Saito) [UCLA/Hammer]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (Ralph Burns), CADDYSHACK (Johnny Mandel) [New Beverly]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (Marc Shaiman) [Academy Museum]
July 9
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Alan Silvestri) [New Beverly]
BETTER OFF DEAD (Rupert Hine) [BrainDead Studios]
DICK TRACY (Danny Elfman) [Academy Museum]
DOUBLE HAPPINESS (Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet), BEAU TRAVAIL (Charles Henri de Pierrefeu, Eran Zur) [Academy Museum]
THE EVIL DEAD (Joseph LoDuca) [New Beverly]
FLOATING LIFE (Davood Tabrizi) [UCLA/Hammer]
GIANT (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Fine Arts]
HAVE A NICE DAY [BrainDead Studios]
NAKED (Andrew Dickson) [Los Feliz 3]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (Ralph Burns), CADDYSHACK (Johnny Mandel) [New Beverly]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (Bruce Smeaton) [Los Feliz 3]
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (Matt Clifford)[BrainDead Studios]
SHORT CUTS (Mark Isham) [Aero]
TROOP BEVERLY HILLS (Randy Edelman) [Los Feliz 3]
July 10
BORDER RADIO (Dave Alvin) [BrainDead Studios]
BURST CITY [BrainDead Studios]
DUNKIRK (Hans Zimmer) [Aero]
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Ennio Morricone) [Fine Arts]
THE KING'S SPEECH (Alexandre Desplat) [Fine Arts]
LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS [Los Feliz 3]
LIFE IS SWEET (Rachel Portman) [Los Feliz 3]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (Ralph Burns), CADDYSHACK (Johnny Mandel) [New Beverly]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
STRAIGHT TO HELL (The Pogues, Pray for Rain) [BrainDead Studios]
TOTAL RECALL (Jerry Goldsmith) [Academy Museum]
TRANSFORMERS (Steve Jablonsky) [Fine Arts]
TROUBLE IN PARADISE [Los Feliz 3]
July 11
NIGHTMARE CITY (Stelvio Cipriani) [Los Feliz 3]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
SING (Joby Talbot) [Alamo Drafthouse]
WILD THINGS (George S. Clinton), THE PAPERBOY (Mario Grigorov) [New Beverly]
July 12
BIG WEDNESDAY (Basil Poledouris), CALIFORNIA DREAMING (Fred Karlin) [New Beverly]
MAGIC MIKE XXL [Alamo Drafthouse]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE ROAD WARRIOR (Brian May) [Academy Museum]
TAMMY AND THE T-REX (Jack Conrad, Tony Riparetti) [Alamo Drafthouse]
July 13
BIG WEDNESDAY (Basil Poledouris), CALIFORNIA DREAMING (Fred Karlin) [New Beverly]
LIFE IS SWEET (Rachel Portman) [Los Feliz 3]
PERFECT BLUE (Masahiro Ikumi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
STROSZEK (Chet Atkins, Sonny Terry) [Los Feliz 3]
TAMMY AND THE T-REX (Jack Conrad, Tony Riparetti) [Alamo Drafthouse]
July 14
APARAJITO (Ravi Shankar) [Los Feliz 3]
CAPE FEAR (Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein) [Los Feliz 3]
FREAK ORLANDO (Wilhelm D. Siebert) [BrainDead Studios]
WOMAN IN THE DUNES (Toru Takemitsu) [New Beverly]
ZAPPA (John Frizzell) [Aero]
July 15
HAPPY TOGETHER (Danny Chung), CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Frankie Chan, Michael Galasso, Roel A. Garcia)[Academy Museum]
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
JACK BE NIMBLE (Chris Neal) [Los Feliz 3]
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (Sergio Vitier) [UCLA/Hammer]
A SNAKE OF JUNE (Chu Ishikawa) [Alamo Drafthouse]
STREETS OF FIRE (Ry Cooder), GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND (Ry Cooder) [Aero]
TRUE LIES (Brad Fiedel) [New Beverly]
WOMAN IN THE DUNES (Toru Takemitsu) [New Beverly]
July 16
BABE (Nigel Westlake) [Academy Museum]
BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (Alan Silvestri) [New Beverly]
GOODFELLAS [Los Feliz 3]
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Maurice Jarre) [Aero]
MULTIPLE MANIACS (George S. Clinton) [BrainDead Studios]
OUT OF SIGHT (David Holmes) [Academy Museum]
PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (Paul Williams, George Aliceson Tipton) [BrainDead Studios]
SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS (Rolfe Kent) [Los Feliz 3]
TOUT VA BIEN [BrainDead Studios]
July 17
BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (Alan Silvestri) [New Beverly]
BRINGING OUT THE DEAD (Elmer Bernstein), RED ROCK WEST (William Olvis) [New Beverly]
CABARET (John Kander, Ralph Burns) [Fine Arts]
CHRISTINE (John Carpenter, Alan Howarth) [Alamo Drafthouse]
DOWNTOWN '81 (Vincent Gallo) [BrainDead Studios]
FACE/OFF (John Powell) [Academy Museum]
LEGALLY BLONDE (Rolfe Kent) [Alamo Drafthouse]
LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER [Los Feliz 3]
MAN PUSH CART (Peyman Yazdanian), CHOP SHOP (M. Lo) [UCLA/Hammer]
NAKED (Andrew Dickson) [Los Feliz 3]
PERFORMANCE (Jack Nitzsche) [BrainDead Studios]
PUTNEY SWOPE (Charley Cuva) [BrainDead Studios]
SHORT CUTS (Mark Isham) [Aero]
SORCERER (Tangerine Dream) [Los Feliz 3]
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (Alex North) [Los Feliz 3]
WOLFWALKERS (Bruno Coulais) [UCLA/Hammer]
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (George M. Cohan, Ray Heindorf, Heinz Roemheld) [Fine Arts]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (Jarre); Justice League (Elfman); Mad Max: Fury Road (Holkenborg); A Walk in the Clouds (Jarre); Hard Boiled (Gibbs); You've Got Mail (Fenton); Hard Target (Revell); Addicted to Love (Portman); Mission: Impossible II (Zimmer); Bicentennial Man (Horner); Windtalkers (Horner); First Knight (Goldsmith); Paycheck (Powell)
Read: A Whisper to the Living, by Stuart M. Kaminsky
Seen: My Own Private Idaho; Before Sunrise; The Princess Bride; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On; Ruggles of Red Gap [1935]; Batman [1989]; The Forgiven; Minions: The Rise of Gru; The Elephant Man
Watched: Penny Dreadful ("And They Were Enemies"); You're the Worst ("Finish Your Milk"); Hysteria [1965]; Boardwalk Empire ('Broadway Limited"); Star Trek ("Plato's Stepchildren"); Archer ("Strange Doings in the Taboo Groves"); You're the Worst ("Constant Horror and Bone-Deep Dissatisfaction"); The Hypnotic Eye; Bob's Burgers ("Human Flesh"); Star Trek ("Wink of an Eye"); Archer ("Some Remarks on Cannibalism")
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