The latest limited releases from the Varese Sarabande CD Club are both expanded Deluxe Editions of two scores by Alan Silvestri previously released by the label - Robert Zemeckis' 1992 dark comedy DEATH BECOMES HER, and the video game movie sequel LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE.
On October 29, THE GODFATHER will be screened at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, with Nino Rota's classic score performed live-to-picture.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Amore Mio Aiutami - Piero Piccioni - Beat
Death Becomes Her: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Delitto In Formula Uno - Fabio Frizzi - Beat
Firestarter - John Carpenter, Jody Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Sacred Bones
Lo Chiamavano Bulldozer - Guido & Maurizio DeAngelis - Beat
Hocus Pocus 2 - John Debney - Disney
IN THEATERS TODAY
Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday - John Koutselinis
Decision to Leave - Yeong-wook Jo
Halloween Ends - John Carpenter, Jody Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Score CD due Jan. 20 on Sacred Bones
The Loneliest Boy in the World - The Invisible Men
Loren & Rose - Mike Sawitzke
Plan A - Tal Yardeni
Raymond & Ray - Jeff Beal
Stars at Noon - Tindersticks
Till - Abel Korzeniowski
COMING SOON
October 28
Frozen Planet II - Hans Zimmer, Adam Lukas, James Everingham - Silva
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Stand By For Action! Gerry Anderson in Concert - Barry Gray - Silva
November 4
The Godfather Suite - Carmine Coppola, Nino Rota - Silva
Mark Isham: Music for Film - Mark Isham - Silva
Stranger Things 4: Vol. 1 - Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein - Lakeshore
November 25
Archive 81 - Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow - Invada
Stingray - Barry Gray - Silva
Coming Soon
Claret - Oscar Martin Leanizabarrutia - Kronos
Doctor Who Series 13: Flux/Revolution of the Daleks - Segun Akinola - Silva
Don't Worry Darling - John Powell - Mondo/WaterTower
Il Conte Dracula - Bruno Nicolai - Digitmovies
Jack Mimoun et les secrets de Val Verde - Mathieu Lamboley - Music Box
La scarlatine/Tir a vue - Gabriel Yared - Music Box
Le rouge et le noir - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Bear McCreary - Mondo
Motorcycle Gang - Albert Glasser - Kronos
Nati Morti - Danielle Marinelli, Riccardo Adamo - Digitmovies
Nino Rota: Bandes Originales De Films 1956-1961 - Nino Rota - Music Box
Notre-Dame - Eric Demarsan - Music Box
The Proud and Damned - Gene Kauer, Douglas M. Lackey - Kronos
Suoni Velati - Matteo Cremolini - Kronos
There's Always Hope - Guy Farley - Caldera
Une Belle Course - Philippe Rombi - Music Box
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
October 14 - Bill Justis born (1926)
October 14 - Thomas Dolby born (1958)
October 14 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for Two Loves (1961)
October 14 - Richard Markowitz’s score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Glowing Corpse” is recorded (1965)
October 14 - Benh Zeitlin born (1982)
October 14 - Leonard Bernstein died (1990)
October 14 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for Predator 2 (1990)
October 14 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Cardassians” (1993)
October 15 - Dag Wiren born (1905)
October 15 - Haim Saban born (1944)
October 15 - Fumio Hayasaka died (1955)
October 15 - Simon Boswell born (1956)
October 15 - Franz Reizenstein died (1968)
October 15 - Kevin Kliesch born (1970)
October 15 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score to THX- 1138 (1970)
October 15 - Henry Mancini begins recording his score for Jacqueline Susann’s Once Is Not Enough (1974)
October 15 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lonely Among Us" (1987)
October 15 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Pathfinder” (1999)
October 15 - Igo Kantor died (2019)
October 16 - Leo F. Forbstein born (1892)
October 16 - Bert Kaempfert born (1923)
October 16 - Allan Zavod born (1945)
October 16 - Bernard Herrmann records his score for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode “Misadventure” (1964)
October 16 - Maurice Jarre begins recording his score for Taps (1981)
October 16 - Art Blakey died (1990)
October 16 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Year of Hell, Part I” (1997)
October 16 - David Bell records his scores for the Enterprise episodes “Terra Nova” and “Dear Doctor” (2001)
October 16 - Albert Elms died (2009)
October 16 - Pete Rugolo died (2011)
October 17 - Luiz Bonfa born (1922)
October 17 - Around the World in Eighty Days premieres in New York (1956)
October 17 - Bullitt opens in New York (1968)
October 17 - Nicholas Britell born (1980)
October 17 - Basil Poledouris records his score for the Twilight Zone episode “A Message from Charity” (1985)
October 17 - Jay Livingston died (2001)
October 17 - Vic Mizzy died (2009)
October 17 - Rob Walsh died (2018)
October 18 - Frederick Hollander born (1896)
October 18 - Rene Garriguenc born (1908)
October 18 - Allyn Ferguson born (1924)
October 18 - John Morris born (1926)
October 18 - Peter Best born (1943)
October 18 - Howard Shore born (1946)
October 18 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for East Side, West Side (1949)
October 18 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score to The Wrong Man (1956)
October 18 - Wynton Marsalis born (1961)
October 18 - Sergio Moure de Oteyza born (1969)
October 18 - Cristobal Tapia de Veer born (1973)
October 18 - Pete Carpenter died (1987)
October 18 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Game” (1991)
October 19 - Fiorenzo Carpi born (1918)
October 19 - George Fenton born (1949)
October 19 - Victor Young begins recording his score to Scaramouche (1951)
October 19 - Johnny Harris records his score for the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode “Return of the Fighting 69th” (1979)
October 19 - Jack Nitzsche records the electronic passages for his Jewel of the Nile score (1985)
October 19 - Recording sessions begin on James Newton Howard’s score for Falling Down (1992)
October 19 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “True Q” (1992)
October 19 - Svend Erik Tarp died (1994)
October 20 - Adolph Deutsch born (1897)
October 20 - Frank Churchill born (1901)
October 20 - Tom Petty born (1950)
October 20 - Thomas Newman born (1955)
October 20 - Lucien Moraweck died (1973)
October 20 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Booby Trap" (1989)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
BARBARIAN - Anna Drubich
"Campbell makes a compelling Final Girl lead, smart when she needs to be and reliably dumb when the script calls for it. Skarsgård, for his part, does a killer job subverting his usual creepiness, while letting just enough of it back in to keep everyone on edge. Zach Kuperstein’s cinematography leads us down these paths, too, every precise pan around a dark corner or rack focus a gleeful tease of what’s to come. Add to that Anna Drubich’s chittering, caterwauling score, and Barbarian hums with atmosphere even before we enter the house."
Clint Thompson, Consequence
"Combine the narrative of the horror that unfolds in the dark beneath the rental with Zach Cregger‘s direction and cinematography by Zach Kuperstein, echoing Raimi and Argento, and Barbarian is a dark and twisted tale that might prove too much for some. Pairing the visuals with Anna Dubrich’s unsettling music and some nifty and piercing sound design ensures that this is an immersive visceral assault on the audience’s senses when it needs to count."
Simon Thompson, The Playlist
"That is about all that should be shared about the story to preserve the air of uncertainty that is when the film is at its best. There is a palpable sense of peril to the scenes of discovery where Tess tries to get her bearings. Kregger makes use of playful inserts and what are almost gags of doors repeatedly closing behind her. Initially, the camera is more fluid and focused before being thrown into chaos when the truth catches up with her. This is all brought to life with a commanding hand by cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, whose previous outstanding work on 2019's similarly confined horror 'The Vigil' is realized here as well. The score by composer Anna Drubich is also well-utilized, almost feeling like a riff on Carpenter before plunging deeper into sonic darkness. It is by their craft that we are immersed."
Chase Hutchinson, Collider
"There’s nothing strikingly new to 'Barbarian,' and its use of a murdered Detroit as a character doesn't do enough to shake off 'Don't Breathe' comparisons, but the artistic impulses of Cregger's project make it a bold curiosity. The film has a compelling instinct of when to abruptly cut and fling us from one freaky moment to a different time zone or decade, allowing the viewer to breathe while then paying close attention to how the latest life story will fit in. And there’s an ambition in how these new elements are included, creating vignettes of sorts made of cinematographer Zach Kuperstein's different aspect ratios and extensive shots, filling in the movie’s thick atmosphere. The title 'Barbarian' rings throughout, like the wailing choir and screeching strings from Anna Drubich's score; its significance creates a metaphorical house of mirrors, and disturbingly so."
Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com
BLONDE - Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
"There’s something repetitive about all this, to be sure, but 'Blonde' is never tedious or boring. Dominik’s visual and sonic imagination work overtime to turn each sequence into an expressionistic and expressive journey, gorgeously shot dream-factory fantasies slipping into labyrinthine horrors. (The drifting, gently wailing score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis helps, too.) But also, Ana de Armas wins us over. Her performance is not quite what one might expect. She’s certainly committed fully to a part that requires intense physicality, tons of nudity, and tears. And she expertly mimics Monroe’s half-breathless style of speaking. But she still has traces of her accent, which the film doesn’t hide. That gives the whole endeavor a somewhat performative quality … which, of course, is the point of the movie. Ana de Armas doesn’t inhabit the role of Marilyn Monroe. Rather, the role of Marilyn Monroe inhabits Ana de Armas — like a tortured, possibly malevolent spirit."
Bilge Ebiri, New York
"Dominik’s visual flourishes are not always as successful. There has been early hype about the “womb camera” as we see the world from the POV of an unborn baby. This, at least, has the merit of being camp. More tedious is the over-reliance on slow-motion shots of Marilyn overwhelmed by crowds of snarling paparazzi to the sound of camera bulbs flashing. Dominik really wants to put across that she was oppressed through both force and neglect, and over-uses flashbacks to both a sexual assault and a photograph of the man her mum presented as her dad. A relentless sound design by the usually exquisite Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is misjudged, steamrolling through a film that already lacks nuance."
Sophia Monks Kaufman, IndieWire
"Aesthetically, 'Blonde' is mesmerizing. Mixing aspect ratios, going handheld in unexpected moments, and utilizing stars, sperm, waterfalls, and flying saucers as segues -- 'Blonde' is unrelentingly evocative. At one point, Monroe even vomits on the camera itself. Dominik is holding the Hollywood and tabloid machine in contempt but not without letting the audience know their role in iconography, too. There is a sense that no human being could ever become that large in our cultural consciousness and remain an individual person. Both the editing (by Adam Robinson) and the score (by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) match Dominik’s style: sometimes fluttery, sometimes destructive."
Brian Formo, Collider
"That extremely one-sided sexual encounter just about does the trick, giving Dominik the license to play in his own sandbox as the film moves towards the actress’ final years. Dropping the old-photo-made-new approach, Dominik doesn’t stop showing his homework, staging another film premiere as a scene right out of 'Eraserhead' and asking composers Nick Cave and Warren Ellis to deliver what could best be described as Angelo Badalamenti B-sides in order to make clear connections to that other Doomed Blonde, Laura Palmer."
Ben Croll, The Wrap
"'Blonde''s production design is detailed down to providing exact replicas of Monroe’s preferred makeup products, the hairbrushes she would have had on her bureau, even the numbers that appeared on her license plates. The movie’s surfaces are impeccable: If you love period films and old-Hollywood costume design, it’s worth seeing for those elements alone. (The eerie synth-driven score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is another high point.) Yet the portraits it offers of its characters never peer beneath those surfaces. Over and over the movie hits the same emotional note: Poor Marilyn. It’s a legitimate emotional response to what was self-evidently a tragic life, but the grinding sameness also makes for a miserabilist slog.
Dana Stevens, Slate.com
"Costume design by Jennifer Johnson ('I, Tonya') and a phalanx of makeup artists further transform de Armas for shots where it’s almost impossible to distinguish from the originals, which have become the boilerplate of our collective memories of Monroe. Meanwhile, a score by longtime Dominik collaborators Nick Cave and Warren Ellis finds a mesmerizing middle ground between the dreamlike, futuristic work of Vangelis and the haunting, skeletal nightmares of Angelo Badalamenti, holding together the disparate parts of this odyssey, expose, and character study rolled uneasily into one."
Todd Gilchrist, The Onion AV Club
"In 'Blonde,' Monroe’s pain is never final. The insults, the abandonments, the beatings, the rapes, the addictions, the losses of consciousness and selfhood -- these aren’t just cruel twists or setbacks; they’re the movie’s organizing principles. With a meticulous command of craft and the kind of high seriousness that only a nearly three-hour running time can signify, Dominik sets out to chronicle the many degradations that were inflicted on Monroe’s body and spirit, plus a few that probably weren’t. (His blueprint is Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same title.) Like his great 2007 western, 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,' 'Blonde' has been conceived as a slow-motion death march: 'The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe by Basically Everyone She Ever Met.' And in every aesthetic detail, from the brooding undertow of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ score to the artfully arbitrary mix of color and black-and-white in Chayse Irvin’s boxily framed images, 'Blonde' styles itself as a work of rare, unflinching honesty -- a nightmarish plunge into the Hollywood abattoir that ground up and finally devoured its most sublime creation."
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
"Dizzying images from Hollywood premieres, with a sea of flashbulbs popping and fans with grotesquely distorted mouths screaming for Marilyn’s attention, recur throughout, accompanied by an effective other-worldly score from regular Dominik collaborators Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. These sequences contribute to the disorienting effect of sudden fame that makes Marilyn fear going down the same unhinged path that put her mother in a psych ward. She’s lonely, scared and constantly violated by the Hollywood publicity machine."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER - Dave Palmer
"But ultimately, 'The Greatest Beer Run Ever' has the same fatal flaw as Farrelly’s previous film, the (inexplicably) Best Picture-winning 'Green Book': he’s dealing with serious subject matter but still using the distinctive and specific visual language of the broad comedies he made his name directing. As a result, when the serious beats arrive, they all seem like they’re out of a spoof movie; the Vietnam scenes here look like something out of a third, heretofore unknown 'Hot Shots!' installment. As with 'Green Book,' it’s not that there aren’t laughs, but the dramatic moments are so clumsily staged and played that they don’t land at all. We just end up with sad piano music tinkling as Efron’s baby blues mist over because he’s learning that (!) war is hell, and (!!) that it screws guys up, and (!!!) that we’re maybe doing some bad things over there."
Jason Bailey, The Playlist
PRIVATE DESERT - Felipe Ayres
"Sara ghosts Daniel, and so he gets into his car and drives across the country to see her, at which point a very beautiful and plaintive string score by Felipe Ayres comes on the soundtrack, and the very delayed credit sequence finally starts. This is all very effective because it feels like Daniel is leaving his drab and morally compromised life behind for a new start. Of course, if we think about it, Daniel is also basically stalking a pen pal who stopped responding to his messages, but Muritiba and his co-writer Henrique Dos Santos blithely ignore the darker implications of their narrative."
Dan Callahan, The Wrap
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
October 14
AMERICAN PSYCHO (John Cale) [Los Feliz 3]
THE CRAFT (Graeme Revell) [Los Feliz 3]
EL VAMPIRO SANGRIENTO (Luis Hernandez Breton), LA INVASION DE LOS VAMPIROS (Luis Hernandez Breton) [Academy Museum]
THE 400 BLOWS (Jean Constantin), STOLEN KISSES (Antoine Duhamel) [Aero]
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (Josef van Wissem) [BrainDead Studios]
GRINDHOUSE: DEATH PROOF [New Beverly]
THE HAUNTED MANSION (Mark Mancina) [Los Feliz 3]
SEVEN (Howard Shore) [New Beverly]
THE WICKER MAN (Paul Giovanni) [New Beverly]
October 15
CASPER (James Horner) [Los Feliz 3]
GOODFELLAS [Aero]
THE GREAT DICTATOR (Charles Chaplin) [Los Feliz 3]
IDLE HANDS (Graeme Revell) [BrainDead Studios]
MONKEYBONE (Anne Dudley) [BrainDead Studios]
ONIBABA (Hikaru Hayashi) [BrainDead Studios]
SCREAM (Marco Beltrami) [Alamo Drafthouse]
October 16
AKIRA (Shoji Yamashiro) [Alamo Drafthouse]
BRAZIL (Michael Kamen) [BrainDead Studios]
CARRIE (Pino Donaggio) [BrainDead Studios]
COP LAND (Howard Shore), IDENTITY (Alan Silvestri) [Aero]
THE 400 BLOWS (Jean Constantin) [Los Feliz 3]
JACOB'S LADDER (Maurice Jarre) [BrainDead Studios]
JOINT SECURITY AREA (Jun-seok Bang, Yeong-wook Jo) [Alamo Drafthouse]
KWAIDAN (Toru Takemitsu) [Academy Museum]
LA GUERRE EST FINIE (Giovanni Fusco) [Los Feliz 3]
LATE SPRING (Senji Ito) [Los Feliz 3]
MUSEO DEL HORROR (Sergio Guerrero), EL BARON DEL TERROR (Gustavo Carreon) [Academy Museum]
PIRANHA (Pino Donaggio) [New Beverly]
WALLACE & GROMMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (Julian Nott) [New Beverly]
October 17
AKIRA (Shoji Yamashiro) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE CROW (Graeme Revell) [Alamo Drafthouse]
DOMINICK AND EUGENE (Trevor Jones) [Los Feliz 3]
THE HOST (Byung-woo Lee) [Academy Museum]
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (Heinz Roemheld) [Aero]
SPOOKIES (James Calabrese, Kenneth Higgins) [Los Feliz 3]
TWILIGHT (Carter Burwell), QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (Richard Gibbs, Jonathan Davis) [New Beverly]
October 18
AKIRA (Shoji Yamashiro) [Alamo Drafthouse]
LA CIENAGA [Academy Museum]
MIAMI CONNECTION (Jon McCallum) [Alamo Drafthouse]
TWILIGHT (Carter Burwell), QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (Richard Gibbs, Jonathan Davis) [New Beverly]
October 19
AKIRA (Shoji Yamashiro) [Alamo Drafthouse]
ARMY OF DARKNESS (Joseph LoDuca) [BrainDead Studios]
DRESSED TO KILL (Pino Donaggio), EYES OF LAURA MARS (Artie Kane) [New Beverly]
INFERNAL AFFAIRS II (Chan Kwong Wing) [Los Feliz 3]
LA GUERRE EST FINIE (Giovanni Fusco) [Los Feliz 3]
THE MAN FROM LONDON [BrainDead Studios]
MIAMI CONNECTION [Alamo Drafthouse]
October 20
BED AND BOARD (Antoine Duhamel), LOVE ON THE RUN (Georges Delerue) [Aero]
DRESSED TO KILL (Pino Donaggio), EYES OF LAURA MARS (Artie Kane) [New Beverly]
IN BRUGES (Carter Burwell) [Los Feliz e]
October 21
BASIC INSTINCT (Jerry Goldsmith) [New Beverly]
BLACK ORPHEUS (Luis Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim) [BrainDead Studios]
GRINDHOUSE: DEATH PROOF [New Beverly]
LA BRUJA (Raul Lavista), SANTA SANGRE (Simon Boswell) [Academy Museum]
LA GUERRE EST FINIE (Giovanni Fusco) [Los Feliz 3]
MAGHADEERA (M.N. Keeravani) [Aero]
28 DAYS LATER (John Murphy) [BrainDead Studios]
VERTIGO (Bernard Herrmann) [New Beverly]
October 22
BEDEVILLED (Kim Tae-seong) [Academy Museum]
THE BOXTROLLS (Dario Marianelli) [Academy Museum]
THE CRAFT (Graeme Revell) [Alamo Drafthouse]
CRAZY MAMA [Los Feliz 3]
EL ESCAPULARIO (Gustavo Carreon), MISTERIOS DE ULTRATUMBA (Gustavo Carreon) [Academy Museum]
HEARTBREAKERS (John Debney) [Los Feliz 3]
MAD MONSTER PARTY? (Maury Laws) [New Beverly]
PSYCHO (Bernard Herrmann) [Alamo Drafthouse]
RE-ANIMATOR (Richard Band) [New Beverly]
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Daniel Mudford, Pete Woodhead) [Alamo Drafthouse]
STOLEN KISSES (Antoine Duhamel) [Los Feliz 3]
TURNING RED (Ludwig Goransson) [Aero]
VERTIGO (Bernard Herrmann) [New Beverly]
October 23
BED AND BOARD (Antoine Duhamel) [Los Feliz 3]
BELOVED (Rachel Portman) [Academy Museum]
THE FACULTY (Marco Beltrami) [BrainDead Studios]
THE HAUNTED MANSION (Mark Mancina) [Los Feliz 3]
MAD MONSTER PARTY? (Maury Laws) [New Beverly]
MUNECOS INFERNALES, HASTA EL VIENTO TIENE MIEDE (Raul Lavista) [Academy Museum]
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Walter Schumann) [BrainDead Studios]
PSYCHO (Bernard Herrmann) [Alamo Drafthouse]
RESIDENT EVIL (Marco Beltrami, Marilyn Manson) [Los Feliz 3]
TEOREMA (Ennio Morricone) [BrainDead Studios]
VERTIGO (Bernard Herrmann) [New Beverly]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Arrivederci, Baby (Farnon); Sleepy Hollow (Elfman); The Big Brawl (Schifrin); Stir of Echoes (Howard); 13 Ghosts (Frizzell); Big Trouble in Little China (Carpenter/Howarth); The Uninvited (Christopher Young); Black Widow (Small); What Lies Beneath (Silvestri); The Blood of Heroes (Boekelheide); The Woman in Black (Beltrami)
Read: Death of a Dissident, by Stuart M. Kaminsky
Seen: El vampiro; Cronos; El espejo de la bruja; El mundo de los muertos; Kubo and the Two Strings; R-Point; La maldicion de La Llorona; Veneno para las hadas; Le nave de los monstruos; Las mujeres panteras; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Bros; The Woman King; Amsterdam
Watched: La Femme Nikita ("Obsessed"); These Are the Damned; Star Trek: Enterprise ("The Forge"); Bob's Burgers ("Sexy Dance Fighting"); The Boys ("The Bloody Doors Off"); The Good Place ("...Someone Like Me as a Member"); Counterpart ("Inside Out"); Hacks ("A Gig's a Gig"); Damages ("All That Crap About Your Family"); 30 Rock ("Larry King"); The Deuce ("Our Raison D'Etre"); The Venture Bros. ("Hostile Makeover"); Fargo ("Loplop"); What We Do in the Shadows ("On the Run")
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