Quartet has announced four new end-of-year CDs, including one truly historic release.
FRENZY was the penultimate film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, his first film to shoot in England since Stage Fright 22 years earlier, and was his best-reviewed film in the years after The Birds. With a witty script by Anthony Shaffer and a top-flight cast of British actors including Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Vivien Merchant, Anne Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Barry Foster and Billie Whitelaw (the latter two imported from the Hitchcockian, Herrmann-scored Twisted Nerve), the film was originally intended to feature a score by the legendary Henry Mancini, but when Hitchcock heard the score the maestro recorded he allegedly remarked "If I wanted Herrmann I would have hired Herrmann" and threw out Mancini's score, the only time this happened to the four-time Oscar winner. Hitchcock ultimately hired Ron Goodwin (Where Eagles Dare, Village of the Damned) to write a replacement score, and until now, re-recordings of Goodman's "London theme" and Mancini's unused main theme have been the only cues released from either score. Quartet's release features both scores for the first time, and all one can say about this release is "Lovely! Lovely!"
Elmer Bernstein's score for the original Magnificent Seven is one of his most popular including one of his most instantly recognizable themes, and Quartet is releasing a four-disc boxed-set, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN COLLECTION, featuring all four of the scores from the series. The Magnificent Seven features the original score plus bonus tracks; Return of the Seven features the tracks from the LP re-recording, as the original score tracks are currently lost; Guns of the Magnificent Seven features the same tracks as the previous Film Score Monthly release; The Magnificent Seven Ride is the first release of the final score for the series, with Bernstein conducting and his orchestrators Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes adapting his themes. The second disc also features the music Bernstein recorded for the Philip Morris promotional album, Music for the Marlboro Country (Bernstein's Magnificent Seven theme was also later well known as the Marlboro theme).
John Barry received his fourth Oscar nomination for 1971's MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Patrick McGoohan, Timothy Dalton, Trevor Howard and Ian Holm (not to be confused with the recent retelling of the same historical events, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie), and Quartet's features the original LP sequencing plus the full mono score tracks. (This film and Chaplin were the only occasions in which Barry was nominated but did not win - five out of seven is pretty impressive).
Their final new release is an expanded edition of Ennio Morricone's score for the 1969 French gangster film, THE SICILIAN CLAN.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Banana Joe - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Beat
Commisariato di notturna/La supplete - Rentao Rascel - Beat
...Continuavano a chiamarlo Trinita' - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Beat
The Fabelmans - John Williams - Sony
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Alexandre Desplat - Columbia
Tiffany Memorandum - Riz Ortolani - Beat
IN THEATERS TODAY
The Apology - Uele Lamore
Avatar: The Way of Water - Simon Franglen
Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be - Ludovic Bource
COMING SOON
January 6
Women Talking - Hildur Guonadottir - Mercury
January 13
Till - Abel Korzeniowski - Decca
January 20
Halloween Ends - John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel E. Davies
Coming Soon
Don't Worry Darling - John Powell - Mondo/WaterTower
Frenzy - Ron Goodwin/Henry Mancini - Quartet
The Magnificent Seven Collection - Elmer Bernstein - Quartet
Mary, Queen of Scots - John Barry - Quartet
The Sicilian Clan - Ennio Morricone - Quartet
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
December 16 - Lud Gluskin born (1898)
December 16 - Noel Coward born (1899)
December 16 - Georgy Sviridov born (1915)
December 16 - Camille Saint-Saens died (1921)
December 16 - Marco Frisina born (1954)
December 16 - Adam Gorgoni born (1963)
December 16 - Recording sessions begin for Cyril Mockdridge’s score for Donovan’s Reef (1963)
December 16 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for In Harm's Way (1964)
December 16 - Robert Prince records his score for The New Adventures of Wonder Woman episode “The Deadly Toys” (1977)
December 16 - Richard Band records his score for Terrorvision (1985)
December 16 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his unused Timeline score (2002)
December 16 - Paul Baillargeon records his score for the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Chosen Realm” (2003)
December 16 - Freddie Perren died (2004)
December 17 - Leo Erdody born (1888)
December 17 - Craig Safan born (1948)
December 17 - Winfried Zillig died (1963)
December 17 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score for Rhino! (1963)
December 17 - Paul Hepker born (1967)
December 17 - Don Ellis died (1978)
December 17 - John Debney records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Pegasus” (1993)
December 17 - Galt MacDermot died (2018)
December 18 - Joel Hirschhorn born (1937)
December 18 - Jean Musy born (1947)
December 18 - Maurice Jarre begins recording his score for The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1979)
December 18 - Out of Africa opens in New York and Los Angeles (1985)
December 18 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Datalore" (1987)
December 19 - Paul Dessau born (1894)
December 19 - Robert B. Sherman born (1925)
December 19 - Galt MacDermot born (1928)
December 19 - Herbert Stothart begins recording his score for Northwest Passage (1939)
December 19 - Recording sessions begin for Frederick Hollander’s score for The Bride Wore Boots (1946)
December 19 - Walter Murphy born (1952)
December 19 - Duane Tatro’s score for The Invaders episode “Counter-Attack” is recorded (1967)
December 19 - Fred Karlin begins recording his score to The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1973)
December 19 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score for Going Ape (1980)
December 19 - Michel Magne died (1984)
December 19 - David Bell records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Past Tense, Part II” (1994)
December 19 - Roger Webb died (2002)
December 20 - Aaron Copland begins recording his score to The Heiress (1948)
December 20 - Cyril Mockrdige records his score for the Lost in Space episode "The Questing Beast" (1966)
December 20 - Alex North begins recording his score to The Devil's Brigade (1967)
December 20 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Red Pony (1972)
December 20 - Ned Washington died (1976)
December 20 - Jerry Goldsmith records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Boo!" (1985)
December 20 - Richard Hazard died (2000)
December 20 - David Bell records his score for the Enterprise episode “Dawn” (2002)
December 20 - Arlon Ober died (2004)
December 21 - Derek Scott born (1921)
December 21 - Franco Micalizzi born (1939)
December 21 - Frank Zappa born (1940)
December 21 - David Michael Frank born (1948)
December 21 - Matthieu Chabrol born (1956)
December 21 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for Something of Value (1956)
December 21 - Eric Coates died (1957)
December 21 - Goldfinger opens in New York (1964)
December 21 - Thunderball opens in New York (1965)
December 21 - Frank Cordell begins recording his score to Mosquito Squadron (1968)
December 21 - Barry DeVorzon begins recording his score for The Warriors (1978)
December 21 - Waldemar Kazanecki died (1991)
December 21 - Dominic Frontiere died (2017)
December 22 - Alfi Kabiljo born (1935)
December 22 - Guido De Angelis born (1944)
December 22 - Michael Bacon born (1949)
December 22 - Dominic Frontiere records his score for The Invaders episode “The Experiment” (1966)
December 22 - Fred Steiner's scores for the Star Trek episodes "By Any Other Name" and "The Omega Glory" are recorded (1967)
December 22 - Gordon Zahler died (1975)
December 22 - James Horner begins recording his score for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1988)
December 22 - Joe Strummer died (2002)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO - Alexandre Desplat
"And yet, 'Pinocchio' is far from a sour or bleak film. It’s about the beauty of life being fleeting, a movie not about a monster who wants to be a real boy, but about a monster that wants his creator to love him the way he is, and to be accepted for who he is. This is a movie about imperfect fathers and imperfect sons, about not meeting expectations, and learning to live with them, about accepting that life ends, that loved ones will leave us, and about embracing the time we had together. There’s horror, sure, but also warmth, laughs, and plenty of songs. Patrick McHale, who gave us the hit song of 2014 'Potatoes and Molasses' co-writes several songs with Roeban Katz and del Toro that are as cheerful and catchy as they are melancholic and profound. Meanwhile, Alexandre Desplat’s score is essentially a spiritual continuation of his 'The Shape of Water' score, and it works wonderfully for the romantic tone of the film."
Rafael Motomayor, IndieWire
"The tweaks to the story are subtle but transformative. With the ominous fascist backdrop, the story’s themes of ever-threatened death and living life without fear are powerfully amplified. Bolshy little Pinocchio seems suddenly boldly subversive. And a small but important change to the ending gives it a far more profound conclusion than we usually see. It’s a shame del Toro kept the typical animation trope of inserting songs, because they’re all instantly forgettable, but that’s a relatively minor gripe."
Olly Richards, Time Out
"'Pinocchio' is also a feast for the senses, even by del Toro’s gluttonous standards. There’s a rich, melodic, romantic score by Alexandre Desplat ('The Shape of Water'). There is exquisite voice work, especially from Bradley (the veteran 'Game of Thrones' and 'Harry Potter' character actor) as the irascible Geppetto, and from McGregor, who nails all the biggest laugh lines and whose voiceover does so much to leaven and bind together this sometimes awkward movie."
Oli Welch, Polygon
"It’s intense, creepy, often harrowing stuff, so you can see why del Toro has said in interviews that his 'Pinocchio' isn’t a children’s film. But that doesn’t mean that brave children, and brave adults, won’t adore it. Del Toro and his co-writers, Patrick McHale ('Adventure Time') and Matthew Robbins ('Crimson Peak'), balance the more hellish misadventures with chirpy humor, Alexandre Desplat’s songs are sprightly fun, and the Ray Harryhausen-worthy models have a folksy, old-world charm and a limber grace. Stop-motion movement has rarely, if ever, looked as natural."
Nicholas Barber, The Wrap
"Where it stumbles is when it goes neo-frantic kiddie movie -- namely the second half’s kid soldiers, Mussolini cameo (an almost Warner Bros. cartoon touch) and monstrous dogfish. The choppy editing of the relentless peril resembles something computer-generated and scaled to pummel, rather than patiently solicitous of a rarely used animation form’s quirky intimacies. It also drives a few of the vocal performances toward shoutiness, while the delicate weirdness of Del Toro’s existentially minded travelogue between worlds loses some of its emotional potency. The songs, though, by composer Alexandre Desplat and often sporting Del Toro’s own lyrics, benefit from being interludes of feeling instead of big showy numbers, particularly the nicely turned 'Ciao Papa.'"
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
"Aesthetically and narratively, then, this is a 'Pinocchio' that credits its young audience with eminently grownup taste and intelligence -- so much so that its occasional lurches into more old-school animated musical territory (with a handful of immediately unmemorable songs punctuating Alexandre Desplat’s otherwise lush, puckishly orchestrated score) feel rather half-hearted."
Guy Lodge, Variety
THE MENU - Colin Stetson
"But 'The Menu' remains consistently dazzling as a feast for the eyes and ears. The dreamy cinematography from Peter Deming makes this private island look impossibly idyllic. The sleek, chic production design from Ethan Tobman immediately sets the mood of understated luxury, and Mylod explores the space in inventive ways, with overhead shots not only of the food but also of the restaurant floor itself. The Altmanesque sound design offers overlapping snippets of conversation, putting us right in the mix. And the taunting and playful score from Colin Stetson enhances the film’s rhythm, steadily ratcheting up the tension."
Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com
"Mylod has taken this script, a wordy, writerly existential crisis, and presented a slick, somewhat cold, offering. The acting is flawless, Peter Deming’s cinematography crisp, Colin Stetson’s jaggedy score appropriately unsettling. If the outré ending jumps the shark, well, it’s been earned -- the satisfying 'Menu' has already left us much to chew on."
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times
"Tension builds with the courses, each more outlandish than the last. Tracy and Reiss’ slick, inventive screenplay pokes fun at the stresses of culinary life without cheapening the level of creativity and trust it takes to serve high-caliber meals each night. Collin Stetson’s score -- imposing, nail-biting, swelling -- further immerses us in the Hawthorn kitchen’s spell."
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
STRANGE WORLD - Henry Jackman
"In this underworld, the crew, which also includes Avalonia’s president, Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu), comes across fantastical creatures and landscapes, recalling everything from Dr. Seuss and 'Avatar' to the films of Miyazaki Hayao, minus much of the specificity and meticulous detail that make the latter so memorable. The group also runs into the long-lost Jaeger, who, despite being stuck in this underworld for over two decades, has his own ideas about which direction this mission should go. What follows is a somewhat unwieldy Spielbergian adventure (right down to Henry Jackman’s John Williams-aping score) that’s laced with an environmentalist message and at once celebratory of tradition and people following their own passions."
Derek Smith, Slant Magazine
"Clearly inspired by the spirit of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, writer (and co-director) Qui Nguyen concentrates on the father-son dynamics between these characters. There are environmental themes too, obviously, which set up a big third-act twist, but the movie’s organic message -- instructive without being preachy -- comes down to: Teach your children well … and you may wind up learning from them in the end. Heck, Graham Nash’s folk-rock classic would’ve made a fine theme song if the filmmakers hadn’t ordered up a grand John Williams-style orchestral score from composer Henry Jackman (who supplies goofy family anthem 'They’re the Clades!' instead)."
Peter Debruge, Variety
THE WONDER - Matthew Herbert
"The real wonders in 'The Wonder' are those visuals combined with Matthew Herbert’s ethereal music, which imbues the wailing strings you might expect from a period drama with modern, even electronic-esque sounds. That contemporary element echoes the meta flourishes that bookend this tale, on which mileage will vary -- bold framing devices are welcome, but why this one should be delivered by Niamh Algar, playing a character mostly insignificant to this plot, is a tad puzzling. Yet in today’s age of media misinformation, as Judi Dench calls for 'The Crown' to specify it’s a work of fiction, hell, why not coax 21st century skeptics into connecting with 19th century devotees?"
Jack Smart. The Onion AV Club
"A drama this ambitious demands a fearless performer like Pugh, who knows exactly the tightrope to walk when it comes to the story’s delicate balance between realism and melodrama. Pugh can’t lean too far into the emotional or risk turning 'The Wonder' into a more traditional melodrama, the kind of thing that’s easier to place in a box and walk away from. Lelio doesn’t want that. He wants viewers to feel as unsettled as Lib, who becomes increasingly unmoored as she realizes she has either been asked to bear witness to a miracle or the death of a child. Lib’s uncertainty is enhanced by an excellent score by Lelio’s regular composer Matthew Herbert that avoids the lilt common to period pieces in favor of something more uncomfortable. And the phenomenal Ari Wegner ('The Power of the Dog') shoots the film with a gloomy, gray palette that almost makes it look like a horror flick."
Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"Regardless, what a visual, aural and philosophical feat 'The Wonder' is as a cinematic examination of empathy and truth, faith and reason, and pride and identity. Every aesthetic decision here complements the film’s searching qualities, from Matthew Herbert’s echoey score of dreamy sounds and pregnant screeches -- the screaming sorts you’d perhaps hear in a dream or nature -- to frequent use of central framing that emphasizes Lib’s growing isolation and desperation. Delivering a towering performance in a budding career already full of them, Pugh especially leaves a memorable trace as Lib tries to get inside Anna’s head, agitatedly sweeping the muddy earth with her 'Lady Macbeth'–adjacent garbs in one moment, quietly sinking into her own demons in the next with a softening façade."
Tomris Laffly, The Wrap
"With that being said, there is something arresting in seeing it attempt to untangle itself, much of this because of the way it embraces an eerie atmosphere. The score by Matthew Herbert is key to this as it bounces back and forth between sounding like a ghostly whalesong to the tense ticking of a booming clock. It doesn’t hold back from letting this all wash over you, even as it feels like it may drown you in the cacophony of sound. While the story is initially centered around Lib getting to the bottom of what is happening in this small town, this soundscape gives it all a sense that there is something bigger happening. Indeed, it soon becomes clear that all the science and understanding of medicine that she has may itself be useless here. The film becomes increasingly about who can tell the best story, even if it flies in the face of truth. Faith is a powerful force and those who wield it can have immense sway over the world. It can be a tool of both salvation and of destruction when desperation takes hold."
Chase Hutchinson, Collider
"Technically, the film is a striking achievement, with elegant, appropriately dark-tinged cinematography by Ari Wegner, who also shot 'The Power of the Dog' last year. The eerie musical score by Matthew Herbert contributes to the movie’s impact."
Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
December 16
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (Roddy Hart, Tommy Reilly) [Nuart]
AUNTIE MAME (Bronislau Kaper) [Los Feliz 3]
BORN TO KILL (Paul Sawtell), SHAKEDOWN [Aero]
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (John Williams) [New Beverly]
ELF (John Debney) [Los Feliz 3]
CLOVERFIELD (Michael Giacchino) [BrainDead Studios]
JAWS (John Williams) [BrainDead Studios]
RESERVOIR DOGS [New Beverly]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
December 17
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (John Williams) [Academy Museum]
AUNTIE MAME (Bronislau Kaper) [Aero]
AVENTURERA (Antonio Diaz Conde) [Academy Museum]
AWAY FROM HER (Jonathan Goldsmith) [Los Feliz 3]
BARRY LYNDON (Leonard Rosenman) [Aero]
EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS (Marc Ellis) [Los Feliz 3]
ELF (John Debney) [Alamo Drafthouse]
EYES WIDE SHUT (Jocelyn Pook) [New Beverly]
HOME ALONE (John Williams) [New Beverly]
KES (John Cameron) [BrainDead Studios]
LOVE ACTUALLY (Craig Armstrong) [Los Feliz 3]
M [BrainDead Studios]
MEAN GIRLS (Rolfe Kent) [BrainDead Studios]
THE MOVIE ORGY [Academy Museum]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION (Angelo Badalamenti) [Alamo Drafthouse]
NOSTALGHIA [Academy Museum]
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley) [Nuart]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
THE SHINING (Wendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind) [New Beverly]
December 18
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch) [Aero]
ELF (John Debney) [Alamo Drafthouse]
EYES WIDE SHUT (Jocelyn Pook) [New Beverly]
FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Alexandre Desplat) [BrainDead Studios]
FRENCHMAN'S CREEK (Victor Young) [Academy Museum]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith) [Alamo Drafthouse]
HOME ALONE (John Williams) [New Beverly]
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Aero]
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (Cyril J. Mockridge) [Los Feliz 3]
TELL ME A RIDDLE (Sheldon Shkolnik) [Academy Museum]
TRADING PLACES (Elmer Bernstein) [BrainDead Studios]
December 19
ELF (John Debney) [Alamo Drafthouse]
INVASION U.S.A. (Jay Chattaway) [Los Feliz 3]
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson), GHOST STORY (Philippe Sarde) [New Beverly]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION (Angelo Badalamenti) [Alamo Drafthouse]
TOKYO GODFATHERS [Los Feliz 3]
December 20
ELF (John Debney), NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION (Angelo Badalamenti) [New Beverly]
THE FAMILY STONE (Michael Giacchino) [Los Feliz 3]
PARASITE (Jung Jae-il) [Academy Museum]
December 21
ELF (John Debney), NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION (Angelo Badalamenti) [New Beverly]
EVE'S BAYOU (Terence Blanchard) [Aero]
FAME (Michael Gore) [Los Feliz 3]
LOVE ACTUALLY (Craig Armstrong) [Los Feliz 3]
RAISING ARIZONA (Carter Burwell) [BrainDead Studios]
December 22
EYES WIDE SHUT (Jocelyn Pook) [Aero]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith), GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (Jerry Goldsmith) [New Beverly]
December 23
CHILDREN OF MEN (John Tavener) [New Beverly]
DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (James Horner) [Los Feliz 3]
FAME (Michael Gore) [Los Feliz 3]
GO (BT) [Los Feliz 3]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith) [Landmark Westwood]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith), GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (Jerry Goldsmith) [New Beverly]
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Aero]
THE LOBSTER [BrainDead Studios]
MY LIFE AS A DOG [BrainDead Studios]
RESERVOIR DOGS [New Beverly]
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (Patrick Doyle) [BrainDead Studios]
TANGERINE [Los Feliz 3]
December 24
DIE HARD (Michael Kamen) [New Beverly]
ELF (John Debney) [Aero]
HOME ALONE (John Williams) [Academy Museum]
THE POLAR EXPRESS (Alan Silvestri) [Los Feliz 3]
WHITE CHRISTMAS (Irving Berlin, Joseph J. Lilley) [Alamo Drafthouse]
December 25
ANIMAL CRACKERS, HORSE FEATHERS [New Beverly]
CAROL (Carter Burwell) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: The Towering Inferno (Williams), Solaris/The Mirror/Stalker (Artemyev), Jaws (Williams), Andrei Rublev (Ovchinnikov), Odds Against Tomorrow (Lewis), The Hustler (Hopkins), Star Wars (Williams), Bonnie and Clyde (Strouse)
Read: The Buddha's Story, by Chris Matheson
Seen: The Long Kiss Goodnight; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; Devotion [2022]; Violent Night; Bones and All; The Cardinal; Emancipation; The Fabelmans
Watched: Damages ("There's Only One Way to Try a Case"); Hacks ("New Eyes"); The Deuce ("What Big Ideas"); Inside Amy Schumer ("Real Sext"); Fargo ("The Law of Vacant Places"); Key & Peele ("MMMMMM"); The Knick ("Method and Madness")
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