La-La Land has already announced their first batch of releases for 2024, which can be ordered now and are expected to begin shipping the week of January 16 - expanded and remastered two-disc editions of two scores from Roger Moore James Bond films - George Martin's LIVE AND LET DIE, including the Oscar-nominated title song by Paul & Linda McCartney, and John Barry's OCTOPUSSY; and Marco Beltrami's score for John Woo's just released action-thriller SILENT NIGHT.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The Bionic Woman: Vol. 5 - Joe Harnell - Buysoundtrax [CD-R]
The Daniel Licht Collection Vol. 2 - Daniel Licht - Dragon's Domain [CD-R]
Gli Italiani e l'industria - Piero Umiliani - Kronos
The Joe Harnell Collection Vol. 3 - Joe Harnell - Five Jays [CD-R]
Plane - Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp - Rambling (import)
Runaway: The Early Works of David Shire - David Shire - Caldera
IN THEATERS TODAY
The Boys in the Boat - Alexandre Desplat
The Color Purple - Kris Bowers - Song CD ("Music from and Inspired by") due Mar. 8 on WaterTower
The Crime Is Mine - Philippe Rombi - Score CD Mon Crime on Milan
Ferrari - Daniel Pemberton
Good Grief - Rob Simonsen
The Teacher's Lounge - Marvin Miller
COMING SOON
January 12
Atlas - Ronald Stein - Kronos
Los Mercados - Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter - Kronos
Missions - Etienne Forget - Music Box
Uomini e mari - Francesco De Masi - Kronos
January 19
Live and Let Die - George Martin - La-La Land
Octopussy - John Barry - La-La Land
Silent Night - Marco Beltrami - La-La Land
Date Unknown
Blastfighter - Fabio Frizzi - Beat
El Cuco - Diego Navarro - MovieScore Media
Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Colonne Sonore Delle Serie TV Dal 1985 Al 1998 - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Beat
Piedone d'egitto - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Beat
Squadra Antimafia - Goblin - Beat
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
December 29 - Roman Vlad born (1919)
December 29 - Ron Goodwin begins recording his score for Submarine X-1 (1967)
December 29 - Alexander Courage records his unused score for the Land of the Giants pilot episode “The Crash” (1967)
December 29 - George Duning's score for the Star Trek episode "Return to Tomorrow" is recorded (1967)
December 29 - Ryan Shore born (1974)
December 29 - Wojciech Kilar died (2013)
December 30 - Dmitri Kabalevsky born (1904)
December 30 - Alfred Ralston born (1907)
December 30 - Paul Bowles born (1910)
December 30 - Lucio Agostini born (1913)
December 30 - Ray Cook born (1936)
December 30 - Michael Nesmith born (1942)
December 30 - Harry Geller records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night the Dragon Screamed” (1965)
December 30 - Jason Brandt born (1973)
December 30 - Richard Rodgers died (1979)
December 30 - Patrick Gowers died (2014)
December 31 - Frank Skinner born (1897)
December 31 - Gil Melle born (1931)
December 31 - Anthony Hopkins born (1937)
December 31 - Andy Summers born (1942)
December 31 - Antonio Diaz Conde died (1976)
January 1 - David Broekman died (1958)
January 1 - Shane Carruth born (1972)
January 1 - Halli Cauthery born (1976)
January 1 - Adolph Deutsch died (1980)
January 1 - David Buttolph died (1983)
January 1 - Hagood Hardy died (1997)
January 2 - Lalo Schifrin records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “Takeover” (1970)
January 2 - Christopher Lennertz born (1972)
January 3 - Maurice Jaubert born (1900)
January 3 - George Martin born (1926)
January 3 - Van Dyke Parks born (1941)
January 3 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for Ada (1961)
January 3 - Alfred Newman begins recording his score for Nevada Smith (1966)
January 3 - Dominic Frontiere records his score for The Invaders episode “The Leeches” (1967)
January 3 - Patrick Williams records his score for The Streets of San Francisco episode “Act of Duty” (1973)
January 3 - Thomas Bangalter born (1975)
January 3 - Bernhard Kaun died (1980)
January 3 - Recording sessions begin for Hans Zimmer’s replacement score for White Fang (1991)
January 3 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for Reindeer Games (2000)
January 4 - Lionel Newman born (1916)
January 4 - Buddy Baker born (1918)
January 4 - Joe Renzetti born (1941)
January 4 - Recording sessions begin for Sol Kaplan’s score for The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
January 4 - Michael Hoenig born (1952)
January 4 - Franz Waxman begins recording his score to Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
January 4 - John Green begins recording his score to Raintree County (1957)
January 4 - Laurence Rosenthal begins recording his score for A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
January 4 - Angela Morley records her score for The New Adventures of Wonder Woman episode “Going, Going, Gone” (1979)
January 4 - Pino Calvi died (1989)
January 4 - Basil Poledouris begins recording his score for On Deadly Ground (1994)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
THE BOY AND THE HERON - Joe Hisaishi
"Of course, everyone expects a Ghibli film to look stunning, but Miyazaki finds some of his most striking compositions here. The first viewing favors the creative landscapes of the fantasy world -- the ships on a horizon lit by sunset, the bright colors of the parakeets chasing the heron, the flames of Mahito’s ally Himi -- but there’s stunning artistry in the first half of the film too, capturing a young man who looks small against a country landscape in which he just doesn’t seem to fit. All of the visions here are enhanced greatly by a gorgeous score by Joe Hisaishi that’s my favorite of the year."
Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"Unlike many of the master’s most popular works, like 'Spirited Away' and 'Princess Mononoke,' 'The Boy and the Heron' takes its time to fully immerse its character in the dreamlike reality and stylized creatures of its fantastical world. Its first half plays out more like something from Ozu, a slice-of-life tale where a boy grieves, pushes people away, and hurts himself just to feel something. Joe Hisaishi delivers another beautiful, plaintive score filled with lonely pianos that give way to sweeping strings."
Clint Worthington, Consequence
"I’ve said so little of Joe Hisaishi’s orchestral contribution that impressed me as a return to form for the composer, so little about the craft of some of the best animators in the world working with all the time and resources any could hope for. I could never fit it all. But to see 'The Boy and the Heron' is to see Miyazaki. The film is as complicated as the man it is about, and this is what makes 'The Boy and the Heron' a masterwork. Animation, music, writing -- these are the prima materia of Miyazaki’s magnum opus. Watching 'The Boy and the Heron,' I’ve glimpsed a little bit of something else from the art. I’ve glimpsed someone else. I can see him still writing his stories, still drawing his airplanes. One must imagine Miyazaki happy."
Autumn Wright, Paste Magazine
"Steeped in myth, this land surrounded by water reads as a space where all the forces beyond human control reside. If there’s one sequence that entrances while reflecting this point, it is an aerial dance between fate and divine intervention. When the warawara ascends into the sky in a luminous spiral, a flock of voracious pelicans tries to devour them. Listen for legend Joe Hisaishi’s transporting score suffused with menacing undertones."
Carlos Aguilar, The Playlist
"The stories that interweave in the movie’s long, dreamy middle section play out sometimes as political allegories (those goose-stepping parrots!) and sometimes as psychological riddles. Symbolic decisions in the tower-world, it’s suggested, could have dire material consequences back in Mahito’s everyday reality. But how to move back and forth between ordinary life and the magical shadow-world, and whether it’s worth the effort to learn to manage the boundary between those realms, become the problems the young hero must solve. It’s in its most dreamlike and least logical stretches (which are also, by no accident, its most dazzlingly animated, with a plangent piano-based score by Joe Hisaishi) that Miyazaki’s film feels most autobiographical. An inner life like his, densely packed as it is with imaginary critters and alternative worlds, must have been tough terrain to navigate as an early adolescent growing up in a time of war and violent upheaval. Though the film never sets itself up as an artist’s coming-of-age story -- Mahito’s quest has to do with the need to get past his paralyzing grief, not with his self-invention as a future creator -- 'The Boy and the Heron' can’t help but feel like a work of introspection on the director’s part. It’s a film about finding both the courage to accept the often unbearable circumstances life places us in and the internal freedom to imagine other circumstances and other possible lives."
Dana Stevens, Slate.com
"If some of the film’s more fantastical narrative tangents can at times become perplexing, the images wash over you, a constant reminder of the descriptive power of Miyazaki’s visual language. The effect is rendered even more beguiling by the melodic emotionality of Joe Hisaishi’s lovely score."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
SALTBURN - Anthony Willis
"Fennell and her collaborators conduct this symphony with assured artistic panache. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography illuminates the darkened, recessed corners of characters’ deceptions, making them shine bright. Suzie Davies’ production design echoes symbolism found in the narrative, like the knotty labyrinth maze on the property, a fly strip dangling from a chandelier, the repetitious use of splintered mirror imagery, and the home’s red curtains and walls. Anthony Willis’ foreboding score is dark, lustful, and romantic, infusing the picture with gothic overtones."
Courtney Howard, The Onion AV Club
"Saltburn! A mansion so grand that the composer Anthony Willis pairs the first glimpse of it with a tizzy of violins. Grounds so vast and impressively maintained that neither we nor the Cattons bother to memorize any of the servants’ faces, save for one intimidating butler (Paul Rhys). 'The turnover of a footman is notoriously high!' Felix groans."
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW - Michael Giacchino
"But 'Society of the Snow' could’ve used some semblance of psychological heft, its collective only loose outlines of actual people. And as you’ve probably heard, these are people who end up having to eat each other. Bayona does not shy away from the reality that, one by one and eventually, the surviving teammates resorted to consuming their dead brethren’s flesh. Here, composer Michael Giacchino’s score is eerily tense, a tightening coil of strings, and his superb musical overall is maybe the best thing about the entire film. Pedro Luque’s cinematography, meanwhile, captures the widest possible vista of the terrains inside and out of the fallen fuselage, all the beauty and the unsparing terror of, well, Sierra Nevada, standing in for the Andes. Bayona and Luque love a good early morning lens flare, and 'Society of the Snow' features striking landscape photography that wouldn’t be out of place in National Geographic."
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire
"But while the film is lustrously shot on location in the Andes and Spain’s Sierra Nevada region -- with DP Pedro Luque Briozzo Scu rendering snow and skin alike in varying shades of polar blue, relative to the blazing white of the winter sun -- its remaining two hours rest more on Bayona’s aptitude for broadly emotive human storytelling, boosted by a typically maximalist score from Michael Giacchino that throws frantic percussion and a keening choir in alongside the ample strings. As the surviving passengers must weather literal storms, avalanches and physical ailments, losing more of their number along the way, their tightening camaraderie becomes their principal life force."
Guy Lodge, Variety
"But ethical conflict and discussions of faith and sacrifice can only sustain a movie so far, particularly when the large ensemble doesn’t allow much scope for character individuation. As compelling as the life-and-death situation is, it becomes a bit of a drag in a movie pushing two-and-a-half hours that could definitely benefit from a tighter edit. Even Pedro Luque’s vigorous camerawork and Michael Giacchino’s hard-working, typically forceful orchestral score can only do so much to keep the momentum humming."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
December 29
BALL OF FIRE (Alfred Newman) [Los FEliz 3]
BRAZIL (Michael Kamen) [Nuart]
DIE HARD 2 (Michael Kamen) [New Beverly]
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (John Williams) [Vidiots]
ENTERTAINMENT (Robert Donne) [BrainDead Studios]
GLADIATOR (Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard) [Egyptian]
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (Jerry Goldsmith), FREAKED [New Beverly]
JACKIE BROWN [New Beverly]
JAWS (John Williams) [Academy Museum]
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood) [Alamo Drafthouse]
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (Heitor Pereira) [Academy Museum]
RETURN OF THE JEDI (John Williams) [Vidiots]
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley) [Nuart]
STAR WARS (John Williams) [Vidiots]
THE THING (Ennio Morricone) [Egyptian]
THIS IS THE END (Henry Jackman) [BrainDead Studios]
THE WIZ (Charlie Smalls, Quincy Jones) [Aero]
A WOMAN OF PARIS (Charles Chaplin) [Los Feliz 3]
December 30
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch) [Vidiots]
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch), AFTER THE THIN MAN [New Beverly]
BEN-HUR (Miklos Rozsa) [Egyptian]
BIRTH (Alexandre Desplat) [Alamo Drafthouse]
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Gustavo Santaolalla) [Los Feliz 3]
DESPICABLE ME (Pharrell Williams, Heitor Pereira) [Academy Museum]
DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS (Des Dolan) [Arena Cinelounge]
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (Ray Cooper) [Landmark Westwood]
THE FIREMEN'S BALL (Karel Mares) [Los Feliz 3]
HIS GIRL FRIDAY [New Beverly]
JACKASS 3D [Academy Museum]
NIGHT OF THE COMET (David Richard Campbell) [Vidiots]
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood) [Alamo Drafthouse]
POINT BREAK (Mark Isham) [Vidiots]
RICO RI A TOA (Lyrio Panicalli) [Los Feliz 3]
THE SACRIFICE [BrainDead Studios]
SEVEN SAMURAI (Fumio Hayasaka) [Egyptian]
STRANGE DAYS (Graeme Revell) [New Beverly]
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (Brian Tyler) [Aero]
24 FRAMES [BrainDead Studios]
December 31
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch) [Egyptian]
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch), AFTER THE THIN MAN [New Beverly]
EYES WIDE SHUT (Jocelyn Pook) [Vidiots]
FROZEN (Christophe Beck) [Academy Museum]
HIS GIRL FRIDAY [New Beverly]
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood) [Alamo Drafthouse]
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood) [Egyptian]
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (Franz Waxman) [Los Feliz 3]
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (John Williams), INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (John Williams), INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams), INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (John Williaims) [Aero]
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (Marc Shaiman) [Alamo Drafthouse]
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (Marc Shaiman) [Vidiots]
A WOMAN OF PARIS (Charles Chaplin) [Los Feliz 3]
January 1
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch) [Alamo Drafthouse]
GO (BT) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MONKEY BUSINESS, A DAY AT THE RACES (Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann) [Aero]
PANIC ROOM (Howard Shore) [Egyptian]
YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY (Bruno Nicolai) [Los Feliz 3]
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (Marc Shaiman) [Aero]
January 2
THE FIFTH ELEMENT (Eric Serra) [Vidiots]
GO (BT) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Tom Holkenborg), SPEED RACER (Michael Giacchino) [New Beverly]
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood) [Alamo Drafthouse]
SEVEN (Howard Shore) [Egyptian]
SORCERER (Tangerine Dream) [Alamo Drafthouse]
25TH HOUR (Terence Blanchard) [Los Feliz 3]
January 3
THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch) [Alamo Drafthouse]
BLACK SWAN (Clint Mansell) [Academy Museum]
CHARLEY VARRICK (Lalo Schifrin) [Egyptian]
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Tom Holkenborg), SPEED RACER (Michael Giacchino) [New Beverly]
MALCOLM X (Terence Blanchard) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MODERN TIMES (Charles Chaplin) [Los Feliz 3]
O LUCKY MAN (Alan Price) [BrainDead Studios]
SORCERER (Tangerine Dream) [Alamo Drafthouse]
January 4
CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Frankie Chan) [Vidiots]
KINETTA [BrainDead Studios]
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Tom Holkenborg), SPEED RACER (Michael Giacchino) [New Beverly]
TWISTER (Mark Mancina) [Academy Museum]
January 5
ALIEN (Jerry Goldsmith) [Nuart]
BLOW OUT (Pino Donaggio) [Vidiots]
BROKEN EMBRACES (Alberto Iglesias) [Los Feliz 3]
DOGTOOTH [BrainDead Studios]
AN EDUCATION (Paul Englishby) [Aero]
EL NORTE (Los Folkoristas) [Academy Museum]
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Jon Brion) [Vidiots]
GIANT (Dimitri Tiomkin) [New Beverly]
HEAT (Elliot Goldenthal) [Egyptian]
THE HOST (Byung-woo Lee) [Vidiots]
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS [New Beverly]
THE IRON GIANT (Michael Kamen) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE LONG GOODBYE (John Williams) [New Beverly]
MAGNOLIA (Jon Brion) [Alamo Draftjpise]
January 6
ALI (Lisa Gerrard, Pieter Bourke) [Aero]
THE ATTORNEY (Cho Young-wuk) [Academy Museum]
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Carter Burwell) [Alamo Drafthouse]
DERSU UZALA (Isaac Shvarts) [Egyptian]
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (John Williams) [Academy Museum]
FANTASIA [New Beverly]
FROM BEYOND (Richard Band) [New Beverly]
GIANT (Dimitri Tiomkin) [New Beverly]
THE HUNT (Nikolaj Egelund) [Los Feliz 3]
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Joe Hisaishi), HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (Joe Hisaishi), PRINCESS MONONOKE (Joe Hisaishi), SPIRITED AWAY (Joe Hisaishi) [Egyptian]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
A ROYAL AFFAIR (Gabriel Yared, Cyrille Aufort) [Los Feliz 3]
RUMBLE FISH (Stewart Copeland) [BrainDead Studios]
RUN LOLA RUN (Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek) [Alamo Drafthouse]
UNDER THE SKIN (Mica Levi) [Alamo Drafthouse]
VALHALLA RISING (Peter Kyed, Peter Peter) [Los Feliz 3]
VOLCANO (Alan Silvestri) [Academy Museum]
January 7
AVALANCHE (William Kraft) [Academy Museum]
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Carter Burwell) [Alamo Drafthouse]
FANTASIA [New Beverly]
GIANT (Dimitri Tiomkin) [New Beverly]
LITTLE BIG MAN (John Hammond) [Academy Museum]
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Howard Shore) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MAGNOLIA (Jon Brion) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS [Los Feliz 3]
McCBABE AND MRS. MILLER (Leonard Cohen) [Aero]
PACIFICTION (Joe Robinson, Marc Verdaguer) [Egyptian]
POLICE STORY (Siu-Tin Lai) [BrainDead Studios]
SOLARIS (Eduard Artemyev) [Egyptian]
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET [Egyptian]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Serial (Ascher); The Irving Berlin Songbook (Eckstine/Vaughan); My Brilliant Friend (Richter); Stormy Weather (Horne); A Little Night Music (Sondheim); Used Cars (Gold)
Read: Hopscotch, by Brian Garfield
Seen: Joint Security Area; Cooley High; Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; Society of the Snow; Eyes Wide Shut; American Fiction; Memory [2023]; Migration; Freud's Last Session; A Night at the Opera; Go West [1940]; Children of Paradise; The Iron Claw; All of Us Strangers; A White, White Day
Watched: Bojack Horseman ("Bojack Hates the Troops"); The Lickerish Quartet; Black Sails ("IV."); Documentary Now ("Final Transmission")
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