Intrada is planning to release one new CD next week. For those who don't mind hints, it's a previously unreleased Western score from the early 1970s composed by a five-time Oscar nominee. For those who are happy to learn what it is in advance, go to this link.
Dragon's Domain has announced four new film music CDs -- THE PAUL CHIHARA COLLECTION VOL. 4, featuring a new re-recording of the composer's score for the cult sci-fi classic DEATH RACE 2000 plus his original score tracks from CRACKERS, the 1984 English-language, Louis Malle-directed remake of Big Deal on Madonna Street, and FOREVER, LULU, the 1987 comedy thriller starring Hanna Schygulla, Deborah Harry and Alec Baldwin; Richard Band's score for the recent horror comedy EXORCISM AT 60,000 FEET; William Stromberg's score for the 2018 horror-comedy anthology film TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN; and a CD pairing scores for two Australian science-fiction films, INCIDENT AT RAVEN'S GATE, scored by Graham Tardif, and THE TIME GUARDIAN, composed by Allan Zavod.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The David Spear Collection: Volume One - David Spear - Dragon's Domain
Doctor Who: Series 12 - Segun Akinola - Silva
Doctor Who: The Sun Makers - Dudley Simpson - Silva
Doctor Who: The Visitation - Paddy Kingsland - Silva
Ghost Warrior - Richard Band - Dragon's Domain
The Haunting of Morella - Frederic Ensign Teetsel, Chuck Cirino - Dragon's Domain
COMING SOON
June 5
The Roads Not Taken - Sally Potter - Milan
June 12
The Meanest Man in Texas - Steve Dorff - Notefornote
June 19
Hackers - Simon Boswell, songs - Varese Sarabande
August 7
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (re-release) - Joel McNeely - Varese Sarabande
Date Unknown
Django Il Bastardo - Vasco Vassil Kojucharov - Beat
Exorcism at 60,000 Feet - Richard Band - Dragon's Domain
Genova a Mano Armata - Franco Micalizzi - Digitmovies
Incident at Raven's Gate/The Time Guardian - Graham Tardif, Allan Zavod - Dragon's Domain
La Polizia Accusa: Il Servizio Segreto Uccide - Luciano Michelini - Digitmovies
L'Agnese Va a Morire - Ennio Morricone - Beat
Le Fils Prefere/Mademoiselle - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
Les Veces Etaient Fermes de L'Interieur/Le Chasseur de Chez Maxim's - Paul Misraki - Music Box
Occhio Malocchio Prezzemolo E Finocchio - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Beat
The Paul Chihara Collection vol. 4 - Paul Chihara - Dragon's Domain
Preparati La Bara - Gian Franco Reverberi - Digitmovies
Tales of Frankenstein - William Stromberg - Dragon's Domain
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
May 15 - Bert Shefter born (1904)
May 15 - John Lanchbery born (1923)
May 15 - Freddie Perren born (1943)
May 15 - Brian Eno born (1948)
May 15 - Mike Oldfield born (1953)
May 15 - Andrey Sigle born (1954)
May 15 - Gordon Parks begins recording his score for Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
May 15 - David Munrow died (1976)
May 15 - Jerry Goldsmith wins his third Emmy, for Babe; Alex North wins his only Emmy, for Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)
May 15 - Billy Goldenberg records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Secret Cinema" (1985)
May 15 - John Green died (1989)
May 15 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Enterprise episode “Shockwave, Part 1” (2002)
May 15 - Marius Constant died (2004)
May 15 - Alexander Courage died (2008)
May 16 - Jonathan Richman born (1951)
May 16 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score to Hawaii (1966)
May 16 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Shadow (1994)
May 16 - Recording sessions begin for David Arnold’s score for Shaft (2000)
May 17 - Taj Mahal born (1942)
May 17 - Joanna Bruzdowicz born (1943)
May 17 - Heitor Villa-Lobos died (1959)
May 17 - Trent Reznor born (1965)
May 17 - Ron Grainer begins recording his score for The Omega Man (1971)
May 17 - Joshua Homme born (1973)
May 17 - Hugo Friedhofer died (1981)
May 17 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Equinox: Part 1” (1999)
May 17 - Ikuma Dan died (2001)
May 17 - Cy Feuer died (2006)
May 18 - Meredith Willson born (1902)
May 18 - Rick Wakeman born (1949)
May 18 - Mark Mothersbaugh born (1950)
May 18 - Jacques Morelenbaum born (1954)
May 18 - Reinhold Heil born (1954)
May 18 - James Horner begins recording his score for Testament (1983)
May 18 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Menage a Troi" (1990)
May 18 - Kevin Gilbert died (1996)
May 18 - Albert Sendrey died (2003)
May 19 - Irving Gertz born (1915)
May 19 - Anton Garcia Abril born (1933)
May 19 - Tom Scott born (1948)
May 19 - James L. Venable born (1967)
May 19 - Kyle Eastwood born (1968)
May 19 - Earle Hagen wins the Emmy for his score for the I Spy episode “Laya” (1968)
May 19 - Jerry Goldsmith wins his second Emmy, for QB VII Parts 1 & 2; Billy Goldenberg wins for the Benjamin Franklin episode “The Rebel” (1975)
May 19 - James Horner begins recording his score for Titanic (1997)
May 19 - Edwin Astley died (1998)
May 19 - Hans Posegga died (2002)
May 20 - Zbigniew Preisner born (1955)
May 20 - Jerry Goldsmith wins his first Emmy, for The Red Pony; Charles Fox wins an Emmy for his Love, American Style music (1973)
May 20 - Lyn Murray died (1989)
May 21 - Kevin Shields born (1963)
May 21 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Inner Light” (1992)
May 21 - Fiorenzo Carpi died (1997)
May 21 - Frank Comstock died (2013)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
THE AFTERMATH - Martin Phipps
“Yet no pretty picture can salvage ‘The Aftermath’ from sinking into familiar melodramatic beats, and it’s here that the actors fail to convince. Knightley and Skarsgard do their best to imbue the material with an erotic charge, but there’s a mechanical quality to their scenes that never quite clicks. Knightley excels at conveying the desperation and desire of a woman keen on rekindling a modicum of passion in a cold world, but Skarsgard — a handsome Swede who skulks like a pro - fails to convince as a native German-speaker grappling with fatherhood and his own festering desires. As the music swells to accompany their evocative lovemaking under bright lights, it’s hard to escape the sense we’ve been here many times before.”
Eric Kohn, IndieWire
"Two scenes where Rachel has tea with a friend feel like structural bookends, serving little function. Artistic choices continually only accentuate what the audience surely already knows. Handheld camerawork is used sparsely for the few violent sequences, only adding a texture the narrative has already insured you’re feeling. The score swells in the most obvious moments -- often being triggered by extreme switches in mood enabled by intense interpersonal conflict."
Andrew Bundy, The Playlist
"Any heart-quickening peril is otherwise in short supply in a film more comfortable with slow-simmer character interplay than overt genre mechanics. That’s no problem in itself, though the script doesn’t gift Rachael or Stefan with many layers beneath the dignified pain that each wears on their well-creased sleeve; the quiet intelligence integral to both Knightley and Skarsgård’s screen personae is called upon to cover a lot of ground here. As tends to be the case in the chilliest corner of any love triangle, Clarke has the most to work with, and his portrayal of clammed-up trauma masquerading as very-model-of-a-modern-major-general capability yields the film’s most hard-earned scenes of emotional catharsis. (Even in these, Martin Phipps’s extravagantly weeping, stringtastic score offers take-no-chances backup.)"
Guy Lodge, Variety
"His sensitivity provides a foil for Frank’s unbending righteousness, and also an alibi for bleeding-heart viewers who might find themselves enjoying this tale of rough justice in spite of themselves. Costner and Harrelson generally give pretty good value. This isn’t an especially good movie -- it’s too long, too drenched in Thomas Newman’s cloyingly eclectic score, too full of speechifying and self-regard -- but it is a coherent one, with the courage of its vengeful, murderous, politically terrifying convictions."
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD - John Powell
"On the whole, aforementioned issues aside, 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' is still a touching goodbye to a series that has really grown and matured through the years, aided by stunning visuals and a sweeping, dreamlike-sense-of-adventuring score by composer John Powell. Most trilogies aren’t as consistent as this one and while this series is generally overlooked, it’s easy to see some audiences holding it more dearly in a few years. While 'Dragon 3' suffers from the absence of a strong plot, poignant stakes, and narrative thrust, it’s still a story that most audiences will find something to connect with. It’s a fitting end for the Hiccup and Toothless’ story and 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' is mostly fantastical escapism that packs an emotional wallop."
Ally Johnson, The Playlist
"This is where 'Hidden World' soars, set to the ecstatic strings and Gaelic ululations of John Powell’s score, as the mating ritual -- from a delightfully clumsy courtship dance to a high-flying sequence that might later be considered the two dragons’ official first date -- lends itself to long passages with little or no dialogue. From its inception, this series has insisted on a widescreen style different from that of other animated features, attempting to map the live-action idea of 'magic hour' onto virtual landscapes and stylized human figures. Here, the visuals outdo anything we’ve seen before, to such a degree that we might almost overlook the subtler innovations in the character animation: the nuances of expression on both the human and reptilian faces, and the wonderful nonverbal tactics the artists use to convey emotional intricacies neither Hiccup nor Toothless has had to communicate before, all of which pays off in an unforgettable final scene."
Peter Debruge, Variety
THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING - Electric Wave Bureau
"Electric Wave Bureau's peppy electronic score glazes things over with a galvanizing sense of solidarity, and the imaginatively agile camerawork (brought to you by the great cinematographer Bill Pope) makes teamwork seem like a lot of fun."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"With its retro-video-game score and 'Goonies'-style gang of misfit characters, the movie plays like a throwback to Spielberg-produced adventure films of the ’80s. And yet, the premise feels wobbly at best, considering that the movie has no real intention of seeing Alex’s good fortune through to his coronation (what use does England have for a king these days anyway?). Instead, Cornish gives in to the kind of visual effects-heavy set-pieces that fit far more organically in bigger-budgeted movies, as when the souls of fallen soldiers are resurrected as smoldering horsemen, which Alex and his knights must face off against night after night leading up to the CG-intensive finale, as Morgana attempts to steal Alex’s sword by force, with the endgame of enslaving all of England."
Peter Debruge, Variety
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Wonderful Town [2003 cast] (Bernstein), Stranger Things 2 (Dixon/Stein), Symphony No. 2 et al (Diamond), Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (Pemberton), Black Panther (Goransson), Murph the Surf (Lambro), Star Trek: Discovery: Chapter 1 (Russo), Fitzcarraldo (Popol Vuh), Rings (Margeson), Spasmo (Morricone), Phantom Thread (Greenwood), Star Trek: The Next Generation: Allegiance/Menage a Troi/Brothers (Jones), Joker (Guonadottir), Marathon Man/The Parallax View (Small), Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Musical (Merrill), Diva! A Soprano at the Movies (Garrett), Parasite (Jung), Breaking and Entering (Yared/Underworld), Cobra Verde (Popol Vuh), Sleep (Richter), Mussolini Ultimo Atto (Morricone), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (Pemberton), U.S. Marshals (Goldsmith), Goodbye Gemini (Gunning), Star Trek: The Next Generation: Reunion/Final Mission/Data's Day/Devil's Due (Jones)
Read: Confessions of a Crap Artist, by Philip K. Dick
Seen: March 15, two months ago today, was the last time I was inside a movie theater or a record store. Much like pretty much everyone else in California, I suspect (though in most people's cases, probably much longer).
Watched: Combat! ("The Prisoner"), The Thin Man Goes Home, Rome ("The Spoils"), Extras ("David Bowie"), Room Service, Columbo ("Forgotten Lady")
REMEMBERING THE AGE OF ANTONOWSKY, PART NINE
Continuing an I-promise, soon-to-finally-end series looking back at the remarkably verbose movie poster texts from the early 1980s at Columbia and Universal under studio executive Marvin Antonowsky.
When you’re wanted for a murder
you didn’t commit,
Chased for secrets you didn’t steal,
And running from people who want
to kill you,
The worst mistake you can make is
falling in love…
Meet Michael Jordon. And his mistake.
Gene Wilder Gilda Radner
IN
Hanky Panky
SOMETHING FUNNY’S
GOING ON HERE
[Hanky Panky, 1982]
Davey Osborne is playing for keeps.
It began as just
another harmless game
he played many times.
Then top secret documents
fell into his hands. And real
bullets started flying.
Now, he’s being pursued by deadly
enemies. And they’re not playing around.
But no one will believe his
incredible story. In fact, there’s
only one person left that
can save him…a legendary
agent named Flack.
And time is running out.
CLOAK
&
DAGGER
It’s not just a game anymore.
[Cloak & Dagger, 1984]
Meet Otto. He’s a clean-cut kid
in a dirty business. He’s a Repo Man.
He steals cars legally.
Now, he’s out to repossess
a ’64 Chevy Malibu…with an
amazing reward of $20,000.
But, Otto is not alone. There are others
Who want the car and will do anything
to get it.
The risks are great, because hidden
in the trunk is something so incredible
it could destroy them all.
We’ll give you a hint…
it glows in the dark.
REPO MAN
…It’s 4 A.M.,
do you know
where your car is?
[Repo Man, 1984]
Jonathan started out
trying to score.
And ended up being
the target.
He’s a young college student
on vacation in Europe
for the first time.
She’s his first real affair.
A beautiful, mysterious
women who thinks
danger is one of the
most powerful
aphrodisiacs there is.
GOTCHA!
His first time may be his last.
[Gotcha!, 1985]
Ed Okin used to have a boring life.
He used to have trouble getting to sleep
Then, one night, he met Diana.
Now, Ed’s having trouble staying alive.
JEFF GOLDBLUM – MICHELLE PFEIFFER
into the night
a dangerous romance
[Into the Night, 1985]
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