BUtterfield 8:
Bronislau Kaper at M-G-M Vol. 1 (1954–1962)
With this 3CD set, Film Score Monthly adds to its growing catalog of Bronislau Kaper film scores from M-G-M. Although the booklet accompanying the CDs includes background information on the films as well as complete track listings, film stills and behind-the-scenes photographs—all beautifully arranged by FSM art director Joe Sikoryak—our customary, in-depth, track-by-track analysis of each of the six scores in this collection can be found here online (please use the menu at right to navigate between the films).
These online notes, written by Frank K. DeWald, Jeff Eldridge, Scott Bettencourt and Alexander Kaplan, supplement those in the booklet by providing detailed analysis of each track as well as additional information about the films. The online notes found here are also available in PDF format for easier printing.
Disc One
The first CD of the collection presents three scores from the 1950s: The Power and the Prize (1956), Her Twelve Men (1954) and Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956). Each is a model of economic film scoring, distinguished by Kaper’s melodic gift.
Disc Two
The second disc features two scores Kaper wrote in 1961, just prior to his magnum opus, Mutiny on the Bounty (FSM Vol. 7, No. 16): Ada and Two Loves (both 1961). Although these films remain largely forgotten today, Kaper contributed a dramatic and sensitive score to each, characterized by his penchant for effective understatement.
Disc Three
The final disc is devoted to one of most-requested titles from Kaper’s catalog: the hard-hitting contemporary drama BUtterfield 8 (1960). While traditionally symphonic, Kaper suffuses the score with an undertone of jazz that reflects the sultry, Oscar-winning performance of star Elizabeth Taylor.
- 23. Finale (alternate record version)
- The collection concludes with alternate version of the final cue from Mutiny on the Bounty not included on FSM’s landmark release of Kaper’s score from that film.
