Fantastic Voyage CD

News Flash by Lukas Kendall & Jeff Bond

The September issue of FSM is beginning to reach the most local of readers, so it's time to announce our third Silver Age Classics CD... Fantastic Voyage by Leonard Rosenman! This landmark score has never been available in any format and we are thrilled to present it in complete form, in stereo.

Fantastic Voyage is the spectacular 1966 science fiction film about a team of scientists who are miniaturized to microscopic size and injected (inside an experimental submarine) into a wounded scientist in order to repair a blood clot in his brain--from the inside. Starring Stephen Boyd, Arthur Kennedy, Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasance, the movie is an Oscar-winning landmark in art direction and special visual effects.

Leonard Rosenman's score is equally groundbreaking: an avant garde effort which stands as one of the composer's most distinctive and powerful compositions. Rosenman took the unique approach of leaving the first five reels of the film completely unscored, beginning his music at the exact moment when the adventurers witness the sights inside the human body for the first time.

From that point on, the score is a riot of impressionistic, dissonant colors and an eerie, plaintive central theme that brilliantly characterizes this journey into a world never before seen. Rosenman was able to create distinctive grinding double bass effects for the interior of the heart; raging, chaotic music for attacks by antibodies and white corpuscles; crystalline, mysterious passages for the interior of the human brain; and a stunning, suspenseful climax as the adventurers confront a saboteur in their midst. The final few minutes are a tonal resolution which may remind listeners of the conclusion of Star Trek IV; some of Rosenman's other film credits are East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (starring his former piano student, James Dean), Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and Lord of the Rings.

Never previously available in any form, the original Fantastic Voyage score has been completely remixed in stereo from the original 35mm magnetic film elements, and the album opens with the distinctive suite of sound effects from the 20th Century Fox library which serves as the movie's main title.

The 16-page color booklet includes an introduction by Leonard Rosenman, rare photos from the 20th Century Fox archives, and production notes and track-by-track descriptions by Jeff Bond.

$19.95 plus shipping

Bring your CD for an autograph by Leonard Rosenman or buy it in person on Saturday, October 3 from 1 to 3PM at Creature Features, 1802 W Olive Ave, Burbank CA 91506. The CD will sell for $19.95 whether you buy it through the mail or at the signing, but you'll save postage if you buy it on-site. Those who want signed CDs who cannot attend: autographed copies will be available by mail order only from Creature Features (for a slightly higher price), so contact the store to reserve a copy (ph: 818-842-9382; fax: 818-842-0752). Watch this site any late news. Come meet Lenny and bug the FSM team about CDs we should release!

Fantastic Voyage

1. Main Title Sound Effects Suite (1:41). 2. The Proteus (5:56). 3. The Chart (5:30) 4. Pulmonary Artery (5:35). 5. Group Leaves (2:49)

6. Pleural Cavity (0:17). 7. Proteus Moving Through Sac (4:52). 8. Channel to Ear (2:40) 9. Cora Trapped (4:12). 10. Proteus in Inner Ear (0:44)

11. The Human Brain (1:52). 12. Get the Laser (7:20). 13: Optic Nerve/End Cast (3:36)

Total Time: 47:28 [This is the complete score]

This CD is a limited edition of 3,000 copies. It is available exclusively through FSM, the magazine and this web site, and we are not offering wholesale copies to dealers. YOU CAN'T GET IT ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE!

Since our last Silver Age CD offering, The Poseidon Adventure by John Williams (still available! - see the Retrograde section of this web site), we have greatly improved our online ordering capabilities. Here are your choices:

1) Use our online ordering form (Fantastic Voyage is at top) to transmit your credit card information securely over the Internet.

2) Print and mail or fax this form, either with your credit card information or with a U.S. funds check, if you don't want to do the above, or have a problem with the online mechanism.

We are expecting the Fantastic Voyage CDs back from the pressing plant next Monday, 9/28/98. We desperately wanted to have them in stock by the time we made this announcement, but this is the busiest time of the year for CD manufacturing, and our plant could not quite make it. The sooner you order, the higher up in the queue your order will be, and we will endeavor to ship out all orders by next Wednesday, 9/30/98. Or, if you're in the L.A. area, see us at Creature Features for our Rosenman... the only two hours you'll be able to buy this CD at a store.

That's about it! We're very proud of this CD and hope it's something you've been awaiting. Please send your comments, any questions you might have, or any suggestions for future CDs to:

MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com