Film Score Friday 5/28/99

GNP/Crescendo has a Vol. 3 CD of Lost in Space in the works, to feature the episode scores "The Derelict" (Herman Stein, including the "family" theme used throughout the show) and "My Friend Mr. Nobody" (John Williams). Among the bonus tracks is an unused second season theme for the series (not by Williams). There's supposed to be other cool stuff on there too. Look for it later this year.

The official Star Wars web site is running an ongoing documentary on the making of The Phantom Menace, because there's nothing like inscribing your actions of the present into a past of your own making. Huh? See the bit about the music (with quite a bit of video footage of the scoring sessions) at http://www.starwars.com/making/12.

See http://www.argonautfoundation.com for information on a movie music concert taking place this summer in Los Angeles, conducted by Bill Stromberg, with special guests Ray Harryhausen and Honor Blackman.

Good lord, we got such great CDs at the office this week, specially DRG's Spaghetti Westerns Vol. 3, with Shanghai Joe (good hippie rock spaghetti western music) and a variety of phonetically sung ballads. God help me, I love it so.

OK, folks, I'm falling asleep dead tired, so today's going to be one of those "Mail Bag" columns without my perceptive editorial comments.

The Mummy

From: TPick21@aol.com

I admit I have only heard about 30 of goldsmith's scores and the mummy is one of his best. I listened to it 10 times when I got it and about once a day afterwards. it reminds me of the shadow (which I think is his best work.) I just write to you all goldsmith fans out there, buy it now before you can't find it in stores.

Hello, my name is Dan Trachtenberg. I would like to add my two cents about Jerry Goldsmith's score to the Mummy. Goldsmith has not scored like this in quite a long time. This score stands out, in my opinion, as his best for this decade. What a way for him to end the '90's! After a number of good, serviceable, of not memorable scores that seem to have sludged along rather than break any new ground, here comes a break-out score that is heads above the rest. It covers drama, excitement, and romance with more variety than he has had in a while. As to the Variety review, what do they know. I have been a Goldsmith fan for all my life, and The Mummy score reaffirms my fatih that he is the greatest fcomposer of out times.

From: Matthias Worch

I guess you get flooded with those. My angle is a bit different, though, it's about this crazy idea I've gotten - and I'm wondering if I'm alone.

Am I the only one who hears Boba Fett's theme in track 8 ("He's the chosen one") at 2:52? Played with different instruments, but it has the same texture as heard in "Attacking a Star Destroyer" (tESB), for example.

I've only seen the movie once and I don't remember this moment when I was in the theatre, so don't even exactly know where this part of the score is playing. And I might just mistake it with a variation of some other theme. But I do also remember Williams mentioning that he's hinting at some characters in the movie that we think we might know (and I can't believe he just means the obvious Palpatine thing...)

Anyway, reply or even post this mail if you think there might be something, if you think I'm nuts simply dismiss it ;) Because I am not sure myself if I'm just interpreting way too much into that one little cue :)

From: "Cary Wong"

I know there's been a lot of PHANTOM MENANCE talk lately (and however tiresome they are, one should just let people get it out of their system). If not at FSM, then where, I ask you? It is the holy grail for some people. How long have we waited?

Anyway, there are other things out there. Thanks for the reader who let us know about Kitaro's score for THE SOONG SISTERS. I actually saw a bad video copy of the movie (very long and political), but I liked the score. There's also the brilliant CD for THE RED VIOLIN and for all of you FLY WAY HOME fans, the new Mary Chapin Carpenter CD has her track from that movie, 10,000 MILES. It's very inspirational.

Here are some nice letters I got responding to my thoughts on The Misfits earlier this week:

From: Preston Jones

Bravo, amen, and many thanks for today's column on Alex North and THE MISFITS vis a vis today's state o' the art. There happens to be a thread running currently on the message board concerning available recordings of North scores, and I hope interested parties will check it out. Above all, I hope that your column help will help create that interest. (Ross Care wrote a wonderful two-part article about North's southern gothic films for the Library of Congress Performing Arts Annual.) When I first started listening to scores, (when Mr. North, thank God, was still active), there was no question of his stellar place in the film music firmament. Why any latter-day listeners would shy away from North is a mystery to me. Movie music doesn't get any more exciting than SPARTACUS, nor more lyrical than THE LONG, HOT SUMMER (to cite but two examples). If memory serves, there was a great quote from Arthur Miller on the original LP of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? to the effect that "Alex North can break an audience's heart with fewer notes than any other composer.." His artistry was of such a high calibre that it brought, and continues to bring, distinction to the entire world of film music.

Once in awhile there is a film and score that is unforgettable and "The Misfits" is certainly one that fits that category! I do not like the scenes showing the round up of wild mustangs in the Nevada desert, well, neither did Monroe, but the acting in the film is excellent! Alex North's main title in "The Misfits" is one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces written for film!

Thanks so much, Lukas, for your comments about "The Misfits" (the movie, the score and the Ryko CD). I couldn't agree more. "The Misfits" was obviously a film made for grown-ups. Most movies today are made for adolescents, I think--either actual teenagers or those who still have an adolescent mentality. Maybe that has something to do with why most film scores are so mediocre today.

I just read today's piece on The Misfits. I couldn't agree more with your comments on both movie and score. It's one of my favourite movies, and probably my favourite North score too (although I am very fond of Spartacus, Carny, and Cheyenne Autumn). So, well said!

Changing tack, I just got Ryko's new A Bridge Too Far disc. Suffice to say that it's yet another worthy re-issue (I always felt that John Adisson's score was under-rated), and a timely tribute to the late composer. I look forward to The Missouri Breaks. A great pity about Rhino's Superman delay though.

Your little note on the Misfits really hit a chord with me on many levels. 1st, I was born and raised in Calif. and was lucky enough to work on a few movies in my young days, The Misfits was one of them. If I can say one thing about this movie it is that it was made by a bunch of characters about a bunch of characters made in an area of characters. Just starting my life I looked in the faces of some people who had really lived theirs (good and bad). 2nd, your comments about TV were right ON !!! Depressing is just one of the words to describe how it feels and what it does. Is all that crap the real world or is it the exception?? Boy am I tired of experts. 3rd, your comments on Alex North I,m just beginning to discover. Another score fan I trade with has got my interest up on discovering this composer so this is one score I will check out. Thanks for the change of pace with this daily article. P.S. I havn,t been to see Star Wars yet, waiting to go to a almost noone there matinee like a Tuesday 11:00 o clock movie.

From: Jimmy Aquino

Just wanted to remind everybody about this Saturday's edition of my film-score radio show A Fistful of Soundtracks, which recently made its broadcast debut on the Web. All this month, it's been May the Force Be with You May on A Fistful of Soundtracks. Each week focused on one Star Wars score (The Empire Strikes Back, my favorite of the scores, was a two-parter) and featured interviews with Mark Hamill, Star Wars experts like Free Enterprise co-writer/producer Mark A. Altman and the fans who got their 15 minutes camping out for Phantom Menace tickets in Hollywood, San Jose and San Francisco. The final week of May the Force Be with You May will center on the Phantom Menace soundtrack. You'll also hear fans and non-fans' takes on the movie, as well as interviews with Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett, and Kenny Baker, who has played R2D2 in all four movies. And you'll hear Hamill hum to me the Korngold theme that possibly inspired John Williams' Star Wars theme. (It's Kings' Row.) So tune into A Fistful of Soundtracks, hosted by me, Jimmy Aquino, this Saturday at 12PM PST at www.webradio.com/kzsc. It'll be 10 times more enjoyable than Jar Jar Binks.

MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com