Film Score Friday 4/6/01

According to The Hollywood Reporter there will be a memorial service for Richard Stone (who died March 9) at 1:30 PM on Sunday at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. in Burbank, California.

FSM CDs

Here's the latest on our two new CDs: Untamed is in stock and we're shipping out those orders now. The Towering Inferno we expect next week and so we'll ship out those orders the second we get the discs. Thanks for your patience and we're sure you'll love these new titles.

Computer Game Score

Harry Gregson-Williams has provided the score to the upcoming videogame Metal Gear Solid 2 for Playstation 2, reportedly in the Media Ventures "big budget action film" style.

Beginning April 7 and running through April 21, the American Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, will host a program of screenings and seminars with film composers. "Composing for Film" will include Philip Glass talking about "Kundun," Carter Burwell and sound editor Skip Lievsay discussing "Barton Fink," and David Raksin talking about "Laura" and "The Bad and the Beautiful." Paul Chihara discusses working with Sidney Lumet, Royal Brown lectures on Bernard Herrmann, and there are screenings of "Altered States," "Vertigo," "Spellbound," "Mishima," and more, plus a chamber concert.

For more info: http://www.ammi.org/site/screenings/mainpage/composing.html

Back in Manhattan, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (11 West 53 Street, New York 10019, tel: 212.708.9400) has an upcoming series entitled "Pure Korngold," running from April 9 through 17. Here's the press info:

Erich Wolfgang Korngold created original music for eighteen feature films from 1935 through 1947. The series is presented as part of a celebration of Korngold's music, including the presentation of Korngold's 1920 opera Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City) at the New York City Opera, from April 15 through April 26.

Big-time programming news here -- press release is as follows:

TCM Celebrates Oscar-Winning Composer Elmer BernsteinÇ 50th Anniversary of Film Scoring with 31-Film Festival in May

Bernstein to Co-Host Movie Introductions with Robert Osborne

Turner Classic Movies celebrates Oscar-winning composer Elmer Bernstein with a 31-film festival airing Wednesdays and Fridays throughout May. Bernstein will co-host the festival with TCM's Robert Osborne, adding his personal insights on the films, his scores and his successful 50-year career scoring 232 major motion pictures and television films as well as working with talented actors, directors and producers including Fred Astaire and Martin Scorsese.

Films will be presented in themed evenings showcasing many of the diverse scores Bernstein is famous for composing during his illustrious career. Themes covering every film genre include Early Elmer on Friday, May 4, comprised of his first film SATURDAY'S HERO (1951) and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955), as well as Elmer and the Duke on Friday, May 11, featuring two movies starring John Wayne, THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER (1965) and THE SHOOTIST (1976). On Wednesday, May 16, Elmer Bernstein/Magnificent Seven showcases two of his best known scores for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960), and THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1966) and THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) will be featured as part of Elmer Bernstein/War Movies on Friday, May 25. A complete schedule is attached.

Bernstein is noted as an incredibly versatile and prolific composer, having worked in radio composing music for the United Nations radio shows, film and TV as well as composing vocal and chamber music. In his early days, he was also a painter, actor and concert pianist. Bernstein, who has been nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won an Oscar for his score of Thoroughly Modern Millie, is currently preparing for ScorseseÇÄôs The Gangs of New York, marking the sixth time the two have worked together on a film. In addition to composing and conducting orchestras for films, television specials, concert halls and symphonies, he also takes time to teach a class concerning the aesthetics of film composition at the University of Southern California and to conduct the Walnut High School orchestra in Orange County, California.

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 45 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner Company. TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '80s, commercial-free and without interruption. For more information, please visit the TCM Web Site at www.turnerclassicmovies.com.

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Elmer Bernstein Festival May 2001

Wednesday, May 2
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Dramas - Part One
 8:00 p.m. To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962)
10:30 p.m. Hud* (1963)
12:30 a.m. Some Came Running* (1958)

Friday, May 4
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Early Elmer
 8:00 p.m. Saturday's Hero* (1951) (His first film)
10:00 p.m. The Man with the Golden Arm* ('55)
12:00 a.m. Storm Fear (1956)
4:15 a.m. Drango (1957)

Wednesday, May 9
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Dramas - part two
 8:00 p.m. Birdman of Alcatraz* (1962)
10:30 p.m. Sweet Smell of Success* (1957)
12:30 a.m. By Love Possessed* (1961)
 2:30 a.m. Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)

Friday, May 11
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Elmer and the Duke
 8:00 p.m. The Sons of Katie Elder* (1965)
10:15 p.m. The Shootist* (1976)
12:00 a.m. Cahill, U.S. Marshall (1973)

Wednesday, May 16
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Magnificent Seven
 8:00 p.m. The Magnificent Seven* (1960)
10:30 p.m. The Return of the Magnificent Seven* (1966)
12:30 a.m. Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
 2:30 a.m. The Magnificent Seven Ride (1972)

Friday, May 18
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Comedies
 8:00 p.m. The Silencers* (1966)
10:00 p.m. The World of Henry Orient* (1964)
12:00 a.m. I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968)

Wednesday, May 23
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Westerns
 8:00 p.m. The Hallelujah Trail* (1965)
11:00 p.m. Canon of Cordoba* (1970)
 1:00 a.m. From Noon Till Three (1976)
 3:00 a.m. The Scalphunters (1968)

Friday, May 25
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/War Movies (82 hours of war movies through Memorial Day)
 8:00 p.m. The Great Escape* (1963)
11:00 p.m. The Bridge at Remagen* (1969)
 1:00 a.m. Kings Go Forth (1958)

Wednesday, May 30
TCM Spotlight: Elmer Bernstein/Historical Dramas
 8:00 p.m. Hawaii* (1966)
11:30 p.m. Seven Women* (1966)
 1:00 a.m. Kings of the Sun (1963)

* indicates films co-hosted by Elmer Bernstein

From: "Adam D. Sperry" <AdmNaismith@yahoo.com>

Just a note about a comment in Jeff Bond's review of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

The Jennifer Warnes song is heard in 'Time Out' when Vic Morrow enters a bar at the top of the story. And he's right, it was playing on the juke box.

Mr. Bond is also right that it has little to do with anything in the movie. But I don't think it's completely without it's own charm.

From Robert Townson at Varese Sarabande, Executive Producer of the new 2CD set of Cleopatra:

Arthur Lintgen <ablintgen@home.com> wrote:

Dear Lukas: I share your concern over the fact that the monumental score for Cleopatra has been greeted with fulminating apathy, but it is absolutely no surprise. The reason seems simple. No matter how much you admire North's music for its technical expertise, it is just plain ice cold. It is almost as if North consciously eschews anything that could be remotely conceived as emotional. All you have to do is listen to the "Main Title" music from Ben Hur, The Robe, or The Silver Chalice and compare them to Cleopatra in the context of connecting emotionally. Take The Silver Chalice as an example. No one will dispute Waxman's technical prowess, and he also tends to be more austere and modernistic than Rozsa, Newman, Steiner, et al, but Waxman can also relate with the audience on an emotional level, even in a numbingly bad movie like The Silver Chalice. North always seems to go out of his way to keep the listener at arm's length. This is his weakness, and it is peculiar for a film composer. It is not impossible to be technically brilliant, original, modernistic, and still likeable on repeated listenings. That is Waxman's genius. The critics AND the audience like his music. Call North the Stockhausen of the film score set. He is technically brilliant, and the critics love him, but not many people are going to listen to his music. They will rave about him so that they appear to be sophisticated listeners, but how often do they really listen? The few people who do write to you in support of Cleopatra will more likely listen to Ben Hur when they are alone with their sound systems. I am not trying to be critical of anybody for this, because I am the same way. Much as I admire North, I can't warm to his music as I can to the others. This is the curse of North. It is also why he never won an Oscar for an individual score. The Academy then made themselves feel and look good by awarding him the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lukas Kendall added:

I think this is partially true, and I wonder how many people like North because they really like the music, or just because they feel they ought to.

Robert Townson responds:

What an astoundingly arrogant letter. So certain is Mr. Lintgen of all things in the world? To offer a misguided and uninformed hypothesis, state it as fact and then draw categorical conclusions from it smacks of a wildly myopic approach to life. The reason for such an apathetic reaction to the new release of CLEOPATRA seems simple, in Lintgen's eyes ... North's music is "ice cold." "It is almost as if North consciously eschews anything that could be remotely conceived as emotional." Lintgen goes on to label this as Alex North's "weakness" and later calling it "the curse of Alex North." Firstly, there has NOT been anything resembling an apathetic reaction to CLEOPATRA. I have been overjoyed by the sentiments expressed by people in response to this release. Secondly -- are we talking about the same Alex North? The Alex North who had music of his censored from A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE as being too "carnal" and "suggestive"? The same Alex North whose "Unchained Melody" stands some forty-five years later as perhaps the century's most loved love song? The same Alex North behind such scores as THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, THE BACHELOR PARTY, THE LONG, HOT SUMMER, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, HOT SPELL, THE MISFITS, THE DEAD and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM? -- Even leaving out many of his greatest masterpieces. There's even a hint of emotional deficiency in this music?

Alex North was a passionate soul and a compassionate composer. For me, there is no composer's music whose is AS EMOTIONAL. Here's a categorical statement of mine -- there is no release in Varese Sarabande history that has received so many e-mails from people claiming to have been moved to tears. Mr. Lintgen suggests -- no, declares -- that all of these people are purely putting forward a "sophisticated" front and will instead retire to their music rooms, BEN HUR in hand. What?? Says who? Further, and more offensively, Lukas suggests validity to this -- thereby casting doubt on those who "claim" to feel passionately about North's music and accusing them of, (possibly), lying to others and perhaps even to themselves. As Lukas raised similar points in his comments of March 22, I have a growing concern that it may be Lukas himself guilty of such deception, self or otherwise. This need to make excuses for North is misdirected, unneeded and a great overreaction to the legitimate assessment that North isn't for everybody. Neither is Goldsmith -- or Williams -- Herrmann or Korngold -- Barry, Delerue, Jarre, Tiomkin, Zimmer or anyone else. Both Lintgen's letter and Lukas' response seem to damn North with much faint praise. The fact is that North led one of the most spectacularly successful careers of any composer to have worked in Hollywood. He wrote important music for important films, over a period of forty years. His music remains much loved to this day and is, if anything, gradually increasing in popularity.

Finally, returning to Lintgen's letter and another categorical statement -- "It is also why he never won an Oscar for an individual score." Further, the all-knowing Mr. Lintgen attempts to sever any legitimacy from the Oscar North did receive, claiming it was all for show -- a front to make the Academy look good. I'm glad someone has finally figured out the Academy. I certainly haven't. Apparently if North had only been able to come up with a theme that connected with the audience, like the one Academy Award-winning composer Vangelis contributed to CHARIOTS OF FIRE, he might have been a better film composer. Is this why Goldsmith has been so consistently overlooked or does Lintgen have a separate theory for this one?

I don't mean to be insulting here. I would urge Mr. Lintgen to have some humility. Open yourself to the concept that you may not hold all the answers. There may, in fact, not even be answers to hold. I don't pretend to be some great and rare intellectual who "understands" the brilliance of Alex North. I find, in North's music, more than I could ever hope to draw from anyone's music -- whatever that may be, and which may be different from one time to another. When people (Mr. Geagley, Mr. Pulliam and others from the April 5 mailbag among them) claim a similar experience for themselves, I believe them. Perhaps, Mr. Lintgen, one day, you may too. But if not, there is a world of music and art and literature from which you may.

Any responses?

Check out this new fan site for Alan Silvestri: www.Alan-Silvestri.com. (It requires a new browser.)

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