Cleopatra Mail Bag Part One

Compiled by Lukas Kendall

See the first Cleopatra Mail Bag and also correspondence by Robert Townson addressing one of the letters therein:

From: Jeff Bond <jbond@filmscoremonthly.com>

I just want to agree with Bob Townson's incredulous response to Mr. Lintgen's description of Alex North's music as "ice cold." I can only assume Mr. Lintgen has never seen Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or Spartacus. Anyone who can describe the music in either of these films as "ice cold" is simply living in some alien aesthetic universe. I can honestly say that North's music has moved me to tears more often than the work of any other composer. Even Cleopatra (which could more than adequately be described as "ice cold" as a MOVIE) has profoundly moving and beautiful passages. The fact that North combined his ability to speak directly to the emotions with a capacity to write brilliantly intellectual music only adds to his legacy as a composer--and a sadly neglected one.

From: Preston Jones:

"Any responses?" you ask, to the North/CLEOPATRA correspondence of Messrs. Lintgen and Townson. As a matter of fact, until I read this morning's column, I was planning on initiating a Message Board thread, (something I rarely do), to express my disagreement with any concept of Alex North's music being too "cold," or designed "to keep the listener at arm's length." Mr. Thomson has said so much which needed saying, more authoritatively than I ever could, and I applaud his letter.

Here's my two cents: There are perhaps certain North scores which might justifiably be judged "cold," or emotionally distant -- I'm thinking of 2001, for instance, or DRAGONSLAYER, scores to which I have yet to warm personally yet which are most appropriate for their respective films and directors -- but surely, not the whole of North's oeuvre. The man who wept with homesickness when overhearing a Duke Ellington record in Moscow was not predisposed to write cold, emotionally barren music. To quote the great playwright Arthur Miller, for whom North penned the haunting flute theme in DEATH OF A SALESMAN, "Thank God for your music." A sensitive lady friend of mine once confided to me that she couldn't bear to listen to the main title from SALESMAN because it was too poignant. Wasn't it Elia Kazan who said, "Alex North can break your heart with fewer notes than any other composer."? How anyone could expose himself to the emotional bath which is SPARTACUS and then accuse its composer of being cold or distant is beyond me.

As for CLEOPATRA, it has its thoughtful moments, yes, but also its tender ones. Writer/director Mankiewicz was an artist with a very cerebral and theatrical approach to film, and doubtless his influence can be heard in the music which North so carefully provided for him. Ironically, perhaps the emotional depths of CLEOPATRA's score could be more readily perceived today if Varese had been inclined -- and allowed sufficient budget -- to have produced a 3-disc set in the manner of Ryko's GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. In that case, we would be able to hear the original Fox LP -- and to read Mankiewicz's original liner notes in which he most specifically points out the cues in which North's score supplied the crucial emotions necessitated by the scene. (I don't have those notes in front of me, but even after all these years I can recall Mankiewicz writing, for instance, of North's music having compassion for the weeping queen as if she were a hurting little girl, and of his favorite cue wherein Anthony begs his soldiers to fight and kill him, with North's strident brass speaking in an eloquence which no actor could provide.)

I only hope that those younger film music fans still unfamiliar with North's work will not be dissuaded by Lintgen's letter from giving it a listen. The older fans, I dare say, need no prodding or persuading by now. North has earned his reputation as a master based on his merits, not on any intellectual snobbism. We who love Alex North do so because he has moved us. (The one time I met Mr. North, I told him that any time I want a guaranteed catharsis I play the last track from SPARTACUS. It's still true.) And he deserves a place beside Rozsa and Herrmann by virtue of the honor and respect he has brought to film music with the depth of his craftsmanship and the breadth of his creativity.

From: "Nicolai P. Zwar" <NPZwar@bigfoot.com>

The music of Alex North is among the most genuinely inspired, expertly crafted, and emotionally involving music ever written for the silver screen. Mr. Lintgen's suggestion that North's music is "plain ice cold" and could at best be admired for "its technical expertise" is just plain dead wrong. I wonder to how much of Alex North's music Mr. Lintgen has listened to, because his claim that "North consciously eschews anything that could be remotely conceived as emotional" just cannot be supported on any grounds. Does THE MISFITS eschew anything that could be remotely conceived as emotional? Does BITE THE BULLET? Does THE RAINMAKER? Does VIVA ZAPATA!? Does WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINA WOOLF? Does SPARTACUS? Or does, for that matter, CLEOPATRA? Does ANY score by Alex North? To me, the answer is clearly "no". It seems to me that obviously Mr. Lintgen does not or cannot connect to the music of Alex North. That's fine. To each its own. Leonard Rosenman or Bernard Herrmann aren't everybody's cup of tea either. I have no problem with that. But what an utterly ridiculous claim it is to state that many people will "rave about him [A. North] so that they appear to be sophisticated". Now that is funny. Appear sophisticated to whom? To society in general, to other film score fans, or just to other Alex North fans? Gimme a break! Or what to make of a statement as ludicrous as: "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"? That's so far off I don't even know what to comment here. Let's just say that I can think of no film composer whose music has more passion, more heart, more beauty, and -- yes -- more emotion than the music of Alex North has.

From: al_foster@t-online.de (Al Foster)

Here's my five cents reg. Alex North:

When I heard CLEOPATRA was out in a new CD edition, I went to my LP shelves and pulled out my original copy of the soundtrack, which I had bought years ago out of some strange curiosity, but I could never get warm with it in any way, the music just left me cold as a stone. Now, older and wiser (hey, ten years ago, I honestly couldn't understand the fuzz about Bernard Herrmann, now I am his greatest admirer), I listened to CLEOPATRA again and noticed two things: side 1 is still utterly cold and therefore almost unlistenable, whereas side 2 makes for some rewarding listening. The two sides seem to have been compiled with completely different moods in mind. I don't have the CD yet (I certainly will soon), but I'm already very curious again what effect, with a now chronological presentation of the score, North's music will have on me (I'm 34, by the way). Yes, North is definitely not everybody's cup of tea, and Rozsa warms the heart more than the intellectually razor-sharp crystals of Mr. North.

One sad last thing: Why on all earth was the gorgeous original LP cover not used for the CD?! The CD cover is acceptable, but absolutely pales when compared to the grandeur of the Fox LP, with the Harrison/Burton/Taylor painting and the stylish mix of a functional 60s font for the composer's name and a Roman/Egyptian-style font for the title. Another great chance of re-introducing one of the all-time greatest soundtrack covers to many who will never have the opportunity of seeing the original - gone!

Still: Heavy kudos to all involved - never stop releasing them goodies...

From: David Coscina <dcoscina@sympatico.ca>

I can see points made by Lintgen, Townson and Kendall regarding the music of Alex North. I haven't listened to a huge amount of his work, but I'm amazed at North's use of dissonant harmonies, assymetrical meters, and captivating orchestral colours in his scores. On one hand, music from Dragonslayer seems to eschew all hints of sentimentality and emotion- but then, look at the film's setting- pretty drab and dreary. Then there's something like that beautiful string elegy from Good Morning Vietnam which I"ve been dying to hear away from the film but haven't had any luck with for years! Really great stuff!

My impression of Alex North is that he avoided cliches to the hilt- and that makes his music both wonderfully fresh and great to study but MAY result in being off putting to those weened on more consonant music with a rock solid key centers and even meters. And I don't mean to be patronizing to those who do- hell, I love Williams, Goldmsith, etc. etc. And, in defence of Mr. Lintgen, everyone's entitled to their own opinion regarding how music affects them. Obviously he was merely trying to articulate why North's music leaves him a bit cold. No harm. And I agree with Lukas about how some folks might like North because they feel they should. It's like me with Bartok. I am impressed with the construction of his music, but I haven't heard anything that's moved me..well, Music for Strings Percussion and Celeste 2nd mvmnt gives me the creeps, but that 's more the assocation to The Shining (thanks Mr. Kubrick).

From: "FINN, BILL" <WILFIN@SAFECO.com>

As to your question of whether anyone listens to North because they feel like they ought to, I would like to point out that just the fact that we listen to film music is of itself pretty good evidence that most of us listen to what rings our bells.

Otherwise we would be listening to what most music critics tell us we should.

Other than that, I think Mr. Townson pretty much hit the nail on the head, don't you?

From: joecaps@earthlink.net

I have heard other people say the same thing to me about North - we don't really like him, we just pretend to.

Personally, my A-1 favorite composer is Alfred Newman, a very emotional composer who was originally supposed to score Cleopatra. He vowed out owing to mounting pressures on working with George Stevens Greatest Story Ever TOld.

But to call Cleoaptra cold is absurd. listen to the Calpurnia scene - heartbreaking music. Check out "Grant me and Honourable Way To Die" What the music is NOT is sympathetic. One can hardly be sympathetic to these politically grasping people. Cleopatra is not a sympathetic kind of film.

However, if you want to hear some direct emotional North scores that have massive amounts of heart, check out Sound and the Fury, The Rainmaker, and The Rose Tatto - scores that are simple and very melodic - the love theme of Sound and the Fury almost sounds like Alfred Newman wrote it.

From: "K Dick" <baleywick@tgn.net>

The notion that anyone listens to North because they ought to is absurd. North's musical voice was a unique one in the film score world. No one has sounded like him before or since. He cut his musical baby teeth on jazz, theater, and modern dance before he even started scoring films. Such a background is easy to hear in any of his scores from the more intimate ones such as "Death of a Salesman" to the enormous scoring of "Spartacus" or "Cleopatra". The result is a totally unique sound that many describe as "unconventional". I would maintain such critics really mean to say "unconventional = different = bad". Such a notion is the product of a parochial mind that cannot open up to music that is new and fresh and different. North could span the emotional range as well as any composer of film scores. He just dared to do it his way and no one else's way, so unlike today's film scores when with a very few exceptions, everyone sounds like everyone else ie boring!

I have listened to North's music since I was eight years old and I haven't stopped yet. It is a mark of good music that it can be replayed over and over without being tiresome and always with something new to reveal. Such is the case with ALL of Alex North's music. I always look forward to a new release of any of Alex North's music because it will be a rewarding listening experience. That is why I have enjoyed the "Cleopatra" release so much. It is not only a lot of great music, but an excellent summary of all that is the unique and eminently listenable style of Alex North.
 

Well I read your earlier reply and wondered what the reaction might be..

A long, long time ago my parents presented me with my first records..Calamity Jane and Davy Crockett. I loved them and fell in love with film music. As I collected Korngold, North, Steiner, Bernstein etc. and the early Goldsmith I became, (in my minds eye), an expert in film music. That lasted ten years and then I began to realise how varied and how different the styles of many of the composers were.

The next ten years, the seventies brought many many new composers with a hint of electronics. John Williams reserected the symphonic score. I became less sure of my judgement, but I kept collecting, I loved the music. The eighties and ninteties flew past. Music styles altered but I still loved FILM music. Now a new century. Many of my old friends are gone but through the love of some companies their music lives on.

So what's the point of this email. Just love and enjoy the music and keep doing what you are doing. Alex North was a great composer. Listen to Pony Soldier, Spartacus etc. Vangelis is a great composer. How many collectors bootlegged Blade Runner ?. Don't let - so called - experts interfere with your judgement. (The reality is that their love of a particular composer clouds their judgement regarding the others).

Cleopatra overwhelmed me..but so did Gladiator. I wonder what surprises I'll have in the next decade.

From: "Mark Trachtman" <mtrachtm@ngs.org>

Okay, I understand that Mr. Townson is passionate about film music and about his work. We are all passionate about the stuff or we wouldn't be here (on your website). And we all owe Mr. Townson many, many thanks for his efforts and his passion and for bringing so much music that would otherwise have been locked away in studio vaults out into the open to thrill and entertain and move us in our own personal ways.

But the truth is, when I read Arthur Lintgen's comment about North's music being "ice cold," I had exactly the same response as you, Lukas - "you, know, that's partly true." "Partly" is the operative word here. I was thinking particularly of "Cleopatra," since that was the original topic, and "Dragonslayer" and the unused "2001" score. But then there are all those other scores Townson mentioned, and of course "Spartacus," which to me is an infinitely more accessable score than "Cleopatra" - much more "romantic," more traditional, more melodic - and from your poll I see I'm not alone. But I hated "Spartacus" when I first heard it - it took me twenty years to completely fall in love with it. But I do love it now, and the Main Title to "Sound and the Fury" and many other works of North. But I don't "pretend" to like him just to be cool, nor, I believe, does anyone else. There is no "status" in liking film composers, whoever they are. Most people think this is an oddball interest, WHOEVER we happen to like. I like some scores, not others. Some of those opposites are by the same composer. And I like talking about that with other fans - that's part of the joy of this website and film score appreciation in general.

In the end, any argument about "the music is great," "the music stincks" is just a pointless matter of taste. Thank goodness there are options. Mr. Townson said "I don't mean to be insulting here." Okay - but can't we all just get along? I hope Mr. Townson understands that if some of us don't share his passion for "Cleopatra" it doesn't mean we still don't greatly appreciate his efforts - really and truly. And the same is true for Alex North. I eagerly bought "Cleopatra" as soon as it was available, and I think it is a marvelous thing to own. I have already enjoyed the hours of listening pleasure it provided, I truly admire the achievement, and I WILL lsiten to it again and again. But you know what - I'll listen to "Spartacus" more, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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