Film Score Friday 2/23/01

Our newest Silver Age CD is out and it's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes/Battle for the Planet of the Apes -- Tom Scott and Leonard Rosenman -- also featuring the Apes TV theme by Lalo Schifrin. Go here for the complete info with track list and sound clips!

By popular demand we are starting to collect email addresses for a mailing list whereby we will keep readers directly informed of our new release announcements and certain specific breaking news. We will NOT be selling, lending, or renting the lists in anyway -- you will only be signing up to receive specific news directly from us. That said, please do sign up as it should be a great way to stay in touch. Here's the page to add your email address.

We found out why Hans Zimmer is listed by himself as composer for Gladiator in the Oscar nominees. It is as fans suspected -- Lisa Gerrard's contributions were determined by the Academy rules to be not "enough" (in terms of minutes of music on the cue sheet) to warrant her being included, so the score was submitted solely for Zimmer. Which is of course odd as Zimmer and Gerrard have already -- together -- won the Golden Globe award for best score.

Warner Home Video is finally going ahead with a DVD of Superman: The Movie on May 1st, adding some footage but not all of the cut scenes previously included in the various TV versions. There is also rumored to be an alternate audio track with "alternate dialogue and scoring" for some sequences as well as an isolated score track with John Williams' music in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The Superman sequels are also being released (II-IV) but without any extras. A report on Aint It Cool News said that the movie has been remixed with additional sound effects to the detriment of the score... Andy Dursin will have more in his next Aisle Seat column.

Here are the relevant film music Grammy winners:

Category 73 - Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media

Almost Famous (Listen/Buy)
Various Artists; Danny Bramson & Cameron Crowe, producers
[DreamWorks Records]

Category 74 - Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media

American Beauty (Listen/Buy)
Thomas Newman, composer
[DreamWorks Records]

Category 75 - Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media.

When She Loved Me (From Toy Story 2) (Listen) (Buy)
Randy Newman, songwriter (Sarah McLachlan)
[Walt Disney Records; Publisher: Walt Disney Music Co.]

Category 76 - Best Instrumental Composition

Theme From Angela's Ashes (Listen) (Buy)
John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Track From: Angela's Ashes - Music From The Motion Picture
[Sony Classical/Sony Music Soundtrax; Publisher: Ensign Music Corp.
& Songs Of Universal Inc.]

Additionally, Michael Kamen won "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for "The Call of the Ktulu" from Metallica's S & M with Kamen conducting The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

John Williams gave away the bride at pop icon James Taylor's recent wedding to Caroline "Kim" Smedvig in Boston. Sir Andre Previn and Yo-Yo Ma performed at the wedding. Smedvig is an executive with the Boston Pops.

I remember I was working at the supermarket once in West Tisbury -- this is 10 years ago -- when James Taylor came in and accidentally made a mess of the coffee grinder.

Italian composer Piero Umiliani passed away on Wednesday, Feburary 14th (Valentine's Day). He had been ill for 20 years, since a stroke in 1980, but was enjoying a revival thanks to his "lounge" recordings. Umiliani wrote the catchy "Manah-Manah" song popularized by the Muppets in the United States among many Italian film scores -- A Man Called Django, Django Against Sartana, etc. We will have a more thorough obituary in Film Score Monthly.

John Barry's planned April concert in London has been postponed, due to delays in completing Barry's next non-film music album for Decca. No date yet for the rescheduling.

Our Bernard Herrmann CD of Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) is getting rave reviews! Here are two nice letters:

From Mark Hasan, markh29@sympatico.ca

Kudos on presenting one of Herrmann's most atmospheric and beautiful scores. The timing couldn't have been better, as a few weeks ago I saw the film on a early DVD release. In stereo and widescreen, Reef remains a fascinating piece of film history, due in large part to the early CinemaScope lensing & stereo effects. For those interested in hearing Herrmann's score as mixed in stereo with direction sound imaging, it's well worth hunting down the DVD.

Herrmann's score really blossoms during the underwater sequences, with the moody harps and lower chords genuinely enveloping the listener. Like the CD, the only way to enjoy the film is loud - a few early cues play through the front center channel as timid preludes to the all-encompassing diving sequences, with Herrmann's score really being the only sound you hear through 5 speakers. It's no surprise these moments remain the most effective and best-remembered moments to an otherwise goofy travelogue (and Robert Wagner's ebullient performance is truly hysterical).

As Fox slowly digs deeper into their CinemaScope archives, one can only imagine how incredible it'll be to enjoy films like King of the Khyber Rifles, Boy on a Dolphin, & The Young Lions letterboxed & (hopefully) in stereo - Here's hoping the studio gives these films a regal DVD treatment, and FSM has the opportunity to benefit from the archival digging.

From: spsaudiomixers@webtv.net (Steven Schwartz)

I just wanted to add my praise for the new CD (I received it a few days ago), and immediately closed myself off from work and all distractions and enjoyed my first of now several savory listen-throughs of it). Terrific job, Lukas!  I have listened to, collected, studied, and appreciated Herrmann's music (as well as all other "golden-age" composers, too, of course) for 40+ years, and this score - now on such a beautifully produced CD - is going to the top of my list of favorites. Please consider more B.H. CD's (and some Rozsa, Friedhofer, Young, and Skinner) for future releases!

You got it! Thanks!

This sounds like an interesting exhibit -- thanks to Lena for writing in:

From: Lena Rose Pycior <lenap@lsil.com>

I spent a fun afternoon at the Exploratorium in San Francisco yesterday. They have a special exhibit "Behind the Screen: Making Motion Pictures and Television"

Other FSM readers in the SF Bay Area may want to catch this exhibit.

Some of things included were:

Sound Recording -- a computer demo with info on recording methods, it goes really good with a film display where you can see the soundtracks on the film

Sound Effects Editing -- you choose the sound effects for a video clip and play it back your way

Building a Soundtrack -- you see a video and get to select a soundtrack for the video -- it's lots of fun seeing how the different soundtracks change the mood of the movie!

Automated Dialog Replacement -- you record the speaking parts for characters in a film then hear/see it played back together

Soundtrack Jukebox -- all your favorite composers biography and filmography with a 2-3 minute sample of their music -- I was amazed so many composers come from a Jazz background!

Layers, Composite, Mattes and Special Effects -- a step-by-step computer demonstration to show how it's done!

Animation -- you make an animation with a stationary camera and objects you have on hand.

Who Does What? -- a database with detailed stories and photos on what people in the credits of the movies actually do. It is organized by department and crossed referenced. Now I know what a grip does!

They also had displays on: Computer Generated Imagery, Panning and Scanning, The First Movies, Still to Moving Images, The Illusion of Motion, and How Cameras Work.

Three and a half hours passed in a moment. The exhibit lasts until May 13, 2001 and is definitely worth the $9 entrance fee.

See Tom DeMary's recent column explaining the differences between the CD and LP editions of this great Philippe Sarde score.

From: Stephen Lister <stephenlister@btinternet.com>

Like yourself, I just got through comparing the Tess MCA LP to the French CD. I believe I can clear up that 25 seconds at the beginning of the LP's track 12 ("Return To The D'Urbervilles") that you couldn't identify.  It was the one thing I was hoping would be on the French CD - but I suspected it wouldn't be, since it wasn't on the French LP either. Remember the scene where Tess slides a letter under Angels' door? The letter confesses to him that her past isn't quite as "pure" as he imagines it to be, and asks him to decide if he can still go on loving her. In the next scene she sees Angel riding along, and he is all smiles, and she assumes he has read her letter and is OK with her past. But later, when she is standing in the doorway to his home, she looks down and sees an envelope sticking out from under the mat ... she pulls it out with a trembling hand and realises that when she slid it under his door it went under the mat as well, and Angel has never seen it. The 25 second cue underscores this and the following moment when Tess steps outside, the letter clutched in her hand, and is starkly backlit by the sun - listen carefully and you can hear Sarde's music creating the musical equivalent of a sunburst. Lovely moment ... and, needless to say, it isn't on the CD. Why am I surprised?

Oscars and Horner, all right!

From: "Randy Derchan" <rderchan@visualdatainc.com>

Damn! Poor James Newton Howard completely shunned from the 2001 Oscar Nominations for Best Original Score. His "Dinosaur" was a grand, epic and soaring piece of composition which exemplified ten-fold the beautiful images on screen. Just try to imagine the opening scene with the traveling egg WITHOUT his contribution!!

His "Unbreakable" score was innovative, passionate, scary and heroic all at once. Musically, not an easy achievement.

You mean Rachel Portman's "Chocolat" wasn't as good as any of JNH? Listen, why does everyone get so excited about the f**king Oscar nominations for film music. It's the same thing every year, just get used to it. It's the Alice in Wonderland syndrome --everything is up-side down and backwards and nothing is fair.

I do believe that Zimmer's score for 'Gladiator" should be nominated because it was terrific. Lisa Gerrard's contribution was mainly a perfomance wise one and Zimmer is usually good enough to include other names along with his credits. All the same, it is his score, his concept and project.

From: Stuart Dunn <stuart@wamudesign.com>

I just heard an "un-official" main theme to Enemy's at the Gate by James Horner. It was at theforce.net. They were right-it does sound like the main theme from Schindlers List. Too much so.

Why can't Horner be creative? If anything-he should just rip himself off (again). I think that with a like Schindlers List-the music is such a part of the fabric of that film, and to "borrow" from that, to me is an insult. My knowledge of music is limited but this really made me upset.

Sorry to vent-what do you all think? Also, just got the 101 CDs issue-AWESOME!!!!! Keep up the good work!!!!

Intrada has revamped its website with a sleek, attractive new design. Most of the content appears to be the same, but navigation is much easier and ordering is now secure. (Another fine plug for FSM's art director, Joe Sikoryak, who also works for Intrada and did great work on this redesign.)

Doug Fake's newest column at the site is on our Beneath the 12-Mile Reef CD. Doug is one of the few people who can write a review of a soundtrack and not just paraphrase the liner notes. He's very perceptive.

OK, so here in the U.S. we have film composers on stamps. Jerome Pirou sent this scan of Swiss currency featuring classical and occasional film composer Arthur Honneger -- go here for the image.

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