FILM SCORE FRIDAY 11/3/06

The latest release from Intrada's limited edition Signature Edition series is a 2-disc set of Bruce Broughton's scores for the TV movies ELOISE AT THE PLAZA and ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME, based on the classic Kay Thompson children's novels, which won the composer back-to-back Emmys. This release is limited to 1200 copies.

Alexandre Desplat...Jacques Audiard - Alexandre Desplat - Play Time (import)
Eloise at the Plaza/Eloise at Christmastime - Bruce Broughton - Intrada Signature Edition
Night of the Living Dead 3D - Jason Brandt - Lakeshore
Volver - Alberto Iglesias - EMI

Blind Dating - Heitor Pereira
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Erran Baron Cohen - Soundtrack CD on Atlantic
Cocaine Cowboys - Jan Hammer
Flushed Away - Harry Gregson-Williams - Song CD on Astralwerks
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause - George S. Clinton
Shottas - Wyclef Jean
Stolen - Peter Golub
Volver - Alberto Iglesias - Score CD on EMI
Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner - Jeannie Tesori
Zerophilia - Kevin McDaniels

November 7
The Grudge 2 - Christopher Young - Varese Sarabande
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings - Howard Shore - Reprise
November 14
Casino Royale - David Arnold - Sony
24: Seasons 4 & 5 - Sean Callery - Varese Sarabande
Wah-Wah - Patrick Doyle - Varese Sarabande
November 21
Babel - Gustavo Santaolalla - Concord
Flicka - Aaron Zigman - Varese Sarabande
The Fountain - Clint Mansell - Nonesuch
December 5
Charlotte's Web - Danny Elfman - Sony
The Departed - Howard Shore - New Line
Franz Waxman: A Centenary Celebration - Franz Waxman - Varese Sarabande
December 12
Children of Men - John Tavener, various - Varese Sarabande
December 19
Pan's Labyrinth - Javier Navarette - Milan
Date Unknown
Amazing Stories: Anthology Three - John Williams & various other incredible composers - Intrada Special Collection
Angel on My Shoulder - Dimitri Tiomkin - Screen Archives
The Blob (and other creepy sounds) - Ralph Carmichael - Monstrous Movie Music
D.O.A. - Dimitri Tiomkin - Screen Archives
The Enforcer - Jerry Fielding - Aleph
Film Music of John Addison - John Addison - Chandos
The Intruder and other music - Herman Stein - Monstrous Movie Music
Murph the Surf - Philip Lambro - Perseverance
Spaceballs - John Morris - La-La Land
Tango & Cash - Harold Faltermeyer - La-La Land
The Three Musketeers - Max Steiner - Screen Archives/BYU

November 3 - John Barry born (1933)
November 4 - Laurence Rosenthal born (1926)
November 6 - Peter Matz born (1928)
November 7 - William Alwyn born (1905)
November 7 - Leonard Rosenman records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "No Day at the Beach" (1985)
November 7 - Shorty Rogers died (1994)
November 8 - Arnold Bax born (1883)
November 8 - Mark Suozzo born (1953)
November 8 - The Ten Commandments opens in New York (1956)
November 9 - Stanley Myers died (1993)

BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla

"'Babel' has great expectations for itself: It wants to be a movie about big ideas and big emotions at the same time. Aided by gorgeous locations and classy trappings (cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, theme music by Gustavo Santaolalla), it succeeds for the most part, and in the process makes 'Crash,' another recent film with converging stories and a multicultural cast, look like an undergraduate term paper on race relations."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

"Production contributions are excellent, with Rodrigo Prieto's rugged lensing at one with the mostly barren landscapes, Stephen Mirrone and Douglas Crise's editing adroitly intertwining the narrative threads and Gustavo Santaolalla's grave, inventively arranged original score supplementing numerous tunes on the soundtrack."

Todd McCarthy, Variety

THE BRIDGE - Alex Heffes

"Strictly as a film, this is an impressive piece of work, although its musical soundtrack (by Alex Heffes), while somber, doesn't measure up to its imagery."

Stephen Holden, New York Times

"Alex Heffes' tasteful but bland Thomas Newman-esque score further distances the viewer from any deeper ideas on the psychological mysteries of suicide."

James C. Taylor, L.A. Weekly

"Between these long shots of the Golden Gate (unfortunately overscored with sentimental music), 'The Bridge' contains interviews with surviving relatives and friends of the jumpers, who are admirably honest in their self-scrutiny."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD - Emilio Kauderer

"If director Stephen Simon had spent less time on panoramic shots of the contemplative Neale hanging out near scenic mountains, lakes and forestry -- cue the music! -- perhaps he could have developed more of a story. The film hints at his [the main character's] problems with women, but again, there's little to back it up. Why didn't he knock on his ex-wife's door after going all the way to her house? Instead, he goes into her garage, takes some camping equipment and hoofs it to a park in the pouring rain. Why not wait in the garage at least until the rain stops? Because then the camera couldn't follow his long and dramatic walk, as the rain pummels him and the music swells."

Teresa Budasi, Chicago Sun-Times

"While the second act is bathed in piano score and the obvious plot turns of a Lifetime channel movie, many of Neale's trials are moving, such as his difficult decision to eat refuse from a Dumpster."

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

SAW III - Charlie Clouser

"Director Darren Lynn Bousman and screenwriter Leigh Whannell have here replicated the style of the earlier films, including the rapid-fire editing, dark color palette, industrial-style music, and sound effects and nonlinear storytelling."

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

FROM: "Mike Atkins"

I guess I must be the only guy in the universe who actually likes "Never Say Never Again." I've always liked the idea of Connery playing an older Bond, and I think he did a terrific job. His comic timing is wonderful, and in a year that saw Roger Moore playing another geriatric Bond, it was refreshing to see once again why Connery continues to be the most celebrated 007. The film was funny, the action was decent, and Klaus Maria Brandauer played one of the most charming and seductive Bond villains ever. Sure, it seems "dated" now, but it was 1983! Some of Brosnan's Bond films already seem dated, and I guarantee they will continue to do so as the years go by.

Not only do I like the film, I love the score. Michel Legrand was a fantastic choice to score a Bond film, and he did a fantastic job, as always. His music for the film is sophisticated, classy, elegant, exciting, and has a laid-back, jazzy aplomb that suits Connery and the character's age perfectly. Legrand is one of the great songwriters of the film music world, and his title song is one of my favorite Bond songs. Does it sound like it was recorded in 1983? Of course! So what? Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" sounds like it was recorded in 1985. What of it? Legrand's brilliant work for thrillers like "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Ice Station Zebra" gives further evidence as to why he was a great choice to score a Bond film. Like Henry Mancini and Lalo Schifrin, Legrand excels at combining the jazzy and the symphonic, which is exactly what a Bond movie needs.

Sorry, I just get a little tired of people attacking "Never Say Never Again". I'm not saying it's a masterpiece, but I am saying it's a perfectly respectable Bond flick, much better than many of the cartoon adventures of Roger Moore. If you think it's a lame film, I respect your opinion, but don't confuse your opinion with fact. The fact is, a lot of people don't like the film, but there are also quite a few that do. I also get tired of people dismissing the brilliant Michel Legrand, who is one of my favorite composers.

As far as other well known composers scoring a Bond film, I don't think anyone can truly replace John Barry. That's why the "spy" music of composers such as Schifrin and Goldsmith (and in the case of "Never Say Never Again," Legrand) works so well, because they don't try to imitate the approach of John Barry. Only a composer who stakes out his own claim in the world of spy films can truly make a name for himself. Besides, the composers that you listed would probably never do a Bond film, because they wouldn't want their well-established names to be attached to a franchise. The next great Bond composer will probably be someone we've never heard of.

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