FILM SCORE FRIDAY 11/10/06

Basil Poledouris, a composer beloved both for his music and for his personality, died on Wednesday, November 8th of natural causes. We will feature a proper obituary in an upcoming column.

The most historically important of the discs is the first-ever commercial release of Elmer Bernstein's score for the Oscar-nominated 1962 biopic BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. The film came from a peak period in Bernstein's career, and '62 also saw the release of his masterpiece, the Oscar-nominated To Kill a Mockingbird, and Walk on the Wild Side, which was short-listed for a Score nomination and nominated for its title song. This disc is limited to 3000 copies, and is still available to order from Varese.

RUNAWAY: THE DELUXE EDITION presents a remastered and expanded version of Jerry Goldsmith's first all-synth score, for Michael Crichton's underrated 1984 sci-fi thriller which pit 21st century cops Tom Selleck and Cynthia Rhodes against evil Gene Simmons and his array of menacing robots and gizmos. The original Runaway soundtrack was one of Varese's earliest CD releases and is long out of print. This new release is limited to 2000 discs, and sold out from Varese within a day.

LUCAS, the directorial debut of The Omen's writer David Seltzer, was a charming high school comedy-drama starring Corey Haim and Kerri Green, and co-starring three young actors whose stars would ultimately rise higher than Haim's and Green's -- Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Winona Ryder. This disc presents the first release of Dave Grusin's original score for the film, which the label's website amusingly describes as "one of the most touching synthesizer scores of the era." Not that this is inaccurate -- I just think that touching synthesizer scores of the '80s is a pretty small list. Any other nominations?

SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD presents Hugo Friedhofer's score for the 1955 historical adventure film set in 18th century California. Filling out the disc is the surviving 15 minutes of music from Friedhofer's score for THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR, the color, Cinemascope remake of The Rains Came, starring the noted Indian actor Richard Burton. This 1000-disc release was the first of this set to sell out from Varese.

The final disc in the set is a 1000-disc (already sold out) CD release of the tracks from Varese's LP of Ray Cook's score for the 1983 Australian domestic drama CAREFUL, HE MIGHT HEAR YOU. The film was well reviewed at its release but little remembered today (at least in the U.S.), though two of its crew members went on to major Hollywood careers -- cinematographer John Seale later shot such films as Witness, The Hitcher, Rain Man, The English Patient, Cold Mountain and the first Harry Potter, earning an Oscar and three other nominations, while three-time nominee Richard Francis-Bruce later edited The Shawshank Redemption and Seven as well as the first Harry Potter.

BLOOD DIAMOND, director Edward Zwick's first film since The Last Samurai, is an adventure-thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. And since it's a thriller involving Africa, its score is by James Newton Howard (Outbreak, The Interpreter).

Director Shawn Levy, the Ernst Lubitsch of our time, follows his unbroken string of comedic masterpieces (Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther) with the fantasy comedy NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, in which Ben Stiller plays a museum guard who discovers that the exhibits come alive at night. Surprisingly, Christophe Beck, who scored Levy's Classic Comedy Quartet (as the inevitable Criterion DVD set will certainly be titled) did not score his latest. Instead, film music fans will get something they haven't had in two years -- a brand new Alan Silvestri score album.

The other 12/19 release, WE ARE MARSHALL, is the new film from Charlie's Angels helmer McG (and may be the first McG film that doesn't suck), with Matthew McConaughey as a university football coach in a town whose team was killed in a plane crash. Shockingly, this fact-based inspirational sports drama was not scored by Trevor Rabin (Remember the Titans, Glory Road, Coach Carter, Gridiron Gang) and is instead scored by...Christophe Beck, who clearly wasn't busy scoring Night at the Museum.

BLACK CHRISTMAS - Shirley Walker
BOBBY - Mark Isham
DECK THE HALLS - George S. Clinton
DEJA VU - Harry Gregson-Williams
ERAGON - Patrick Doyle
THE GOOD SHEPHERD - Marcelo Zarvos, Bruce Fowler
HAPPY FEET - John Powell
THE HISTORY BOYS - George Fenton
THE HOLIDAY - Hans Zimmer
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Philip Glass
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS - Andrea Guerra
THE RETURN - Dario Marianelli
ROCKY BALBOA - Bill Conti

The Grudge 2 - Christopher Young - Varese Sarabande
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings - Howard Shore - Reprise
Murph the Surf - Philip Lambro - Perseverance

Come Early Morning - Alan Brewer - Score & Song CD on Lakeshore
Copying Beethoven - Antoni Lazarkiewicz - Classical & Score CD on Decca
F--- - Carvin Knowles
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus - Carter Burwell - Score CD due Nov. 21 from Lakeshore
A Good Year - Mark Streitenfeld - Soundtrack CD on Legacy
Harsh Times - Graeme Revell - Soundtrack CD due Nov. 14 from Lakeshore
Night of the Living Dead 3D - Joshua Brandt - Score CD on Lakeshore
The Return - Dario Marianelli
Stranger than Fiction - Brian Reitzell, Britt Daniel - Song CD on Sony with 3 score cues
Unknown - Angelo Milli

November 14
Birdman of Alcatraz - Elmer Bernstein - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Careful, He Might Hear You - Ray Cook - Varese Sarabande
Casino Royale - David Arnold - Sony
Lucas - Dave Grusin - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Runaway: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Seven Cities of Gold/The Rains of Ranchipur - Hugo Friedhofer - Varese Sarabande CD Club
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
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus - Carter Burwell - Lakeshore
December 5
Apocalypto - James Horner - Hollywood
Breaking and Entering - Gabriel Yared, Underworld - V2
Charlotte's Web - Danny Elfman - Sony
The Departed - Howard Shore - New Line
Franz Waxman: A Centenary Celebration - Franz Waxman - Varese Sarabande
The Nativity Story - Mychael Danna - New Line
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek - EMI Classics
December 12
Children of Men - John Tavener, various - Varese Sarabande
December 19
Blood Diamond - James Newton Howard - Varese Sarabande
Night at the Museum - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande
Pan's Labyrinth - Javier Navarette - Milan
We Are Marshall - Christophe Beck - Varese Sarabande
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
The Painted Veil - Alexandre Desplat - Deutsche Grammophon
Spaceballs - John Morris - La-La Land
Tango & Cash - Harold Faltermeyer - La-La Land
The Three Musketeers - Max Steiner - Screen Archives/BYU

November 10 - Mischa Bakaleinikoff born (1890)
November 10 - Philip Sainton born (1891)
November 10 - Carl Stalling born (1891)
November 10 - Billy May born (1916)
November 10 - Ennio Morricone born (1928)
November 10 - Victor Young died (1956)
November 10 - Bruce Broughton records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Thanksgiving" (1986)
November 11 - Dimitri Tiomkin died (1979)
Novebmer 11 - Bruce Broughton records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Gather Ye Acorns" (1985)
November 11 - Morton Stevens died (1991)
November 21 - Bob Crewe born (1931)
November 12 - Neil Young born (1945)
November 13 - Carlo Rustichelli died (2004))
November 14 - Aaron Copland born (1900)
November 14 - Wendy Carlos born (1939)
November 14 - Jean-Claude Petit born (1943)
November 14 - Yanni born (1954)
November 14 - Sol Kaplan died (1990)
November 14 - Michel Colombier died (2004)
November 15 - Gianni Ferrio born (1924)
November 15 - John Williams begins recording his score to The Cowboys (1971)
November 15 - Richard Addinsell died (1977)
November 15 - Alexandre Tansman died (1986)
November 16 - The Lost Weekend is released in theaters (1945)

COCAINE COWBOYS - Jan Hammer

"Some will object to [director Billy] Corben's adrenalized style, dark sense of humor, and seemingly amoral tone -- the film even flaunts a synthesizer-heavy score from 'Miami Vice' composer Jan Hammer -- but 'Cocaine Cowboys'' pulpy entertainment value merely lures us into a grim, kaleidoscopic look at how one city was both destroyed and, ironically, eventually saved by some of the worst human beings to walk the Earth."

Tim Grierson, L.A. Weekly

"At nearly two hours, Billy Corben's staccato film fairly bursts at the seams with information and stories, accompanied by Jan Hammer's pulsating score; there's rarely a second's pause between one speaker and another, and this makes for an at-times dizzying experience."

Joshua Sindell, Los Angeles Citybeat

"And Corben tells the story with style, scoring images of excess and violence with the voices of those who lived it, plus a musical assist from 'Miami Vice''s own Jan Hammer."

Noel Murray, The Onion

"But everything is delivered in such a wash of rapid-fire montage, under a driving score by 'Miami Vice' composer Jan Hammer, that the viewer scarely has time to register the particulars."

Ronnie Scheib, Variety

FLUSHED AWAY - Harry Gregson-Williams

"Harry Gregson-Williams' score is an energetic asset."

Todd McCarthy, Variety

"Harry Gregson-Williams rollicking score gives a huge lift to all the comedy."

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE - George S. Clinton

"All of these characters stampede around the scenery, which looks less like Disney World than the old paint-and-fiberglass Storytown amusement park that used to be in the Adirondacks, while the soundtrack serves up sound effects and music that tell us where to laugh. They don't tell us why, though: Farting reindeer and puns like 'You have to be a Jack Frost of all trades' are about as funny as it gets."

Kyle Smith, New York Post

"From overstated sets, obvious costumes, insistent music and hammy acting, it's clear that director Michael Lembeck has everyone working overtime to pump life into this 'Santa Clause.' The 'escape' in the movie's title soon feels very alluring."

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

STOLEN - Peter Golub

"Made with an artistry that extends to its excellent Peter Golub score, 'Stolen' doesn't set the world on fire, but it is a magical mystery tour that is well worth taking."

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

VOLVER - Alberto Iglesias

"The movie unfolds in a female-centric universe, in which the women keep their families together in the face of male inconstancyóor worse. It's the old matriarchs we see as 'Volver' begins, the camera gliding past a row of headstones to which they ritually tend, Alberto Iglesias's music bouncing along rambunctiously, with just a hint of dissonance. Iglesias's delightful score (abetted by renditions of Carlos Gardel's impassioned ballad 'Volver') seems almost free-associativeónow puckish, now spare and moody, now lush, with even a dollop of Bernard Herrmann hamminess. The music matches up with Almodovar's palette, the colors lit from within but just shy of phosphorescent, the arrival of the supernatural as natural as breathing (and, in this case, farting)."

David Edelstein, New York

"'Volver' is often dazzling in its artifice -- Jose Luis Alcaine's ripe cinematography, Alberto Iglesias's suave, heart-tugging score -- but it is never false. It draws you in, invites you to linger and makes you eager to return. It offers something better than realism. The real world, after all, is where we all have to live; for some of us, though, Mr. Almodovar's world is home."

A.O. Scott, New York Times

"The film noir cues are frequent; from sequences that, in both plot and style, consciously invoke Hitchcock and Chabrol to the often Herrmannesque score by Alberto Iglesias."

Andy Klein, Los Angeles Citybeat

"Alberto Iglesias' score is attractively subdued orchestral fare, overemployed in a couple of scenes."

Jonathan Holland, Variety

WRESTLING WITH ANGELS: PLAYWRIGHT TONY KUSHNER - Jeanine Tesori

"And the grave loveliness of the documentary's score, composed by Kushner's frequent collaborator Jeanine Tesori, intensifies the reverent atmosphere with a steady burning of musical incense."

Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

FROM: Randall Derchan

Interesting to see someone who has a difference of opinion from the norm. I myself, don't hate "Never Say Never Again," although I am a Eon/Bond purist. "Never" is no lamer than "A View To A Kill" which followed, but really, those were interesting times, the '80s, for Bond in particular as they were considered comedies. With all the criticisms that the Bronsnan pictures get, I'm still thankful that they maintained a serious story lines without the slapstick the Moore pictures did. "Never Say Never" was pretty funny at times I admit, but I find it ironic that we can review the humor and comedic timing in Bond as being a valid form of cinematic criticism for Bond. When was Bond supposed to a comedy anyway? Ironically, think the diversity of the Bond series, comedy and serious films within the same franchise, has probably kept it alive. It provides a little bit for everyone. I get the feeling that Bond films generally don't always know what they want to be, other than mere forms of entertainment. I used to get so pissed when ever they would remake or even refer to "The Wild, Wild, West" (TV) as a comedy. Not the show I grew up with and watched. Having some humor and being a slapstick comedic parody are two different things.

As far as "Never"'s score goes, I will say that Legrand's music just doesn't work for me dramatically, Bond film or not, and although not bad musically, just an awkward approach to scoring in general. I certainly don't think that the film should have had the Barry-Bond sound, as it was suppose to be its own thing. No more of a disaster than another French composer's take on Bond scoring -- Serra's "Goldeneye." I mean no stab at French composers just that they like to do things a bit more avant garde. The real problem with the film "Never Say Never Again" is that it plagiarizes much of what the Eon/Bond films are and have been and not what Fleming had envisioned and thus, it could have been so much more (instead of Mooreótee-hee). They had a reason for a fresh start. That's what's so exciting about the new "Casino Royale."

P.S. I love all the Bond films really, the good and the bad. I get annoyed with all the harsh criticisms.

P.P.S. I find that there is much to celebrate with the DVD releases of films like the "Chairman," "Quiller Memorandum," "Deadfall" and other great, beautifully scored films of the sixites. Not to mention the new Ultimate Bond DVDs. Long time in waiting for these classics and all within the same month. Hail to the DVD god, who is obviously listening.

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