FILM SCORE FRIDAY 7/4/08

Happy Independence Day! It doesn't seem like it's been twelve years since we defeated the alien invasion, but there you go.

CINDERELLA LIBERTY was the first John Williams project to earn the composer Oscar nominations for both Score and Song, and Intrada's disc, which features the same tracks as the original 20th Century LP, is the first CD release of this score, which was the only nominated Williams score that had not yet been released on CD. The disc is limited to 3000 copies, and highlights include two original songs performed by lyricist Paul Williams (including the nominated "Nice to Be Around") as well as harmonica solos from Toots Thielemans.

Their other new release, limited to 1500 copies and already sold out, presents Jerry Fielding's score for Michael Winner's 1973 spy thriller SCORPIO, starring Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster. The score had been previously released by Bay Cities as part of their limited edition Fielding series, but Intrada's release is fully remastered and contains the complete, hour-long score for the first time.

Cinderella Liberty - John Williams - Intrada Special Collection
Gangs of New York/The Journey of Natty Gann/The Scarlet Letter - Elmer Bernstein - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Hancock - John Powell - Varese Sarabande
In a Shallow Grave - Jonathan Sheffer - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Iron Eagle - Basil Poledouris - Varese Sarabande CD Club
The Man Who Loved Women - Henry Mancini - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Meet Dave - John Debney - Varese Sarabande
My Cousin Rachel - Franz Waxman - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Scorpio - Jerry Fielding - Intrada Special Collection

Chris & Don: A Love Story - Miriam Cutler
Diminished Capacity - Robert Burger
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - David Schwartz
Hancock - John Powell - Score CD on Varese Sarabande
Tell No One - M - Score CD Ne Le Dis a Personne on Capitol (import)
The Wackness - David Torn - Song CD on Jive

July 8
Angel on My Shoulder - Dimitri Tiomkin - Screen Archives
Death Defying Acts - Cezary Skubiszewski - Lakeshore
21 - David Sardy - Adrenaline
July 15
The Dark Knight - Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard - Warner Bros.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Danny Elfman - Varese Sarabande
July 22
Before the Rains - Mark Kilian - Lakeshore
The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Mark Snow - Decca
July 29
Brideshead Revisited - Adrian Johnston - Chandos
The Flock - Guy Farley - MovieScore Media
Mongol - Tuomas Kantelinen - Varese Sarabande
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Randy Edelman - Varese Sarabande
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 - Rachel Portman - Varese Sarabande
August 12
The 4 Musketeers - Matt Dunkley - MovieScore Media
September 1
El Cid (re-recording) - Miklos Rozsa - Tadlow

July 4 - Larry Herbstritt born (1950)
July 5 - Jerry Fielding's score for the Star Trek episode "Spectre of the Gun" is recorded (1968)
July 6 - Hanns Eisler born (1898)
July 6 - John Ottman born (1964)
July 6 - Ron Goodwin begins recording his score to Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
July 6 - Frank Cordell died (1980)
July 7 - Johnny Mandel begins recording his score for Point Blank (1967)
July 7 - Gerald Fried's score for the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child" is recorded (1967)
July 8 - Bob Alcivar born (1938)
July 8 - Jay Chattaway born (1946)
July 8 - John Addison records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "The Pumpkin Competition" (1986)
July 9 - Richard Hageman born (1882)
July 9 - Earle Hagen born (1919)
July 9 - Paul Chihara born (1938)
July 9 - Harald Kloser born (1956)
July 9 - Conrad Salinger died (1961)
July 9 - Jerry Fielding begins recording his score for The Outfit (1973)
July 9 - James Horner records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Alamo Jobe" (1985)
July 10 - Georges Delerue begins recording his score for The Pick-Up Artist (1987)

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD - Henry Kaiser, David Lindley

"Its most striking nonfiction moments come courtesy of the underwater video images shot in the Antarctic by his friend and sometime composer, the guitarist Henry Kaiser, of divers swimming in the eerie blue under a shelf of crystal ice. (Mr. Kaiser produced this new movie and, with David Lindley, did its plaintive, effective string-centric music.)"

Manohla Dargis, New York Times

"This mystical, cynical, hypocritical elegy revisits the scene of his somnolent 'The Wild Blue Yonder;' like its predecessor, it plunges us into the unique territory of Herzog's mind -- the subject of most of his best documentaries -- where pans of the ocean floor, accompanied by oppressive choral music, can be spliced next to footage of Herzog asking a biologist if penguins can go insane."

Amy Nicholson, L.A. CityBeat

TRUMBO - Robert Miller

"The project has been nurtured with considerable care, from classy lensing care of a team of four (Frank Prinzi, Jonathan Furmasnki, Fred Murphy, Chris Norr) to a gentle, thoughtful piano score by Robert Miller."

Robert Koehler, Variety

WALL-E - Thomas Newman

"The first part of 'WALL-E' has no talk -- apart from that ghastly 'Hello, Dolly' thing and Fred Willard on an old video as Buy 'n' Large's 'global CEO.' Then a rocket descends, accompanied by Thomas Newman's score, which, like the movie, is a gloriously inspired melange -- Warner cartoons (Carl Stalling), sci-fi awe, Shostakovich terror."

David Edelstein, New York

"How much did I love 'WALL-E?' Let me list the ways.

I didn't want it to end. Immediately after the credits rolled and the Pixar logo's light clicked off, I wanted to run up to the projectionist and ask him to show the movie again.

Failing that, I immediately made plans to see the movie for at least a second time this weekend. Maybe even a third.

I called three friends to rave about the film only minutes after seeing it.

I also looked into buying the soundtrack with Thomas Newman's absolutely gorgeous score.

Watching 'WALL-E,' I forgot I was in a movie theater."

Eric Robinette, Dayton Daily News

"A lush score and non-animated images, including Fred Willard as Buy-N-Large's 'global CEO,' lend a multidimensional touch, as do clips from the 1969 'Dolly.'"

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

"For one thing, the film's exceptional first half hour or so lives and breathes on screen with just about zero human dialogue. But with the storied Ben Burtt, who did the job on 'Star Wars,' creating all kinds of noise as the film's sound and character voice designer, as well as music by Thomas Newman, you won't miss those words at all."

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

"One of Stanton's bold strokes is to withhold any 'dialogue,' such as it is, for 16 minutes, a decision surely made long before the appearance of a similar strategy in 'There Will Be Blood.' Albeit accompanied by Thomas Newman's fine score, which provides notable support throughout, this is a silent movie for nearly the length of an old two-reeler, one that combines sobering physical spectacle with sight gags to odd and charming effect."

Todd McCarthy, Variety

WANTED - Danny Elfman

"As if the picture needed it, Danny Elfman's score provides additional propulsion."

Todd McCarthy, Variety

"Also cranking thigns up a couple of extra notches are resident Michael Bay cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen, Oliver Stone's longtime editor David Brenner and prolific composer Dannny Elfman, who skillfully disposes of anything that could be mistaken for subtlety."

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

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