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PUPPET ON A CHAIN is his absolute masterpiece!!!!!!! His only score for an English film, if I am not mistaken.
1971's "The Light at the Edge of the World" and "The Deserter" were both English-language films.
And let's not forget 1969's "Kenner," which FSM released along with "More than a Miracle."
True.
There's 4 of them in English, mentioned above, plus a few others dubbed into English like "The Tenth Victim" & "Minnesota Clay".
However, I think "Puppet On A Chain" was the only British production to have a Piccioni score.
It was conducted in England by Harry Rabinowitz (I don't know if Piccioni himself ever left Italy for that score ... ? ...)
"Kenner" was a U.S. production (M & M Productions).
"The Light At the Edge of the World" was a U.S. - Spanish - Liechtenstein production -- a co-production of Bryna Productions (Hollywood), Jet Films (Madrid), and Triumfilm (Vaduz).
"The Deserter" was an Italian - Yugoslavian - U.S. production -- a co-production of Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica (Rome), Jadran Films (Zagreb), and Heritage Films (New York).
And "Puppet On a Chain" was a British production (Big City Productions).
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From about the time Piccioni scored CONTEMPT/LES MEPRIS/IL DISPREZZO for Jean-Luc Godard (who favored the Georges Delerue version),
Sorry to interfere here, but this is not quite correct. Piccioni and Godard did never meet at all, not even later on. Piccioni did only work for Carlo Ponti on this film.
This is what really happened: For the Italian version, about 20 minutes of LE MÉPRIS were cut to avoid all the play with the different languages Godard undertook in this movie. So in the Italian dubbed version only Italian language is spoken. Carlo Ponti who was responsible for the cuts was very unsatisfied with the Delerue score, did not like it at all and searched for an Italian composer who would replace it with more modern, jazzy music. So he asked Piccioni at that time: "Would you do it? If you won't, I wil look for another Italian composer who will do it." Therefore Piccioni decided he would do that job for Ponti. Godard himself had nothing at all to do with the Italian version of the film and did not even authorize it. So there was never ever any contact between Godard and Piccioni. Godard had assigned Delerue for the score of the French version and no one else.
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I don't know much about the Italian version of CONTEMPT, but I still recall reading somewhere that Godard didn't like the Piccioni music.
Perhaps I am confusing Godard's lack of authorization with lack of approval?
I have also never seen the Italian version and I really don't want to, because all those cuts will in my opinion totally destroy the film as I know and love it. I also can't imagine that the Piccioni score really fits into that special French film. If it would be a film like LA DECIMA VITTIMA, it would be certainly ok, but not for the Godard film which without the Delerue score will be lacking one of its most important elements.
It is logical that Godard would not have liked Piccioni's music if he ever saw excerpts or the full Italian dubbed version. Because he had his clear concept what kind of music he wanted for his film. In the same way as he wanted from Antoine Duhamel something in the vein of Robert Schumann for PIERROT LE FOU, he wanted from Delerue 13 minutes of symphonic music in the vein of US movies:
"Je voulais le côté musique symphonique de certains films américains, avec un air qui revient..."
("I wanted a symphonic kind of music in the way of certain American films with a melody which gets repeated...")
So with just these 13 minutes Delerue had composed for LE MÉPRIS in advance Godard had the musical material in his hands to fill with it about 40 minutes or even more in his movie just the way he wanted to. He put the same themes in several places and played with the music in his usual "unusual" Godardian way. Of course he couldn't do the same with Piccioni's much later Italian score and it also did not fit at all anymore into his symphonic and romantic concept - so of course it is absolutely clear that he did not like it, isn't it?
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It's ironic that, just as Fritz Lang as a director in the movie needs to deal with an insensitive producer played by Jack Palance, LES MEPRIS itself was altered by a real-life producer (Ponti) making Lang's character symbolic of Godard.
Indeed, Tone Row, I fully agree with you here. It is all bitter irony and there is much truth in Fritz Lang's character and how he has to deal with the producer played by Palance in the movie itself.
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Also, I'm disappointed with Piccioni's TEMPEST from 1958. It sounds older than '58, but, more to the point, it doesn't sound like the Piero we've come to know and love.
I really like LA TEMPESTA very much and therefore have a totally different opinion of this score, but what I want to to point out is that Piccioni re-used a theme from LA TEMPESTA in 1965 for the Soraya episodic film I TRE VOLTI. The theme - just a bit differently orchestrated - can also be found on the RCA LP of I TRE VOLTI.
By the way, it is also quite strange that the very nice I TRE VOLTI is still not available on CD after all these years!
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[I usually wait until a "domestic" (italian) version gets released, mainly because of the price but also because I'm assuming the Japanese discs (Verita Note/Avanz etc...) are not always sonically upgraded.
But am I right? Do they use the master tapes? Are Claudio Fuiano/Daniel Winkler etc..involved in the latest Japanese reissues?
As far as I know, the Verita Note label doesn't exist anymore since about a year. At least they have fully stopped their soundtrack releases which always came from the General Music catalogue.
Yes, Verita Note did indeed have a contract with GDM and therefore they could of course use the original masters. But beware of Avanz and their newer releases from the last 2-3 years, because they are all more or less "boots".
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Posted: |
Jan 7, 2012 - 5:20 PM
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By: |
ToneRow
(Member)
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Also, I'm disappointed with Piccioni's TEMPEST from 1958. It sounds older than '58, but, more to the point, it doesn't sound like the Piero we've come to know and love.
I really like LA TEMPESTA very much and therefore have a totally different opinion of this score, but what I want to to point out is that Piccioni re-used a theme from LA TEMPESTA in 1965 for the Soraya episodic film I TRE VOLTI. The theme - just a bit differently orchestrated - can also be found on the RCA LP of I TRE VOLTI.
By the way, it is also quite strange that the very nice I TRE VOLTI is still not available on CD after all these years!
Its interesting to learn about these minor recyclings.
For example, I was initially familiar with the "Arizona Dreaming" theme from its appearance within LA SPINA DORSALE DEL DIAVOLO, only to realize years later that this theme came a few years earlier in SE INCONTRI SARTANA...
And a motif heard in IL FARO IN CAPO AL MONDO has its origins in UN ITALIANO IN AMERICA.
I'm sure there's more such examples of themes being reused.
Perhaps upon subsequent listenings to LA TEMPESTA, I might locate more to appreciate.
I like early Piccioni such as LA DONNA CHE VENNE DEL MARE, but LA TEMPESTA is going to take time with me ...
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