So the home team won, does someone know off hand how often that happens. I know Britain didn't win the Summer Olympics 2 years ago. Did America win the Olympics in Atlanta?
It has happened a few times over the years. It happened to norway when we hosted the games in 1952, but curiously not lillehammer in 1994. It also happened to canada in vancouver 4 years ago.
So the home team won, does someone know off hand how often that happens. I know Britain didn't win the Summer Olympics 2 years ago. Did America win the Olympics in Atlanta?
If you mean did they finish top of the medal table, then yes. By a long way.
So here was music from a Hollywood (modern day) Western movie featured prominently at the Olympics simply because of the pre-Revolutionary Russian origins of the composer? A composer who spent his entire career in the West? And who, by the way, was actually born in the Ukraine?
Seems like an odd choice. I recall a comment once related to me by Miklos Rozsa. He recalled a dinner party at which the Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky claimed that a currently popular Tiomkin tune was merely a recycled Russian folk melody. As Rozsa told it, the tune was from HIGH NOON, but knowing MR's vagueness about movie matters, it's entirely possible that the movie in question was GIANT. Has anybody else ever claimed specific Russian origins for a Tiomkin theme? Of course it goes without saying that all of his music has elements of the Russian style.
So here was music from a Hollywood (modern day) Western movie featured prominently at the Olympics simply because of the pre-Revolutionary Russian origins of the composer? A composer who spent his entire career in the West? And who, by the way, was actually born in the Ukraine?
Seems like an odd choice. I recall a comment once related to me by Miklos Rozsa. He recalled a dinner party at which the Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky claimed that a currently popular Tiomkin tune was merely a recycled Russian folk melody. As Rozsa told it, the tune was from HIGH NOON, but knowing MR's vagueness about movie matters, it's entirely possible that the movie in question was GIANT. Has anybody else ever claimed specific Russian origins for a Tiomkin theme? Of course it goes without saying that all of his music has elements of the Russian style.
I tuned in a bit late so didn't hear the Tiomkin at first but I have it all on my hard drive and watching again, the music from GIANT is very prominent. Unfortunately the BBC commentator described the music as from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!
So here was music from a Hollywood (modern day) Western movie featured prominently at the Olympics simply because of the pre-Revolutionary Russian origins of the composer? A composer who spent his entire career in the West? And who, by the way, was actually born in the Ukraine?
I was impressed that they had a picture of Solzhenitsyn among the literary figures.
I was very irritated by NBC's coverage of the ceremony. Not only was it interrupted by long commercial breaks, but large portions of the ceremony were edited out (the circus and piano sequences). The edits were made to provide time to air a stupid documentary about the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal that occurred 20 years ago, and to show a pilot episode of a new sitcom.
I tuned in a bit late so didn't hear the Tiomkin at first but I have it all on my hard drive and watching again, the music from GIANT is very prominent. Unfortunately the BBC commentator described the music as from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!
The opening did indeed begin with Tiomkin's Love Theme from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE which then segued into CYRANO DE BERGERAC and finally GIANT. At least you had announcers that mentioned the music, in the US broadcast no comment was made at all!
I was very irritated by NBC's coverage of the ceremony. Not only was it interrupted by long commercial breaks, but large portions of the ceremony were edited out (the circus and piano sequences). The edits were made to provide time to air a stupid documentary about the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal that occurred 20 years ago, and to show a pilot episode of a new sitcom.
Agreed... and to spew 90 mins of tabloid trash prior to (and after) the ceremonies was in the worst possible taste (or lack of). Some of the commentators must cringe at this kind of obvious BS.
(the circus and piano sequences) < would have loved to see both!
