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Posted: |
Apr 19, 2005 - 2:05 AM
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By: |
Dana Wilcox
(Member)
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Have never heard this score by Elmer B. I was lucky to find an old VHS video of the Movie in a local Music/Video store $1.00 bin. Was the soundtrack ever available? I'll watch and listen soon. For those who have seen the film or heard the music, what are your thoughts on the score? Thanks. Zoob One of Maestro Bernstein's early scores from 1957, the same year Jerry Goldsmith scored his First Feature, BLACK PATCH. Here's the discography: http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/browsetitle.php?beginletter=M&offset=1740 (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.) The score is rather bleak and somber, not awfully melodic, and features a song called (you guessed it) "Men in War," sung by an all-male chorus. I haven't seen the film. It's not the greatest Bernstein listen, frankly, but the score apparently works well in the film, as it merited mention in some of the reviews of the film.
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Score was released on LP by Imperial; recently reissued on vinyl (only ) by Vinilo Records in Spain. An excellent score all around essential to Elmer Bernstein collectors. Best, Alexandre
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Curiously, for a score that opens with a simple "title song," the music elsewhere comes awfully close to mimicry of Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta." I can't think of anywhere else where Elmer Bernstein's style led him in that direction. It doesn't open with a title song; it opens with a maze of percussion punctuated by orchestral bursts. Bernstein re-used this theme in various scores over the decades.
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Yes, indeed, the most amusing re-use of the MEN IN WAR main title is a slight variation for Robert Stack decking all the Hari Krishnas and other types as he wends his way through the terminal in AIRPLANE.
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Just bumping this thread because the film happened to be on TV (again!) here this afternoon in the UK. Once upon a time this picture was hard-to-find, seldom shown. Now a channel called "Movies4Men" screen it a lot. As war films go, it is really very good. Stark, black-and-white images; Robert Ryan was a great actor. Elmer Bernstein's music is just as stark, and very effective, helping to make the film work. One of the times when it all comes together - the direction, the performances, the cinematography, the LOOK of the film seems real and immediate. Astonished to find that the Kritzerland CD of the Bernstein score did not sell out and is still available (?) There's no accounting for taste!
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Just bumping this thread because the film happened to be on TV (again!) here this afternoon in the UK. Once upon a time this picture was hard-to-find, seldom shown. Now a channel called "Movies4Men" screen it a lot. As war films go, it is really very good. Stark, black-and-white images; Robert Ryan was a great actor. Elmer Bernstein's music is just as stark, and very effective, helping to make the film work. One of the times when it all comes together - the direction, the performances, the cinematography, the LOOK of the film seems real and immediate. Astonished to find that the Kritzerland CD of the Bernstein score did not sell out and is still available (?) There's no accounting for taste! This I agree with. For heaven's sake, it's ELMER. And it's great. You can lead a horse to water, but...
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