One of the most beautiful films ever made. Featuring two of the most beautiful people in Hollywood in their prime. Definately one of Alfred Newman's most hauntingly beautiful scores. Perhaps someday the dvd as well as a re-recording of the complete score can be made available. Anyone else love this film and it's score? (If you've never heard 'Cathy's Theme..)
Count me in! Love the film. Love the score. For me, the two are entwined so completely that I can't imagine one without the other. I offer a hearty bouquet of barbed wire to any naysayer that has an unkind opinion of either or both.
I remember when I was in college and I picked up a package from my dorm mailroom -- I knew it was from the Bernstein Filmmusic Collection -- and that it contained "Wuthering Heights". Man, that was a great day! Still makes me smile. The score is so perfectly matched to the film. One of my all time favorites. A few years ago I sold off my LD of the movie -- which I regret due to the isolated score option.
I remember when I was in college and I picked up a package from my dorm mailroom -- I knew it was from the Bernstein Filmmusic Collection -- and that it contained "Wuthering Heights". Man, that was a great day! Still makes me smile. The score is so perfectly matched to the film. One of my all time favorites. A few years ago I sold off my LD of the movie -- which I regret due to the isolated score option.
I recorded the music off my LD onto a cassette and still play it today. Truly a great score.
I remember when I was in college and I picked up a package from my dorm mailroom -- I knew it was from the Bernstein Filmmusic Collection -- and that it contained "Wuthering Heights". Man, that was a great day! Still makes me smile. The score is so perfectly matched to the film. One of my all time favorites. A few years ago I sold off my LD of the movie -- which I regret due to the isolated score option.
Ah yes, I also had that album. It was a Kelly-Green album as I recall. It wasn't the whole score but it was something. 'Something' in those days REALLY meant a great deal more then, than it seems to nowadays.
Do the original music elements from the 1939 film still exist? Will the original soundtrack get released someday by SAE or FSM? I agree that it's a magnificent score -- one of my favorites?
Even though this movie is NOT true to the novel, I just love it. Olivier is my favorite Heathcliff of all the remakes. I always need a box of Kleenex at the end, and I'm sure part of it has to do with the amazing, gorgeous music. Kathy's Theme is stunning.
FYI, our book club watched the 1992 Ralph Fiennes movie (on DVD) of Wuthering Heights. It really is true to the novel. Then we read Alice Hoffman's novel Here On Earth, which is her modern homage and take on Bronte's classic novel. Fiennes' movie also has a lovely score but not as gorgeous as Newman's score.
You might want to track down Koch International's "Wuthering Heights: A Tribute to Alfred Newman," Richard Kaufman conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The program features Wuthering Heights (12:40), Prince of Foxes (13:19), David and Bathsheba (love theme -- 3:44), Dragonwyck (8:43), The Prisoner of Zenda (7:01), and Brigham Young (5:18).
The CD begins with a generous suite arranged by Fred Steiner for "Wuthering Heights," encompassing all the major motifs of Newman's score -- Despair - Twin Motives; Cathy's Theme; Wuthering Heights Motive - The Moors; The Children (Wuthering Heights the early days); The Playcastle; Cathy the Fine Young Lady; Isabella; and Edgar Linton - The Grange. Steiner missed nothing in this arrangement -- it is replete with Newman's trademark sounds, all beautifully performed, including ethereal strings evoking the moors and some hauntingly wonderful instrumental solos. As the Cathy theme is restated in the closing moments, a youth choir is used to near-stunning effect.
I believe it's out of print, but should be findable new or used in the "usual locations".
You might want to track down Koch International's "Wuthering Heights: A Tribute to Alfred Newman," Richard Kaufman conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The program features Wuthering Heights (12:40), Prince of Foxes (13:19), David and Bathsheba (love theme -- 3:44), Dragonwyck (8:43), The Prisoner of Zenda (7:01), and Brigham Young (5:18).
The CD begins with a generous suite arranged by Fred Steiner for "Wuthering Heights," encompassing all the major motifs of Newman's score -- Despair - Twin Motives; Cathy's Theme; Wuthering Heights Motive - The Moors; The Children (Wuthering Heights the early days); The Playcastle; Cathy the Fine Young Lady; Isabella; and Edgar Linton - The Grange. Steiner missed nothing in this arrangement -- it is replete with Newman's trademark sounds, all beautifully performed, including ethereal strings evoking the moors and some hauntingly wonderful instrumental solos. As the Cathy theme is restated in the closing moments, a youth choir is used to near-stunning effect.
I believe it's out of print, but should be findable new or used in the "usual locations".
I've never heard of this Ron. As I was reading your excellent descriptions I was thinking...sounds nice, but there was a choir/chorus somewhere in there. And then you ended it all by your mentioning of that choir. 'OUT OF PRINT'? OK Joan Hue, what'say we divy up on an expensive copy, bet you'd save some money on all those boxes of Kleenex.
Well, they were certainly able to isolate it on the LD.
So, one would assume the elements are at least as clear as they are on the LD isolated score.
Which sound as good as they do on the original film.
As long as you're OK with that sound, which I am, then it's a matter of securing the rights, and financing a release.
(I'm sure a limited release of this would sell out in a flash....)
I think you nailed it there John, when you stated 'I'm sure a limited release of this would sell out in a flash!' This definately WOULD SELL-OUT as soon as it was listed as availabel. Maybe someone from the companies that deal in releasing music here is reading this??
I've got that Koch CD that Ron mentioned above. To be honest, I was disappointed. I love Alfred Newman and WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a great score indeed, but I find the arrangements on this disc just too "soapy" or "sappy". The famous Alfred Newman string sound is lovely in its original incarnation, but on the Koch selections I find it way too sugary.
Anyway, now nobody will feel too bad about not having it! And thumbs up for WUTHERING HEIGHTS as a film and as a score!
.....I think you nailed it there John, when you stated 'I'm sure a limited release of this would sell out in a flash!' This definately WOULD SELL-OUT as soon as it was listed as availabel. Maybe someone from the companies that deal in releasing music here is reading this??.....
The 1939 WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a Samuel Goldwyn production, and the current video distribution rights for the Goldwyn library are held by MGM Entertainment.
I don't know whether those rights are strictly for the film itself (and not including any ancillary rights which might come up), or whether those licensing rights cover simply the US and North American market---but I would think MGM Entertainment would be the first place to look for answers.
There were other isolated scores on early Goldwyn-based laserdiscs years ago, but I've never taken count of how many were music tracks and how many were music/fx tracks. Key composers in the Goldwyn oeuvre are Alfred Newman, Hugo Friedhofer, David Rose, David Raksin, Victor Young, Dimitri Tiomkin, and others.
If a single-score Goldwyn-film cd isn't possible, I wonder if it WOULD be possible to take a selection of 4-5 "in-the-clear/non-sound-effects" cues from 10-15 Goldwyn films and make up a 3-CD box set of representative Goldwyn filmmusic...... There are certainly some film (and filmmusic) classics here, including THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, MY FOOLISH HEART, ENCHANTMENT, THE HURRICANE, THESE THREE, THE WESTERNER, THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO, and many more.
I've got that Koch CD that Ron mentioned above. To be honest, I was disappointed. I love Alfred Newman and WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a great score indeed, but I find the arrangements on this disc just too "soapy" or "sappy". The famous Alfred Newman string sound is lovely in its original incarnation, but on the Koch selections I find it way too sugary.
Well, I can respect that observation, Graham. Edward B. Powell's original orchestrations were used throughout this recording, however. Same orchestrations as in the film score as recorded by Newman, including the string parts. Only drawback is that it wasn't conducted by Newman, but it was conducted by Richard Kaufman with a lot more feeling than Charles Gerhardt evidenced in most of his Newman album. IMO, of course.
I was happy with the performance of "Wuthering Heights" more than the others on the KOCH CD (save "Prisoner of Zenda" which was as near spot-on as could be hoped for in a re-recording).
If a single-score Goldwyn-film cd isn't possible, I wonder if it WOULD be possible to take a selection of 4-5 "in-the-clear/non-sound-effects" cues from 10-15 Goldwyn films and make up a 3-CD box set of representative Goldwyn filmmusic...... There are certainly some film (and filmmusic) classics here, including THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, MY FOOLISH HEART, ENCHANTMENT, THE HURRICANE, THESE THREE, THE WESTERNER, THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO, and many more.
Stop it, Manderley! You're breaking my heart. And don't forget THE PRISONER OF ZENDA!!!
Ron, I'm going to give that Koch disc another spin... Maybe it's not so much the overly-souped strings that bother me at all. If the orchestrations follow Powell's original indications then it must be something else that I feel doesn't ring true. Concert hall ambience?
.....If a single-score Goldwyn-film cd isn't possible, I wonder if it WOULD be possible to take a selection of 4-5 "in-the-clear/non-sound-effects" cues from 10-15 Goldwyn films and make up a 3-CD box set of representative Goldwyn filmmusic...... There are certainly some film (and filmmusic) classics here, including THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, MY FOOLISH HEART, ENCHANTMENT, THE HURRICANE, THESE THREE, THE WESTERNER, THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO, and many more.
Stop it, Manderley! You're breaking my heart. And don't forget THE PRISONER OF ZENDA!!!.....
I love you Ron Pulliam. And I love THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, too.
But with a heavy heart I must ask you to go sit in the corner for 1 hour!
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA is a David O. Selznick production for The Selznick Studio (nee: Selznick-International), not Goldwyn. (But you KNEW that, didn't you? )
Come to think of it, however, there are various music/music-fx tracks floating around for the Selznick films (other than GWTW), so a nice "Best Of" CD box set of filmmusic from the Selznick pictures might also be a fine gift, too, including, possibly, THE GARDEN OF ALLAH, A STAR IS BORN, SINCE YOU WENT AWAY, SPELLBOUND, THE PARADINE CASE, GONE TO EARTH/THE WILD HEART, REBECCA, THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER, DUEL IN THE SUN, and THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, among others.
That is, of course, if you could talk The Disney Company, who now owns the Selznick properties via their ABC Pictures/ABC Entertainment acquisition, into licensing some of this.