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I've been waiting for this release all of my life, and while the lack of stereophonic sources is lamentable, the monaural sound is crisp and clear and in choosing which presentation to listen to, the choice is clear. The complete score presentation on discs two and three flows beautifully, there is no need for abridgment here.
Chief among the restored material is the flip side of the theme for the slaves; the original LP only had the theme in it's 'freedom' setting, such as "Blue Mountains and Purple Hills," while here we hear the 'slavery' rendition in the Libyan mines sequence, the prelude to the gladiator fight and the crucifixions at the finale. This version of the theme is more pervasive in the film, but the less dramatic and more pleasant 'freedom' arrangements were what was thought would sell more records. Similarly, the strident, relentless brass and percussion themes for Crassus are completely missing from the original album save for a few hints in the main title. This angry and mechanical piece serves as a counterpoint to the more hopeful theme for Spartacus himself, itself given many more variations that round out the presentation. There is no question that the score works better in complete format rather than any truncation.
I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the Spartacus: Love Theme and Variations album. I didn't find it at all repetitive with such a vast range of arrangements and performances. I've already listened to it twice through.
My full comments:
http://swashbuckler332.livejournal.com/714310.html
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You know, I was thinking, its just what we need on here - another Spartacus thread! Ha ha.
I couldn't for the life of me think how I could crowbar in another one, but Mark beat me to it. Pushing the envelope a little, but good enough.
I'll have to now think of tomorrow's new one...!!!! Damn.
Anyone got any tenuous but good ideas that would hold water?
How about the Spartacus thread for people who are still thinking of getting it?
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I just love track 18 disc 1, just gorgeous it truly is!
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Here's a few who bought the set showing their number of this limited edition.
LOL!
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Here's a few who bought the set showing their number of this limited edition.
LOL!
Hey, 143! Move your right hand over a couple of inches. And @!&!--somebody get rid of those contrails!
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"alright, which one of you forgot to take off their watch???"
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The preliminary Desolation Elegy is incredibly eerie...
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I'm finally getting to listen to the second half of the mono score and just realizing that this is the first presentation (unmentionables included) to include the pastoral reading of the slave theme that plays over Tony Curtis's "Blue mountains and purple hills" poem.
I think there was a release on at least one [censored] that had that cue. It's a piece played twice in the movie under different orchestrations, the other version appearing on the RCA release. I thought it was 'purple woods' though?
I don't think Varese (mind you I haven't bought it yet, so I shouldn't even be here...) could have done better than they did, from what I can see and hear so far.
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I'm finally getting to listen to the second half of the mono score and just realizing that this is the first presentation (unmentionables included) to include the pastoral reading of the slave theme that plays over Tony Curtis's "Blue mountains and purple hills" poem.
I think there was a release on at least one [censored] that had that cue. It's a piece played twice in the movie under different orchestrations, the other version appearing on the RCA release. I thought it was 'purple woods' though?
"Poem" was previously available. "Blue mountains and purple hills" is the LP title, "Blue mountains and purple woods" is North's cue title for the theme, based on Dalton Trumbo's poem:
BLUE SHADOWS AND PURPLE WOODS
by Dalton Trumbo
When the blazing sun hangs low in the western sky,
When the wind dies away on the mountain,
When the song of the meadowlark turns still,
When the field locust clicks no more in the field,
And the sea foam sleeps like a maiden at rest,
And the twilight touches the shape of the wondering earth,
I turn home.
Through blue shadows and purple woods…
I turn home.
I turn to the place that I was born,
To the mother who bore me
and the father who taught me…
Long ago, long ago, long ago.
Alone am I now, lost and alone
In a far, wide, wondering world.
Through blue and purple shadowed woods I go,
Bewitched by the distant bellowing of cows
And the smell of pine smoke and a far-away light
And the voices of kinfolk together at night.
Tony Curtis did not recite the last 6 lines of the poem, to Trumbo's dismay.
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The preliminary Desolation Elegy is incredibly eerie...
It's also the only chance we get to actually hear the beautiful melodic line and lyrics. Too bad that only the orchestra track survived. The liner notes seem to imply that the distant sound of the singer is intentional, but it's hard to believe since this is obviously one of many homages the score pays to Prokofiev's Alexander Nevski. Too bad Townson didn't attempt to re-record at least the vocal part - if only to present it as a bonus track.
Cue #63, Reel 24C/25A, titled “Fear Of Death,” replaced the unused lullaby “Desolation/Elegy” with the prominent vocal when the battle aftermath scene was shortened.
A revision of “Desolation/Elegy” with a less prominent vocal (this is probably the one on the new CD set -- I'm expecting my copy any day) was also considered but does not appear on the final cue sheet.
In the restored version of the film, the Universal sound department made a long cross-fade between the revised version of “Desolation/Elegy” and "Fear of Death."
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