I just watched Possession, a totally nuts arthouse horror film from the early 80's starring Sam Neill. It was strangely riveting with an amazingly disturbing performance by Isabelle Adjani. Now I see where AntiChrist got its ideas from.
Anyhoo, does anyone know if the score was ever released? I liked it, though it creeped me out in parts.
I love this film, but the score is basically just variations of Nino Rota's "Michael's Theme" from "The Godfather," uncredited but more or less note-for-note. It's a great theme, though, so it doesn't take anything away from the film, which is a masterpiece. I don't think there was a score release of any kind.
I do know that the 80-minute American cut (40 minutes shorter than the European version) was re-scored by Art Phillips, but I haven't heard it (this version is currently out of circulation, and is only available on a mid-1980's Vestron VHS, which I haven't seen). I would be curious to hear what that score sounds like.
I enjoy this movie a lot. I grew up with the American version (I don't remember much about the replacement music in this version except frequent use of a children's choir singing "black sheep"). Oh, and that cool "spur" sample that Tangerine Dream used in The Keep. The European version is a much better film, although it is missing a quick insert of a pair of eyes growing in Adjani's palms during the subway sequence.
I REALLY hope this means the complete score will be released on CD.
Prestige label Mondo Vision (http://www.mondo-vision.com/) has been releasing beautiful editions of all Andrzej Zulawski's films, the limited editions of which have often included a bonus CD with the film score.
They're a bit pricey, but they've done a great job on the restorations and features and packaging so I don't mind paying the premium. Possession should be released sometime this year, so fingers crossed for that soundtrack.
I enjoy this movie a lot. I grew up with the American version (I don't remember much about the replacement music in this version except frequent use of a children's choir singing "black sheep"). Oh, and that cool "spur" sample that Tangerine Dream used in The Keep. The European version is a much better film, although it is missing a quick insert of a pair of eyes growing in Adjani's palms during the subway sequence.
I REALLY hope this means the complete score will be released on CD.
Thanks for that screengrab - I've heard about this, but never could confirm it (I've only seen the uncut European version).
If you're in either NYC or L.A., the Zulawski retrospective is going on RIGHT NOW.
It still sounds like "Michael's Theme" from "The Godfather" to me, just with a few notes changed around.
In the years since my last post I took a look at the 80 minute version with the re-score. It actually retains a bit of the score for the European version, and the Art Phillips re-score does indeed consist mainly of music box versions and recordings of children singing "black sheep" as well as a few drone effects. Strange choice. That said, I have no idea what the distributors were thinking cutting 40 minutes out of an already complex film, rendering it completely incoherent.
The cd has been released, although from the look of things at the label's website (finderskeepers.com), it has sold out already. Plenty of copies on Amazon though.
POSSESSION is another film that TCM has run uncut in recent years. I see that the CD of Andrzej Korzynski's atmospheric soundtrack is currently out of stock at Amazon (but still orderable for $26), and that a download is available for under $10. I agree that its main theme owes a lot to THE GODFATHER. The film doesn't seem to be listed among Korzynski's credits in Soundtrack Collector.
This is the poster for the edited version of the film:
