MIDWAY Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams Release Info: Limited Edition of 3000 copies Product Update: CDs will begin shipping the week of October 24
Following on from our premiere release of John Williams’ 1976 score for Alfred Hitchcock’s final film – Family Plot… now comes Midway the original soundtrack recording – for the very first time!
Featuring one of John Williams’ most famous marches, a second march which is every bit as good, a delicate love theme, plus a thrilling action score tying everything together, it has always been bewildering that the Midway score has never been released in its original form. Mr. Williams has performed the Midway March in many of his concerts, and even recorded it with the Boston Pops, but the only full album of the complete score, prior to this release, was the 1998 Varèse Sarabande recording featuring Rick Wentworth conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
This is a historic album. Midway was the only remaining John Williams score composed since Jaws to have never received an official soundtrack release. That has now been rectified and the gap has finally been closed.
The Battle of Midway sounded its furious thunder in June 1942, just six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Midway interweaves the dramatic personal stories of the men who fought the courageous battle that was to be the Pacific turning point for the United States. The all-star cast and breathtaking war footage convey the Battle of Midway with powerful reality and epic sweep. The film was directed by Jack Smight and starred Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson and Robert Wagner.
Price: $19.98 Catalog #: VCL 1011 1124
1. Prologue / Main Title (2:59) 2. Yamamoto’s Choice (1:22) 3. Signal Corps Con (1:24) 4. Yamamoto’s Second Meeting (2:18) 5. Hiroshima Harbor (:49) 6. Haruko’s Dilemma (1:03) 7. By Order Of Nimitz (3:16) 8. Canceling Operation K (1:30) 9. Strawberry 5 (1:16) 10. Missing The Flatlands (:52) 11. Morning Of The Battle (1:18) 12. Scout 4 (1:01) 13. Ensign Gay Afloat (:39) 14. Burning Carriers (1:20) 15. Crash Landing (1:50) 16. Good News For The Nimitz (1:18) 17. Matt Takes Off / Matt’s Crash / Red Parks Fighters / Attack Begins* (4:06) 18. End Credits* (2:45) 19. The Men Of The Yorktown March (3:12) 20. Midway March (2:46)
Awesome, will most certainly be ordering this. I have the previous Varese re-recording and the Midway March from the Boston Pops By Request album and its wonderful to finally get the film recording.
Not a Williams I was crying out for, unfortunately.
I have the Varese rerecording, and Ive never been overly impressed by it. I just dont think its a particularly good score, one or two decent tracks (and 'The March' obviously), with a number of short cues that dont seem to go anywhere, IMO. Not sure I'll order, to be honest.
So, I believe this completes the "John Williams WWII Collection," right?
All these scores are now available on CD:
1965 "None But the Brave" 1976 "Midway" 1979 "1941" 1981 "Raiders of the Lost Ark" 1982 "Monsignor" 1985 "Amazing Stories: The Mission" 1987 "Empire of the Sun' 1989 "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" 1993 "Schindler's List" 1997 "Seven Years in Tibet" 1998 "Saving Private Ryan" 2005 "Memoirs of a Geisha"
. . . Although I think I'd enjoy an expanded re-release of "Empire of the Sun" someday.
There is still the Korean War court-martial drama "Sergeant Ryker" (1968), though:
(Thanks, Zoob!)
. . . And of course this Christmas we get Williams first foray into the First World War, with "War Horse."
MIDWAY is the only title from this batch that I jumped on, but I'm definitely going to pick up the Hitchcock Vol. 2 set eventually. Listening to Vol. 1 right now...oh, the Herrmannity!
Well, the Rerecording seems to still be in print at Colosseum, so I guess they didn't want to cannibalize themselves. Were the THE FURY and DAMIEN re-recordings (and I guess those were the "original soundtrack" albums, weren't they?) still in print when those were included on the later original score recording Deluxe CD sets?
