ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ Composed and Conducted by JERRY FIELDING
HELL IS FOR HEROES Composed and Conducted by LEONARD ROSENMAN INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 236
From the pitted war zone of the Siegfried Line to the rough-hewn cliffs of Alcatraz Island, few directors equaled Don Siegel when it came to navigating the stark landscape of masculine cinema, frequently populated by tough men under extreme duress. This new release from Intrada features two such scores: Jerry Fielding's Escape from Alcatraz and Leonard Rosenman's Hell is for Heroes.
Hell is for Heroes was inspired by a true story from World War II about a small squad charged with holding an indefensible position along the Siegfried Line. The impressive ensemble cast included Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Harry Guardino, James Coburn and Nick Adams, along with Bob Newhart as an out-of-his-depth private. But the star of the show was Steve McQueen as Reese, a rough outsider with a tarnished past who speaks bluntly and acts independently.
Leonard Rosenman was no stranger to war pictures, having previously scored such films as Pork Chop Hill (1959) and The Outsider (1961). Following Hell Is for Heroes, Pirosh would hire him to score the television series Combat! in much the same vein as his score for this feature. Rosenman’s sparsely spotted score makes the most of its relatively brief moments in the picture using skittering low strings and scattered piano figures to create a bleak portrait of war as a state of constant unease and agitation. The studio archived Hell Is for Heroes on three-track 35mm mag, allowing for a present-day true stereo mix.
Based on true events, Escape from Alcatraz focuses on the prison in June 1962, when three convicts managed to create dummies for their beds, dig through their cell walls and escape into San Francisco Bay. Unconfirmed sightings fostered rumors that they had survived the treacherous waters. Alcatraz prison closed less than a year later.
It immediately became apparent that the film required an unconventional, amelodic approach. Fielding opted for musique concrète, an electro-acoustic form, involving sonic manipulations beyond the normal spheres of melody, harmony and meter. Using techniques developed in his personal studio, Fielding dramatically altered the speed and pitch of individual instruments (as well as sound effects from the film) to achieve an intensely eerie atmosphere. A result of Fielding’s creative vision, however, is that the score only exists in the finished mixes, archived on three channels of 4-track ½" tape. Some cues are monaural, some are multiple monaural (grouping instrumental sections for dubbing purposes, but not reflecting the physical layout of an orchestra), and some are mostly monaural with isolated effects. This premiere CD presents the tracks in varying forms of stereo and artificial stereo for optimal listening purposes.
I bet this CD won't last too long before Intrada retires it. I don't think the interest will remain too high. Intrada probably only pressed 1,000-1,500 copies. I hate to rag on a new release but even those samples are brutal to get through.
I bet this CD won't last too long before Intrada retires it. I don't think the interest will remain too high. Intrada probably only pressed 1,000-1,500 copies. I hate to rag on a new release but even those samples are brutal to get through.
I couldn't finish the second sample before I said "pass" but that is fielding for you. Still, if this is what some people want I'm happy for them. The Bernstein is all I need.
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ is a fascinating and highly unconventional score in the musique concrète style, and an important entry in the Jerry Fielding canon.
HELL IS FOR HEROES is characteristic of Leonard Rosenman, in that it employs striking modern writing to draw out the psychology of the film's characters and the nature of their world.
These are both scores that are designed to challenge and unsettle you -- but they are genuine works of art, and they are engrossing and rewarding if you have the fortitude!
Call me a glutton for punishment, but I'm always up for an aural challenge and am really looking forward to Escape from Alcatraz. Hell is for Heroes is a welcome bonus, although I'd gladly have purchased a CD of the former alone.
good releases. The first time I saw Alcatraz - aged about 14 - I didnt think there was any score!! its a typical sneaky atmospheric Fielding one and more to it than first appears. Hell is for Heroes is a great theme - lots of lovely mean drumming!
(This is the one that, although its very obviously Rosenman, reminded me a little of North and Spartacus - the blaring trumpets and the snare drums, etc) - see Member's clip below and tell me if you cant see Spartacus intro and the crumbling mask - especially after 20 seconds!!
Excellent all the way! At last, something challenging and strong: keep them coming. Two holy grails to start 2013! Perfect! Fantastic! Bulls eyes! "Hell is For Heroes" plays like "Combat!". "Escape from Alcatraz" is as experimental as "Demon Seed". I have 3 holy grails now: "Joe Kidd", "Hell is For Heroes", "Escape from Alcatraz".
And the sherry on top of the cake: let's hope The Men from FSM will get us "The Wild Bunch"!
