THE CHINA SYNDROME was the 1979 thriller from director James Bridges (The Paper Chase), starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, which earned four Oscar nominations including ones for Lemmon and Fonda. The story concerned the coverup of an accident at a nuclear plant, partly inspired by the death of Karen Silkwood (later the subject of a Mike Nichols-directed biopic), and the coincidence of the film's release occurring around the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident helped make the film a boxoffice smash. One unusual aspect of the film, especially for a suspense thriller, was that it was released without a score -- just a main title song performed by Stephen Bishop but no incidental music. However, an original score had actually been composed and recorded -- by Michael Small, who had already scored some of the great paranoia thrillers of the 1970s, including Klute, The Parallax View, The Stepford Wives and Marathon Man. Intrada's CD, limited to 1000 units and already sold out, presents the first-ever release of Small's score.

Their other new release, limited to 3000 units, is a remastered and expanded edition of Jerry Goldsmith's score for the 1988 romantic thriller RENT-A-COP starring Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. This release features previously unreleased score cues as well as source cues.

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Bank Shot - John Morris - Kritzerland
Capricorn One - Jerry Goldsmith - Collectors Choice
Captain Abu Raed - Austin Wintory - Buysoundtrax
The China Syndrome - Michael Small - Intrada Special Collection
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Mark Mothersbaugh - Sony/Amazon [CD-R]
Lassiter - Ken Thorne - Buysoundtrax
Rent-a-Cop - Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada Special Collection
Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher and Other Short Film Scores - Ryan Shore - MovieScore Media

Bright Star - Mark Bradshaw - Score CD due Oct. 13 from Lakeshore
The Burning Plain - Hans Zimmer, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Mark Mothersbaugh - Score CD-R on Sony/Amazon
The Informant! - Marvin Hamlisch - Score CD-R from Amazon; Score CD due from Silva UK
Jennifer's Body - Theodore Shapiro, Stephen Barton - Song CD on Song CD on Fueled by Ramen
Love Happens - Christopher Young
Paris - Loik Dury, Robert "Chicken" Burke - Soundtrack CD on Up (import)
Pretty Ugly People - Lucian Piane

September 22
Coco Before Chanel - Alexandre Desplat - Varese Sarabande (U.S. release)
The Hills Run Red - Frederik Wiedmann - Varese Sarabande
Jasper - Florian Tesloff - MovieScore Media
September 29
Bone Eater - Chuck Cirino - Buysoundtrax
Clive Barker's Book of Blood - Guy Farley - La-La Land
The Film Music of Mischa Spoliansky - Mischa Spoliansky - Chandos
Halloween II - John Carpenter, Alan Howarth - AHI
Heroes and Villains: Attila the Hun/Napoleon - Daniel Pemberton - MovieScore Media
Taking Woodstock - Danny Elfman - La-La Land
Trick 'r' Treat - Douglas Pipes - La-La Land
October 6
Children of the Corn [2009] - Jonathan Elias - Varese Sarabande
October 13
Bright Star - Mark Bradshaw - Lakeshore
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - Rolfe Kent - Silva
17 Again - Rolfe Kent - Silva
October 20
Astro Boy - John Ottman - Varese Sarabande
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Stephen Trask - Varese Sarabande
October 27
Cold Souls - Dickon Hinchliffe - Koch
Date Unknown
The Believers - J. Peter Robinson - Perseverance
Dr. Who and the Daleks/Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. - Malcolm Lockyer, Bill McGuffle - Silva
Fade to Black - Craig Safan - Perseverance
Taras Bulba - Franz Waxman - Kritzerland

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

September 18 - Dee Barton born (1937)
September 18 - A Streetcar Named Desire is released (1951)
September 18 - The Day the Earth Stood Still opens in New York (1951)
September 18 - Henry Mancini begins recording his score to Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
September 18 - Thomas Newman records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Santa '85" (1985)
September 18 - Fred Steiner records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Life on Death Row" (1986)
September 19 - Arthur Benjamin born (1893)
September 19 - Paul Williams born (1940)
September 19 - Vladimir Horunzhy born (1949)
September 19 - Daniel Lanois born (1951)
September 19 - Nile Rodgers born (1952)
September 20 - Frank DeVol born (1911)
September 20 - James Bernard born (1925)
September 20 - John Dankworth born (1927)
September 20 - Mychael Danna born (1958)
September 20 - Fred Steiner's scores to the Star Trek episodes "The Corbomite Maneuver," "Balance of Terror," and "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" are recorded (1966)
September 20 - Sidney Cutner died (1971)
September 20 - Jack Marshall died (1973)
September 21 - Chico Hamilton born (1921)
September 21 - Mason Daring born (1949)
September 22 - Samuel Matlovsky's score for the Star Trek episode "I, Mudd" is recorded (1967)
September 22 - Charles Previn died (1973)
September 22 - Pat Metheny records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Grandpa's Ghost" (1985)
September 23 - Clifford Vaughan born (1893)
September 23 - David Raksin begins recording his score for The Magnificent Yankee (1950)
September 23 - Dave Grusin begins recording his score to The Yakuza (1974)
September 23 - Craig Safan records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "The Main Attraction" (1985)
September 24 - Douglas Gamley born (1924)
September 24 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score to Joy in the Morning (1964)
September 24 - Billy Goldenberg records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "What If...?" (1986)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT - David Shire

"Beyond its generic, forgettable title, 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' feels like some throwaway 1980s TV movie, with its implausible premise, dizzying twists, cheesy montages and melodramatic score."

Christy Lemire, Associated Press

9 - Deborah Lurie (score), Danny Elfman (themes)

"Storyboarded with precision, and enhanced with a resonant score by Deborah Lurie, Acker's handsome, feature-length '9' is, for all its visual flights of fancy, grounded in an apocalypse-proof message graspable by any schoolchild: When machines (or other bullies) rise up, a vulnerable population can find strength in cooperation."

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

"The battle scenes in particular have a swashbuckling vibe that adds a welcome dose of humanity to the movie. Danny Elfman's score is strong. And the perfectly cast voice actors -- usually only noticeable in animated films when they're bad -- are nuanced and memorable. From a technical point of view, '9' never disappoints."

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

"Perhaps the most disappointing thing about '9,' given the originality of its rusted-out, monochromatic visual world, is how utterly unoriginal the action sequences seem. When it comes to escaping danger, these cunningly crafted doll-'bots might as well be miniature Steven Seagals. Everyone's forever running down tunnels chased by a fireball or dangling off fathomless industrial abysses (because here, as in all cinematic alternate futures, no one will build guardrails anymore). The action scenes (and there are many) quickly become rote, making even the movie's slim 80-minute running time feel long. Danny Elfman's swooping orchestral soundtrack only adds to the sense of by-the-numbers familiarity. Elfman's signature sound is so associated with Tim Burton movies that it overwhelms this film's chances of carving out an aesthetic space of its own."

"The great works of science fiction often are cautionary tales that contain social criticism about our world. '9,' though, is built more for action. So its rag dolls and mechanical monsters battle continually in a dark, dreary landscape egged on by a rousing symphonic score. (The music is curiously attributed, with Danny Elfman credited with its themes, while Deborah Lurie has done the actual score)."

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

THE OTHER MAN - Stephen Warbeck

"Stephen Warbeck's standard score hits the obsessive-thriller notes but little more."

Robert Koehler, Variety

WHITEOUT - John Frizzell

"John Frizzell's score is strictly hourlong television drama."

"It'll take all day to list all the things that are wrong with 'Whiteout.' Nothing fits. Not the score -- we hear vaguely Spanish classical guitar music when Carrie and Robert are buried under 20 feet of ice. Nor the acting -- there's no chemistry between [Kate] Beckinsale and [Gabriel] Macht. Nor the plot -- which took four screenwriters to contrive."

"It must have been no picnic filming in tricky conditions against a white-engulfed backdrop (Manitoba convincingly stands in for Antarctica) and Chris Soos' lensing makes the territory seem both menacing and beautiful. Wind-whipped action scenes in which characters cling desperately to guide lines as they fight an ice-ax wielding villain are compellingly staged -- though composer John Frizzell's overwrought score announces every terrifying gesture."