Intrada has announced two new limited edition CD releases, including the first-ever release of a score by one of film music's most beloved composers.

John Frankenheimer had originally planned to direct PLAYERS, a Robert Evans-produced romance pairing a young tennis player (Dean-Paul Martin) and a mysterious older woman (Ali McGraw), but he left the project to make Prophecy, and the directing reins went to Anthony Harvey (The Lion in Winter, They Might Be Giants). The natural choice for the score would have seemed to be John Barry, but instead the filmmakers hired Jerry Goldsmith, who had written the classic, romantic Chinatown score for producer Evans. None of Goldsmith's Players music has ever been released, and Intrada's CD, limited to 3000 units, features the complete score mastered from the original tapes, including two love themes (one in the Chinatown vein) and a thrilling theme for the tennis matches.

Their other release, limited to 1500 units, presents the first-ever CD release of Gil Melle's music for Robert Wise's classic 1971 film version of Michael Crichton's THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN. The CD features the same tracks as the original Kapp soundtrack LP, which was first released as a special hexagonal disc (which was later rereleased in a traditional shape because the oddly shaped disc damaged needles on automatic turntables), but though the CD is only 26 minutes long, it features nearly all of Melle's groundbreaking score.

For those who missed the news, the latest Oscar nominations have been announced, including those in the music categories:

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

AVATAR - James Horner
FANTASTIC MR. FOX - Alexandre Desplat
THE HURT LOCKER - Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
SHERLOCK HOLMES - Hans Zimmer
UP - Michael Giacchino

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)

"ALMOST THERE" - The Princess and the Frog - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS" - The Princess and the Frog - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"LOIN DE PANAME" - Paris 36 - Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas
"TAKE IT ALL" - Nine - Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)" - Crazy Heart - Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T. Bone Burnett

Michael Giacchino has just won two Grammys, for Up's score and for the cue "Married Life" (especially impressive since the score has never been commercially released on disc). A.R. Rahman also won two Grammys, for producing the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack CD and for co-writing its song "Jai Ho." Terence Blanchard won a Grammy for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the piece "Dancin' 4 Chicken."

Tadlow is best known for their full-scale re-recordings of beloved films scores (El Cid, Exodus, The Guns of Navarone, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, True Grit), but has just announced an upcoming, two-disc set which will feature the original score tracks from two Maurice Jarre scores, both in the vein of his immensely popular Lawrence of Arabia.

THE MESSAGE (originally released in the U.S. as Mohammad, Messenger of God) was a lavish, religious/historical drama starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas, which earned Jarre his fifth Oscar nomination. Jarre, Quinn and Papas reunited with Message director Moustapha Akhad for the 1981 World War II epic LION OF THE DESERT, also starring Rod Steiger (as Mussolini) Oliver Reed and John Gielgud.

Both scores were released on LP at the time of their films' release, and years later Silva paired the LP tracks on one CD. The Tadlow set features the original LP tracks of The Message as well the complete score for Lion of the Desert, including alternate cues, plus the premiere of a Jarre concert piece titled Giubileo. The set is limited to 2000 units and will be released in late March.

The latest CD from Kritzerland features Andre Previn's exciting, Oscar-nominated score for the 1960 film version of ELMER GANTRY. The score was originally released on LP by United Artists, and a Ryko CD release in the 1990s featured the original LP tracks plus a suite of previously unreleased cues. The Kritzerland CD adds an additional unreleased cue and puts all the cues in film order as well as including the original LP sequencing. This edition is limited to 1000 units.

The International Film Music Critics Association has announced the nominations for their awards:

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
AVATAR, music by James Horner
DRAG ME TO HELL, music by Christopher Young
STAR TREK, music by Michael Giacchino
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, music by Alexandre Desplat
UP, music by Michael Giacchino

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Alexandre Desplat
Michael Giacchino
James Horner
Brian Tyler
Christopher Young

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Henry Jackman
Abel Korzeniowski
James Peterson
Clinton Shorter
Austin Wintory

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
AGORA, music by Dario Marianelli
BAARIA, music by Ennio Morricone
CREATION, music by Christopher Young
MAO'S LAST DANCER, music by Christopher Gordon
A SINGLE MAN, music by Abel Korzeniowski

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
COUPLES RETREAT, music by A.R. Rahman
DUPLICITY, music by James Newton Howard
THE INFORMANT!, music by Marvin Hamlisch
JULIE & JULIA, music by Alexandre Desplat
LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS, music by Debbie Wiseman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, music by Alan Silvestri
LUCKY LUKE, music by Bruno Coulais
THE RED CANVAS, music by James Peterson
SHERLOCK HOLMES, music by Hans Zimmer
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN, music by Victoria Kelly

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
AVATAR, music by James Horner
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, music by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna
KNOWING, music by Marco Beltrami
STAR TREK, music by Michael Giacchino
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
DRAG ME TO HELL, music by Christopher Young
IMAGO MORTIS, music by Zacarías M. de la Riva
IN THE ELECTRIC MIST, music by Marco Beltrami
THE KILLING ROOM, music by Brian Tyler
TRICK ‘R TREAT, music by Douglas Pipes

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
A CHRISTMAS CAROL, music by Alan Silvestri
CORALINE, music by Bruno Coulais
FANTASTIC MR. FOX, music by Alexandre Desplat
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, music by Randy Newman
UP, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BROTHERS AT WAR, music by Lee Holdridge
EARTH DAYS, music by Michael Giacchino
GARBO: EL ESPÍA, music by Fernando Velázquez
HOME, music by Armand Amar
UNDER THE SEA 3D, music by Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
AVATAR - "War," music by James Horner
DRAG ME TO HELL - "Concerto to Hell," music by Christopher Young
THE RED CANVAS - "Ballet for Brawlers," music by James Peterson
STAR TREK - "Enterprising Young Men," music by Michael Giacchino
UP - "Married Life," music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 4.5, music by Bear McCreary
CAPRICA, music by Bear McCreary
LIFE, music by George Fenton
LOST SEASON 5, music by Michael Giacchino
YELLOWSTONE, music by Edmund Butt

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ASSASSIN'S CREED II, music by Jesper Kyd
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2, music by Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, music by James Hannigan
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN, music by Chris Tilton
SPORE HERO, music by Winifred Phillips

BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
BACK TO THE FUTURE, music by Alan Silvestri; Douglass Fake, producer (Intrada)
INNERSPACE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; M.V. Gerhard and Mike Matessino, producers (La-La Land)
THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN, music by James Horner; James Horner, Simon Rhodes and Douglass Fake, producers (Intrada)
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, music by James Horner; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)
TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; Bruce Botnick, Lukas Kendall and Mike Matessino, producers (Film Score Monthly)

BEST RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, music by Max Steiner, cond. William Stromberg; Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg, producers (Tribute Film Classics)
EXODUS, music by Ernest Gold, cond. Nic Raine; James Fitzpatrick, producer (Tadlow)
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, cond. William Stromberg; Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg, producers (Tribute Film Classics)

BEST FILM MUSIC COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET
40 BANDES ORIGINALES POUR 40 FILMS, music by Vladimir Cosma; Vladimir Cosma, producer (Larghetto Music)
DAVID RAKSIN AT M-G-M, music by David Raksin; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)
THE FILM MUSIC OF MISCHA SPOLIANSKY, music by Mischa Spoliansky; Philip Lane, Ralph Couzens and Neil Varley, producers (Chandos)
HOWARD SHORE: COLLECTOR'S EDITION Vol.1, music by Howard Shore; Jonathan Schultz, producer (Howe)
NORTHWEST PASSAGE: CLASSIC WESTERN SCORES FROM M-G-M Vol.2 (1940-1974), music by Various; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
Film Score Monthly
Intrada
La-La Land Records
MovieScore Media
Varèse Sarabande

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

The Andromeda Strain - Gil Melle - Intrada Special Collection
Creation - Christopher Young - Lakeshore
Extraordinary Measures - Andrea Guerra - Lakeshore
Players - Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada Special Collection

Dear John - Deborah Lurie - Song CD with one score cue on Relativity Music
District 13: Ultimatum - Da. Octopuss - Soundtrack CD Banlieue 13: Ultimatum on Europa (import)
From Paris with Love - David Buckley - Score CD on Columbia (import)
Frozen - Andy Garfield

COMING SOON

February 9
Confession - Ryan Shore - La-La Land
Dark Void - Bear McCreary - Sumthing Else
The Flash - Shirley Walker - La-La Land
44 Inch Chest - Angelo Badalamenti - Varese Sarabande
February 16
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan/Razor - Bear McCreary - La-La Land
Love Happens - Christopher Young - La-La Land
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief - Christophe Beck - Abkco
February 23
The Crazies - Mark Isham - Varese Sarabande
Days of Our Lives - Ken Corday, D. Brent Nelson - La-La Land
Edge of Darkness - Howard Shore - Silva (pressed CD - import)
The Film Music of Bernard Herrmann: Hangover Square, Citizen Kane - Bernard Herrmann - Chandos
The Ghostwriter - Alexandre Desplat - Varese Sarabande
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths - James L. Venable - Warner Bros./Amazon [CD-R]
The Wolfman - Danny Elfman - Varese Sarabande
March 2
Alice in Wonderland - Danny Elfman - Disney
March 9 
Green Zone - John Powell - Varese Sarabande
The Pacific - Hans Zimmer, Geoff Zanelli, Blake Neely - Rhino
Date Unknown
Elmer Gantry - Andre Previn - Kritzerland
The Message/Lion of the Desert - Maurice Jarre - Tadlow

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

February 5 - Bronislau Kaper born (1902)
February 5 - Clifton Parker born (1905)
February 5 - Douglas Gamley died (1998)
February 7 - George Bassman born (1914)
February 7 - Laurie Johnson born (1927)
February 7 - Gottfried Huppertz died (1937)|
February 7 - Jerry Fielding begins recording orchestral cues for Demon Seed (1977)
February 8 - John Williams born (1932)
February 8 - Joe Raposo born (1937)
February 8 - Johnny Mandel records his score for Drums of Africa (1963)
February 8 - Planet of the Apes released (1968)
February 8 - Akira Ifukube died (2006)
February 9 - Barry Mann born (1939)
February 10 - Larry Adler born (1914)
February 10 - Gordon Zahler born (1926)
February 10 - Jerry Goldsmith born (1929)
February 10 - Billy Goldenberg born (1936)
February 11 - The Adventures of Robin Hood released (1938)
February 11 - Recording sessions begin for Leigh Harline's score for The Desert Rats (1953)
February 11 - Heinz Roemheld died (1985)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

EDGE OF DARKNESS - Howard Shore

"Technical assist is first-class all the way, from Phil Meheux's evocatively murky cinematography to Stuart Baird's cut-to-the-chase editing and Howard Shore's edgy score."

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter