La-La Land has announced two new limited edition CDs to be released next week -- a deluxe, 2-disc edition of John Harrison's score for George Romero's 1985 sequel DAY OF THE DEAD, and an expanded version of Danny Elfman's score for the 1994 remake of BLACK BEAUTY, starring Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Peter Cook, Eleanor Bron, and Alan Cumming as the voice of Black Beauty (I did not make that up), featuring arguably the most gorgeous theme Elfman has ever written. And on October 22, the label plans to release a CD of music from the popular supernatural mystery series GRIMM, composed by Richard Marvin (U-571, Six Feet Under, Surrogates).

The latest release from Kritzerland -- now in stock and ready to ship -- is a specially priced two-disc set featuring two scores written for the same film -- the 1988 sci-fi thriller ALIEN NATION, which starred James Caan as an L.A. cop and Mandy Patinkin as his alien partner, co-starring Terence Stamp as, of course, the villain; the film also inspired a popular TV series. The Final Conflict's Graham Baker was the director, and the first score written and recorded for the film was composed by Jerry Goldsmith but went completely unused in the final cut; it was released for the first time a few years ago by the Varese Sarabande CD Club. The replacement score was composed by Curt Sobel -- best known as a music editor (Risky Business, La Bamba, The Monster Squad, The Bourne Ultimatum), but also the composer of such scores as Defenseless, Cast a Deadly Spell, and the Young Indiana Jones episode "Transylvania, January 1918." Kritzerland's Alien Nation features the Goldsmith score on Disc One and the Sobel score on Disc Two, and is limited to 1200 units.

On October 19, the Golden State Pops Orchestra will hold a Varese Sarabande 35th Anniversary Halloween Gala concert at the Warner Grand Theater, currently to feature appearances by such composers as Nathan Barr, Marco Beltrami, John Debney, Randy Edelman and Christopher Young.

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Alien Nation - Jerry Goldsmith, Curt Sobel - Kritzerland
Filth - Clint Mansell - Genepool (import)
For Those I Loved - Maurice Jarre - Music Box
The Freshman - Carl Davis - Carl Davis Collection (import)
Gravity - Steven Price - Watertower
Hocus Pocus - John Debney - Intrada Special Collection
I Due Para - Piero Umiliani - Digitmovies
L'Eredita Ferramonti - Ennio Morricone - GDM
Les Visiteurs/L'Homme Qui Revient De Loin - Georges Delerue - Music Box
The Miracle - Elmer Bernstein - Intrada Special Collection
Paranoia - Junkie XL - Sony (import)

IN THEATERS TODAY

A.C.O.D. - Nick Urata
After Tiller - Andy Cabic, Eric D. Johnson
All Is Bright - Graham Reynolds
Bad Milo - Ted Masur
Concussion - Barb Morrison
Dario Argento's Dracula - Claudio Simonetti - Score CD available
The Dirties - Jay McCarrol
Grace Unplugged - Jeff Lippencott - Song CD on Sparrow
Gravity - Steven Price - Score CD on Watertower
Linsanity - The Newton Brothers
Nothing Left to Fear - Nicholas O'Toole, Slash
Parkland - James Newton Howard
Runner Runner - Christophe Beck - Score CD due Oct. 29 from Lakeshore
Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde - Steve Poltz
The Summit - Nick Seymour
Vikingdom: The Red Eclipse - Edry A. Halim

COMING SOON

October 8
Black Beauty - Danny Elfman - La-La Land
Colette - Atli Orvarsson - MovieScore Media/Kronos
Day of the Dead - John Harrison - La-La Land
Machete Kills - Carl Thiel, Robert Rodriguez - Morada
Romeo and Juliet - Abel Korzeniowski - Sony
The Tall Man - Christopher Young, Joel Drouek, Todd Bryanton - MovieScore Media/Kronos
Valhalla Rising - Peter Peter, Peter Kyed - Milan (import)
October 15
Captain Phillips - Henry Jackman - Varese Sarabande
The Fifth Estate - Carter Burwell - Lakeshore
October 22
Ender's Game - Steve Jablonsky - Varese Sarabande
Fruitvale Station - Ludwig Goransson - Lakeshore
Grimm - Richard Marvin -La-La Land
La Mula - Oscar Navarro - MovieScore Media/Kronos
The Last House on the Left - David Hess - One Way Static
Lost Place - Adrian Sieber - MovieScore Media/Kronos
October 29
All Is Lost - Alex Ebert - Community Music
Last Vegas - Mark Mothersbaugh - Varese Sarabande
Runner Runner - Christophe Beck - Lakeshore
November 5
Person of Interest: Season Two - Ramin Djawadi - Varese Sarabande
November 26
Frozen - Christophe Beck - Disney
December 10
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Howard Shore - Watertower
Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman - Disney
Date Unknown
Agente X1-7 Operazione Oceano - Piero Umiliani - Beat
Doctor Who: Series Seven - Murray Gold - Silva
Doctor Who: The Snowmen/The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe - Murray Gold - Silva
The Doll Squad - Nicholas Carras - Monstrous Movie Music
House at the End of the Drive - Alan Howarth - Buysoundtrax
Il Furto Della Gioconda - Nino Rota - GDM
Il Plenilunio Delle Vergine - Vasili Kojucharov - Beat
Jesse & Lester Due Fratelli In Un Posto Chiamato Trinita - Carlo Savina - GDM
La Cage Aux Folles/La Cage Aux Folles II - Ennio Morricone - GDM
L'Argent Du Ministre - Waalter Rizzati - Beat
The Last Days of Pompeii - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino - Digitmovies
Le Bossu (On Guard!) - Philippe Sarde - Quartet
L'Isola Di Arturo - Carlo Rustichelli - Quartet
A Single Shot - Atli Orvarsson - MovieScore Media/Kronos
The 25th Reich - Ricky Edwards - MovieScore Media/Kronos
Zulu Dawn - Elmer Bernstein - Buysoundtrax

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

October 4 - Bernard Herrmann records his score for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "You'll Be the Death of Me" (1963)
October 4 - John Williams begins recording his score to Penelope (1966)
October 4 - BT born Brian Transeau (1970)
October 5 - Harold Faltermeyer born (1952)
October 5 - Jerry Fielding's score for the Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" is recorded (1967)
October 6 - Stanley Myers born (1933)
October 6 - Giuseppe Becce died (1973)
October 6 - Nelson Riddle died (1985)
October 6 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Who Watches the Watchers" (1989)
October 7 - Gabriel Yared born (1949)
October 7 - Marco Beltrami born (1968)
October 8 - Walter Schumann born (1913)
October 8 - Toru Takemitsu born (1930)
October 8 - Frank Skinner died (1968)
October 9 - Camille Saint-Saens born (1835)
October 10 - John Green born (1908)
October 10 - Giant opens in New York (1956)
October 10 - Hawaii opens in New York (1966)
October 10 - Michael Giacchino born (1967)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

DON JON - Nathan Johnson

"An assured directorial debut as we’ve seen in recent years, Gordon-Levitt’s comedy is vibrant and poignant and moves like a shark with nary a dull second. Its wit and sincerity are refreshing and all of its energetic visual flair is generally in service of sharp laughs. Nathan Johnson’s ('Looper' score is particularly hysterical in any of the movie’s 'magical' falling in love sequences, where harps and swooning strings break out to full effect."

Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist

"Gordon-Levitt does a lot of pushing in 'Don Jon' -- through voiceover, flashy editing, and well-executed but slightly obtrusive musical cues -- to telegraph what the audience should be thinking. That works better than it could, or should, but it sometimes comes across a little overeager, as if Gordon-Levitt wants to make sure everyone is as excited about what’s going on onscreen as he is. Such enthusiasm can be appealing, especially when directed toward interesting themes like the ones he’s grappling with here; but it would be nice to see him slow down from time to time, and let a thought really develop before moving on to the next one."

Genevieve Koski, The Dissolve

HAUTE CUISINE - Gabriel Yared

"After a few quick scenes in the research station's kitchen, where Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot) is making incredibly elaborate food, we're thrown into flashback. Hortense is being whisked from her truffle farm in a government car to catch a train to Paris. Someone in government wants a chef, but precisely whom that would be has been left vague. Bang, we're in Paris, where Hortense learns that she is being offered the job of personal chef to President François Mitterand. The music, the snappy script and the editing have carried us along so quickly it feels almost like a thriller."

Hank Sartin, RogerEbert.com

"Directed by Christian Vincent, the film has little flair other than the gorgeous shots of the food by Laurent Dailland. The score from Oscar winner Gabriel Yared feels incredibly safe and boring, even for someone who wrote the music for 'City of Angels'"

Kimber Myers, The Playlist

THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.

Screenings of older films, at the following L.A. movie theaters: AMPAS, American Cinematheque: Aero, American Cinematheque: Egyptian, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.

October 4
CLUE (John Morris) [Nuart]
THE MANITOU (Lalo Schifrin) [Silent Movie Theater]
MARIA CANDELARIA (Francisco Dominguez, Rodolfo Halffter), PUEBLERINA (Antonio Diaz Conde) [LACMA]
NASHVILLE (Richard Baskin) [New Beverly]

October 5
JUST BEFORE DAWN (Brad Fiedel) [Silent Movie Theater]
RIO ESCONDIDO (Francisco Dominguez) [LACMA]

October 6
BEGINNING OF THE END (Albert Glasser), INVADERS FROM MARS (Raoul Kraushaar)
THE BEING (Don Preston) [Silent Movie Theater]
PATHER PANCHALI (Ravi Shankar), APARAJITO (Ravi Shankar), APUR SANSAR [THE WORLD OF APU] (Ravi Shankar) [Cinematheque: Aero]

October 7
BEGINNING OF THE END (Albert Glasser), INVADERS FROM MARS (Raoul Kraushaar)
THE MIDDLEMAN (Satyajit Ray), COMPANY LIMITED (Satyajit Ray) [Cinematheque: Aero]
SHANE (Victor Young) [AMPAS]
TROLL 2 (Carla Maria Cordio) [Silent Movie Theater]

October 8
THE BIG HEAT [LACMA]
HEX (Charles Bernstein - in person, scheule permitting) [Silent Movie Theater]
WAKE IN FRIGHT [OUTBACK] (John Scott), ROAD GAMES (Brian May) [New Beverly]

October 9
CARNIVAL OF SOULS (Gene Moore) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN (Charles Fox), HOPSCOTCH (Ian Fraser) [New Beverly]
TOKYO STORY (Takanobu Saito) [Cinematheque: Aero]

October 10
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (John Carpenter) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
ERNEST SCARED STUPID (Bruce Arnston, Kirby Shelstad) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN (Charles Fox), HOPSCOTCH (Ian Fraser) [New Beverly]
TEEN KANYA (Satyajit Ray) [Cinematheque: Aero]

October 11
ABBY (Robert O. Ragland) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Keith Forsey) [Nuart]
HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Neil Kassanoff) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE LATE SHOW (Ken Wannberg), NIGHT MOVES (Michael Small) [New Beverly]
MACARIO (Raul Lavista), PEDRO PARAMO (Joaquin Gutierrez Heras) [LACMA]
THE OMEN (Jerry Goldsmith) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN (Yijun Huang) [UCLA]

October 12
HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Neil Kassanoff) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE HAUNTED PALACE (Ronald Stein) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE LATE SHOW (Ken Wannberg), NIGHT MOVES (Michael Small) [New Beverly]
LOS OLVIDADOS (Rodolfo Halffter, Gustavo Pittaluga) [LACMA]
PIECES (Carla Maria Cordio), PROM NIGHT(Paul Zaza, Carl Zittrer) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
RED HEROINE [UCLA]

October 13
DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS (Ossian Brown, Mike McCoy, Steven Thrower) [Silent Movie Theater]
GHOSTBUSTERS (Elmer Bernstein) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Neil Kassanoff) [Silent Movie Theater]