Intrada has announced a historic new CD this week -- the first-ever release of the original score tracks to the 1954 Best Picture winner ON THE WATERFRONT. Waterfront's Oscar-nominated music was the only feature film score composed by Broadway and classical great Leonard Bernstein, and though his concert suite of the score has been oft-recorded over the decades, this is the first true soundtrack release, including previously unheard cues. They are also re-releasing their CD featuring the LP tracks of John Williams' rousing score for the 1986 juvenile adventure SPACECAMP.
Most of you readers are probably more than aware of La-La Land's latest batch of "Black Friday" releases, which are all beginning to ship this week, but for those who aren't they are... the first-ever release of David Arnold's thrilling and funky score for the 2000 reboot of SHAFT, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright and Toni Collette (too bad they couldn't get any good actors), with Richard Roundtree reprising his role from the original films and TV series; a four-disc set of music from the red-headed stepchild of the Star Trek franchise, the prequel series ENTERPRISE (later retitled Star Trek: Enterprise), with one disc of music by Dennis McCarthy, one by Jay Chattaway, and two more of various composers from the series including such familiar names as John Frizzell, Mark McKenzie and Brian Tyler; a two-disc expanded version of John Debney's Oscar-nominated score for director Mel Gibson's surprise blockbuster hit THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST; an expanded version of Danny Elfman's score for BIG TOP PEE-WEE; and a four-disc set reprising the label's expanded editions of Eflman's BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS, with small improvements made from their previous edition of the first Batman.
Varese Sarabande has announced their latest batch of limited edition CD club releases -- a two-disc Deluxe Edition of Alan Silvestri's exciting score for PREDATOR 2; an expanded Deluxe Edition of John Barry's score for Francis Ford Coppola's 1986 time travel romance PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED (the previous Varese release of Peggy Sue featured only a handful of Barry cues plus period songs); Victor Young's Oscar-nominated score for the 1943 version of FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS (previously released on CD by Stanyan); and a re-release (already sold out at most sites) of their earlier CD Club disc pairing one of Miklos Rozsa's great final scores, for Billy Wilder's less-than-great FEDORA, with his guitar music for CRISIS.
In the coolest film music news of the week, it was announced that Thomas Newman will score his second James Bond film, 2015's SPECTRE, directed by Sam Mendes and starring the current Bond regulars (Craig, Whishaw, Fiennes, Harris, Kinnear) plus Christoph Waltz, Monica Belucci, Lea Seydoux, David Bautista and Sherlock's Andrew Scott.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The Better Angels - Hanan Townshend - Milan
Big Top Pee-Wee - Danny Elfman - La-La Land
Cartouche - Georges Delerue - Disques CineMusique
Cherchez Hortense, et al - Alexei Aigui - Music Box
Collapse - Vincent Gillioz - Howlin' Wolf
The Danny Elfman Batman Collection - Danny Elfman - La-La Land
The Dead 2 - Irmin Ahmad - Howlin' Wolf
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor/The Time of the Doctor - Murray Gold - Silva
Falling in Love - Dave Grusin - Kritzerland
Fantome Avec Chauffeur - Wojciech Kilar - Disques CineMusique
Far Cry 4 - Cliff Martinez - Invada
Fedora/Crisis - Miklos Rozsa - Varese Sarabande CD Club
For Whom the Belll Tolls - Victor Young - Varese Sarabande CD Club
I Tre Volti - Piero Piccioni - Legend
The Jerry Goldsmith Collection Volume Two: Piano Sketches - Jerry Goldsmith - Buysoundtrax
On the Waterfront - Leonard Bernstein - Intrada
The Passion of the Christ - John Debney - La-La Land
Peggy Sue Got Married: The Deluxe Edition - John Barry - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Predator 2: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Shaft - David Arnold - La-La Land
SpaceCamp - John Williams - Intrad
Star Trek: Enterprise - Paul Baillargeon, David Bell, Velton Ray Bunch, Jay Chattaway, John Frizzell, Kevin Kiner, Dennis McCarthy, Mark McKenzie, Brian Tyler - La-La Land
To Kill a Priest - Georges Delerue - Music Box
Warning Sign - Craig Safan - Invada
IN THEATERS TODAY
Black or White - Terence Blanchard
By the Gun - Nathan Whitehead
Comet - Daniel Hart
Dying of the Light - Frederik Wiedmann
Escobar: Paradise Lost - Max Richter
The Humbling - Marcelo Zarvos
Life Partners - Eric D. Johnson
Maps to the Stars - Howard Shore - Score CD on Howe
Murder of a Cat - Deborah Lurie
Pioneer - Air
The Pyramid - Nima Fakhrara
Remote Area Medical - David Wingo
Still Alice - Ilan Eshkeri
Wild - no original score - Soundtrack CD on Sony
COMING SOON
December 9
Elmer Bernstein: The Wild Side - Elmer Bernstein - Varese Sarabande
Fulci 2 Fulci: Live at Union Chapel - Fabio Frizzi - Beat
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies [single disc] - Howard Shore - Watertower
The Homesman - Marco Beltrami - Varese Sarabande
Mr. Turner - Gary Yershon - Varese Sarabande
Penguins of Madagascar - Lorne Balfe - Sony (import)
Rosewater - Howard Shore - Howe
Song of the Sea - Bruno Coulais - Mercury (import)
December 16
Exodus: Gods and Kings - Alberto Iglesias - Sony
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Special Edition - Howard Shore - Watertower
Inherent Vice - Jonny Greenwood - Nonesuch
Into the Woods (1- and 2-disc editions) - Stephen Sondheim - Disney
Unbroken - Alexandre Desplat - Parlophone
January 6
The Dance of Reality - Adan Jodorowsky - Real Gone
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb - Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death - Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp, Brandon Roberts - Varese Sarabande
January 13
At the Devil's Door - Ronen Landa - Phineas Atwood
Sharknado 2: The Second One - Chris Ridenhour, Christopher Cano - Phinas Atwood
February 3
John Carpenter's Lost Themes - John Carpenter - Sacred Bones
Date Unknown
Die Hebamme - Marcel Barsotti - Alhambra
The Light at the Edge of the World - Piero Piccioni - Quartet
The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo - Gianni Ferrio - Quartet
P.J. - Neil Argo - Kronos
Summer Song - Andrew Holtzman, Peter Bateman - Kronos
Viy - Anton Garcia - Kronos
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
December 5 - John Altman born (1949)
December 5 - Richard Gibbs born (1955)
December 5 - Jerry Goldsmith records his score for the Room 222 pilot (1968)
December 5 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score to Coma (1977)
December 5 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Outrageous Okona" (1988)
December 5 - Masaru Sato died (1999)
December 6 - Mort Glickman born (1898)
December 6 - Lyn Murray born (1909)
December 6 - Piero Piccioni born (1921)
December 6 - Richard Markowitz died (1994)
December 6 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording the original soundtrack LP to Bullitt (1968)
December 7 - Ernst Toch born (1887)
December 7 - Tom Waits born (1949)
December 7 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service opens in Los Angeles (1969)
December 7 - Star Trek -- The Motion Picture is released in theaters (1979)
December 7 - John Addison died (1998)
December 8 - Leo Shuken born (1906)
December 8 - John Rubinstein born (1946)
December 8 - Bruce Kimmel born (1947)
December 8 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score to The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1958)
December 8 - Russell Garcia begins recording his score for The Time Machine (1959)
December 8 - Richard Thompson begins recording his score for Grizzly Man (2004)
December 9 - Von Dexter born (1912)
December 9 - Alessandro Cicognini died (1995)
December 10 - Morton Gould born (1913)
December 10 - Alexander Courage born (1919)
December 10 - Jack Hues born (1954)
December 10 - Leigh Harline died (1969)
December 10 - Roy Webb died (1982)
December 11 - Rogier Van Otterloo born (1941)
December 11 - Rachel Portman born (1960)
December 11 - Anthony Collins died (1963)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
FURY – Steven Price
"David Ayer has directed a work that moves with a cinematic force -- even grace. It is a difficult film to discount. From the vivid, fluid photography (Roman Vasyanov) to the mournful and muscular score (Steven Price), 'Fury' is irrefutably crafted. Over two hours long it is tense going, a sturdily acted affair. And yet....As the author of this drama, Ayer has penned a work that takes us no place new or illuminating. For any war film reaching the multiplex when the nation resides in what feels like a perpetual state of military engagement, this is an artistic breach."
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
"Meanwhile, 'Gravity' composer Steven Price also does the movie no favors. His Oscar-winning score for Alfonso Cuaron's groundbreaking sci-fi film was just on the right side of brash, insistent and propulsive, because in many ways it was designed to keep the tension ratcheted as the movie went from one thrill to another. But in 'Fury'Price's work is simply over-the-top and out of place, overselling moments that need a softer touch, or inviting a tone that sometimes seems incongruous. Ranging between medieval and operatic, Price's music is often at odds with the much grittier picture it's backing."
Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
"DOP Roman Vasyanov who previously collaborated with the writer-director on 'End of Watch,' makes terrific use of confined space. Steven Price’s Teutonic score is obvious, yet effective. Ayer’s screenplay is minimal, and he cleverly shapes Pitt’s character and performance to please fans of 'Inglourious Basterds'' Lieutenant Aldo."
Tara Brady, Irish Times
"The film may remind some viewers of the kind of thing that one might have seen on the bottom half of a double-bill in 1943 -- the storyline is trite and unsurprising, the dialogue is almost always just a little too on-the-nose, and the climactic standoff against the approaching Nazi forces feels too contrived for its own good. In those aforementioned B movies, that wasn't such a problem because they usually clocked out at 80 minutes or so and moved quickly enough so that viewers usually didn't notice such flaws. 'Fury,' on the other hand, clocks in at 134 minutes and it makes you feel every one of them in ponderous detail. (The sequence with the German women starts off nicely enough but goes on forever before finally arriving at its inevitable payoff.) Speaking of ponderous, the film is, between Steven Price's oppressive score and the cacophony of combat, so noisy that if there was an Oscar given for Most Sound, it would be the clear front-runner. "
Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com
"Lacking the single-minded intensity of Samuel Maoz’s 'Lebanon,' which did a cleaner job of trapping its audience inside a tank, this is still undeniably stirring stuff, buoyed by Steven Price’s boisterous score which builds toward an end-credits theme reminiscent of Jerry Goldsmith’s demonic 'Ave Satani' from 'The Omen.' Blimey."
Mark Kermode, The Observer
"By the end of the movie’s two-hour-plus running time, you’ll know all too well what such things look like, and the 'Omen'-esque soundtrack only confirms that Ayer isn’t trying to make a combat picture so much as a horror film."
David Fear, Film Comment
"That's just a sampling of the testosterone-fueled history lesson in why war is hell. For two hours, the tankers shoot and kill and explode and shoot and kill and explode. (All of the above is set to a bombastic musical score)."
Mara Reinstein, US Weekly
"Ayer also has little interest in excusing, damning, or celebrating the terrible things these soldiers do. Although there are moments where the exhilaration of combat and a Wagnerian score might tempt you to cheer for our unflappable G.I.'s, they're followed by moments that will turn those cheers to ashes. In case you never got the memo, war is hell for the winners too."
Marc Mohan, The Oregonian
"Why couldn't Ayer follow up on that early, panicky glimpse of Wardaddy with any other hint in "Fury" of his protagonist's demons? A handful of revisions, tweaks and adjustments, along with a musical score less bombastically grandiose, might've made this a film to remember."
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"Generally speaking, 'Fury' looks less like recent war movies -- with their modern, handheld camerawork and overall emphasis on immersion -- than the more classically framed studio pics of an earlier era, where careful attention has been paid to meticulous compositions. The same goes for Steven Price’s score, which offers variations on a single three-note motif, poignant when appropriate, but also easily expandable into a full-blown military theme as needed."
Peter Debruge, Variety
LOW DOWN - Ohad Talmor
"In addition to multiple tracks by the real [Joe] Albany, the pic’s superb jazz soundtrack, produced by Swiss-Israeli composer/arranger Ohad Talmor, features classic performances by Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach alongside new recordings featuring trumpeter Russ Johnson and pianist Jacob Sacks."
Scott Foundas, Variety
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, Arclight, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.
December 5
ED WOOD (Howard Shore), MAN ON THE MOON (REM) [Cinematheque: Aero]
HOOP DREAMS [UCLA]
PURPLE RAIN (Prince, Michel Colombier) [Nuart]
SUNRISE, THE LAST LAUGH [LACMA/AMPAS]
WHITE LIGHTNING (Charles Bernstein), NAVAHO JOE (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
December 6
THE GOLDEN BED, MALE AND FEMALE [LACMA/AMPAS]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith), GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (Jerry Goldsmith), TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT (Edward Shearmur) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
OPEN RANGE (Michael Kamen) [Cinematheque: Aero]
WHITE LIGHTNING (Charles Bernstein), NAVAHO JOE (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
December 7
THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (W. Frank Harling), LOST HORIZON (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Cinematheque: Aero]
A BUCKET OF BLOOD (Fred Katz), WAR OF THE SATELLITES (Walter Greene) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
STATION WEST (Heinz Roemheld), RAMROD (Adolph Deutsch) [New Beverly]
WHITE CHRISTMAS (Irving Berlin, Joseph J. Lilley) [Arclight Hollywood]
December 8
STATION WEST (Heinz Roemheld), RAMROD (Adolph Deutsch) [New Beverly]
December 9
BAD SANTA (David Kitay) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
THE GAY DIVORCEE (Cole Porter, Max Steiner) [LACMA/AMPAS]
THE GROOVE TUBE [New Beverly]
KISS KISS BANG BANG (John Ottman) [Arclight Hollywood]
December 10
AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (Joseph Lilley), HOLLYWOOD OR BUST (Walter Scharf) [New Beverly]
IN BRUGES (Carter Burwell) [Arclight Hollywood]
December 11
AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (Joseph Lilley), HOLLYWOOD OR BUST (Walter Scharf) [New Beverly]
GREMLINS (Jerry Goldsmith) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
MEMENTO (David Julyan), INSOMNIA (David Julyan) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
December 12
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (Guy Gross) [UCLA]
DAZED AND CONFUSED, CARRIE (Pino Donaggio) [New Beverly]
DIE HARD (Michael Kamen) [Nuart]
LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (Daniel Amfitheatrof), LIEBELEI (Theo Mackeben) [LACMA/AMPAS]
MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Dimitri Tiomkin) [Cinematheque: Aero]
December 13
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Erich Wolfgang Korngold), MILDRED PIERCE (Max Steiner) [LACMA/AMPAS]
BATMAN BEGINS (Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard), THE DARK KNIGHT (Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard), THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Hans Zimmer) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
DAZED AND CONFUSED, CARRIE (Pino Donaggio) [New Beverly]
FLESH AND THE DEVIL [Silent Movie Theater]
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (James Horner) [Silent Movie Theater]
MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (Geoffrey Burgon), ERIK THE VIKING (Neil Innes) [Cinematheque: Aero]
December 14
EDGE OF AMERICA (BC Smith) [UCLA]
THE EXILE (Frank Skinner), THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE... (Georges Van Parys) [New Beverly]
LOVE ACTUALLY (Craig Armstrong) [Arclight Hollywood]
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (Cyril J. Mockridge) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE (John DuPrez), MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (DeWolfe)
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