Took this for another spin today and every bit as amazing as when I listened before (which is usually quite often to be honest).
I echo everything you said about this great work in your first post. I remember when I first heard it I kept saying over and over, "Henry Mancini wrote this?! Henry "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Mancini wrote THIS?!"
And to think people have absolutely NO idea that the inspiration for that NFL FILMS piece came from the theme to a 1980's sci fi movie about space vampires.
Couldn't agree more about the impressive writing in this score! It's a shame Mancini wasn't hired to write more fantasy/sci-fi scores using big orchestras, he obviously had the chops! It really shows off the versatility of Mancini's creative abilities...he truly was one of the greats to ever write for film.
Have never been surprised by Mancini's full-orchestral, non-poppy forays, as he did a lot of that anonymously from 1952 - 1958 for Universal-International. THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956) is a prime example, as Henry wrote over 30 minutes of superb music for this, the second CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON sequel. The remainder of the music in the picture was from Irving Gertz (12 minutes), Heinz Roemheld (4 1/2 minutes), Herman Stein, and Hans Salter.
I love Lifeforce sooooooo much! I even love the film as for all its faults it’s such an entertaining watch and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it. I remember in the cinema at the time, watching that bit towards the end of the film when the energy ball that is one of the vampires is blasting through the streets and down the subway collecting the lifeforce from the victims.. and you’ve got the orchestra going full pelt ( its part of the Web Of Destiny track) I was in freakin Heaven!! For all the better movies I’ve since seen this remains one of my perfectly scored movie moments of all time. I’ve been listening to Mancini’s NIGHTWING recently and thinking again how great he really could be at these kind of projects. That Varese cd is brutal though. Apart from the missing music question the sound quality is really poor and spoils a great listen.
I love Lifeforce sooooooo much! I even love the film as for all its faults it’s such an entertaining watch and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it. I remember in the cinema at the time, watching that bit towards the end of the film when the energy ball that is one of the vampires is blasting through the streets and down the subway collecting the lifeforce from the victims.. and you’ve got the orchestra going full pelt ( its part of the Web Of Destiny track) I was in freakin Heaven!! For all the better movies I’ve since seen this remains one of my perfectly scored movie moments of all time. I’ve been listening to Mancini’s NIGHTWING recently and thinking again how great he really could be at these kind of projects. That Varese cd is brutal though. Apart from the missing music question the sound quality is really poor and spoils a great listen.
The film has a strange retro vibe to it. It's almost like a mid-sixties Hammer film in tone. It's a clunky movie but has it's charms.
