Love it, a Rozsa smorgasbord. And here's some custom cover art I created, using various posters of wildly differing condition. Took forever and included building the font from scratch, but it was worth the effort.
Love it, a Rozsa smorgasbord. And here's some custom cover art I created, using various posters of wildly differing condition. Took forever and included building the font from scratch, but it was worth the effort.
The film has merits, although they do not include the smooching costars. Lana was sulking over the nonrenewal of her M-G-M contract and Moore at that stage of his career had the excuse of inexperience. Nor was the "pomp" particularly worthy. It's useful to compare YOUNG BESS, set in the same period and telling an analogous story: love triangle complicated by royal status. The earlier film sticks to the personal characterizations -- all fine actors, effectively directed in tight interiors. There is virtually no "spectacle" except that implied by Rozsa's epilogue. DIANE was pumped up for CinemaScope with fairly meaningless exteriors and plentiful red herrings in the plot. Aside from the music, we may still admire Marisa Pavan's moving performance and Walter Plunkett's magnificent costumes. Note how Diane is almost always seen in black and silver. This is literally because she is usually in mourning for somebody, but symbolically because the colors evoke the moon goddess.
The score is not as finely crafted as YOUNG BESS, but the highlights are incomparable. The last five minutes are one of Rozsa's supreme achievements. The various motives interact and unwind just as beautifully as in BEN-HUR. If the album version needs serious pruning . . . well, that can be said of most film scores. There's much to choose from.
Oh yes, I've been enjoying this for years, along with the FSM Knights Of The Round Table/The Kings Thief (& not forgetting Valley Of The Kings), I can't get over just how good these mid-fifties scores sound, with great stereo (I can't remember ever seeing Diane, if Warner Archive ever released it, I'd have to buy it).
Another great score from Rozsa. As the detailed liner notes by Lukas point out, there are many themes here as was Rozsa's habit. You'd be lucky to get two decent themes in one of today’s scores!
Another great score from Rozsa. As the detailed liner notes by Lukas point out, there are many themes here as was Rozsa's habit. You'd be lucky to get two decent themes in one of today’s scores!
Wrong..........today's scores would render 'no themes' just a lot of jumbled up musical notes
