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Oh yes, I love THEATRE OF BLOOD (the film and the score). The music in itself is fine enough, but when heard in context it takes on a whole new dimension. The beautiful Main Theme has an added sense of tragedy and sorrow to it when heard against the wonderful title sequence of clips from Shakespearean silent movies.
I remember Michael J. Lewis interviewed for the radio show Star Sound donkey's years ago (mid-'70s probably), and he said that he didn't generally like scoring "horror" films, but when he saw THEATRE OF BLOOD it was, in his own words "an absolute gas"! He went on to say how he wanted to make the grisly yet comical scene where Vincent Price surgically removes Arthur Lowe's head ironically "romantic", and so he decided to score it "in the style of DR KILDARE".
The whole score is full of wonderful moments like that, but in this case I would strongly recommend seeing the film too. When I hear the swashbuckling music for the fencing match (might be "Fugato" on the CD, but I'm not certain), I can't help but see Vincent Price and Ian Hendry (well, their stunt doubles) bouncing around on those trampolines!
Great film, great music - tragic, touching, and genuinely witty.
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Something else I've just thought of... I said before that in this case I would recommend seeing the film. Apart from the reasons I mentioned, I'll highlight the aforementioned "Arthur Lowe getting his head cut off" scene, which is drenched in soapy Doctor Kildare suds. With the on-screen visuals you can see that the music is a witty pastiche, but if you didn't know what it was meant to accompany, you might think that it's far too saccharine - which is, incidentally, my only real trouble with the music of Michael J. Lewis when he's writing "genuine" Love Themes!
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I've loved this film, and its wonderful score since 1973, when I first experienced it in the theatre.
As soon as I could, I grabbed Lewis's Film Music compilation CD set to get that music.
Finding the film on DVD was another matter. After searching, I happened to see a copy in the $5 bin at WalMart a few months ago, and have enjoyed rediscovering this minor classic.
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I remember Michael J. Lewis interviewed for the radio show Star Sound donkey's years ago (mid-'70s probably), and he said that he didn't generally like scoring "horror" films, but when he saw THEATRE OF BLOOD it was, in his own words "an absolute gas"!
Here's a snippet, Graham, from an interview with that Hammer-hatin' M.J. Lewis:
"In the arrogance of my early days I had initially turned down the film – can you believe it? It had been pitched as a horror flick, which honestly did not appeal to me – it reeked of Hammer Films (Britain’s leading horror factory of the time out at Elstree.) However, the producers were persistent, resolute, unwavering. The second time, they pitched the film as a black comedy based on Shakespeare. I went, I saw and was conquered. I am so grateful to John, Stanley and Douglas who taught me to ‘fear no more the heat of the sun’ and in doing so gave me one of the most enjoyable, and creative experiences of my entire career. Originally titled ‘Much Ado about Murder,’ Theatre of Blood is still ‘Alive in Triumph.’ Thanks guys. ‘Thou, thy worldly task hath done.’ ‘To thine own self be true.’"
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