Along with their four-disc BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER set, La-La Land has also just released a new CD of Jack Nitzsche's score for the 1985 Romancing the Stone sequel THE JEWEL OF THE NILE (the original soundtrack release featured less than seven minutes of score).
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Antonia - Jorge Aliaga - Rosetta
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - Christophe Beck, Carter Burwell, Shawn Clement, Robert Duncan, Sean Murray, Thomas Wander - La-La Land
The Commuter - Roque Banos - Varese Sarabande
Fifty Shades Freed - Danny Elfman - Backlot
Game Night - Cliff Martinez - WaterTower [CD-R]
Ivan the Terrible - Sergei Prokofiev - Capriccio
The Jewel of the Nile - Jack Nitzsche - La-La Land
Red de Libertad - Oscar Martin Leanizabarrutia - Rosetta
Rings - Matthew Margeson - Rambling (import)
Salvatore - Questa e La Vita - Paolo Vivaldi - Kronos
Waco - Jeff Russo, Gordon Gagne - Sony [CD-R]
IN THEATERS TODAY
Black Panther - Ludwig Goransson - Song CD due on Interscope
Double Lover - Philippe Rombi - Score CD L'Amant Double on Quartet
Early Man - Harry Gregson-Williams, Tom Howe - Score CD due Feb. 23 on Mercury (import)
Golden Exits - Keegan DeWitt
Hidden Light - Jamie Murgatroyd
The Housemaid - Jerome Leroy
Irreplaceable You - Lesley Barber
Looking Glass - Mark Adler, Kristen Gundred, Andrew Miller
Nostalgia - Laurent Eyquem
The Party - no original score
Samson - Will Musser
COMING SOON
February 23
Early Man - Harry Gregson-Williams, Tom Howe - Mercury (import)
Il Corsaro Nero - Gino Peguri - Digitmovies
L'Allenatore Nel Pallone - Guido & Maurizio DeAngelis - Beat
Sono Un Fenomeno Paranormale - Piero Piccioni - Digitmovies
March 2
Charlotte's Web - Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman - Varese Sarabande
McMafia - Tom Hodge, Franz Kirmann - Decca (import)
March 9
The Exorcist - Tyler Bates - Milan
March 23
The Alienist - Rupert Gregson-Williams - Lakeshore
March 30
A Wrinkle in Time - Ramin Djawadi - Disney
April 6
Howards End [U.S. release] - Nico Muhly - Milan
Pacific Rim Uprising - Lorne Balfe - Milan
Date Unknown
The Blue Planet (remastered reissue) - George Fenton - Silva
El Lienzo En El Espejo - David Bazo - Rosetta
Francis Lai at Universal Pictures - Francis Lai - Music
La Guepe - Osvaldo Montes - Rosetta
Made in China Napoletano - Marco Werba - Rosetta
Planet Earth (remastered reissue) - George Fenton - Silva
Revenge - Rob - Music Box
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
February 16 - Dennis Wilson born (1920)
February 16 - Kunio Miyauchi born (1932)
February 16 - John Corigliano born (1938)
February 16 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for King of Kings (1961)
February 17 - Ron Goodwin born (1925)
February 17 - Karl Jenkins born (1944)
February 17 - Fred Frith born (1949)
February 17 - Bernard Herrmann records his score for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode “Death Scene” (1965)
February 17 - Alfred Newman died (1970)
February 17 - Bear McCreary born (1979)
February 17 - Jerry Fielding died (1980)
February 17 - Samuel Matlovsky died (2004)
February 18 - John Bisharat born (1964)
February 18 - Tommy Tallarico born (1968)
February 18 - Nathaniel Shilkret died (1982)
February 19 - Saul Chaplin born (1912)
February 19 - Shigeru Umebayashi born (1951)
February 19 - Donald Rubinstein born (1952)
February 19 - Claudio Simonetti born (1952)
February 19 - Charles Bernstein begins recording his score for Gator (1976)
February 19 - Marvin Hamlisch begins recording his score for I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
February 19 - Teo Macero died (2008)
February 20 - Toshiro Mayuzumi born (1929)
February 20 - How the West Was Won opens in Los Angeles (1963)
February 20 - Michael A. Levine born (1964)
February 20 - William Lava died (1971)
February 20 - Recording sessions begin on Jerry Goldsmith's score for Alien (1979)
February 20 - Toru Takemitsu died (1996)
February 21 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for The Story of Three Loves (1952)
February 21 - Ron Grainer died (1981)
February 21 - Basil Poledouris begins recording his score for Flesh + Blood (1985)
February 21 - Morton Gould died (1996)
February 22 - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino born (1909)
February 22 - Maurizio De Angelis born (1947)
February 22 - Gary Chang born (1953)
February 22 - James Horner begins recording his replacement score for Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
February 22 - William Loose died (1991)
February 22 - A.R. Rahman wins the Original Score and Song Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire and its song "Jai Ho" (2009)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
AUTUMN LIGHTS - Hugi Gudmundsson, Hjörtur Ingvi Jóhannsson
"Aulakh films in muted colors and wide-open deep-focus takes that play up nature and give room to get inside these people’s heads. The score jumps from chilling, Trent Reznor–like ambiance to more spacey woodwinds and chimes, maintaining the mystique even as the romance grows steamier. 'We’re a frail species,' one character says. 'People die because they can’t live anymore.'"
Brian Welk, Village Voice
"With its faux-realist handheld camera and moody soundtrack of sustained glockenspiel and cello dolloped generously onto David’s gloomy wanderings, 'Autumn Lights' has the forced gravity of a routine network mystery series, except there’s no real mystery to be solved here. Like a landlocked Bergman chamber drama divested of any ambivalence regarding human relationships, the film methodically works toward its moralistic thesis, fleshing out its disapproval of Marie’s sexual promiscuity with each aborted romantic tryst and subsequent spell of emotional frustration. That it gradually devolves into a succession of monologues whereby David mansplains the importance of emotional commitment feels like a natural endpoint. It’s a trajectory so dull, leaden, and unambiguously misogynist that by the end it’s easy to find oneself longing for some spectacular nature photography as distraction."
Carson Lund, Slant Magazine
BLUE JAY - Julian Wass
"Duplass’ Jim is a vulnerable romantic; there’s an empathetic warmth to Paulson’s Amanda. Together, they inhabit all the qualities that made them an ideal match so many years ago. But at the tiny moments where their reflections on a storybook past hit a noticeable hiccup, their wordless reactions also hint at the reasons for their eventual departure. (It’s also helped by the economic dispersal of Julian Wass’ lovely, airy score, which doesn’t soar over these two as much as it hovers near them.)"
Steve Greene, IndieWire
"And if the use of black and white sounds overly precious, it’s actually a smart choice; the monochromatic scheme not only enhances the sense of nostalgia that permeates the entire film, but it also washes out the landscape, converting the mountainous California region into the kind of spiritually arid landscape that people like Amanda and Jim would feel the need to flee. The film’s look is ably matched by a subtle and plaintive score by Julian Wass ('“Other People')."
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS - Mark Isham
"Initially, Stephen Herek’s insufferably schmaltzy film takes up the idea of the constantly uprooted child, the recent premise of films such as 'Don’t Call Me Son' and 'Standing Tall,' as though it were going to tell something new. Or, at least, that’s what the caliber of the cast seems to suggest. Instead, we’re offered a Disney-fied tale where every scene is suffocated by an intrusive score that tells us with bludgeoning precision whether the main point of said scene is its sense of humor, sadness, adventure, or mere lightheartedness. 'The Great Gilly Hopkins' never executes its narrative fantastically enough for its triteness to be forgiven, forgotten, or excused as 'a film for children.' At the same time, it’s too infantile to be taken seriously."
Diego Semerene, Slant Magazine
"Toward that end, Tykwer and his team of regular collaborators use the striking setting to potent effect. Cinematographer Frank Griebe’s widescreen compositions emphasize the desert’s empty stretches and its unlikely vertical intrusions (the international production was shot mostly in Morocco). From luminous Vivaldi to the percussive foreboding of compositions by Johnny Klimek and the director, the musical shifts suit the visuals."
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
TOO LATE - Robert Allaire
"Mr. Hawkes resists the urge to overplay the character’s toughness or his damaged soul, and that makes him all the more watchable as the camera trails him, often as he’s smoking a cigarette or drinking booze, while music pulses through those unbroken shots."
Ken Jaworski, The New York Times
TOWER - Osei Essed
"Ultimately, that’s what I’ll remember about 'Tower' -- the emotion. It is raw and urgent in ways that documentaries about historic events rarely are. From the effective, mostly piano-only score to the sweeping camerawork that captures the event in ways that simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise, 'Tower' sticks in your gut and works at your heart. The final act, which turns to the citizens who worked together to stop a madman, had me in tears. 'Tower' takes a story of violence and madness and turns it into one of heroism and survival. It’s a message we could all stand to hear right about now."
Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
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, Laemmle, New Beverly, Nuart and UCLA.
February 16
BABY FACE (Leo F. Forbstein), WORKING GIRLS [UCLA]
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
MIND GAME (Fayray, Seiichi Yamamoto) [Nuart]
MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paul Zaza), A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE (Christopher Young - in person!) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
February 17
IVANSXTC (Matt Schultz, Elmo Webber) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinemathque: Aero]
NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (Joe Hisaishi), CASTLE IN THE SKY (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE UNSUSPECTED (Franz Waxman), ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (Leo F. Forbstein, Ray Heindorf) [UCLA]
February 18
SECRET ADMIRER (Jan Hammer), MYSTERY DATE (John DuPrez) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
SPIRITED AWAY (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
February 20
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer) [Cinematheque: Aero]
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Jack Nitzsche) [LACMA]
February 21
GUN CRAZY (Victor Young) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (Bernardo Bonezzi) [Laemmle Royal]
February 22
HALF BAKED (Alf Clausen) [Laemmle NoHo]
PORCO ROSSO (Joe Hisaishi), WHISPER OF THE HEART (Yuji Nomi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
February 23
AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (Jean Wiener) [UCLA]
BASKET CASE (Gus Russo), BRAIN DAMAGE (Clutch Reiser, Gus Russo), FRANKENHOOKER (Joe Renzetti) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
BEVERLY HILLS COP (Harold Faltermeyer) [Nuart]
SALESMAN [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
February 24
DESK SET (Cyril J. Mockridge), LOSING GROUND (Michael Minard) [UCLA]
GET OUT (Michael Abels) [Cinematheque: Aero]
IT [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
SALESMAN [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
WHITE GOD (Asher Goldschmidt) [UCLA]
February 25
BLADE RUNNER (Vangelis) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
HEART OF A DOG (Laurie Anderson) [UCLA]
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (Joe Hisaishi) [Cinematheque: Aero]
PRINCESS MONONOKE (Joe Hisashi), POM POKO (Shang Shang Typhoon) [Cinematheque: Aero]
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