The latest CD from Intrada is the first-ever release of Jerry Goldsmith's third feature film score (and his first film in color), the 1959 Western FACE OF A FUGITIVE, with Fred MacMurray (not Glenn Ford, as I originally erroneously claimed) and James Coburn, and directed by Paul Wendkos, who would work with Goldsmith again on The Mephisto Waltz and the TV movie The Brotherhood of the Bell.
Varese Sarabande has announced two new expanded limited edition CD Club releases -- ALONG CAME A SPIDER, the sequel to Kiss the Girls in which Morgan Freeman reprised his role as Alex Cross, with Jerry Goldsmith reuniting with The Edge director Lee Tamahori; and a two-disc edition of Brad Fiedel's score for Wes Craven's THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, featuring an expanded and remastered version of Fiedel's score, plus the original soundtrack sequencing and unused music composed for the film by Michael Babatunde Olatunji.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Along Came a Spider: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Bersaglio Mobile - Ivan Vandor - Digitmovies
Ed ora...raccomanda l'anima a dio! - Franco Bixio - Digitmovies
Face of a Fugitive - Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada Special Collection
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - Fred Mollin - La-La Land
Godzilla vs. Kong - Tom Holkenborg - WaterTower
I due evasi di Sing Sing - Ennio Morricone - Quartet
I Malamondo - Ennio Morricone - Sugar/CAM
The Man in the Hat - Stephen Warbeck - Quartet
Mondo Cane - Riz Ortolani - Sugar/CAM
Patria - Fernando Velazquez - Quartet
The Serpent and the Rainbow: The Deluxe Edition - Brad Fiedel, Michael Babatunde Olatunji - Varese Sarabande CD Club
The Tattooed Torah - Daniel Alcheh - Notefornote
The Time Tunnel: Volume One - Robert Drasnin, Lyn Murray, Paul Sawtell, John Williams - La-La Land
IN THEATERS TODAY
Nobody - David Buckley
COMING SOON
April 2
Die, Mommie, Die! - Dennis McCarthy - Dragon's Domain
Killer Party - John Beal - Dragon's Domain
The Lee Holdridge Collection, Vol. 2 - Lee Holdridge - Dragon's Domain
April 23
Nomadland - Ludovico Einaudi - Decca
Date Unknown
The Bear (re-issue) - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
50 States of Fright - Christopher Young - Notefornote
King of the Wind (re-release) - John Scott - JOS
La Polizia Trilogy - Stelvio Cipriani - Cinevox
Metti lo diavolo tuo ne lo mio inferno/Leva lo diavolo tu dal...convento/Racconti proibiti...de niente vestiti - Stelvio Cipriani - Digitmovies
My Name Is Nobody - Ennio Morricone - Beat
The Serpent (re-issue) - Ennio Morricone - Music Box
Vamos a Matar Companeros - Ennio Morricone - Beat
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
March 26 - Larry Morey born (1905)
March 26 - Leigh Harline born (1907)
March 26 - Charles Dumont born (1929)
March 26 - Recording sessions begin for Miklos Rozsa’s score for Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
March 26 - Alan Silvestri born (1950)
March 26 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score for White Witch Doctor (1953)
March 26 - Victor Young begins recording his score for Little Boy Lost (1953)
March 26 - Louis Silvers died (1954)
March 26 - Malcolm Arnold wins his only Oscar, for The Bridge on the River Kwai score (1958)
March 26 - Noel Coward died (1973)
March 26 - John Williams begins recording his score for SpaceCamp (1986)
March 26 - Alan Menken wins his first Oscars, for The Little Mermaid score and its song "Under the Sea" (1990)
March 26 - John Corigliano wins his first Oscar, for The Red Violin score (2000)
March 26 - Fred Karlin died (2004)
March 27 - Ferde Grofe born (1892)
March 27 - Jack Beaver born (1900)
March 27 - Frank Lewin born (1925)
March 27 - Dave Pollecutt born (1942)
March 27 - Tony Banks born (1950)
March 27 - Victor Young wins posthumous Best Score Oscar for Around the World in 80 Days (1957)
March 27 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score for Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
March 27 - Charlie Chaplin et al win score Oscar for Limelight (1973)
March 27 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score to Winter Kill (1974)
March 27 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Gremlins (1984)
March 27 - Hans Zimmer wins his first Oscar, for The Lion King score (1995)
March 27 - Dudley Moore died (2002)
March 27 - Roque Banos begins recording his score for Alatriste (2006)
March 27 - Recording sessions begin for Nathan Barr's score to Hostel Part II (2007)
March 28 - Jay Livingston born (1915)
March 28 - Alf Clausen born (1941)
March 28 - Gerald Fried records his score for The Baby (1972)
March 28 - Arthur Bliss died (1975)
March 28 - Waldo de los Rios died (1977)
March 28 - Carmen Dragon died (1984)
March 28 - Maury Laws died (2019)
March 29 - William Walton born (1902)
March 29 - Tito Arevalo born (1911)
March 29 - Sam Spence born (1927)
March 29 - Richard Rodney Bennett born (1936)
March 29 - Vangelis born (1943)
March 29 - Franz Waxman wins his first of two consecutive score Oscars, for Sunset Blvd. (1951)
March 29 - John Williams wins his second Oscar and his first for Original Score, for Jaws (1976)
March 29 - Jerry Goldsmith wins his only Oscar, for The Omen score; the film music community presumably exclaims “Finally!” (1977)
March 29 - John Williams wins his third Oscar, for the Star Wars score (1978)
March 29 - Dave Grusin wins his first Oscar, for The Milagro Beanfield War score (1989)
March 29 - James Horner begins recording his score for In Country (1989)
March 29 - Alan Menken wins his fifth and sixth Oscars, for the Aladdin score and its song "A Whole New World" (1993)
March 29 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Strange Bedfellows” (1999)
March 29 - Ulpio Minucci died (2007)
March 29 - Maurice Jarre died (2009)
March 29 - Krzysztof Penderecki died (2020)
March 30 - Kan Ishii born (1921)
March 30 - Eric Clapton born (1945)
March 30 - Dimitri Tiomkin wins his third Oscar, for The High and the Mighty score (1955)
March 30 - Georges Delerue begins recording his score for Rapture (1965)
March 30 - Ennio Morricone, inexplicably, doesn't win the Best Score Oscar for The Mission, which was pretty much the only score album anyone in Hollywood listened to during the late '80s; Herbie Hancock wins Oscar for Round Midnight score instead (1987)
March 30 - Alan Menken wins his third and fourth Oscars, for Beauty and the Beast's score and title song (1992)
March 30 - John Williams begins recording his score for Jurassic Park (1993)
March 30 - Dennis McCarthy and Kevin Kiner record their score for the two-part Star Trek: Enterprise episode “In a Mirror, Darkly” (2005)
March 31 - Arthur B. Rubinstein born (1938)
March 31 - Alejandro Amenabar born (1972)
March 31 - Michael Gore wins his first two Oscars for Fame's score and title song (1981)
March 31 - Cliff Eidelman begins recording his score for The Meteor Man (1993)
March 31 - Terry Plumeri died (2016)
April 1 - Winfried Zillig born (1905)
April 1 - Pete Carpenter born (1914)
April 1 - George Garvarentz born (1932)
April 1 - Matthew McCauley born (1954)
April 1 - David Raksin begins recording his score for Until They Sail (1957)
April 1 - Philip Lambro begins recording his unused score for Chinatown (1974)
April 1 - Marvin Gaye died (1984)
April 1 - Adam Schlesinger died (2020)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
I WILL MAKE YOU MINE - Goh Nakamura
"The chemistry between all of these characters is harmoniously electric, like the soft feedback that fuzzes out of an amp when it’s turned back on, and even the most loaded confrontations are fringed with the mutual love that comes from sharing music together (Nakamura’s sweet ditties and strums are sprinkled across the soundtrack, while Yea-Ming Chen takes the stage in an early scene that makes you want to root for her character in every respect)."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"Nine years after the first installment, Boyle has handed the reins to actor Lynn Chen, who reprises her role in the trilogy while writing and directing 'I Will Make You Mine,' the presumably final installment. Maintaining a consistent aesthetic with its predecessors -- all the films benefit from rich, black-and-white HD and from gentle scores by Nakamura -- the easygoing drama points its ensemble toward domesticity, watching as each character flirts with nostalgia and questions the wisdom of settled-down relationships."
John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
IF NOT NOW, WHEN? - James Perry
"Fans of 'Waiting to Exhale' will recognize in Suzanne’s let-loose tantrum an appreciative nod to Angela Bassett’s righteous revenge. Another thing this movie shares with that sisterhood mainstay: an R&B, soul-rich soundtrack. Composer James Perry and music supervisors Sway (Calloway) and Pervis Taylor III (a life coach) call on songs to introduce characters as much as shade mood; just listen to the lyrics. The end credit number, 'A Healing' by Maimouna Youssef, strikes a revelatory note."
Lisa Kennedy, Variety
THE INFILTRATORS - tomandandy
"The film is never more compelling than when relying on footage of the real NIYA DREAMers, teenagers and twentysomethings who put themselves at severe risk by publicly protesting for their rights and those of their families and others like them. There’s far more urgency in watching Mohammed, a gay Iranian youth, confront politicians while at risk for deportation to a country he’s never known and is openly hostile to his sexual identity than there is in shots of Marco and others strategically handing off manila folders set to suspenseful music. The young people’s ability to create and exploit media for outreach likewise feels like an exciting subject that The Infiltrators fails to deeply explore, where it could have illuminated just how well activists can mobilize modern technology and media with minimal resources."
Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN - Tadeusz Nalepa
"The film’s animation style strikes an unlikely balance between the childlike and the proficient. Dense spirals pouring out of smokestacks, a recurring motif, resemble smoke only insofar as they cite the scribbles that stand in for it in children’s drawings, whereas the sequence of a mortician’s hands sewing up the body of Wilczynski’s mother exhibits the cold precision of a draftsman. One scene on a trolley is rendered entirely by hand except for the windows, replaced with live-action film of rain droplets streaming down glass. Such atmospheric composites recall Don Hertzfelt’s 'Everything Will Be Okay,' as well as Soyuzmultfilm classics like Yuri Norstein’s 'Hedgehog in the Fog.' Tadeusz Nalepa’s score, with all the charm of someone improvising songs on a guitar, echoes the animation’s off-the-cuff quality."
William Repass, Slant Magazine
"The film does not feel directly political, yet the style still recalls the politicized caricatures of George Grosz or the ghouls of Otto Dix meeting the surreal grotesqueries of Jan Svankmajer or Jiri Barta, minus the aesthetic intricacy. The transitions between disparate scenes are haphazard, sometimes simply fading in and out of black, sometimes eliding into each other as in a dream, and sometimes cutting on a sound element (old Polish pop music dots the soundtrack) or the wail of an electric guitar riff from Tadeusz Nalepa’s twanging score. The varying strokes and weights of the individual animators’ styles further challenge the film’s flow, with characters rendered so differently from one scene to the next it’s surprising that we can still ascribe them any object permanence at all. But despite the jarring form, 'Kill It and Leave This Town' is still oddly immersive: a peculiarly vivid, monochromatically psychotropic bad trip."
Jessica Kiang, Variety
"Rock-guitar riffs from the '70s feature the Polish band Breakout. Written by the late Tadeusz Nalepa, the songs provide a piercingly sad background."
Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter
THE LAST FULL MEASURE - Philip Klein
"Their tales and tortured consciences, illuminated by Philip Klein’s heartrending score, are what ground the movie and give it a sensibility that Scott’s character never achieves. It would have perhaps been more effective to tell the story from Tulley’s point of view, which would have offered a more personal approach to its themes, instead of a climax that includes swirling Pentagon conspiracies involving the circumvention of William’s medal."
Candice Frederick, The Wrap
"In relatively brief turns, 'The Last Full Measure's' illustrious actors (also joined by Amy Madigan and Linus Roache) treat their characters’ tormented plights with heartfelt solemnity. Unfortunately, director Robinson rarely misses an opportunity to tug insistently on viewers’ heartstrings. That’s mainly done via Philip Klein’s score, which drowns every other moment in excessive sentimentality, although the filmmaker’s fondness for momentous slow-motion -- often to catch soldiers sharing meaningful glances in battle -- is also to blame. At least the frequent, washed-out flashbacks to Pitsenbarger’s Vietnam exploits convey the chaotic hell of war, all while contextualizing Jackson, Fonda, Harris, and Hurt’s’ ongoing anguish over their compatriot’s demise, and their own combat failings."
Nick Schager, Variety
THE LAST SHIFT - Mark Orton
"But amid the gentle bonding, the impromptu, slow-night games of frozen-patty hockey and humorous anecdotes about the time Stan sh*t himself while playing the French horn in band practice, darker notes sound and, surprisingly, come to dominate the film’s final third (literally too -- the pleasant plinks of Mark Orton’s score become gradually less cute). Stan scoffs at Jevon’s firebrand, self-educated socialist ideas about labor and capital and reacts with visceral denial when 'privilege' is mentioned. 'Nobody gave me anything -- I worked for everything I have,' he responds angrily, conveniently forgetting, as he so often does, that he has nothing. And this willful blindness to systemic evil is also in evidence in Stan’s latent racism -- which can be traced all the way back to the day in high school when he and Don ran off while a Black classmate was beaten to death, and then gave no testimony afterward. Perhaps that act of extreme selfishness could have been written down to the follies of his far-off youth, except that as more things go wrong for Stan, which he conflates with Jevon’s arrival in his life, he begins to make less forgivable new decisions, that suggest certainly in terms of racial sensitivity and one’s duty to one’s fellow man, he has learned precisely nothing over that long span of time."
Jessica Kiang, The Playlist
"Stan’s proud of his life. He has to be, because the alternative would be too depressing. Mark Orton’s gentle jazz score sparkles with optimism that becomes increasingly, deliberately discordant as Stan begins to sour on his employers, thanks in part to Jevon’s endless ribbing about how much Oscar’s sucks. Still, Cohn makes it OK to laugh as Stan trains Jevon on his hard-earned wisdom, like that middle-class women prefer honey mustard to ranch. Reminiscing about his worst days on the job, Stan shudders to think of the birthday party that ran out of ketchup. 'It wasn’t pretty.'"
Amy Nicholson, Variety
"While Mark Orton's mildly jaunty music is a nice fit for Cohn's narrative economy and lightness of touch, the director could stand to develop a stronger visual sense; the film's flat look will make it a better fit for streaming than theatrical windows. But as a transitional step from nonfiction filmmaking, 'The Last Shift' announces a promising voice."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
LUPIN III: THE FIRST - Yuji Ohno
"The entire project is aided by an effervescent jazz score from Yuji Ohno, jazz pianist and composer of numerous 'Lupin III' outings. Music and theme song evoke both Gallic lightness and brassy gaiety of Japanese 'Showa' post-war movie scores."
Maggie Lee, Variety
REDEMPTION DAY - Sacha Chaban
"Gary Dourdan deserves better. The former 'CSI' star, also known for 'Alien: Resurrection,' has a strong screen presence that suggests something deeper beneath the surface. Unfortunately, his star turn in the abduction thriller 'Redemption Day,' the feature debut of Moroccan producer Hicham Hajji, is not the tool to excavate that. Although Hajji has assembled an impressive supporting cast, including Andy Garcia, Martin Donovan, Ernie Hudson and Canadian actress Serinda Swan, the script, by Hajji, Sam Chouia and Lemore Syvan is dreadfully dull and underdeveloped, ridden with bland, limply delivered dialogue. There’s not a thrill to be found in this ostensible thriller, a rote kidnapping exercise taped together with digital blood spatter and an overly dramatic score, vaguely gesturing at global crises from five years ago."
Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune
SING ME A SONG - Nicolas Rabaeus
"How Balmès visually contextualizes his subjects’ struggles is indelible and impactful, transforming their emotions into tangible imagery. After discovering Ugyen’s situation, a tearful Peyangki is placed in the center of the frame turned away from Ugyen, shoving her into the righthand border, showing he’s centered within the pain of his sobering realization. Later, when he learns she’s abruptly left him with no notice, the camera seems as unmoored and listless as the spurned boyfriend himself, following the lonely soul through the empty, dank streets into a booming, neon-lit disco. While Nicolas Rabaeus’ evocative score complements Peyangki’s mindset, scenes like those in the internet cafés develop a foreboding quality that hits like a wallop."
Courtney Howard, Variety
SKYFIRE - Pinar Toprak
"Despite its unremarkable characters and some risible dialogue -- 'Don’t be scared, Daddy is here' -- 'Skyfire' speeds along with such cheerful disregard for logic and plausibility that it simply won’t bother many viewers. Cinematographer Alan Caudillo’s glossy visuals and composer Pinar Toprak’s ('Captain Marvel') lush orchestral score are right on point for such cinematic shenanigans."
Richard Kupiers, Variety
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Saddles, Sagebrush and Steiner (Steiner), Jacob's Ladder (Jarre), The Lost Children of Planet X (Young), The Thing (Morricone/Carpenter/Howarth), Swashbuckler (Addison), Sisters (Herrmann), Room (Rennicks), Bye Bye Birdie (Strouse), Follies (Sondheim), Piano Quintet (Brahms), Beyond the Gates (Golczewski), Munster, Go Home (Marshall), The Easy Project: 20 Loungecore Favorites (various), Forces of Nature (Powell), Spooks (Muskett), The Quinn Martin Collection Vol. 3: The Streets of San Francisco/A Man Called Sloane (Williams), Dracula (Arnold/Price), Justice League (Ritmanis/McCuistion/Carter), A Time to Die (Morricone), Good Omens (Arnold), It's Alive (Herrmann), Studs Lonigan (Goldsmith), His Dark Materials (Balfe), Marco Beltrami: Music for Film (Beltrami), Tonight She Comes (Golczewski), Terence Blanchard: Music for Film (Blanchard), Carter Burwell: Music for Film (Burwell)
Read: The Mandarin Cypher, by Adam Hall (aka Elleston Trevor)
Seen: At this point, it's just the local theaters taunting me by re-opening while I still wait for my "tier" to get the vaccine. If you can take it, I can take it!
Watched: The Return of Dracula; Justified ("Cut Ties"); Have Gun, Will Travel ("The Hanging Cross"); Thrills of Yesterday [1931]; The Movie Album [1932]; Inklings [1933]; Movie Album #2 [1932]; Murder!; Star Trek: Picard ("Nepenthe"); House of Cards ("Chapter 69"); The Nickelette [1932]; The Vampire; Looking ("Looking for Truth"); Movie Memories #1 [1933], Hawaii Five-O ("One for the Money"); A Penny a Peep [1934]; Torchy Blane...Playing with Dynamite; Star Trek: Picard ("Broken Pieces"); House of Cards ("Chapter 70")
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