The latest release from Quartet is a two-disc release of one of
Miklos Rozsa's final scores, for Billy Wilder's lavish 1970 film
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Disc One features Rozsa's original score recording from the same materials as Quartet's previous release but with improved sound. Disc Two features Rozsa's Polydor recording of his "Fantasia" of music from the film, a recording of the Rozsa violin concerto which helped inspire Wilder's script and which Rozsa adapted for his score, as well as source music from the film.
The latest release is from Caldera is
CHRONICLE, a collection of music from the eclectic films of director Werner Herzog composed by
Ernst Reijseger, featuring cues from the documentaries
Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Family Romance LLC, Fireball, Nomad: In the Foosteps of Bruce Chatwin and
The White Diamond and the fiction films
My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?, Rescue Dawn and
Salt & Fire.
Composers
Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross won BAFTA's Original Score award for their work on
SOUL.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Des grives aux loupes/Le juge est une femme: Le secret de Marion - Serge Franklin - Music Box
Drop Zone - Hans Zimmer - Quartet
50 States of Fright - Christopher Young - Notefornote
Les B.O. Introuvables Vol. 4 - Mathieu Chabrol, Michel Goglat, Jean-Pierre Rusconi, Karl-Heinz Schafer, Jean-Marie Senia, Jean Wiener - Music Box
Metti lo diavolo tuo ne lo mio inferno/Leva lo diavolo tu dal...convento/Racconti proibiti...de niente vestiti - Stelvio Cipriani - Digitmovies
Mortal Kombat - Benjamin Wallfisch - WaterTower
Mountain Cry/My Other Home - Nicolas Errera - Music Box
IN THEATERS TODAY
In the Earth - Clint Mansell
COMING SOON
April 23
Nomadland - Ludovico Einaudi - Decca
May 14
The Midnight Sky - Alexandre Desplat - Abkco
Date Unknown
Chronicle - Ernst Reijseger - Caldera
La Polizia Trilogy - Stelvio Cipriani - Cinevox
My Name Is Nobody - Ennio Morricone - Beat
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes - Miklos Rozsa - Quartet
Vamos a Matar Companeros - Ennio Morricone - Beat
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
April 16 - Charles Chaplin born (1889)
April 16 - Warren Barker born (1923)
April 16 - Henry Mancini born (1924)
April 16 - Perry Botkin Jr. born (1933)
April 16 - Chaz Jankel born (1952)
April 16 -
David Raksin records his score for
Pat and Mike (1952)
April 16 - Alex North begins recording his score for Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
April 16 -
Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for
The Detective (1968)
April 16 - Basil Poledouris begins recording his score to Quigley Down Under (1990)
April 17 - Jan Hammer born (1948)
April 17 - David Bell born (1954)
April 17 -
Ernest Gold wins his only Oscar, for the
Exodus score (1961)
April 17 -
Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score for
Summer and Smoke (1961)
April 17 -
Philippe Sarde begins recording his score for
The Tenant (1976)
April 17 - John Williams begins recording his score for Stanley & Iris (1989)
April 17 -
Paul Baillargeon records his score for the
Enterprise episode “Vox Sola” (2002)
April 18 - Alois Melichar born (1896)
April 18 - Miklos Rozsa born (1907)
April 18 - Tony Mottola born (1918)
April 18 - Buxton Orr born (1924)
April 18 - Mike Vickers born (1941)
April 18 - Kings Row released in theaters (1942)
April 18 - Andrew Powell born (1949)
April 18 - Ed Plumb died (1958)
April 18 - Maurice Jarre wins his second Oscar, for Dr. Zhivago's score; presumably decides to stick with this David Lean kid (1966)
April 18 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Players (1979)
April 18 -
Dave Grusin begins recording his score for
The Goonies (1985)
April 18 - John Debney records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Progress” (1993)
April 18 - Mike Leander died (1996)
April 18 - Recording sessions begin for Marco Beltrami’s score for Red Eye (2005)
April 18 - Robert O. Ragland died (2012)
April 19 - William Axt born (1888)
April 19 - Joe Greene born (1915)
April 19 - Sol Kaplan born (1919)
April 19 - Dudley Moore born (1935)
April 19 - Jonathan Tunick born (1938)
April 19 - Alan Price born (1942)
April 19 - David Fanshawe born (1942)
April 19 - Lord Berners died (1950)
April 19 - Ragnar Bjerkreim born (1958)
April 19 -
Henry Mancini begins recording his score for
The Great Race (1965)
April 19 - John Williams begins recording his score for Fitzwilly (1967)
April 19 - Michael Small begins recording his score to Klute (1971)
April 19 - Thomas Wander born (1973)
April 19 -
John Addison begins recording his score for
Swashbuckler (1976)
April 19 - Dag Wiren died (1986)
April 19 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "We'll Always Have Paris" (1988)
April 20 - Herschel Burke Gilbert born (1918)
April 20 -
David Raksin begins recording his score for
Kind Lady (1951)
April 20 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “The Die Is Cast” (1995)
April 20 - Johnny Douglas died (2003)
April 20 - Bebe Barron died (2008)
April 21 - Mundell Lowe born (1922)
April 21 - John McCabe born (1939)
April 21 - Steve Dorff born (1949)
April 21 - Franz Waxman begins recording his score to The Story of Ruth (1960)
April 21 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score to Wild Rovers (1971)
April 21 - Eddie Sauter died (1981)
April 21 - David Bell records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Soldiers of the Empire” (1997)
April 22 - Isao Tomita born (1932)
April 22 - Bride of Frankenstein released (1935)
April 22 - Jack Nitzsche born (1937)
April 22 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording the soundtrack to Kelly's Heroes (1970)
April 22 - Steven Price born (1977)
April 22 - Craig Safan records his score for the Remo Williams TV pilot (1987)
April 22 -
Brian Tyler records his score for the
Enterprise episode “Regeneration” (2003)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
DAYS OF THE BAGNOLD SUMMER - Belle and Sebastian
"Rest assured that they do eventually in the downright predictable 'Bagnold Summer.' Except, the film doesn’t bother to engage with the characters’ respective emotions in any meaningful manner. Cave’s Daniel never registers as something more than a distressed kid who’d be profiled as a disturbed loner in a much darker version of this movie. In that, 'Bagnold Summer' doesn’t even concern itself with working Daniel’s Metallica affection into the story in any significant way -- instead we get a semi-amusing scene in which he joins a group of kids’ band and a bunch of idiosyncratic, out-of-place Belle and Sebastian songs that play throughout the film. Thankfully, Dolan at least gives us a lot more to respond to. Vulnerable but never weak or breakable, Sue capably defies Daniel’s boorishness with her decisive tone and occasional drollness, earning our goodwill and respect as a result. It is thanks to Dolan’s committed airiness that the awkwardness of a beach trip between Sue and Daniel lands with some comic relief and that we buy Daniel’s eventual change of heart in the aftermath when he finally grows into the sweet kid that he is meant to be."
Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com
"Deep down of course, Daniel is a nice guy, the kind who’ll never express a loving word to his mother but will protect her against any slights. In that way he’s the more layered character, since Sue’s merely a stick figure with various comic attributes pinned on, the kind of role designed for audiences to laugh at while admiring her cheery pluck. Dolan has a BAFTA and an Olivier Award; she’s an actress who understands subtlety, but here the camera only registers the kinds of over-signaled facial tics usually seen on British TV parodies. Cave (yes, he’s Nick’s son) is oddly more real, yet as written the character has barely two dimensions. Visually the film has a minimalist feel in keeping with its graphic novel origins, which translates into basic setups, clean, crisp images, and the kinds of pastel colors stereotypically found in middle-class English homes. Indie songs by Belle & Sebastian are pleasant, though there’s an awful lot of them."
Jay Weissberg, Variety
"The most distinctly U.K.-flavored aspect of the production is a suite of newly written songs by cult-adored Scottish popsters Belle and Sebastian, long noted for their fey melodies that conceal a surprisingly sharp edge. (This is the combo's third such soundtrack, following 2001's 'Storytelling' and 2014's 'God Help the Girl'.) The Glasgow band boasts plenty of admirers at home and further afield, Bird likewise, and the Nick Cave connection certainly provides a further boost to 'Days of the Bagnold Summer''s visibility."
Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter
FLORA & ULYSSES - Jake Monaco
"Pudi plays officer Miller like one of the cocky cops from 'Reno 911!,' laughably tough-acting behind his tinted aviator specs. He’s effectively a human cartoon character in a movie that’s most appealing when it shifts over to hand-drawn comic frames, and silly as much of the mayhem is, Khan deserves credit for translating such slapstick to live action. Boosted by composer Jake Monaco’s fantastical score, the entire production feels like a gateway drug for Disney’s Marvel franchise (although don’t expect Ulysses to cameo in an 'Avengers' movie anytime soon)."
Peter Debruge, Variety
FUNNY FACE - Phil Mossman
"That obviousness isn’t a problem unto itself — not in such dangerously obvious times -- though it does make it difficult to appreciate Saul and Zama as three-dimensional characters, and not just constructs. The film’s strongest passages have a way of making that feel like it was Sutton’s intention all along, as the scenes between the young lovers are so anemic that your attention can’t help but wander to what’s around them: To Lucas Gath’s tactile and desolate cinematography, Phil Mossman’s pulsing electro score, and the way that Sutton films New York like a giant fist is pushing down on the city and forcing all of its residents into the sea. Saul and Zama are doing what they can to stand their ground. Theirs is a story of resistance; of holding on, if not quite pushing back. We’ve lost control of Gotham’s skyline, and its soul has been replaced by a giant bank, but there will always be something beautiful about this place so long as the people who live here can see it in each other."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"Under the blips and bloops and ticks and tocks of Phil Mossman’s electro-metronome score, the meet-cute happens when Zama is caught trying to shoplift some nuts from the corner store where Saul works and he steps in chivalrously to pay for them instead. They fall hesitantly into step, each asking little of the other, and, in the best tradition of the outcast-lovers-on-the-run genre, becoming all the more bonded as a result of all the companionable, yet slightly edgy silences."
Jessica Kiang, The Playlist
17 BLOCKS - Nick Urata
"'17 Blocks' would have been even stronger if Rothbart had trusted the material just a little bit more. He opens the film with clips from the fallout of that trauma in a way that almost seem to shout, 'This film gets deep!' It takes away from the genuine impact that footage could have had when he circles back to it later on. Similarly, the title references the distance the Sanford family lived from the U.S. Capitol building, a gesture that feels superficial when larger-scale politics are rarely discussed. Some moments, especially near the end, would have benefitted from a more nuanced and creative soundtrack rather than trite piano tracks that tell you how to feel. Still, even when the direction is heavy-handed, the Sanfords are just too compelling to ignore."
Selome Hailu, The Austin Chronicle
TEST PATTERN - Robert Ouyang Rusli
"Coupled with the talents of cinematographer Ludovica Isidori and music by Rob Rusli, Ford’s 'Test Pattern' is an engrossing human drama, one that examines the intersections and inequalities between race, gender, and healthcare in a poignant and powerful way."
Monica Castillo, RogerEbert.com
"Some time before Renesha’s night with Mike, she was just an ambitious Austin woman out on the town with her girls, when her natural charm caught the eye of the liquid courage-powered Evan (Brill), who attempted to pick her up and promptly ghosted her. They’re not an obvious match: Renesha is a high-powered businesswoman with a swanky high-rise apartment, Evan is a laidback tattoo artist who doesn’t seem to own a piece of clothing without (purposeful) holes. And yet Ford’s careful plotting and even better casting allows a strong chemistry and a believable relationship to blossom between the pair in a minimum of time. While an intrusive score from Rob Rusli often detracts from the film’s romantic first half, it will later come back to better suit material that grows thornier with each passing minute."
Kate Erbland, IndieWire
"We see the drinks and weed gummies Renesha is casually pressured to accept, but what follows is more abstract. A few forced kisses on the dance floor, but some are unclear -- she jerked away, but did she get her lips away in time? The camera doesn’t have proof, so neither do we. We see Renesha in the man’s car, but not how he got her in there. In the morning, when she wakes up beside him having forgotten it all, we don’t remember any more than she does, besides that we both know all too well what it looks like. And the film is never more careful and tender than when Renesha finally gets a moment alone: in a hot bathtub, her long braids cover most of her face as Robert Ouyang Rusli’s swelling score stifles the sound of her sobs."
Selome Hailu, The Austin Chronicle
"These beautifully performed establishing scenes have a light, airy, quasi-indie-romance quality, or they would, if not for the marginal unease summoned by Ludovica Isidori’s camera -- slightly too still, slightly too watchful -- and Robert Ouyang Rusli’s excellent strings-based score, which wraps Renesha in melodic cello motifs edged in melancholy. And whatever quirky romcom notes are in the air are dispelled by the psychological horror of the night that Renesha leaves Evan at home to go out with a friend, is roofied by a stranger and wakes up in his bed."
Jessica Kiang, Variety
THIS IS NOT A MOVIE - Justin Small, Ohad Benchetrit
"The Canada-born Chang, whose other documentaries include 'Up the Yangtze' and 'The Fruit Hunters,' covers a lot of ground here but never gets lost in the details, with editor Mike Munn culling all the footage in a streamlined fashion that makes each conflict clear to the viewer. A busy score dips into hagiography at times, accompanying scenes where we see Fisk walking through the wreckage like some kind of heroic character -- probably the last thing he wants to be. Indeed, the film’s title underlines how much all that we see and hear about actually happened."
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS - Ed Cortes
"Composer Ed Cortes' score, mixed in with Puccini and Italian period pop, has a jaunty vintage flavor that evokes 1960s commedia all'italiana, helping to coax out the sly humor in the subjects' philosophical worldviews."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE VIOLENT HEART - John Swihart
"For the majority of its running time, 'The Violent Heart' appears to have more in common with the sullen indie romances of today than it does with the star-crossed theatrics of yesteryear. Set in the rolling nowhere of rural Tennessee, Sanga’s twinkling Southern tragedy -- his first movie since 2016’s excellent 'First Girl I Loved' -- gives us a teenage girl with the world at her feet, an older boy with a lifetime of pain over his shoulder, and a synth-driven John Swihart score that swirls around them like a funnel of windswept leaves whenever they hold each other close enough to get hurt. She’s a white high school senior and he’s a Black 24-year-old ex-con working as a mechanic at the only place in town that will hire him, but those aren’t the differences that ultimately threaten to tear them apart."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
THE WILLOUGHBYS - Mark Mothersbaugh
"There's plenty of wit and wickedness in the zippy screenplay, with engaging work from the voice cast, notably former 'Saturday Night Live' castmates Forte and Rudolph. The story might be borderline overstuffed, but even the most frantic action is kept aloft by a delightful score from Mark Mothersbaugh, which ranges from jazzy big-band sounds to techno funk. The composer's distinctive style, along with production designer Kyle McQueen's fabulously elaborate interiors for the Willoughby home, often make this seem like a toon version of 'The Royal Tenenbaums.'"
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
WORKING MAN - Dave Gonzalez
"'Working Man' is sometimes observant to a fault—it can be a bit repetitious even by the standards of a film in which repetitive rhythms are everything -- and once it gets into the respective backstories of Allery, Iola and Walter, you may rightly start to wonder how any of it actually connects to the larger story of the long-gone manufacturing base in the United States and the decommissioning of its former workforce. The score, by David Gonzalez, is just right for the story -- a lot of it is built around repeating three- and eight-note melodies that have a sort of 'factory rhythm' -- but there's too much of it, and sometimes it intrudes in scenes where it might have been better to let us appreciate the silence in the rooms where characters are going through their struggles."
Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Rawhead Rex (Towns), The Little Things (Newman), Man at the Top (Budd), Hello, Dolly! (Herman), The Don Davis Collection Vol. 1 (Davis), Oboe Sonatas (Saint-Sains/Poulenc/Bozza/Dutilleux/Bennett), Greatest Hits on Earth (The 5th Dimension), Airlines (Desplat), Nanking 1937 (Tan Dun), Marmaduke (Lennertz), Marco Polo (Morricone), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Kamen), Face of a Fugitive (Goldsmith), Ethan Allen (Herrmann), The Edward David Zeliff Collection vol. 1 (Zeliff), Piano Works by Miklos Rozsa (Rozsa), Graveyard Shift (Marinelli/Banks), Fiddler on the Roof (Bock), Wild Wild West (Bernstein), L'histoire du soldat/Renard (Stravinsky)
Read: The Terminators, by Donald Hamilton
Seen: Having had my first vaccine shot, and only weeks away from my second shot and my planned return to moviegoing, I was of course especially saddened to read the annoucement that Pacific and ArcLight theaters are not planning to re-open. While I came to loathe Pacific's multiplex at L.A.'s The Grove, ArcLight Hollywood had long been my theater of choice, and I'm just happy I was able to see six movies there in its final two days of operation, on March 14 and 15, 2020.
Watched: The Howard Brothers in Between the Acts at the Opera [1926]; Private Parts [1972]; NewsRadio ("Sweeps Week"); Gus Arnheim and His Ambassadors [1928]; Tal Henry and His North Carolinians [1929]; Rhythms [1929]; Kolchak: The Night Stalker ("The Devil's Platform"); The Opry House [1929]; House of Horrors; From Russia with Love; Star Trek ("Space Seed"); Looking ("Looking for Gordon Freeman"); Prime Cut; The Orville ("Majority Rule"); La Femme Nikita ("Gambit"); Vivacious Lady; Star Trek ("A Taste of Armageddon")
