The latest CD from Intrada is yet another "Holy Grail" for Jerry Goldsmith fans -- the first-ever release of his unused score for the 1992 noir THE PUBLIC EYE. A fictional story inspired by the life of real-life pioneering tabloid photographer Arthur "Weegee" Felig, whose unforgettable black-and-white photos of crime scenes of the '30s and '40s created indelible images of the era, starring Joe Pesci as the fictionalized Weegee, here named Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein, who becomes involved with a femme fatale played by Barbara Hershey. Written and directed by Howard Franklin (Quick Change, The Man Who Knew Too Little), the film ultimately used none of Goldsmith's clarinet-dominated score, replacing it with a new one by Mark Isham. Intrada's release features Goldsmith's music in its entirety.
Varese Sarabande has announced two new limited edition CD Club releases, featuring expanded, two-disc versions of sci-fi action scores: John Powell's music for the Philip K. Dick adaptation PAYCHECK, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman and directed by John Woo, and a "Complete Score" edition for the 1999 classic THE MATRIX, scored by Don Davis, which is also being released in an SACD edition.
Last weekend I caught The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in a theater, and apart from the use of a real person's murder as the basis of a cheesy horror film, the most disturbing thing about it was ultimately the number of tracked-in cues listed in the end credits -- music from Arctic (Joseph Trapanese), The Canal (Ceiri Torjussen), Daredevil (John Paesano), End of Days (John Debney - 2 cues), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Christopher Young - 2 cues), Luce (Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury), Mama (Fernando Velazquez), The Purge (Nathan Whitehead - 5 cues), Sicario: Day of the Soldado (Hildur Guonadottir - 4 cues), Trial by Fire (Henry Jackman), Within (Jeff Grace) and even Thomas Newman's Oscar-nominated score for 1917. Which makes one wonder -- how much of Joseph Bishara's score (he still receives the principal scoring credit) is even heard in the movie? A friend wondered of all this tracking could be pandemic-related, but I wouldn't assume Bishara's scores tend to use a large orchestra.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Allons Z'enfants/L'honneur d'un capitaine/La maison assassinee - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
Images - John Williams - Quartet
Les chemins de Katmandou/Paris N'existe pas/La bête noire - Jean-Claude Vannier, Serge Gainsbourg - Music Box
The Matrix: The Complete Score - Don Davis - Varese Sarabande CD Club
Paycheck: The Deluxe Edition - John Powell - Varese Sarabande CD Club
The Public Eye: Unused Score - Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada Special Collection
Week-end a Zuydcoote (Weekend at Dunkirk) - Maurice Jarre - Music Box
IN THEATERS TODAY
The Birthday Cake - Jimmy Giannopoulos, Tim Sandusky
Gaia - Pierre-Henri Wicomb
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - Atli Orvarsson
Les Notres - Marie-Helene L. Delorme
Luca - Dan Romer
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It - Kathryn Bostic
Siberia - Joe Delia
The Sparks Brothers - Music Supervisor: Gary Welch
Summer of 85 - JB Dunckel - Score LP Ete 85 on Music on Vinyl
12 Mighty Orphans - Mark Orton
COMING SOON
June 25
A.I. Artificial Intelligence [reissue] - John Williams - La-La Land
Always - John Williams - La-La Land
The Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann (box set) - Bernard Herrmann, various - Decca
July 23
Formula 1 Nell'inferno del Grand Prix - Alessandro Alessandroni - Beat
Date Unknown
Belli e brutti ridono tutti - Giacomo Dell'Orso - Beat
Forgotten We'll Be - Zbigniew Preisner - Caldera
Fuga Dal Bronx - Francesco De Masi - Beat
Il Giro Del Mondo Degli Innamorati Di Peynet - Alessandro Alessandroni - Beat
Io So Che Tu Saiche Io So - Piero Piccioni - Beat
Red Yellow Pink - Szymon Szewczyk - Kronos
Speer Goes to Hollywood - Frank Ilfman - Kronos
Straziami Ma Di Baci Sazliami - Armando Trovaioli - Beat
Tatort: Es Lebe Der Konig! - Christoph Blaser - Kronos
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
June 18 - Johnny Pearson born (1925)
June 18 - Simeon Pironkov born (1927)
June 18 - Paul McCartney born (1942)
June 18 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score to Blue Denim (1959)
June 18 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording the soundtrack LP for The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
June 18 - Dave Grusin begins recording his score for Three Days of the Condor (1975)
June 18 - Frederick Hollander died (1976)
June 18 - Basil Kirchin died (2005)
June 18 - Ali Akbar Khan died (2009)
June 19 - Leon Klatzkin born (1914)
June 19 - Johnny Douglas born (1920)
June 19 - Maurice Jaubert died (1940)
June 19 - Marjan Kozina died (1966)
June 19 - Bruce Broughton records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Mr. Magic" (1985)
June 19 - Joseph Mullendore died (1990)
June 19 - Recording sessions begin for James Newton Howard’s score for Waterworld (1995)
June 20 - Carmen Dragon begins recording his score for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1955)
June 20 - Recording sessions begin for Elmer Bernstein’s score to The Buccaneer (1958)
June 20 - Jeff Beal born (1963)
June 20 - Robert Rodriguez born (1968)
June 20 - Fred Karlin begins recording his score to Westworld (1973)
June 20 - Jaws opens in New York and Los Angeles (1975)
June 20 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Night Crossing (1981)
June 21 - Hilding Rosenberg born (1892)
June 21 - Lalo Schifrin born (1932)
June 21 - Eumir Deodato born (1942)
June 21 - Philippe Sarde born (1948)
June 21 - Nils Lofgren born (1951)
June 21 - Paul Dunlap records his score for Hellgate (1952)
June 21 - Kasper Winding born (1956)
June 21 - Piero Umiliani begins recording his score for Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
June 21 - Dario Marianelli born (1963)
June 21 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score to 7 Women (1965)
June 21 - Gerald Fried's score for the Star Trek episode "Catspaw" is recorded (1967)
June 21 - Chinatown released in Los Angeles and New York (1974)
June 21 - Bert Kaempfert died (1980)
June 21 - Arthur B. Rubinstein begins recording his score for Another Stakeout (1993)
June 21 - John Ottman begins recording his score to Cellular (2004)
June 22 - Todd Rundgren born (1948)
June 22 - The Guns of Navarone opens in New York (1961)
June 22 - Darius Milhaud died (1974)
June 22 - Burrill Phillips died (1988)
June 22 - Rene Garriguenc died (1998)
June 22 - Cyril Ornadel died (2011)
June 22 - James Horner died (2015)
June 22 - Douglas M. Lackey died (2016)
June 22 - Harry Rabinowitz died (2016)
June 23 - Peter Knight born (1917)
June 23 - Rolf Wilhelm born (1927)
June 23 - Francis Shaw born (1942)
June 23 - Bernard Herrmann begins recording his score for The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
June 23 - Yann Tiersen born (1970)
June 23 - Howard Shore begins recording his score to The Fly (1986)
June 23 - Carlo Savina died (2002)
June 23 - Allyn Ferguson died (2010)
June 23 - Fred Steiner died (2011)
June 24 - Jeff Beck born (1944)
June 24 - Patrick Moraz born (1948)
June 24 - Anja Garbarek born (1970)
June 24 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Russia House (1990)
June 24 - Maurice Jarre begins recording his score for The Setting Sun (1991)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT - Joseph Bishara
"That’s too bad, because the opening sequence is a ripper. It’s 1981 and the Warrens have been called to document the exorcism of 8-year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard). The officiating priest (Steve Coulter) arrives just in time to witness the kid going full-tilt Regan, calling for an urgent intervention on the kitchen table. Accompanied by the nerve-shredding roar of Joseph Bishara’s score and some tasty visual homages to the William Friedkin classic, the scene is an assault on the senses that induces a major heart attack in Ed as the inhuman spirit jumps from David to his older sister’s boyfriend, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor). In terms of craftsmanship, 'The Devil Made Me Do It' is certainly slick. DP Michael Burgess’ camera adopts unnerving angles and prowls insidiously through one sepulchral-looking space after another, and the groaning soundscape works in tandem with Bishara’s big scary-ass score to creep under the audience’s skin. But the palpitating storytelling loses its way while trying to do the same."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
MONUMENTS - Takénobu
"And yet that quirky little interlude is only about the 14th strangest (in a good way) moment in writer-director Jack C. Newell’s wonderfully weird and decidedly offbeat gem about a romance that cannot be stopped or silenced, even by death. With an almost circus-like score setting the tone, a supernatural touch and a terrific ensemble cast playing characters that range from the eccentric to the deeply eccentric, 'Monuments' is at times grounded, at times almost hallucinogenic -- and always smart and entertaining."
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun Times
"And the craft is excellent: Stephanie Dufford’s delightful cinematography makes the most of pretty landscapes and silly Tom-and-Jerry slapstick antics alike. Sullivan’s hangdog appeal as Ted plays well off Moreau’s Laura, who makes for an unusually sardonic ghost, and there are a couple of fun cameos from Chicago improv mainstays Joel Murray and Dave Pasquesi. Best of all is the terrific rambling, rousing soundtrack from musician Takénobu whose jangling-jalopy tunes give a whole new dimension to the film’s off-kilter universe."
Jessica Kiang, Variety
SEANCE - Sicker Man
"Like Wingard, Barrett has a knack for painting in poignantly broad strokes that suggest the kitsch of the ‘80s. That period of culture is so often fetishized because it feels so unguarded, so nakedly willing to go for the big effect, whether it’s the big hair, the big metal ballad, or the lo-fi horror movies that wore their spartan productions on their sleeves, offering disreputable gore, gnarly social satire, or authentic ruminations on dread and despair. These artifacts feel particularly special next to the cautious, eager-to-please poses of today’s pop culture, which is dominated by generic self-actualization preached by cynical corporations. Barrett might be riffing on a couple of forgotten 'Urban Legend' sequels, but he imbues his narrative with a purplish emotionality that those movies didn’t even think to bother with. Sicker Man’s synth score, another throwback to the ‘80s, lends the girls’ plight an aura of loneliness that’s complemented by Karim Hussein’s soft, intimate cinematography. Gradually, the horror elements cohere, becoming a metaphor for the insanity wrought by elite school pressure."
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
"Unfortunately, the convoluted supernatural elements play out in a manner that seems to suggest Barrett doesn’t know what to do with them. A smattering of twists materialize throughout, but they’re easily telegraphed and lead to a third act that plays out like the sound of a deflating balloon. Flat cinematography, banal music, and a leaden atmosphere, free of the tension his films usually possess, means 'Séance' slogs from scene to hopeless scene. Adding to the overall messiness are several character arcs that come flying out of nowhere like a wayward poltergeist and just vanish as if out of apathy."
Brian Farvour, The Playlist
"The Manitoba-shot feature is polished but undistinguished in all departments, including a synthy score credited to Sicker Man that’s so low on ideas, it finally settles on barely altering the main chord progression from Pachelbel’s 'Canon in D.'"
Dennis Harvey, Variety
SHEPHERD: THE STORY OF A JEWISH DOG
"Shot in Hungary with an international cast, the production feels bizarrely put together. Its budget appears substantial enough to secure locations and/or sets that convincingly convey the desired illusion of the historical period, and yet the flat lighting and generic score makes it aesthetically amateurish. It’s as if every resident of a small town got together to reenact scenes and shoot them with the best equipment they could get their hands on, but in the end the lack of professional creativity shows through."
Carlos Aguilar, RogerEbert.com
WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT - Volker Bertelmann
"Compressing the events of the book somewhat, Link captures incidental everyday challenges -- the struggle of buying an item as minor as a pencil when you don’t know the language, the delights of an unexpected meal when you’re on a budget -- in lovely, isolated vignettes. More overtly oppressive forces of anti-Semitism and class conflict are sketched in with a heavier hand, though the natural, genial family dynamic between the four fine principals is a consistent grounding factor, never feeling affected or overplayed. Textured, authentic production design and perceptively reused costumes are likewise persuasive. Only Volker Bertelmann’s uncharacteristically dainty, over-applied score aggravates, too quick to color in emotions that the script itself rarely leaves to chance. Half a century after the book’s publication, Link’s film misses some of its more intangible atmospherics -- but proves the cinematic scale and sweep that was always in its pages."
Guy Lodge, Variety
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
June 18
DAZED AND CONFUSED [Alamo Drafthouse]
DO THE RIGHT THING (Bill Lee) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
FAST FIVE (Brian Tyler) [Alamo Drafthouse]
HARRIET (Terence Blanchard) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE MASTER (Jonny Greenwood) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
MINIONS (Heitor Pereira) [Alamo Drafthouse]
TENET (Ludwig Goransson) [New Beverly]
WORLD ON A WIRE (Gottfried Hungsberg) [Fairfax Cinema]
June 19
DAZED AND CONFUSED [Alamo Drafthouse]
DONNIE DARKO (Michael Andrews) [New Beverly]
E.T THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (John Williams) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
FAST FIVE (Brian Tyler) [Alamo Drafthouse]
FENCES (Marcelo Zarvos) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MINIONS (Heitor Pereira) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MOONLIGHT (Nicholas Britell) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
TENET (Ludwig Goransson) [New Beverly]
TOTAL RECALL (Jerry Goldsmith) [Fairfax Cinema]
VERTIGO (Bernard Herrmann) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
June 20
BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT (Stanley Clarke) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
CLASS OF 1999 (Michael Hoenig) [Fairfax Cinema]
DAZED AND CONFUSED [Alamo Drafthouse]
FAST FIVE (Brian Tyler) [Alamo Drafthouse]
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams) [Alamo Drafhouse] [American Cinematheque: Aero] [IPIC Westwood]
JERRY MAGUIRE (Nancy Wilson) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC Century City] [AMC CityWalk] [Fine Arts]
LOVE AND BASKETBALL (Terence Blanchard) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
MINIONS (Heitor Pereira) [Alamo Drafthouse]
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (Ralph Burns) [Hollywood Legion]
TENET (Ludwig Goransson) [New Beverly]
VERTIGO (Bernard Herrmann) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
WILD COMBINATION [Fairfax Cinema]
June 21
DAZED AND CONFUSED [Alamo Drafthouse]
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (Heinz Roemheld), THE HUNGER (Michel Rubini, Denny Yeager) [New Beverly]
FENCES (Marcelo Zarvos) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams) [Alamo Drafthouse]
MINIONS (Heitor Pereira) [Alamo Drafthouse]
June 22
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (Heinz Roemheld), THE HUNGER (Michel Rubini, Denny Yeager) [New Beverly]
LOVE AND BASKETBALL (Terence Blanchard) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
June 23
FEMALE TROUBLE, DESPERATE LIVING (Chris Lobinger) [New Beverly]
HARRIET (Terence Blanchard) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (John Williams) [IPIC Westwood]
JERRY MAGUIRE (Nancy Wilson) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC Century City] [AMC CityWalk]
STRANGE DAYS (Graeme Revell) [Fairfax Cinema]
June 24
EXISTENZ (Howard Shore) [Fairfax Cinema]
FEMALE TROUBLE, DESPERATE LIVING (Chris Lobinger) [New Beverly]
JERRY MAGUIRE (Nancy Wilson) [Fine Arts]
MOONLIGHT (Nicholas Britell) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC CityWalk]
TENET (Ludwig Goransson) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
June 25
BABE (Nigel Westlake) [Alamo Drafthouse]
INHERENT VICE (Jonny Greenwood) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (Ralph Burns) [New Beverly]
STALKER (Edward Artemyev) [Fairfax Cinema]
June 26
AFTER HOURS (Howard Shore) [New Beverly]
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer) [Alamo Drafthouse]
GHOST IN THE SHELL (Kenji Kawai) [Fairfax Cinema]
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Maurice Jarre) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (Ralph Burns) [New Beverly]
THE NOTEBOOK (Aaron Zigman) [Alamo Drafthouse]
WONDER WOMAN (Rupert Gregson-Williams) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
June 27
THE BIRDCAGE (Jonathan Tunick) [AMC Burbank 16] [AMC Century City] [Fine Arts]
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer) [Alamo Drafthouse]
DUNE (Toto) [Fairfax Cinema]
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Maurice Jarre) [American Cinematheque: Aero]
A LIFE IN WAVES (Suzanne Ciani) [Fairfax Cinema]
MEAN GIRLS (Rolfe Kent) [IPIC Westwood]
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (Ralph Burns) [New Beverly]
THE NOTEBOOK (Aaron Zigman) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: Nel Cinema e Nella Classica (Donaggio), Symphony in C/Symphony in 3 Movements (Stravinsky), Hired to Kill (Grant), The History of Space Age Pop Vol. 1: Melodies and Mischief (various), Endless Night (Herrmann), Endurance (Powell), Starhawk (Lennertz), Red Sonja (Morricone), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Morricone)
Read: Shock III, by Richard Matheson
Seen: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In the Heights, The Misfits [2021]
Watched: Star Trek ("Amok Time"); Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye? (A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon); Barry ("Chapter Two: 'Use It'"); Monty Python's Flying Circus ("The Buzz Aldrin Show"); The Lady Vanishes [1938]; Moonraker; Star Trek ("Who Mourns for Adonais?"); Battlestar: Galactica ("Valley of Shadows"); The Night Manager ("Episode 1"); Perry Mason ("The Case of the Runaway Corpse")
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