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Film Music Review
News
Including announcements, awards, special events and other listings relating to film music
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A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (2nd ed., PineTree Press, 2002)
This expanded and updated guide has a wealth of information:
*A timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001
*A chapter on suggestions for listening to film music
*A complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000
*A complete list of the Sammy Movie Music Awards from 1988 to 2001
*Top 100 Scores of the 20th Century
*Comments on Film Music: Interviews with two classical composers (Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson); The Composer as Commentator (Bernard Herrmann, David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin); The Composer as Critic (Elmer Bernstein); The Film Lyricist and Songwriter (Sammy Cahn and Henry Mancini); The Movie Critic and Historian (David Thomson and Tony Thomas).
*An extensive bibliography and discography.
Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, including:
Johnny Green, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner , Dimitri Tiomkin, John Williams and others.
There are also songwriter autographs as well, such as:
Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, George & Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Jay Livingston, and Harry Warren.
The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T., boldly signed by John Williams.
Praise from respected film composers!
"Thank you for the copy of your film music book. Congratulations and best wishes for success in your future contributions to the film music literature" -- John Williams, 2003
"I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way. It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field. Congratulations!" -- Elmer Bernstein, 2002
"Your film music guide should be available to anyone interested in the Golden Age and beyond. I was so happy that KING KONG made your all-time list" -- John Morgan, 2002
Get your copy now before the supply runs out.
To order your autographed limited edition copy of A Guide to Film Music go to:
Music Titles from PineTree Press
Lists and Reviews:
Best and Worst List for Film Music (2002)
Best and Worst List for Film Music (2003)
Best and Worst List for Film Music (2004)
Carry A Tune Week
To read the tune picks, including film themes and movie songs, go to:
Soundtrack Magazine
For a list of reviews and feature articles on Elmer Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Bernard Herrmann and Dimitri Tiomkin, click on this link:
Bookshelf Search
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Contents
Film Music News
for 2006
Film Music Review has moved to a new website.
Film Music News for 2005
Film Music Magazine Returns
Carry A Tune Week Survey
Robert Wise and Bernard Herrmann
New Book Highlights Music of Randy Newman
John Williams and REVENGE OF THE SITH
American Film Institute's 100 Years of Film Scores
Remembering Don Ray
Honoring Harry Sukman
Centennial Tributes: Harold Arlen, Jule Styne, Tex Ritter
Academy Awards (Oscars) for Film Music
Broadcast Film Critics and Golden Globe Awards
Film Music News for 2004
National Carry A Tune Week
Jerry Goldsmith, Hopalong Cassidy, Ken Darby, and Victor Young
American Film Institute's Tribute to Movie Songs
Centennial Tributes
Academy Awards for Film Music
Film Music News for 2003
Top Ten Lists of Film Soundtracks
Film Composer Reviews (Not Soundtracks)
Academy Awards for Music
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
The Golden Globe Awards
The Sammy Awards for Film Music
Film Music News for 2002
Soundtrack Magazine Ends Its Long Run
Classic Film Series on Marco Polo
John Williams Scores Again with the Boston Pops!
Harold Russell and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
John Williams and STAR WARS Revisited
Film Music in Magazines
Film Music News for 2001
For the Fallen: In memory of the 9/11 tragedy
World Soundtrack Awards in Belgium
Boston critics offer opinions of A.I. (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)
Turner Classic Movies Young Composers Competition Winners
MM (Blonde Goddess of the 1950s)
Elmer Bernstein's Piano Piece: "On Approaching 80"
Film Music Contests
Film Music News for 2000
Best of the Century
Anniversaries
Film Music Contests
Editor's Choices
Film Music News for
2006
Film Music Review has moved to a new website.
To read the new FMR, click on this link:
Film Music News for
2005
Film Music Magazine Returns
After a few years of inactivity, Film Music Magazine ("the professional voice of music for film and television") has once again been published as Volume 5, Number 1.
These are some of the articles in this issue:
Interview: "The Passion of Film Scoring with John Debney" (Rudy Koppl)
"Film Scoring and Modern Music Technology - A Conversation with Christopher Beck"(Randall D. Larson)
"Taking Notes from Aaron Zigman" (Randall D. Larson)
"ASCAP Since AFJ2" (Mark Holden)
"Parviz Omidvar - Royalty Advance Funding"
More information about subscribing to this magazine, write to:
Film Music Magazine
13101 Washington Boulevard, Suite 466
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Carry A Tune Week Survey
As a result of the terrorist attacks that took place in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania in 2001, it was decided to begin a week of "musical healing" with the designation of National Carry A Tune Week.
This special week, sponsored by The Tune Lovers Society, is open to anyone who wishes to recall music from their past. All tunes chosen must be by American composers or songwriters.
The Fifth Annual Carry A Tune Week took place from 2 - 8 October 2005.
This year four film composers were added to the Tunemaker Hall of Fame:
Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Miklos Rozsa
The Carry A Tune Week survey is broken down as follows:
Tune Categories:
Patriotic Music = 4
Folk Music and Religious Music = 17
Popular Music = 13
Classical Music = 6
Film Music (Themes or Songs) = 13
Total Tunes for 2005 = 53
To read the survey of all the tune choices, including favorite film themes and songs, go to:
Robert Wise and Bernard Herrmann
One of the last of the great directors from the past died on 14 September 2005 at the age of 91.
Robert Wise received four Oscars for his work: two for WEST SIDE STORY (1961), and two for THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965). He also received a lifetime achievement award in 1998 from the American Film Institute.
He demonstrated great skill very early on, first as editor at RKO, where he worked on the Orson Welles masterpiece CITIZEN KANE and also THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, which the studio had Robert Wise edit down and reshoot the ending. He has been criticized for it but the blame should go more to the shortsightness of the RKO studio bosses. Both of these Orson Welles films had brilliant music scores by Bernard Herrmann.
Wise got his chance at directing while at RKO on such films as CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944) and THE SET-UP (1949), one of Wise's favorite films.
Probably the best film that Wise directed during his early years was at 20th Century-Fox, THE DAY THE EARTH STTOD STILL in 1951.
On the DVD commentary with Wise and fellow director Nicholas Meyer, mention is made by both of them about the innovative music score by Bernard Herrmann. Wise continually credits Herrmann for the effective music and said that it added much to the success of the film. This Herrmann score for THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is now considered a classic, one of the greatest of all sci-fi scores.
To read an interesting interview between Steven C. Smith, author of the Bernard Herrmann biography, and Robert Wise, click on this link:
New Book Highlights Music of Randy Newman
There is a new book written about Randy Newman by Kevin Courrier, published by ECW Press, Toronto, Canada.
This book is loaded with psychological theories. The author's main premise is that Randy Newman is a musical outsider and thus a kind of masked man "whose very self can hold a multitude of meanings."
If you're a Randy Newman fan, this is well worth a read, especially the chapter titled: "The Celluloid Mask."
The book is titled:
Randy Newman's American Dreams
Also there is a recommended CD available, performed by Randy Newman, with mostly his non-film songs (except for "When She Loved Me") and also a few of his favorite film themes (AVALON and RAGTIME):
The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1
John Williams and REVENGE OF THE SITH
Well, it's finally here! If you haven't been worn out yet from all the hoopla over STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH, you can see an interesting video and transcript interview with John Williams from the Today Show. It 's listed at Ricard Befan's excellent John Williams Fan Network site at this link:
Unlike many film critics and STAR WARS fanataics who were enthusiastic about this film, our FMR reviewers were not overly thrilled with the REVENGE OF THE SITH score. To read their reviews, go to:
American Film Institute's 100 Years of Film Scores
The latest AFI survey is for film scores from CITY LIGHTS (1933) to THE VILLAGE (2004).
A ballot listing 250 film scores was sent out to a jury of over 500 leaders from the creative community (composers, musicians, directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers, critics, and historians).
The most represented composers, with 11 scores apiece are: Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Alfred Newman, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, and John Williams. Bernard Herrmann has 9 scores listed, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Dimitri Tiomkin have 7 scores on the ballot.
The 25 scores that recieved the most votes were presented live by Principal Conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra with classic scenes from many of the films projected on the Bowl's big screen.
The AFI event was held one night only at the Hollywood Bowl on 23 September 2005.
For more information and the list of 25 scores with the most votes, click on this link:
www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/scores.aspx
Remembering Don Ray
The veteran film composer and educator Don Ray died on 16 April 2005 after an unexpected two week illness. He was 78. He is survived by his wife, Laurel, and his son, David.
He joined the CBS television music department in 1956 and was music supervisor on such programs as G.E. Theater, Playhouse 90, The Twilight Zone, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island, and for twelve years on Hawaii Five-O, for which he received an Emmy nomination for best dramatic score in 1974.
Beginning in 1968, he also created the Film Scoring Program at UCLA's Department of the Arts, and went on to apply this concept in Ireland between 1996 and 2004.
After his retirement from CBS, he returned to composing concert music. In 1989, his "Homestead Dances, Set I" were premiered by the American Chamber Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Many of his compositions have aired on National Public Radio. His Piano Concerto and a suite from his "Family Portraits" have been released on an Albany Records CD.
This multi-talented man will be missed by those who knew his high quality work.
[Source: The above information is from a news release by Film Music Media Group, provided by Ford A. Thaxton.]
Honoring Harry Sukman
On Sunday afternoon, 17 April 2005, at 3:00 p.m., there was a special dedication of The Harry Sukman Foyer in the Fuller Music Center adjacent to Millard Auditorium at The Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Also there is a permanent exhibition titled "A Life in Music."The collection was donated to the University of Hartford by the composer's daughter, Susan Sukman-McCray. She said she felt it was an appropriate place for her late father's collection because of the school's acclaimed programs in music, dance and theater. "My father would be honored and humbled by this project," she said. "These unique pieces of history will not only provide a rich resource for students of piano and students of television and film composition; it will also give the public a great insight into the motion picture and television industry." Her husband, Kent McCray, is an alumnus of The Hartt School and serves as a University Regent. The McCrays are Hollywood producers known for such popular television series as BONANZA, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, and HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN.
Following the dedication ceremony, there was a concert with musicians from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra performing as "The Harry Sukman Orchestra," under the direction of music director/pianist Vincent Falcone. The Hartt School singers also performed songs composed by Harry Sukman.
Born in Chicago, Harry Sukman (1912-1984) began his musical career as a concert pianist at age 12. His first film scores were RIDERS TO THE STARS and GOG (both in 1954), released by United Artists. Later he composed over 200 episodes for such television series as BONANZA, DR. KILDARE, GENTLE BEN, and THE HIGH CHAPARRAL.
He received 3 Oscar nominations and 1 Oscar:
SONG WITHOUT END (1960) --Oscar for "Scoring of a Musical Picture"
FANNY (1961)
THE SINGING NUN (1966)
For more information about the exhibit or concert, contact the box office at (860) 768-4228.
--Roger Hall, FMR Editor
"Blues in the Night" -
Harold Arlen
born: 15 February 1905
died: 23 April 1986
"Blues in the Night" (Arlen-Mercer) is No. 52 on the Top 100 Songs of the Century
BLUES IN THE NIGHT was the title of a 1941 B-movie, originally to be titled HOT NOCTURNE.
The title was changed because of the popularity of the "Blues in the Night" song (lyrics by Johnny Mercer).
You can read about it and also see Harold Arlen's autograph in this book:
A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores
I've been a longtime admirer of Harold Arlen's songs. I had the great pleasure to feature some of them on several radio shows many years ago. The songs are available on this CDR:
"A Salute to Harold Arlen: The Singing Songwriter"
One hour CDR from radio shows (1984-1990) featuring Harold Arlen singing "Stormy Weather"; "Let's Fall in Love"; "Happy as the Day is Long"; "Last Night When We Were Young" (my favorite Arlen song) and other songs, also playing piano while Judy Garland sings "Over the Rainbow" in 1940.
For information how to get this CDR write to:
From an article about Johnny Mercer titled, "Too Marvelous for Words," by Terry Teachout in Commentary magazine (November 2004):
"In tandem with Arlen, whose jazzy, harmonically complex melodies were ideally suited to a lyricist who had grown up listening to black music in Georgia, Mercer produced a series of songs, including 'Blues in the Night' (1941), 'That Old Black Magic' (1942), and 'One for My Baby' (1943), whose darker, more intense tone is plainly indicative of the disruption of his emotional life." [Note: Mercer had an intense love affair with Judy Garland and was heartbroken when she married someone else. The three songs that Teachout mentions are all from 1940s films and demonstrate the high quality songs being written for films at that time.]
Information about the magazine can be found at:
--Roger Hall
Ten recommended recordings in alphabetical order:
Andre Previn Plays Harold Arlen (Original Jazz Classics CD/ original recording, 1960)
Arlen Plays Arlen (Harold Arlen's son, Sam/ Josam CD, 2005)
Come Rain or Come Shine: The Harold Arlen Songbook (Sylvia McNair & Andre Previn, Philips CD, 1996)
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (2CDs - 2001/ original recordings, 1960)
Harold Sings Arlen (with Barbra Streisand)(Columbia Special Products, 1995)
Harold Arlen: Over the Rainbow (Pearl CD, 1997)
Out of This World: Maureen McGovern Sings Harold Arlen (Varese, 2003)
The Song is Harold Arlen (ASV Living Era, 1995)
A STAR IS BORN (remastered 1954 soundtrack with extra tracks, Sony, 2004)
THE WIZARD OF OZ (deluxe edition of the 1939 soundtrack, 2 CDs, Rhino, 1995)
Links:
"Three Coins in the Fountain" -
Jule Styne
born: 31 December 1905
died: 23 September 1994
Jule Styne received an Oscar for Best Song in 1954 for "Three Coins in the Fountain"(lyrics by Sammy Cahn) from the film with the same title.
This Oscar-winning song, sung in the film by Frank Sinatra, is discussed in a very funny story by Sammy Cahn in this book:
A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores
"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" -
Woodward Maurice (Tex) Ritter
born: 12 January 1905
died: 2 January 1974
"High Noon" is No. 62 on the Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century
Tex Ritter's portrait and a discussion of the Oscar-winning song "High Noon" (Dimitri Tiomkin-Ned Washington) plus Tiomkin's Oscar-winning score are included in this book:
A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores
Recommended recordings:
High Noon - Tex Ritter (Bear Family CD, 1994)
Proper Introduction to Tex Ritter (2004)
Sing Cowboy, Sing - Early Tex Ritter (ASV Living Era CD, 2001)
Tex Ritter - Greatest Hits (Curb CD, 1991)
Very Best of Tex Ritter (Varese CD, 2000)
Links:
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Academy Awards (Oscars) for 2004 Film
Music
77th Annual Academy Awards for 2004 film music
[Announced on 27 February 2005]
For a complete list of all nominees, see:
www.oscar.com/nominees/nominees.html
Music Awards with links to FMR reviews:
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) -
FINDING NEVERLAND (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - 1st nomination) - Oscar winner
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (John Williams - 43rd nomination)
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (Thomas Newman - 7th nomination)
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (John Debney - 1st nomination)
THE VILLAGE (James Newton Howard - 6th nomination)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) -
"Accidentally In Love" from SHREK 2 (Music by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillenham, Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Mallory, David Bryson / Lyrics by Adam Duritz and Daniel Vickrey)
"Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Music and Lyrics by Jorge Drexler) - Oscar winner
"Believe" from THE POLAR EXPRESS (Music and Lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard)
"Learn To Be Lonely" from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber/ Lyrics by Charles Hart)
"Look To Your Path"[Vois Sur Ton Chemin] from THE CHORUS [LES CHORISTES] (Music by Bruno Coulais/ Lyrics by Christophe Barratier)
Broadcast Film Critics and Golden Globe
Awards
10th Annual Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
[Announced 10 January 2005]
For a list of all nominees, go to:
www.bfca.org/criticschoiceawards.asp
These are the music nominations:
Original composer -
Michael Giacchino - THE INCREDIBLES
Rolfe Kent - SIDEWAYS
Howard Shore - THE AVIATOR (Winner)
Original soundtrack -
ALFIE
BEYOND THE SEA
DE-LOVELY
GARDEN STATE
RAY
Original song -
"Accidentally in Love" by The Counting Crows from SHREK 2
"Believe" by Josh Groban from POLAR EXPRESS
"Old Habits Die Hard"by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart from ALFIe (Winner)
62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards
For a list of all nominees, go to:
The Golden Globe Awards were announced 16 January 2005 on NBC TV
Here are the music nominees:
Original score -
The Aviator (Howard Shore) - Winner
Finding Neverland (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)
Sideways (Rolfe Kent)
Spanglish (Hans Zimmer)
Original song -
"Accidentally in Love" from SHREK 2 - Music & Lyrics by David Bryson, Adam Duritz, David Immergluck, Matthew Malley, Dan Vickrey
"Believe" from THE POLAR EXPRESS - Music & Lyrics by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri
"Learn to be Lonely" from THE PHANTON OF THE OPERA - Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber/ Lyrics by Charles Hart
"Million Voices" from HOTEL RWANDA - Music & Lyrics by Jerry Duplessis, Andrea Guerra, Wyclef Jean/ Lyrics by Jean
"Old Habits Die Hard" from ALFIE - Music & Lyrics by Mick Jagger and David A. Stewart (Winner)
Film Music News for
2004
For memorial tributes to three master film composers (Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, David Raksin), who died within one month of each other during the summer of 2004, go to:
National
Carry A Tune Week
As a result of the terrorist attacks that took place in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on 9/11/01, it was decided to begin a week of "musical healing" with the designation of National Carry A Tune Week.
The Fourth Annual Carry A Tune Week took place from 3 - 9 October 2004.
To read the results of the Top 40 tunes sent in by web readers, including many film scores and songs, go to:
Jerry Goldsmith, Hopalong Cassidy, Ken Darby, and Victor
Young
It was a very sad day for the film music world when Jerry Goldsmith died on 22 July 2004 at the age of 75.
For a memorial tribute to him, go to:
Here's some little known information involving this composer, and several others...
One of Jerry Goldsmith's best later scores was for L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. Do you know which vintage cowboy star is shown during the end credits of that 1997 film? No, it's not Gene Autry or Roy Rogers.
The cowboy star is William Boyd (1895-1972) who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy.
In L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, Boyd appears in a brief movie clip after Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful final cue "Goodbye"and near the end of the 1940s song "Accentuate the Positive, sung by Johnny Mercer. But you need to watch carefully because it's a very brief clip showing Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy riding his beautiful white horse Topper with that friendly smile and playfully pointing his gun at the camera during a parade in the 1950s. Why was this clip thrown in during the end credits? Probably to show this cowboy star who represented wholesome good values. He is followed by several of the corrupt members of the L.A.P.D. who appeared in the film. This is a marvelous quick clip bringing together the real '50s of Hopalong Cassidy with the movie characters in the film. It's a visual symbol of good cowboy vs. bad cops.
Hoppy (as he was known to millions of young fans) was the King of Merchandisers in the early 1950s. Long before STAR WARS, HARRY POTTER and LORD OF THE RINGS, Hopalong Cassidy's image was on everything from kids lunch boxes to milk cartons to record jackets.
William Boyd portrayed Hopalong Cassidy in 66 western films between 1935 and 1948. He was also the first cowboy star on TV in the early 1950s.
There were lots of memorable songs in Hoppy westerns--a few sung by The King's Men in such films as: THE RENEGADE TRAIL and STAGECOACH WAR.
The King's Men (Ken Darby, Jon Dobson, Bud Linn, Rad Robinson) also sang on several radio shows (including "Fibber McGee and Molly") and were featured in several movies as backup singers, such as THE WIZARD OF OZ ("The Lollipop Guild" singers) and MAKE MINE MUSIC, with arrangements by the group's bass, Ken Darby, who also made recordings with his own singers for Bing Crosby (including on the multi-million selling holiday album, "White Christmas").
Darby is best known to film music lovers for his association with Alfred Newman at 20th Century Fox on such great epics as HOW THE WEST WAS WON and THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
Some of the Hopalong Cassidy westerns at Paramount had very good scores by Victor Young , one of the giants of the Golden Age of film composers. It was Young who picked The King's Men to sing in the Hopalong Cassidy westerns. They were the first singing group in these westerns.
For more information about William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, go to:
Hopalong Cassidy - Music and More
American Film Institute's Tribute to Movie
Songs
The American Film Institute has now sung the praises of songs in the movies.
In November 2003, the AFI unveiled its list of 400 movie songs which were voted on by members of the Hollywood film community to narrow it down.
The final list is titled: "100 Years...100 Songs." It's the seventh annual list compiled by the American Film Institute. They began in 1998 with "100 Years...100 Movies."
According to a Reuters news story, "AFI chose music because, since movies first featured sound, song has been an integral part of storytelling. Even the movie credited with being the first talking picture, 1927's 'The Jazz Singer,' was about a guy who dreams of making music."
Bob Gazzale, who is director of AFI Productions, said "we chose songs that filmmakers used to help tell their stories."
The AFI "100 Years...100 Songs" program was telecast on 22 June 2004.
In case you missed the program, here is the Top Ten Movie Songs:
1. "Over the Rainbow" - THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
2. "As Time Goes By" - CASABLANCA (1942)
3. "Singin' in the Rain" - SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) [also HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929]
4. "Moon River" - BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961)
5. "White Christmas" - HOLIDAY INN (1942)[also WHITE CHRISTMAS, 1954]
6. "Mrs. Robinson" - THE GRADUATE (1967)
7. "When You Wish Upon A Star" - PINOCCHIO (1940)
8. "The Way We Were" - THE WAY WE WERE (1973)
9. "STAYIN' ALIVE" - SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
10. "The Sound of Music" - THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
For the complete list and the criteria for choosing them, go to:
There are some odd choices on the Top 100. For example, is "Suicide is Painless" from M.A.S.H. really that good of a song to be listed at No. 66?
Which of these movie songs are your favorites?
Are there any other movie songs you would choose?
Send your picks to:
Centennial
Tributes
Although only one of these three men was a film composer (the only two being popular Big Band leaders), they are grouped together here since they all made music for the movies and share the same centennial birth year...
Richard Addinsell -
born: London, England, 13 January 1904
died: 15 November 1977
He is best known for his "Warsaw Concerto" from the 1941 film, DANGEROUS MOONLIGHT (aka: SUICIDE SQUADRON). But he wrote many other fine scores, including SCROOGE (aka: A CHRISTMAS CAROL) and BLITHE SPIRIT. Here are a few CDs worth checking out:
The Film Music of Richard Addinsell (Chandos)
Warsaw Concerto and other Piano Concertos from the Movies (Naxos)
Jimmy Dorsey -
born: Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, 29 February 1904
died: New York, NY, 12 June 1957
This well known Big Band musician and band leader was at one time teamed up with his brother Tommy. Jimmy Dorsey was featured in several 1940s musicals.
One of his biggest hit recordings was "Tangerine"(Victor Schertzinger-Johnny Mercer) from THE FLEET'S IN (1942). Even though the song was one of the year's biggest hits, it wasn't Oscar nominated. He was also in the lackluster film: THE FABULOUS DORSEYS (1947), which is only worth watching for good music by Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey and other musicians.
An excellent compilation CD, produced by George Feltenstein and Bradley Flanagan, is:
Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey: Swingin' in Hollywood.
Glenn Miller -
born: Clarinda, Iowa, 1 March 1904
died: over the English Channel, 15 December 1944
Trombonist Glenn Miller is the most popular of the Big Band musicians and orchestra leaders. He composed his famous theme, "Moonlight Serenade." He and his orchestra (which included Ray Anthony and Billy May) were featured in only two films for 20th Century-Fox, both available on 1 CD soundtrack:
SUN VALLEY SERENADE (1941) & ORCHESTRA WIVES (1942)
SUN VALLEY includes the Oscar nominated song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (Harry Warren-Mack Gordon), and ORCHESTRA WIVES has another Oscar nominated song, "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" (Warren-Gordon).
James Stewart played Miller in THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1954) -- for which Henry Mancini received his first Oscar nomination for "scoring a musical picture."
Academy Awards for Film
Music
76th Annual Academy Awards for 2003 film music
These are the music nominations and winners:
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) -
BIG FISH (Danny Elfman - 3rd nomination)
COLD MOUNTAIN (Gabriel Yared - 3rd nomination/ 1 Oscar)
FINDING NEMO (Thomas Newman - 6th nomination)
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (James Horner - 9th nomination/ 1 Oscar)
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING (Howard Shore - 3rd nomination/1 Oscar) - Oscar for Best Original Score
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) -
"Belleville Rendevous" from THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (music by Benoit Charest/ lyrics by Sylvain Chomet)
"Into the West" from THE LORD OF THE RINGS (music by Howard Shore, lyrics by Fran Walsh & Annie Lennox) - Oscar for Best Song
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A MIGHTY WIND (music & lyrics by Michael McKean & Annette O'Toole)
"The Scarlet Tide" from COLD MOUNTAIN (music & lyrics by Elvis Costello & Henry "T Bone" Burnett)
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" from COLD MOUNTAIN (music & lyrics by Sting - 3rd nomination)
Film
Music Lectures
In celebration of the 70th anniversary of Academy Awards for film song and score in 1934, two lectures were given in February 2004 featuring selected movie scores and songs over the years and a few video clips illustrating how music has been used in musicals and dramatic films.
Lecture Title: "Hooray for Hollywood - Memorable Movie Music"
Presented by: Roger Hall, FMR Editor and Author of A Guide to Film Music
To inquire about scheduling a film music lecture or workshop by Hall for your group, museum, college or other institution, write to:
Film Music News for
2003
Top
Ten Lists of Film Soundtracks
Here are Top Ten lists from two magazines for you to look over over. Notice how few are from before 1960. Both look like popularity contests among younger filmgoers and are definitely not representative of all the decades of film music. Anyway, here they are:
CLASSIC FM (UK magazine list of "greatest film soundtracks ever") -
1. LORD OF THE RINGS - Howard Shore
2. GLADIATOR - Hans Zimmer
3. STAR WARS - John Williams
4. SCHINDLER'S LIST - John Williams
5. OUT OF AFRICA - John Barry
6. THE MISSION - Ennio Morricone
7. TITANIC - Janes Horner
8. DANCES WITH WOLVES - John Barry
9. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - Maurice Jarre
10. JURASSIC PARK - John Williams
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (US magazine list of "100 most important soundtracks")
1. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) - The Beatles
2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) - Rodgers and Hammerstein
3. SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977) - The Bee Gees
4. WEST SIDE STORY (1961) - Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim
5. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) - Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
6. SUPERFLY (1972) - Curtis Mayfield
7. THE GRADUATE (1967) - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
8. THE GODFATHER (1972) - Nino Rota
9. PURPLE RAIN (1984) - Prince
10. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) - Various classical composers
Film Composer Reviews (Not Soundtracks)
![[Image]](pict327.jpg){kind=small} CD Release
of Special
Merit |
A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS (Ballet music by Charles Fox)
13 Tracks (38:30)
Music composed by Charles Fox. Indian Singing and drumming by the Tootootis Family, courtesy of Canyon Records. The National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jean-Louis Le Roux. Album produced by Charles Fox. Recorded at CBS Studios, London. Recording and remix engineer, Mike Ross. CD Art direction by Mark Banning.
CFCD 02.
Rating: ****
[Editorial note: This apparently is a promo CD since no information was provided where to order it]
Charles Fox could easily have been typed as the composer of banal, yet surprisingly memorable TV themes from the 1970s. In fact he probably could retire on the royalties alone from his themes for the ever popular "The Love Boat" and "Laverne and Shirley." Not to mention so many films that anyone growing up in the decade would have seen. And yet, his music is woefully represented on CD. Like Lee Holdridge and some more familiar film composers, Fox also has written music for more traditional classical settings. It no doubt gives him a chance to express his more unique artistic side than the bread and butter work in Hollywood.
The 1970s were also an interesting time for American classical music. The death knell of traditional dodecaphonic technique was heard only in the concert hall while it reigned supreme in academia, and still does for the most part. Some of the first attempts at what would become known as "minimalism" entered their experimental stages in the young Philip Glass and Steve Reich. The rediscovery of America’s great Romantic symphonists went mostly unheeded though the Americana sound perfected by Aaron Copland was held up as the last great musical expression of our time. Film music expressed the same gamut if one looks at the most active composers of the day, or even at the output of any one working through the decade that went gradually towards more tonal music by the end of the 70s. Modern dance began to expand its base somewhat throughout the decade as interest in the neo-classical composers and primarily Stravinsky’s "Rite of Spring" began to be canonized. Newer music for ballet was mostly pastiched from other classical music with the occasional new ballet being commissioned and quickly disappearing from the repertoire. Not so Charles Fox’s A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS.
A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS was commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet Company, who premiered the work May 1, 1979 to critical acclaim. (They recently commissioned and recorded Goldenthal’s OTHELLO.) Choreographer Michael Smuin created what would become one of his most controversial, yet popular and endearing, works. The ballet follows the life from birth to death of an Indian male. Along the way it addresses and skewers the oppression of the American Indian while also managing to celebrate Indian life.
Featuring pre-recorded Indian chanting from the outset, the ballet opens with dissonant and powerful orchestral writing that swells throughout the first track’s eight-minute length. Fox tends toward more through-composed structures that build outward from their sources instead of any immediate musical forms. There are patches of American styled music with intriguing atonal rhythmic patterns. The orchestral writing is nothing short of intense with a multitude of ideas and colors that never sink to parody or relying on clichéd Indian-sounds being recreated by the orchestra. In an age that has tended toward ethnic vocalizations, it is especially instructive to hear how such things can be employed to a greater intensity of feeling. These moments are dispersed throughout the score. The need for some emotional release is great throughout the often tense first half of the music recorded here as each new harmonic progression seems to build out of the previous one in a kind of unique cluster writing style. There are moments of fifties-movie music jazz in the "Pool Hall" scene that is a mad cousin to the music of Alex North for his Southern drama scores. This is really as close as we get to the sound world of film. To his credit, Fox avoids relying heavily on ostinato patterns that retreat into a more Stravinskian sound. Phrases and discernible, angular thematic ideas recur enough to help balance the score and keep the listener cued into the drama on stage. "Richard Dreams of Anna’s Return" is perhaps the standout climax of the ballet coming just before the awakening of Richard from his dream leading to the conclusion of the work.
The National Philharmonic performs at a skill level that is unequaled for literature of this type. The recording is richly detailed as well. In fact, it is one of the better sounding orchestral CDs I have heard in some time. While not for the casual film buff, A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS definitely belongs in the library of anyone serious about 20th Century Ballet and it boggles the mind why such an important piece of literature has gone unrecorded for so long! The only real carp is that the disc length is pretty short in today’s market and it would have been great to have included some if not all of Fox’s more recent collaboration with Smuin, ZORRO, which premiered this month in San Francisco.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 28 May 2003
| CD Release of
Special Merit |
ZORRO!
11 Tracks = 53:32
Music composed by Charles Fox. The Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Charles Fox. Album produced by Charles Fox. Recorded at Smecky Studios, Prague. Recording and remix engineer, Jan Holzner. Digital editing and mastering by James Nelson at Digital Outland. CD Art direction by Mark Banning.
CFCD 01.
Rating: ****1/2
In May, I had a chance to hear Charles Fox’s earlier ballet A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS. That review is available elsewhere and I would refer you to some of that background material. There I lamented the brevity of the CD and wondered why ZORRO! could not be included. Well, now we have a good reason as ZORRO! turns out to be a significantly more substantial work.
Unlike the earlier ballet, ZORRO is far more accessible musically. There are the requisite Mexican-flavored sections that kick off the ballet enthusiastically and serve as important signpost motifs. Musically there is not a lot of new ground traveled here, but that should not be a problem because the ballet is imminently engaging. The music itself is a substantial blend of fine swashbuckling film music with a richer tonal palette coupled with intriguingly placed dissonances. Unlike the earlier SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS, this ballet has Fox writing in a mode that had me thinking WEST SIDE STORY. Perhaps it was the fun rhythmic ideas and jazz harmonies of sequences in "Three Zorros Appear to Emilio" and elsewhere. There is less reliance on Stravinskian ostinato patterns and a more Romantic blend to this work than in the other ballet as well. Though composed in the last year, the music lies comfortably alongside some of the great American Neo-Romantic orchestral pieces from the 1940s and 1950s. If you love the music of Deems Taylor, David Diamond, Roy Harris, or Leonard Bernstein you will truly enjoy ZORRO as much as I did.
Another element that surfaces here is the sense of play inherent in the storyline. "Emilio and Rosa" reminded me a great deal of comedy scoring from the seventies filtered through Leonard Bernstein. The dance forms that Fox uses are integrated well into his musical fabric and make for delightful forays of which "Movie Goers Dance" is a real tour de force. This is not intended as faint praise by any means. After hearing only a small portion of this CD I could heartily recommend it to almost anyone. It is a great opportunity that Fox has to get a brand new work recorded so quickly after its initial premiere.
Upon careful reflection on both this and the earlier ballet one can perhaps draw some interesting conclusions about the state of music in both periods of time. Both ballets are perfect representations of what "new" music is or was supposed to sound like. SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS is a powerful work that makes use of tape techniques and ethnic music in a far more dissonant sound that was common to works written in the 1970s. The need to attract audiences with more tonal music after the rise of minimalism in the 1980s and a return to acceptability of romantic, tonal music in the 1990s allows ZORRO to also be a piece of its time. Both works pull from the elements at hand and are shaped by a masterful composer whose compositional skills are to be lauded and marveled at all at the same time. With ZORRO Fox proves that he is another of our overlooked composers of film and television with the skills to transcend that medium and write excellent art music as well.
ZORRO was commissioned by the Smuin Ballet Company, who premiered the work in May of this year. The recording by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra is exemplary and puts some of our own American orchestras to shame in their ability to hit all the cross-rhythms and maintain a crispness in articulation that is too often missing in regional playing. When new music is recorded this well it makes you hunger for more of it and the tantalizing list of "other" works by Fox in the brief program notes makes you hope for more hearing of his other music. This CD is really designed as a collector’s item for those attending the ballet, but it is worth seeking out even if you missed out on the performance in San Francisco.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 5 July 2003
Academy Awards for Music
75th Annual Academy Awards (for 2002 film music)
These were the music nominations and winners:
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) -
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (John Williams - 42nd nomination/ 5 Oscars)
FAR FROM HEAVEN (Elmer Bernstein - 14th nomination/ 1 Oscar)
FRIDA (Eliot Goldenthal - 4th nomination) - Oscar
THE HOURS (Philip Glass - 2nd nomination)
ROAD TO PERDITION (Thomas Newman - 5th nomination)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) -
"Burn It Blue" from FRIDA (music by Eliot Goldenthal; lyrics by Julie Taymor)
"Father and Daughter" from THE WILD THORNBURYS MOVIE (music & lyrics by Paul Simon)
"The Hands That Built America" from GANGS OF NEW YORK (music & lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen)
"I Move On" from CHICAGO (music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred Ebb)
"Lose Yourself" from 8 MILE (music by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Luis Resto; lyrics by Eminem) - Oscar
Here's a question to read about...
Did Oscar Voters Pick The Best Film Music?
Broadcast Film Critics Association
Awards & Nominations
Every year the awards season begins in January. The first telecast awards show is this one...
9th Annual Broadcast Film Critics'Choice Awards (telecast on the E Channel, 10 January 2004)
Best Song:
Winner: "A Mighty Wind" - Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Eugene Levy from A MIGHTY WIND.
Nominee: "Man of the Hour" - Eddie Vedder, performed by Pearl Jam from BIG FISH.
Nominee: "School of Rock"- Sammy James, Jr., Mike White, performed by Jack Black from THE SCHOOL OF ROCK
Nominee: "The Heart of Every Girl" - Elton John and Bernie Taupin, performed by Elton John from MONA LISA SMILE
Nominee: "Time Enough for Tears" - Bono, Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer, performed by Andrea Corr from IN AMERICA
Best Composer:
Nominee: Clint Eastwood - MYSTIC RIVER
Nominee: Danny Elfman - BIG FISH
Winner: Howard Shore - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Nominee: Gabriel Yared - COLD MOUNTAIN
Nominee: Hans Zimmer - THE LAST SAMURAI
8th Broadcast Film Critics' Choice Awards (telecast on the E Channel, 18 January 2003)
Nominee: Philip Glass for THE HOURS
Nominee: Howard Shore for THE LORD OF THE RING: THE TWO TOWERS
Winner: John Williams for three films: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, and MINORITY REPORT
Golden Globe Awards & Nominations
61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (telecast in January 2004)
Original Score for 2003:
Nominee: BIG FISH - Danny Elfman
Nominee: COLD MOUNTAIN - Gabriel Yared
Nominee: GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING - Alexandre Desplat
Nominee: THE LAST SAMURAI - Hans Zimmer
Winner: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING - Howard Shore
Original Song for 2003:
Nominee: "The Heart Of Every Girl" from MONA LISA SMILE - Music by Elton John/ Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Winner: "Into the West" from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING - Music and Lyrics by Howard Shore, Fran Walsh, and Annie Lennox
Nominee: "Man Of the Hour" From BIG FISH - Music and Lyric by Eddie Vedder
Nominee: "Time Enough For Tears" from IN AMERICA - Music and Lyric by Bono, Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer
Nominee: "You Will Be My Ain True Love"from COLD MOUNTAIN - Music and Lyrics by Sting
60th Annual Golden Globe Awards (telecast on NBC TV, 19 January 2003)
Best Score of 2002
Nominee: Elmer Bernstein for FAR FROM HEAVEN
Nominee: Terence Blanchard for 25TH HOUR
Nominee: Peter Gabriel for RABBIT-PROOF FENCE
Nominee: Philip Glass for THE HOURS
Winner: Elliot Goldenthal for FRIDA
Sammy Awards
The Sammy Awards are chosen only for film music (scores, songs and Lifetime Achievement for a past composer/songwriter)
To read the choices for every year since 1989, go to
Film Music News for
2002
Soundtrack Magazine Ends Its
Long Run
After 27 years, making it the longest running film music magazine anywhere, the final issue has been published as Vol 21/ No. 84 (Winter 2002).
Here are the contents of that final issue :
"Editorial" by Luc Van de Ven
"Soundtrack's 25+ Years" br Randall D. Larson
"Christopher Young's Journey to the Center of THE CORE" - Interview by Randall D. Larson
"William Ross: Rising to the occasion - adapting John Williams for HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS" - Interview by Ford A. Thaxton/ Transcribed and edited by Randall D. Larson
Record reviews by various critics
"Deadline" and "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish..." by Ford A. Thaxton
"Dimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade" by Roger Hall
"The Tricky Twisted World of RED DRAGON with Danny Elfman" - Interview by Chris Cutter/ Written, Transcribed and Photographed by Rudy Koppl
"Climbing Into Darkness: Scoring THE TWO TOWER with Howard Shore and Director Peter Jackson in London" - Article and Session Photography by Rudy Koppl [includes color insert pages]
"Temp Track - The Last Track" by David Hirsch
"Scoring Session: Christopher Lennertz on SAINT SINNER" - Interview by Randall D. Larson
"The Golden Age: Elmer Bernstein" - Interview and Article by Dirk Wickenden
New Releases from America, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany
Roger Hall's Comments:
As a reviewer and feature writer for Soundtrack, I'm pleased to have been associated with such a high quality magazine.
I thank Luc and Randall for all their hard work and dedication in keeping Soundtrack going as a source of worthwhile information about film composers and scores.
For a list of reviews and feature articles on Elmer Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Bernard Herrmann and Dimitri Tiomkin, go to:
For the latest news and announcements for Prometheus Records, see this website -
Classic Film Music Series on Marco
Polo
So far there have been about 20 worthwhile releases in the Classic Film Music Series on Marco Polo CDs.
Covering a considerable sampling of Golden Age film composers, there have been discs devoted to music by Paul Dessau, Hugo Friedhofer, Bernard Herrmann, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Philip Sainton, Hans J.Salter, Frank Skinner, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Roy Webb, and Victor Young.
The wonderful CD of five scores by Adolph Deutsch (1897-1980) has received the Best of the Month designation for September 2002.
For a review of this CD, go to:
CD Reviews (Compilations - 2002)
Review: John Williams Scores Again with the Boston Pops!
Once again John Williams has returned to Boston to conduct a series of concerts with the Boston Pops Orchestra. I wasn't able to attend but did listen in on radio on Saturday evening, 1 June 2002. Unfortunately I didn't get to hear it all. I'll report on the music I heard.
This was an enjoyable concert of Williams film music, including both the very familiar themes such as "The Flying Theme from E.T. and the lesser performed ones, like the magical "Flight to Neverland" from HOOK. Soloists for the concert were guitarist, Christopher Parkening; Belgian diva, Lara Fabian and L.A. singing sensation, Josh Groban. Fabian sang the movie song made famous by Barbra Streisand, "Evergreen" and Groban sang "Gira con me" and Don McLean's haunting introspective song, "Vincent," beautifully accompanied by guitarist Parkening. Groban has a sincerity in his vocal delivery that is very appealing. Then it was time for the two singers to join together. This is how Richard Dyer described it in his Boston Globe review:
"[Lara Fabian] joined Groban for a soaring duet Williams composed for A.I. but which was not used on the soundtrack, although it appears on the album. Their voices work better together than their personalities - he's honest, she's slick."
Williams was quite impressed with their performance of his song, "For Always" (lyrics by Cynthia Weil), based on the love theme from A.I. (this year's Sammy Award winner). He said "this is the first public performance of this song with the original singers." What a beautiful song this is ! The music is dazzling in its simple beauty and honest emotion. At the end Williams exclaimed in amazement - "what a fantastic treat!" And that is was, not just for the singing, but also for another unforgettable Williams signature song. He is still not given enough credit for his great songwriting ability.
A sizable portion of the concert was devoted to a suite from HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. It was quite a generous sampling of the score and sounded marvelous as played by the highly accomplished Boston Pops musicians.
For the closer it wasn't the Main Title from STAR WARS this time but instead "The Flying Theme" from E.T. This was an obvious crowd-pleaser. Perhaps it was included because of the 20th anniversary of the film and the newly expanded soundtrack. But that wasn't the end of the concert. It has been a tradition to end most Boston Pops concerts with the familiar encore - John Philip Sousa's rousing march: "The Stars and Stripes Forever."
For those who missed it, there is good news. This concert was videotaped and is scheduled to be shown on PBS on July 28, 2002. Watch for it. I believe it 'll be well worth viewing.
--Roger Hall
Note: For the latest news about John Williams, go to Ricard Befan's very informative website:
The Sammys
The 14th Annual Sammy Awards were announced on March 10, 2002 - two weeks before the Academy Awards telecast.
These awards were announced in six categories:
Best Original Score; Best Original or Arranged Song; Best Song Compilation; Golden Earplug for Worst Film Score; Golden Earmuff for Worst Film Song; and Lifetime Achievement Award for a past film composer.
To see the entire list from 1988 to 2001, go to:
Harold Russell and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR
LIVES
I was saddened to learn of Harold Russell's death, even though he had a long, full life. He died in Needham, Massachusetts on January 29, 2002, at the age of 88. As an infrequent actor, he was best known for his role as Homer Parrish in one of the best films of the 20th century: THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). He is the only actor to be awarded TWO Oscars for the same film role. And he deserved them both: one for Best Supporting Actor, the other a special award for "bringing aid and confort to disabled veterans." He had lost his hands from a explosives injury and was an inspiration to all those veterans who had lost their hands, arms or legs from war injuries.
The score for THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES by Hugo Friedhofer is in the Top 10 of my Top 100 Film Scores of the Century.
This 1946 film has always had a special place in my heart, for it holds this superb film together like emotional glue. The score is 100 % pure homespun Americana and its inspiring story of returning veterans still rings true after over 50 years.
To read a review of this milestone score, go to: CD Reviews (July - December 2001).
John
Williams and STAR WARS Revisited
From The Boston Globe, Tuesday, January 11, 2002, Living/Arts section - "Names & Faces" by Jim Sullivan -portion of column about new Star Wars film score:
John Williams was in Boston over the weekend, hunkered down over a piano at the Four Seasons Hotel. His mission: to complete the score for George Lucas's "Star Wars: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones."
"I'm just revising one scene," said Williams, who is 69. "I'm working with my music editor, Ken Wannberg - we've been together for 35 years - and he's here in the hotel, got all the film on tape, we cue it up and go to work."
What is the challenge of scoring a "Star Wars" movie? "One picture ago, 'Phanton Menace' was a reintroduction, or a revisiting, of 'Star Wars' after 22 years," Williams said. "I thought, This will be a tough transition, but it was something like bicycle riding. Some of that score, and this one too, is musically incestuous, referring to the themes of before, and that helps us get back...into Lucas's imagination.'
'These scores have about two hours of music,' Williams continued. 'Not in quality, but in quantity, equal to an opera. At the end of six films, we've got 12 hours of 'Star Wars,' certainly in the history of cinema something unique. The whole canon is so voluminous, which is part of the fun, actually - taking an earlier theme and morphing it into the new one."
"The thing about film composing," Williams said, "is it's to suit the texture and timbre of the movie.
"I have done some scores that are very delicate and transparent - 'Angela's Ashes,' 'The Accidental Tourist,' fragile little pieces that linger in the mind perhaps less obstinately than the fanfare-ish things."
For more about John Williams, see Best and Worst of 2001
Film Music in Magazines
If you're a film music collector you probably already know about the major magazines dealing with the subject, such as: Film Score Monthly (US), Music From The Movies (England), and Soundtrack (Belgium).
There are also other magazines dealing mainly with cult films who have regular film music articles.
Here are some of them:
CLASSIC IMAGES (published monthly in newspaper format) - column: "Music in Films" by Harry H. Long
FILMFAX - The Magazine of Unusual Film and Television ( published bi-monthly) - column: "Hi-Tek Hi-Fi" with Jeff Berkwits and Harry H. Long
OUTRE: The World of UltraMedia (published quarterly) - "Sounds, Man, Sounds" with Jeff Berkwits and others
Pulse! (published monthly by Tower Records) - In the January 2002 issue were their picks for the Top Ten Soundtracks:
A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (John Williams)
ATLANTIS - THE LOST EMPIRE (James Newton Howard)
BAND OF BROTHERS (Michael Kamen)
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN (Elliot Goldenthal)
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (John Williams)
PLANET OF THE APES (Danny Elfman)
RUSH HOUR 2 (Lalo Shifrin)
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (Carter Burwell) - for a different opinion, see Stephen Kennedy's FMR review
YHE LAST CASTLE (Jerry Goldsmith)
THE SCORE (Howard Shore)
Included on the Best DVD list by S.C. Smith are these titles:
1. CITIZEN KANE/ 3. REAR WINDOW/ 6. THE CONVERSATION/ 7. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND/ 8. NOTORIOUS
Scarlet Street (published bi-monthly) - column: "The Record Rack" with Ross Care
Check out any or all of the above magazines for some interesting reading.
If you know of other English language magazines or articles dealing with film music, write to:
Sammy Awards
The 14th Annual Sammy Awards were in March of 2002, two weeks before the Oscar telecast.
To see all choices from 1988 to 2001, go to:
Film Music News for
2001
![[Image]](pict330.jpg){kind=small}
For the Fallen: In memory of those who lost their lives on
11 September 2001...
Here are just a few selections which might provide some comfort to those who are suffering after the terrible terroist plane crashes in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on 11 September:
"Stored Memories/Monica's Theme" and "For Always" from ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
"Hymn for the Fallen" from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (Williams) - very moving and heartfelt
"Requiem" from BAND OF BROTHERS (Kamen)
Plus two non-soundtrack selections by highly respected film composers:
"For the Fallen" (Bernard Herrmann) - poignant World War II piece
"Nocturnal New York" & "The Day the Earth Fell Silent" (John Barry) from the CD:
THE BEYONDNESS OF THINGS (London 289 460 009-2) - this is highly recommended listening
If you would like to offer other appropriate suggestions, send them to: Film Music Review
Film
Music Review Anniversary
Third anniversary of Film Music Review (8 July 2001):
Essay ("The Role of the Reviewer") plus Reviewers Favorites for the Best of the Year 2000 and 2001 (January-June)- soundtracks, compilations and film composers. Go to:
To read about the centennial anniversary of movie songwriter, Ralph Rainger, who co-wrote the 1938 Oscar winner, "Thanks For The Memory," go to:
American Songwriters and Songs
World Soundtrack Awards in Belgium
The World Soundtrack Academy has announced the winners in various categories for this year's inaugural World Soundtrack Awards. Nominees were selected by the Academy's 150+ membership that mainly consists of film composers from around the world. The winners of this year's World Soundtrack Awards were announced on 18 October 2001 during a ceremony preceding a double concert of music by Gabriel Yared and Elmer Bernstein that took place in Ghent, Belgium.
* = winners for each category
Here are the winners and nominees in selected categories:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Elmer Bernstein
Public Choice Award for Best Soundtrack of the Year (2000-2001)
*ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (John Williams)
WSA Soundtrack Composer of the Year (2000-2001)
Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, Yann Tiersen, John Williams*, Hans Zimmer
WSA Award for Best Soundtrack of the Year (2000-2001)
BEFORE NIGHT FALLS (Carter Burwell)
*LE FABULEUX DESTIN D'AMELIE POULAN (Yann Tiersen)
HANNIBAL (Hans Zimmer)
MOULIN ROUGE (Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vries)
WSA Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film (2000-2001)
"Where The Dream Takes You" from ATLANTIS (Diane Warren & James Newton Howard)
"Cuante cose chiare" from AZZURRO (Louis Crelier & Lucia Albertoni)
"Soy un angelito" from FELICIDADES (Daniel Tarrab & Andreas Goldstein)
"For Always" from ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (John Williams & Cynthia Weil)
*"Come What May" from MOULIN ROUGE (David Baerwald)
WSA Best Original Score Not Released on an Album (2000-2001)
ANTI-TRUST (Don Davis)
BLOW (Graeme Revell)
*BRIDGET JONES' DIARY (Patrick Doyle)
MOULIN ROUGE (Craig Armstrong)
PAULINE & PAULETTE (Frederic Devreese)
For more information, go to:
http://www.worldsoundtrackawards.com/
Magaizne Picks Top 10 Soundtracks
August 2001 issue of Classic FM magazine has a special on "Music At The Movies."
It includes Top 10 soundtracks selected by its staff (Nyman's THE PIANO is No. 1 and STAR WARS is No. 10!).
Along with magazine is a special CD (63:20) of music by Barry, Morricone, Williams and lots of classical themes from 14 films, including the ever present "Blue Danube Waltz" from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. The magazine and CD are published in the UK.
Boston newspaper critics offer opinions of A.I.
(ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)
The John Williams score for A.I.,
has gotten a lot of press coverage in the Boston Globe.
On Friday, 6 July 2001, music critic Richard Dyer reported that "Williams's touch on A.I. lingers." This is part of what Dyer wrote: "Much of the complex atmosphere of Steven Spielberg's film 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' is generated by the brooding, string-oriented score by Spilberg's regular collaborator, John Williams."
Dyer also reports that JW told him about the two vintage pop songs: "In the film, we used Dick Powell singing 'I Only Have Eyes For You' and Fred Astaire singing 'Cheek to Cheek.' We did quite a nice job of bringing the full modern orchestra into the scratchy old Dick Powell record, I think; it's pretty seamless. We hear those old songs in bits of only 20 seconds. Nevertheless, Robin Astaire called to tell me how thrilled she was." Dyer goes on to write that JW said: "We didn't think it would be a big audience film, but I guess we were wrong. There's such an interesting mix of Stanley and Steven in it, and such powerful themes - the Pinocchio myth and love conquering death and time."
Dyer gives this assesment of the A.I. score: "For those who have seen the film, the score lingers in the memory after only one hearing."
A different view was offered by Ed Siegel in the Boston Sunday Globe ( 8 July 2001): "Williams's 'A.I.' score sounds like North's unused '2001' score - derivative music to underline emotions. Williams, too, is tipping his hat to how Kubrick used music, there are even parts that sound like Kubrick's favorite contemporary composer, Gyorgi Ligeti, in their dramatic mixture of otherworldliness and atonality." Then when comparing the piano music in Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT to the Spielberg film, Siegel writes: "Williams's 'A.I.' music lacks both the eeriness and the weight."
It appears the Williams score is getting the same mixed reviews from newspaper critics as the Spielberg film.
News Flash! The A.I. score by John Williams has been chosen as Best of the Month for July 2001.
Go to: Latest CD Reviews - Soundtracks
Turner Classic Movies Young Composers Competition
Winners
Turner Classic Movies, in assocation
with Film Music magazine, has announced the three winners of the 2001 Young
Composers Competition:
1st: Peter Valentine, 33, Middleton, Massachusetts
2nd: Matt Koskenmaki, 24, Burbank, California
3rd: Christopher Drake, 28, Burbank, California
Congratulations to all of them! The first place winner will get to score a silent film from the TCM library.
For more information, go to:
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com
MM ( Blonde Goddess of the 1950s)
1 June 2001 was the 75th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's birth. Like Elvis and James Dean, MM was an icon of the 1950s. You can see her glowing image with the newly released "Diamond Collection" of her films remastered on DVD.
For a review of one of her early films, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953), go to:
Elmer Bernstein's Piano Piece "On Approaching
80"
In the June 2001 issue of ESQUIRE magazine
- once you get past that sexy cover photo! - there's a rare opportunity
to see a copy of original music by a film composer - seven bars of music
written and autographed by Elmer Bernstein.
The piano piece is titled: "ON APPROACHING 80 - with joy and precious memories."
Here's another bit of news about EB...
During the Month of May, to help celebrate his fifty years as a film composer, Elmer Bernstein spoke about his film music with Robert Osborne on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel. There were 31 films shown throughout the month with Elmer Bernstein scores.
In case you missed the event, there is a detailed description of the EB Film Festival at
The Sammys and The Oscars
The 13th Annual Sammy Awards for film music have been announced!
They were announced in March, 2001.
To see the choices from 1988 to 2000, go to:
Why did you think of the score and song awards and the Oscar telecast in March? To see the FMR Editor's comments on the subject, go to:
Film Music
Contests
To see their names and answers to the Oscar contest questions, along with the winners of contests from 2000, go to: Film Music Contests
All the winners received Free CDs postpaid. Where else can you get such a great deal?
Actually, you can get some great deals from shopping at Bookshelf Search and the Film Music Store (both below).
By doing so, you help keep this site operating and able to provide more music contests.
Film Music News for
2000
Best of the Century
Do you know which movie songs were in the Top Ten of the 365 Best Songs of the Century?
The list was compiled by the National Endowment for the Arts and Recording Industry of America.
The movie songs weren't just in the Top Ten, they were No. 1 and 2 on the list!
To see what these songs are, go to "Best Songs of the Century" at:
American Songwriters and Songs
Here are few more lists you might like to check out:
Top 10 Movie Song Favorites (Web Poll) and Top 20 Hollywood Musicals
Top 10 Film Scores of the Century
Anniversaries
For centennial anniversaries of Aaron Copland, 1949 Oscar winner and one of America's greatest composers; and Victor Young, one of the most prolific Golden Age film composers, go to:
This web e-zine celebrated its 2nd anniversary. Read all about it in the column -
"FILM MUSIC REVIEW: A Two Year Retrospective"
Editor's Choices
Top composer, soundtracks (new and vintage),
compilations, record labels, DVDs, plus the bottom of the shelf releases.
To find the choices, go to:
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