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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN ELLINGTON TREASURE, April 8, 2001
First, rent or buy the movie. "Anatomy of a Murder" is a classic courtroom mystery, arguably Otto Preminger's finest with a superb cast of stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Eve Arden, Ben Gazzara, George C. Scott and others--even Joseph N. Welch: the man who, in real (as opposed to reel) life, put Senator Joseph McCarthy in his place. The film is in gorgeous black and white and boasts one of the best scores ever written for a film. Why this very 'adult' movie should have practically disappeared is another mystery.After you see the movie and hear how the brash big band and intimate, mellow Ellington jazz illuminates the script, you can buy the CD and listen over and over. There are also stars playing the score: Ray Nance, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Shorty Baker, among others, are all beautifully featured. Movie fans as well as jazz fans will be very happy they bought this Ellington treasure. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pioneering and Perfect, October 13, 2002
While Elmer Bernstein is usually given credit for inventing the subgenre of the "crime jazz" soundtrack for Otto Preminger's 1955 film noir "The Man With the Golden Arm," Bernstein's score more or less stayed with the convention of wedding the music directly to the emotional import of the action onscreen. While he wrote some strong and visceral themes, and opened up a previously untapped genre (jazz) to the movies, Bernstein's score relies too heavily on one main theme, and lacks the cohesion of his later efforts. In 1958, Orson Welles hired composer Henry Mancini to write the score for his own noir thriller, "Touch of Evil," and Mancini's soundtrack really took the "crime jazz" soundtrack into previously uncharted territory, as Welles incorporated the soundtrack into the movie more as background music and raucous street noise than classic underscoring. But it was with Preminger's 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder" that the "crime jazz" soundtrack really came to its full fruition. Whereas Bernstein and Mancini were classically-trained movie composers writing in the jazz genre, Ellington was one of jazz's true elder statesman, who had a refined interest in the classics, and his soundtrack for "Anatomy" is the most consummate of all jazz soundtracks, looking forward to Quincy Jones' backbeat scores. What Ellington brings at long last to the fore is the element of improvisation, which really gives the soundtrack an unpredictable bounce that works wonderfully vis-a-vis Wendell Mayes' unpredictable screenplay. There are a number of listeners that regard Ellington as a fish out of water for this soundtrack, which they regard as a "nice attempt." I disagree, entirely: Ellington's dynamic orchestrations, economical use of themes and varied moods represent some of his best output, and although there is a hip, urbane sound to his big band/swing numbers, his sad songs are among the saddest sounds in all movies, even rivalling Bernard Herrmann's dark scoring. There is a bottomless pit of sorrow in his quiet blues numbers that ring true and resonate with the listener in the most bitter, sanguinary, way. Columbia's reissuing packaging remains faithful to the original cover/label art and there are plenty of alternate takes and concurrent issues on this disc as a bonus. Ellington's commentary at the end gives further insight into the soundtrack, the movie itself, and his musical ideas. His voice is as musical as his numbers, very refined, gentlemanly and impassioned.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Revelation, November 22, 2004
While I am no great fan of Duke Ellington's music, especially the stuff he created after 1950-52, this album is a jewel. It expanded the definition of what musical soundtracks might be, and it did so with such deep feeling, style and creativity, I can't imagine anyone grousing at this 75:00+ program of superb big- and small-ensemble jazz. It synthesizes blues, be-bop and abstract classical on a very profound level.
Other writers on this page have mentioned the musicians on the disk , but I want to mention the ways in which this composer and his ensemble created ambiance in a very tense, erotic and ambiguous motion picture. It's just what the doctor ordered.
Except for the Main Title, which sounds harshly strident to my ear, the remastering of this material wants for nothing. It is rich, deep and full, and plays well on a system with "flat," natural, output.
ANATOMY OF A MURDER marked the end of an era in which the real action of movie mysteries was implicit and ambiguous, in which the audience was called upon to actually THINK. What Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazarra and Lee Remick brought to this project will last a lot longer than I will. But what Ellington's music did to amplify their superb performances is exceptional.
For the price of a big-city martini, you get your perennial warm-up. Five stars for a job well done.
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