The Bridge at Remagen/The Train (1969/1964)

 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• ASIN: B000TJR9XS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,638 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable score for an all but forgotten film, April 26, 2009

By 

Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Bridge at Remagen/The Train (1969/1964) (Audio CD)

Coupled on this impressive FSM CD with Maurice Jarre's score for the better-known The Train, Elmer Bernstein's The Bridge at Remagen has long been one of the most requested unreleased scores from the 60s but only recently became available when a mono recording was found in Bernstein's personal collection (the original music tracks were lost long ago). Although some of the incidental cues are in the same vein as the suspense scoring in The Great Escape and other quieter moments hark back to the more mournful passages of his small-town Americana scores, the terrific driving main title theme is pretty much unique in his work and easily one of his most memorable. Considering the source, the sound quality is also a lot better than you'd expect and the main theme is so infectious you'll soon forget it's in mono.

Maurice Jarre's The Train is a rather more cacophonic affair, fittingly brutal and mechanical for the most part but not exactly a great listen unless you're in the right mood - it's a highly effective score, but far from one of his most melodic.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original is Still the Best, February 14, 2009

By 

Kevin R. Austra (Delaware Valley, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bridge at Remagen/The Train (1969/1964) (Audio CD)

In short: The Elmer Bernstein soundtrack to THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN is great. I bought the CD primarily for the REMAGEN soundtrack. Until this CD became available I had to make due with a compilation CD of war movie soundtracks performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic. Close, but not close enough. The original is still the best.

The second half of the CD is devoted to the soundtrack from THE TRAIN. The soundtrack for THE TRAIN was composed by Maurice Jarre. The unfortunate thing is that for ten years almost every soundtrack Jarre composed and arranged was full of music cues similar to LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. THE TRAIN and NIGHT OF THE GENERALS are two examples of movies that should have been scored by someone else. When I listen to the REMAGEN soundtrack I usually skip the tracks from THE TRAIN.

I suppose similar music cue comments could be used for Elmer Bernstein scores in that there are also many occasions where his scores harken back to THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. In fact while listening to THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, a very military track that accompanies a scene where the German commander(Robert Vaughn) arrives at the bridge, is very similar to music accompanying scenes from STRIPES. So it goes.

A nice little booklet also comes with the CD.

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, June 21, 2008

By 

Lost In Kansas "James Corbett" (Arkansas City KS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bridge at Remagen/The Train (1969/1964) (Audio CD)

I just wrote a review of this movie and praised the music. At the time I wrote the review, I only knew of one or two places where the theme could be found. I looked the soundtrack up here and I found it! Hooray! I collected soundtracks way back when they were on LPs and I have hundreds of them today. But this was one, I could not find when it came out. Look this is a great sound track. The openning theme literally moves you when you hear it. Couple it with the openning of the movie with the tanks racing down the road to the bridge and it is unforgetable. i rank this up there with Bernstein's best. It is a very rare soundtrack and I am happy to see that it finally out for all to hear.