Customer Reviews

A Fistful Of Film Music: The Ennio Morricone Anthology

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Anybody who liked the soundtrack to "For a Fistfull of Dollars","For a Few Dollars More","The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", or "Once Upon a Time in the West" will absolutely love this anthology ! It presents a cross-section of Ennio Morricone's work like I haven't found anywhere else. It doesn't matter wether he writes the score to a spaghetti western, an action movie or a drama, he always puts his own, unmistakeable stamp on the soundtrack. If you have worn out your vinyls and are looking for a CD to replace them, get this set ! I have to stop. I'm listening to it right now and I'm all out of breath from whistling along...

In this Spielberg crazy world, the composer who comes to most people's mind is John Williams. Williams, although excellent, does not quite add up to the scope and courage and complete artistry of the genius that is Ennio Morricone. His early riffs are wild, innovative, and completely original. While his newer work has the likes of Warren Beatty and Oliver Stone clamoring for his skill at capturing the right emotion for any and every scene. If you want to hear the best of the best, this anthology has no equal.

I agree that the 1st disc is better than the 2nd, but the 2nd disc does have music from the mission which is spectacular and I love the flute theme from bugsy. My first impressions of this collection were not good, like another reviewer here I expected to hear a lot more spaghetti western music. The original tracks from the man w/no name trilogy are priceless to me, I hate the Hugo Montenegro remakes and others like that. These original recordings are incredible. They alternate from beauty to power to vocals that make you cringe to instruments that aren't usually used as such. Morricone is first and foremost in my mind an experimenter, a trailblazer, an original, he takes risks and this collection is a reflection of that, particularly the 70's stuff from movies that one reviewer had "never heard of". Guess what this isn't about the movies, its about Morricone's career and what a career it has been. Can't recommend this enough and feel very fortunate to have purchased it ten years ago when it was still easily available. Sorry for disjointed review but this compilation pulls tracks from 30 years of films, there is no easy way to describe it, it is many different things, brilliant music that can expand the mind of someone who listens only to "popular" music for sure.

This WOULD have been the perfect Morricone collection if they had not neglected to include the title theme he composed for the film "the Sicilian Clan". Other then that, this has all the greats on it, and some pretty obscure ones that are just fantastic.

As much as i enjoy Morricones "spaghetti western" themes (which comprise most of disc 1), i would have to say that overall i prefer disc 2, because it really shows his versitility as a composer. Theres really upbeat, happy numbers like "Il Moi Nome E' Nessundo" and "Cavallina A Cavallo" with ridiculously infectious and poppy meledeys that you'll find you just cant seem to get out of your head - but at the same time you won't get sick of, theres quite a few tunes from more mob, ganster-type films, and theres even an electronic composition ("Robodog") from a 1978 Italian sci-fi flick called, "L'Ummanoid (The Humanoid)".

Great Great stuff. As other reviewers have said, this really is the BEST way to go if your interested in Morricones music but don't know where to start (although i don't think you'll need anything else after this)

Many mediocre movies have been redeemed by the masterful music of Ennio Morricone, and many great ones wouldn't be the same without it. This collection includes selections from Morricone's striking scores for the films that made him famous, and also includes harder to find and equally intiguing work from films that might be all but forgotten if not for his contributions. In the former category, there's the haunting "Ecstasy of Gold" and the title track from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," as well as selections from his masterpiece, "Once Upon a Time in the West." In the latter category, there's the exciting theme from "Navajo Joe" (a relatively obscure Italian western starring Burt Reynolds) and the title track from "The Big Gundown" with Lee Van Cleef.

Much of Morricone's music from films with a contemporary setting haven't made quite the impact of his earlier work for Sergio Leone, but their collaborative efforts are so much a part of most movie lover's memories that it's understandable some of his more recent work is undervalued in comparison. This collection gives you an opportunity to hear a well-rounded overview of the maestro's many styles.

If good music is what you want, this is it. Call it film music, call it rock, call it classical, but it is forever gripping and almost endlessly nuanced. Ennio Morricone is not simply the best film music composer, but I agree with one critic who said he is the best contemporary composer, regardless of "genre." The proof is especially in the pudding of these two disks--the tone goes from the wonderful snappy number `Ag Ogni Costa' to Joan Baez's guest vocal on the poppy-anthemic `Here's to you' to the heart-rending choir of the moving 'On Earth as it is in Heaven.' The glory of Morricone's music lies in the continual minglings of what others call genre and what he would certainly call simply music. This is some of the best.

I judged by the cover and lost. I was hoping for a fistful of Morricone's spagetti western music. Its there, but not much of it. You are quickly bumped into lesser known, less memorable, less mesmerizing pieces from movies I've never heard of. Once I had an old Victor album that was only tunes from the Sergio/Clint trilogy, rerecorded to appeal more as stand-alone music. I'll hit the flea market this weekend...

Ennio Morricone helped define a certain genre of film music, starting with spaghetti westerns and nostalgic Italian films and even breaking into American movies like The Untouchables. That sometimes tinkly, sometimes knarled and tough, but always whistle-along worthy sound is uniquely his. This album provides many top picks from his long career in film. And they all retain the sound and feel of their given eras, rather than being a "tribute" album where the modern perspective is projected onto the music. The chronological arrangements start with "A Fistful of Dollars" and "The Good the Bad and the Ugly," segue nicely into each other and end with a little poof of "Act of Faith." An acquired taste, perhaps, but so cool!

As a fan of Sergio Leone's so-called "Spaghetti Westerns", I have to admit I always found the film music "strangely complimementary" to films that are "strangely western" and I mean by this an outsider's look (Leone's) of the Old West. One must remember this is "film music", tracks that were used at certain points in the various films they represent. While I won't go into citing specific films and their appointed titles, suffice it to say that this is, to me an "ambiance" or "atmospheric" disc. Those who were 18 in the early 70's know what I'm talking about. This is just a great collection of songs composed by Ennio Morricone for use in films by Sergio Leone, and they represent the essence of the films. I'm not goanna go into a long discourse about the virtues of each song and the films they represent. The later stuff, "The Untouchables" and "Once Upon A Time In New York City" are best left to the individual to address. If you want a great 2 CD collection to pass a Sunday afternoon at home, or if you're out cruising, or actively listening to every instrument in every song, I think you'll find this to be off the beaten path as far as "soundtrack" discs go. If you are any fan at all of the Sergio Leone movies, this is an excellent companion to the DVD's. Buy It.

Ennio Morricone is a legendary Italian film composer. With unmatched versatility and incredible originality, he's been turning out wonderful movie soundtracks for 50 years in every genre and style imaginable. Getting past the contrived title, this is a decent place to start if you want to meet the man and his work. Italian Western tunes (with whistles, jawharps, and electric guitars) and cowboy ballades (sung by Maurizio Graf) are here as one would expect through disc 1, which moves on to some of his other 1960s and early 70s work and ends in 2 memorable tracks featuring legendary folk singer Joan Baez, both of which are excellent. Disc 2 focuses on 70s themes for Italian films and moves on to some of Morricone's most famous Hollywood work. While some of the tracks are rare and excellent ("Il Giardino Delle Delizie," for instance), the disc includes many rather comical themes that probably aren't the music Morricone is, and will be remembered for. Additionally, any fan of Morricone's 60s and 70s work will notice a substantial amount of material that is omitted here (including many memorable Western themes that deserve a place on this compilation). All in all, a fairly good introduction to the Maestro, with some questionable inclusions.