Customer Reviews

Lolita: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1962 Film)

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Though it seems tame by today's standards, director Stanley Kubrick's film of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial book "Lolita" was an extremely risque film when it was released in 1962; and its story about the unconventional relationship between a middle-aged professor (James Mason) and a pre-teen "nymphet" (Sue Lyon) helped break down the censorship barriers that still existed in Hollywood back then.

One way to give this unconventional (and in the end, tragic) love story a resonance was for Kubrick to go out and get Nelson Riddle, the famed arranger for Frank Sinatra's classic 1950s albums, to compose the music score (this after Hitchcock's favorite composer, Bernard Herrmann, turned the director down over being forced to use a love theme composed by Bob Harris, the brother of Kubrick's producing partner James B. Harris). Riddle had more than a little film score experience already (e.g., his score for the original OCEAN'S 11 in 1960), but working on so unconventional a film as LOLITA, and with an iconoclastic director like Kubrick, provided him with a significant challenge.

As can be gauged by the finished result, remastered here by Rhino, Riddle's work on LOLITA is among the finest of his entire career. Besides the Rachmaninoff-influenced love theme, Riddle's score incorporates pretty much every style of music he'd ever be associated with: Latin mambo (the quirky "Shelley Winters Cha-Cha"); big-band; teenybopper pop (the slightly chintzy but outrageously infectious "Lolita Ya-Ya", with the "ya-yas" provided by Sue Lyon herself); and even some nods to Herrmann's work with Hitchcock ("The Strange Call"). Kubrick had insisted to Riddle that there be no hint of depravity in the score, since the film itself was already pushing the envelope in so many ways, and Riddle delivered on the goods. It is a shame that this aspect of the film wasn't rewarded with an Oscar, or at least a nomination.

Up until his final years, when he worked with rock icon Linda Ronstadt on a trilogy of classic American pop songs, and after his work with Sinatra, LOLITA was arguably Riddle's finest work in any of the fields he immersed himself in. This is a score that is to be treasured, quirks and all.

Nelson Riddle's extraordinary score for Stanley Kubrick's 1962 masterpiece is a truly jewel in the film music world. As being an arranger for the music of Frank Sinatra,Nelson delivers beautiful and delightful pieces,filling the score with irony and sensuality. You can feel that when you hear "Lolita Ya Ya",one of the most wonderful themes for a character in film history. Nelson says everything with this track: ingenuity,beautiful,pleasure. All of that just to make us want our own Sue Lyon.

Kubrick's classic film also provided audiences with one of the catchiest tracks in film history, the famous Lolita Ya Ya, which will stay imbeded in your brain for weeks, if not months. The viewer first hears the catchy refrain when Humbert initially spies Lolita in the Haze's backyard, and it's repised when Humbert is in the bathtub, following Charlotte's wonderfully fortuitous death from being hit by a car. What luck!

This soundtrack also contains various spoken dialogue from the film, including the classic encounter between James Mason and the quirky Peter Sellers: "Are you Quilty?" Mason intones with that beautiful rich, mellifulous voice. Another interesting piece is the Latin-influence Cha Cha where Shelley Winters vainly tried to seduce the wary Hum. The songs are enhanced if you have recently seen the movie again and they stand alone quite nicely.

A lovely soundtrack, dominated by the classic Ya Ya. To the uninitated, a word from the wise: once you are hooked on this silly song, you will listen to it to the point of nauseum. So beware!

I was so suprised to see that there was a soundtrack to this film. When I first saw the film, I fell in love with the music immediately just as much as I did with the film which I'll also give 5 stars. The music is just enjoyable, including the track called The Strange Call when it should've been The Strange Car because it was the music of the car following Humbert. That one was one of my favorites. The track with a very scary and a kind of "What happened?!" ending was The Last Martini which was also my favorite. The theme by Bob Harris was what made me fall in love with the music hearing the British piano. And I love to listen to the first Ya Ya theme than the second one which is longer and has less violin solos.

Kubrick's film version of Nabokov's great novel was fun but didn't really capture the mood of the novel. That was no doubt intentional: an older, wiser-looking (but gosh-awfully beautiful) Lolita, and 3 great comedic actors around her. Obviously the movie intended to tread as lightly as possible on the controversial and tragic, and emphasize the humor of the novel. And this soundtrack reflects those goals.

Nelson Riddle's music is out front and brassy. You have cuts like "Lolita Ya Ya" (a twist), "Hula Hoop", "Shelly Winters Cha Cha", and "Quilty's Caper" (big band music from the school dance). The music turns sinister for Quilty (more sinister than Peter Sellers could ever make CQ), and sad for the Coalmont meeting, but mostly it's lighthearted and fun. The "Love Theme" by Bob Harris is a great piece of music. The CD follows the chronology of the movie.

Buy this CD along with the soundtrack from Adriane Lyne's "Lolita" and note the difference. Even if you had never seen the 2 films you'd immediately understand the contrast in approaches by the 2 directors. For Lolita-lovers it's a must-have!

This is a great soundtrack; Nelson Riddle at his best. A must addition to any serious collection of "lounge music."

Being a lover of Stanley Kubricks' movies, I saw "Lolita" for the first time about a year ago and absolutely loved it!
The soundtrack is a great compliment to the film. It took me quite sometime to get "Lolita Ya-Ya" out of my head after seeing the movie. The soundtrack also includes dialogue diectly from the movie which I thought was great. "Shelly Winters Cha-Cha" remains one of my favorite songs ever, and I always picture that scene whenever I hear the song play.
The inlay of the CD is great and has extensive notes and pictures from the film and notes regarding the soundtrack. They really did a great job remastering the soundtrack. If you loved "Lolita" as much as I did, I would definitely pick up a copy of this soundtrack.