Customer Reviews

Music In Film (National Public Radio Milestones Of The Millennium)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These type of compilation albums are often a mixed bag. "60 Years Of Great Music!" "20 Of The Most Memorable Themes Of All Time!" You know the drill. Half the stuff is great. Half of the rest is o.k. As for the remainder, you wonder how it ended up on anyone's short list. But with this release, Sony delivers the goods. Sure, it would be easy to pick 20 great scores neglected by this release. But instead of focusing on what isn't on it, focus on what is. You might be able to come up with as good a sampling as this, but it's doubtful you could do better. Of course, for serious fans of film music, most, if not all, of the selections will already be in their collection. So what? Three quarters of the selections aren't from the original recordings anyway. All of the reinterpretations are at worst interesting. For "Classical Music Snobs" or Film Score neophytes, this is a great introduction into the classical music of the 20th Century and beyond, the Original Film Score. A truly enjoyable listen from start to finish, this is definately one to consider.

Great CD;the music is crystal clear with an excellent variety demonstrating the wide variety of musical talents in Hollywood. Liner notes are also most interesting, explaining some of the history behind the cuts and pointing out differences in the composers styles...as with John Barry. His style ranges from "the Lion in Winter" bold dramatic soundtrack to the exquisitley tender "Dances with Wolves" theme music. A CD to enjoy over and over

I've come to appreciate soundtracks more and more. This compilation progresses chronologically through 60 years of film music, starting with 1939's "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood", and ending with "Titanic". It encompasses a huge range of styles. Along with the usual suspects - music from "Ben-Hur", "The Magnificent 7", "Star Wars", et al, there are a few real sleepers, like John Barry's medieval-flavored theme to "The Lion in Winter", or Leonard Roseman's lyrical "East of Eden". Blessedly, most of the tracks are original recordings, conducted by the composers, among them Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. Only those of us burned by tinny, tacky, sacriligiously rearranged retreads on obscure labels can appreciate this.

There are a few notable omissions. The prolific Randy Newman isn't represented, though Uncle Alfred is. And NO Ennio Morricone? - incredible! Presumably, this has more to do with Sony's current copyrights and contracts than the relative merits of the composers. And it's fine to have John Williams included twice, but why two pieces from "Star Wars"? Why not the theme from "Jaws", for instance? Or "Sugarland Express", for a really unexpected treat? But these are minor quibbles. And for whatever it's lacking, there's no fluff substituted. This is real music from fine craftsmen, which sometimes attains art. A great intro to the form, and wonderful just to listen to. I bought it used - one of my best deals ever!

My major interest in this CD was in the selection entitled "Robin Hood And His Merry Men" (duration: 4 min, 28 sec), conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It turns out that this is a re-issue of the track from Sony Classical SK 62788, 1997. Surprisingly, this performance is poky, ponderous, and prodding. The conducting is, well, somnambulistic. Miking/mixing/processing yields a sonic brick deficient in instrumental nuances while sounding like way too many musicians were shoe horned into the recording studio. As for the rest of the tracks, it's hard to believe, but Silva America offers better compilations! Best to skip this one.

The stirring martial music from the movie "Captain from Castille" ("Conquest") is on this album and so far as I know it's the only CD you'll find it on. But other tracks are great also, including the "Parade of the Charioteers" from "Ben Hur," the theme from "The Magnificent Seven," and "The Imperial March" from Star Wars.

I have several discs of film music, and this one if by far the best. As one of the previous reviewers noted, there are many peices absent that could have been included here, but I don't see how anyone could be completely satisfied with any compilation that fit on just one disc.

The performances here are crisp and clear, and include a good selection of both old and new, ranging from traditional film favorites like the Star Wars theme, to less common selections like the screeching strings from Psycho (at least, I think they're less common, but I could be wrong). And I could listen to the Magnificent Seven theme over and over.

Anyway, this is a great disc for almost anyone. If you're looking for one thing in particular, find that film's soundtrack, but otherwise, this is a fantastic disc, and one of my favorites!

The one song I was interested in - East of Eden - was the shortest on the whole CD the rest of the music was okay, but nothing to get excited about.