The Misfits: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] [ENHANCED] [SOUNDTRACK]

Alex North

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1998)
• Original Release Date: February 1, 1961
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Soundtrack
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B00000BIJH
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #340,782 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Soundtracks > By Decade > 1960s

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Fifteen-time Academy Award nominee Alex North came up with a jazz-tinged score to John Huston's star-studded 1961 bizarro Western The Misfits (written by Arthur Miller and featuring his wife Marilyn Monroe in her final role). North's soundtrack sashays between pastoral orchestration and sprightly dance numbers that could find a place in a juke joint or jazz club alike. The slower tunes operate around lurching horn parts and sweeping string arrangements that evoke the lonely plains, while the up-tempo material spotlights boisterous saxophones, giddy banjo runs, and taut piano vamps. It's a suitably eclectic musical romp from a film about three Nevada cowboys (including Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift) who wrangle wild horses to sell to butchers. --Richard Martin

From the Label
Music Composed and Conducted by Alex NorthTHE MISFITS was the last screen outing for two of Hollywood's leading icons, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. Also starring Montgomery Clift, this evocative parable about three aging Nevada cowboys who capture wild horses and sell them to butchers features a jazzy, introspective score by 13-time Oscar® nominee Alex North (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, SPARTACUS). Only a small portion of this soundtrack has previously been released (17 minutes), and this CD reissue presents North's music as it deserves to be heard, in a greatly expanded version remastered from the best available audio source. First Time On CD!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some powerful music, August 16, 1999

By	Eric Brown (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Alex North was among the most innovative and unique talents that wrote for movies. Although I would not rank this among his best over all, the title music alone is worth the price. It is powerful and moving and conveys the very essence of the tragic arc of the film. Thankfully, the title motif is repeated a number of times throughout the score (except for the cut where he introduces it as a dance tune!) For those who remember and appreciate his scores for Cleopatra or Spartacus, this is not in that league; but it remains vintage North. (Now will someone please tell me why they haven't released Cleopatra on CD?)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Misfits, October 24, 2002

By	Sarah A. D'Annunzio (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews

Moody music that grabs your attention. What fitting music for "the last western", and the last movies Gable and Monroe would complete. The main theme is very haunting, and immediately hooks the listener in. A soundtrack as mysterious as the movie...very thrilling!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing and completely beautiful soundtrack!, June 5, 2000

By	A. Ricker - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you love the 1961 film "The Misfits", this soundtrack is for you. I bought the original 1961 lp at a record store years ago and was dissappoined since it only included about half of the music featured in the film. This CD inlcudes every bit of music from the movie and it is a truly moving score to add to your library. The titles include jazzy songs as well as dramatic sequences, all portraying different scenes from the movie and all tied together by the central theme of the film. If you loved the film, you will go "wow" over this disc. Also, the packaging is extremely beautiful and includes some interesting photos, stills, and original design reproductions.