Battle Of Britain: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] [ENHANCED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [SOUNDTRACK]

Ron Goodwin,sir William Walton, Ron Goodwin, William Walton

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 24, 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Soundtrack
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B00000IXSK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181,597 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Soundtracks > By Decade > 1960s

Editorial Reviews

From the Label
The Film: At a cost of $13 million, Battle of Britain cost nearly as much as the original air battle in the skies over England in the summer of 1940. The vastly outnumbered RAF managed to soundly defeat Hitler's Luftwaffe, which was bombing the crap out of London as the demoralizing and destabilizing precursor to a planned invasion of the UK (code name Operation Sea Lion). The invasion of course never actually occurred, and to most Britons, the Battle of Britain is one of their finest moments of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

The film was a massive undertaking, and indeed was the biggest project tackled by producer Harry Saltzman outside of his partnership with Cubby Broccoli in the Bond franchise. Featuring a "Who's Who" of British actors including Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Christopher Plummer (OK, he's actually Canadian but no one seems to notice anyway), Robert Shaw and Edward Fox among others, the film is a favorite of war film aficionados and features some of the most spectacular aerial combat sequences ever filmed.

The Soundtrack: Originally, renowned British composer Sir William Walton was commissioned to score the film. The producers, however, rejected it (one story claims it wasn't used because there wasn't enough music for a soundtrack album!), and Ron Goodwin (composer of the music for Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Where Eagles Dare) wrote a new score that was used in the film.

Goodwin's score had a UK-only CD release in 1991. In order to grab all those collectors again, our rerelease will include Sir William Walton's unused, never-before-released score. I located the original stereo-reels in the UK, and the reissue producer of the 1991 soundtrack CD is compiling and editing the Walton music for us in the UK.

The Rykodisc rerelease will include approximately 25 minutes of unreleased music!

Product Description
Japanese pressing of 1968 soundtrack starring Michael Caine and composed by Malcolm Arnold, Ron Goodwin & William Walton. Packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Varese. 2004 --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stirring stuff!, January 15, 2001

By A Customer

It's true, the movie contains some of the most spectacular air combat sequences filmed, but it also has some of the worst--mostly due simply to poor editing decisions. A re-edited version of this fine film would go a long way, for sure!

The "Battle of Britain" soundtrack cd has a lot to recommend. The extra score by Sir William Walton is a welcome bonus! There are many tunes by Ron Goodwin that are standouts as well: beside the main theme there's "Ace High March" which seems to weave elements from the best of proud wwII german and allied marches into a truly stirring yet pleasingly catchy melodic line. Goodwin meant this piece as a tribute to the participants on both sides. I like these kind of soundtrack marches and I think this one ranks right up there with the march from "Force Ten From Navarone" and the one from "Patton" in terms of sheer toe-tapping infectiousness. It's that good! From time to time I still hear it played at football games.

But for me, the jewel in the crown is Sir Walton's "Battle in the Air" (used in the film). Not only is this piece superbly matched to the film, but it even stirs the imgination apart from it. It's written from the POV of the british fighter pilots who must intercept the escorted nazi bombers before they reach their targets. In the music you can hear them jockeying for position, trying to get close enough to the bombers without getting jumped from behind. You can hear the confusion of a dog-fight; the close calls and near misses, the insistent machine gun fire, the ceaseless maneuverings, the brief lulls in the tension puctuated by moments of sheer panic and the feeling of needing to have your head mounted on a swivel as enemy and friendly planes cartwheel through the sky in all directions. It's all here and it all vividly comes together in a tense and adrenaline-charged set-piece that climaxes in kettledrums as a german bomber plunges into the english channel! There are many other good works on this cd but this one is my favorite.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiery Film Score, September 14, 2000

By	Daniel G. Berk (West Bloomfield, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This is a "blinger" of a film score. It's powerful from start to finish, and easily conveys the emotion that gripped the participants in the Battle of Britain. This is a clear example of how a good score can significantly enhance a film's impact.

The music, however, is so tied to the film that it doesn't stand up on its own as well as other film scores do. But it's enough to make you want to see the film if you have not done so.

As an extra bonus, the theatrical trailer is encoded on the CD and can be played off a CD rom.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is outstanding music, September 27, 2001

By A Customer

This is one of the most enjoyable CD's in my collection. Ron Goodwin composed fresh themes to weave throughout the soundtrack. As always,Goodwin's music is energetic and stirring. The music from William Walton is a surprising find and is an interesting, well-composed contrast.
This is a must-have CD, truly outstanding!