King Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]

Max Steiner (Composer, Conductor)

Product Details

• Conductor: Max Steiner
• Composer: Max Steiner
• Audio CD (September 14, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000JZAL
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,470 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Max Steiner's score for Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace's King Kong is rightfully considered a classic. Until the 1933 thriller, movie soundtracks were mere background accompaniment. But Steiner's grand, Wagnerian score--filled with crashing notes, dissonant chords, and plenty of thunder--gave King Kong a unique tension, influencing every action and adventure soundtrack to follow. A few years later, Steiner--RKO's musical director--would go on to score another pivotal soundtrack, Gone with the Wind. But this is where his soundtrack magic really began. Rhino's reissue treatment here is luxurious and gorgeous, with great sound remastering. Copious liner notes explain some of this soundtrack's magic: Audio engineer Murray Spivack mixed a tiger growl at forward and backward speeds to create Kong's trademark vocals; Steiner knew precisely when to silence his 46-player orchestra and let the sound effects take over; and the small ensemble were often forced to serve double duty on multiple instruments. Filled with sound effects and movie dialogue, this CD sounds more like a vintage radio show than a standard soundtrack. But its impact--even today--can be easily heard. Great stuff. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archival tracks make this CD a real treasure, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

The first eleven sequences on this CD represent a condensed version of the entire film, complete with dialogue, sound effects and of course Max Steiner's classic music score. The real heart of this CD, however, begins at sequence #12 (Main Title) and ends with #20 (The Aeroplane/Finale) This part is pure isolated score and is wonderful to hear without all of the sound effects. Originally, some of the score had survived from the Max Steiner archives (Boat in the Fog, The Forgotten Island I, The Aeroplane/Finale) However, the best part of score (the music scored for the jungle sequences with the Stegosaur and Brontosaurus) has somehow miraculously surfaced and everything has been skillfully blended into one terrific 24 minute suite. The packaging is also top notch with great liner notes, art and photos. A must have for film buffs and fans of Max Steiner's music.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good audio presentation of movie, September 20, 1999

By	Joe NY - See all my reviews

Good audio presentation of the great classic movie. The CD producers have succeeded in presenting KING KONG as an "old radio show" by condensing the dialog,music and sound effects to 50 min. The sound is surprisingly good. The dialog, sound effects and score are remarkably clear. But this does not surpass actully viewing the movie which is readily available to home video.The real highlight of this album is the 25 min suite of original soundtrack music recordings of Max Stiener's landmark score. Unfortunatly only portions of the original "unmixed" recordings survived the years, but what is available is presented here in very good achival sound. Another big highlight of this package is the lavish 40 page booklet.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the Greatest, But Still Good, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

I liked the way Rhino included movie dialogue (very similar to what they did with "Casablanca"), but it hardly conveys the entire "Kong" story. Some of the best music is for scenes where Kong fights monsters, scenes without dialogue (unless you count grunting and screaming, which may pass for dialogue these days, but doesn't help us here). For the most complete collection of "Kong" music, get the Marco Polo release from 1997. The new Rhino CD is an excellent starter, though, with extra kudos for the text booklet inside the case.