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Vic Mizzy (1916-2009)
We sadly report the passing of composer Vic Mizzy. Though most famous for the iconic themes to the TV programmes "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres", his career was much broader than this. His early career saw several chart hits as a song-writer, before he made the transition into television and film music. A common feature of his music seemed to characterise the man himself - full of good-natured humour. We have collected the best examples of his work on youtube. More...
Ryuichi Sakamoto
As a film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto is probably best known for two exceptional scores, and curiously he starred in both films. In "Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence" in 1983 he played the onscreen part of Capt. Yonoi and 4 years later in "The Last Emperor" he played the role of Amakasu. Though both scores used a wide instrumental mix, the earlier film concentrated more on synthesiser sounds, while in the later film (for which he shared the best score oscar) Sakamoto concentrated on the orchestral tracks while David Byrne and Cong Su provided most of the traditional Chinese music. More...
Laurent Korcia's "Cinema"
Laurent Korcia is a French violinist with a loyal following. His latest album is called Cinema and contains 20 tracks from a wide range of different films. Although some tracks are decidedly cinematic, they spring from many different decades from the silent era up to the 21st century. Some of the tracks although used in films have come from a classical or a jazz composer, and this broad range really defines the collection as a modern cross-over album. The selection is guaranteed to entertain and surprise you and the artist is very much at home in all these genres. More...
"Waltz with Bashir" by Max Richter
Waltz with Bashir is a wonderfully warm, romantic, but also harrowing film by Ari Folman. Equally the soundtrack is a very moving piece of work by composer Max Richter which complements the film perfectly. With this score the composer has finally obtained proper worldwide exposure, winning the hearts of music critics and musicians around the globe. The score was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Music in an Animated Feature and, most importantly, won the European Film Awards for Best Composer in 2008. More...
"The Reel World" by Jeff Rona
Hal Leonard Books has just published a new and completely revised second edition of The Reel World by composer Jeff Rona. The book details the technical, business, and creative aspects of becoming a successful film scorer. Based upon his significant experience in the field, the author shows how to work with the many different professionals involved in filmmaking without diluting the essential element of creativity. This revised edition includes a wealth of new interviews with some of Hollywoods top film scorers including John Williams, Carter Burwell, James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Mark Isham, Wendy and Lisa and more. Check out an extract of the book, and receive a 20% discount on online purchases. More...
Star Trek: The Music
With a new Star Trek movie hitting theatres soon, we take a look at the music of Star Trek. Over the past 40-plus years, the Star Trek Universe has brought us 11 major movies and 5 television series (not to mention the animated series, video games and some song singles), and that is a lot of music! Many composers have played a part in creating this music. In the "Star Trek" movies, Jerry Goldsmith has dominated, with James Horner, Leonard Rosenman, Cliff Eidelman, and Dennis McCarthy providing very able support. The Television Series have employed many more composers with Dennis McCarthy and Jay Chattaway playing major roles, following in the footsteps of the father of Star Trek music Alexander Courage who started it all off in 1966. More...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
French composer Alexandre Desplat is a good choice for a quirky film like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button where the main character ages backwards. Desplat rightly treats this as a magical fairytale but with an element of involving realism. The music is light and delicate in texture with a number of recurring themes, but never repetitive as they are always evolving. Harp and strings are quite prominent throughout but many other instruments have a say, including a saxophone which blends well with the film's source music of jazz tracks which are included on CD2 of the double album. More...
Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell
Requiem for a Dream is composer Clint Mansell's Magnum Opus. It won the Online Film Critics Society Award in 2001 for Best Original Score and should have won a whole lot more. But perhaps this was a slow burner - it was only when the music was picked up and used elsewhere that people started to recognise it and respond to it. And it has been reused many times including the trailer for "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". We now review the original soundtrack. When music is made to perfectly match a film as intense as Requiem for a Dream, you know you are in for quite a surreal experience. More...
The Blob (and other Creepy Sounds)
Many people have a fondness for early Monster and Sci-Fi movies and soundtracks and "Monstrous Movie Music" caters directly for that market. Often they must resort to re-creating soundtracks when the music is no longer available. However original recordings of The Blob were carefully preserved, and have been remastered for this latest release. Written by Jazz and Film composer Ralph Carmichael, the score is full of suspense with suitably scary moments and a love theme for Steve McQueen and his girlfriend. When the film was released the Main Title was replaced with a light hearted but catchy theme song by Burt Bacharach. Both these tracks are presented on this superb album - it is great to rediscover gems like this. More...
Franz Waxman by Jeffrey Dane
In the early days of Hollywood, many film scores were written by conservatory trained composers from Europe. They may have been tempted by the financial rewards of a career in film music, or in some cases they were looking to escape from the troubles brewing in 1930s Europe. Franz Waxman was one of those immigrants who became a very successful composer in his adopted country. Jeffrey Dane gives us an overview of this remarkable man with some very revealing insights. More...
Javier Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth
2006 was a very exiting year for film soundtracks, and gave the award committees a lot of excellent material to choose from. Javier Navarrete's score for Pan's Labyrinth stood out as a deserving entry among many notable scores from well-established hollywood composers. The music of "Pan's Labyrinth" has the focus and simplicity of traditional story-telling, and therefore stands very well on its own, even away from the outstanding film for which it was created. Although all the music is based upon a simple melody, a lullaby in waltz tempo, the complete soundtrack is surprising varied and transports the listener into a child's fantasy world inhabited by strange creatures. More...
Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver
This week we revisit a favourite film score when we find it in an unusual format. "The Vinyl Classics" series has re-released a number of classic soundtracks in a format which looks exactly like a small but perfectly formed LP. Although black in colour and unlike any other CD, it will play on your CD player, and Taxi Driver is a soundtrack which needs to be revisited from time to time. It was composer Bernard Herrmann's last soundtrack but, among a whole career of superlative scores, this is one of his best and fully matches the performances we see on screen. In central position there is a jazz feel with a wonderful sax solo, which sums up the view of New York as witnessed by the Taxi Driver. More...
The Doctor Who Prom Concert
Two British institutions come together for the first time this month, with a special Doctor Who Prom Concert in the Royal Albert Hall which features a mix of Classical and Doctor Who Music. The music of composer Murray Gold will feature alongside that of Copland, Holst, Wagner, Prokofiev and Turnage. The show will be presented by Freema Agyeman (who plays Martha Jones in the series) with Daleks and Cybermen, and a specially filmed scene written by departing producer Russell T Davies, starring David Tennant as the Doctor. For more about the music from the series, see our reviews of the two Doctor Who CDs covering music from Series 1 and 2 and from Series 3.
The Kite Runner by Alberto Iglesias
In light of his previous score for Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" in 2006, Alberto Iglesias' music for The Kite Runner marks a change from the sensual Spanish vibes of Flamenco dance music to traditional Afghan styles. The story is a very personal one but set amidst a series of tumultuous political changes in Afghanistan, from the fall of the country's monarchy and the Soviet invasion, to the dominance of the Taliban. For capturing the unique perspective of this story in such a beautiful way, the composer's score received nominations for many awards, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and an Oscar. More...
Brick Lane by Jocelyn Pook
Jocelyn Pook is an experienced viola player with a varied background as a performer. She has composed extensively for the theatre and concert hall, with her first major film score being "Eyes Wide Shut" for the late Stanley Kubrick in 1999. Her latest film score Brick Lane depicts a Bangladeshi woman who moved to an arranged marriage in London. With the film's emphasis on how people adapt to circumstances in different cultures, and filled with flashbacks to life in Bangladesh, Pook's authentic Eastern music is at the heart of this story and mixes seemlessly with elements of Western style underscore. More...
Ratatouille by Michael Giacchino
On paper, Ratatouille is a distinctly strange proposition even for an animated movie: a rat working in a kitchen who turns out to have talents as a gourmet chef! Yet the movie was by the same team who created "The Incredibles", and "Ratatouille" turned out to be equally entertaining and fun for all the family, winning many awards while composer Michael Giacchino rightfully received an oscar nomination for his contribution to the experience. The music is upbeat, wild, dizzy, spectacular and original, one of the best scores of 2007, and should be on the music lover's list. More...
Star Wars: A Musical Journey
John Williams has recently re-crafted his Star Wars music from all six films to fit a show called "STAR WARS: A Musical Journey". This is a live two-hour musical event with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus, with scenes from the movies and live narration. The show will premier in London's "O2 arena" (previously called the Millennium Dome) on 10th April 2009 before launching a European Tour. The venue will also host an exhibition of models, props, costumes and artwork from the Lucasfilm Archives. Tickets will go on sale on 15th December 2008 - see The O2 site for further information.
The music of James Bond 007
With new Bond film "Quantum of Solace" on general release, we take a look at the Music of James Bond. Two new CD releases have taken differing approaches to celebrating the last 45+ years of James Bond music. The Best of Bond has been superbly crafted by conductor Carl Davis with a mixture of Bond Songs and incidental tracks. In contrast James Bond: The Gold Edition is purely instrumental but comes on 2 CDs with a comprehensive booklet on the history of James Bond music.
