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| • | Newest Major Reviews: | . | • | This Week's Most Popular Reviews: | • | Best-Selling Albums: | ||
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1. Nim's Island 2. The Life Before Her Eyes 3. Horton Hears a Who! 4. Leatherheads 5. The Spiderwick Chronicles | . | . |
1. Moulin Rouge 2. Gladiator 3. POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl 4. Star Wars: A New Hope 5. Edward Scissorhands |
6. Pearl Harbor 7. Schindler's List 8. Titanic 9. Braveheart 10. Home Alone | . | . |
1. Varèse Sarabande 25th 2. The Last of the Mohicans 3. Legends of the Fall 4. Schindler's List 5. LOTR: Return of the King (Set) |
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... only if you are a true collector of the Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock collaboration, for Milan Record's presentation here is more educational than enjoyable. Avoid it... if hearing the deep, raspy voice of Herrmann making commentary every third track could ruin the flow of the sparse, Elmer Bernstein-conducted selections. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The suite from Psycho contains all the memorable cues, and the "Scene d'Amour" cue from Vertigo is the necessary inclusion. One of the intriguing parts of Bernstein's interpretation of "Scene d'Amour" is his revised pacing, both increasing and decreasing the tempo in parts that alter the emotional impact of the cue. Timpani and bass strings are both mixed well, with woodwinds existing perhaps further in the forefront than necessary. The choice of music from The Man Who Knew Too Much is a pleasant surprise on this album. The "Cantata/The Storm Clouds" cue represents an absolutely crucial scene in the film, and while it is not written by Herrmann, the choral/operatic suite is a vital accompaniment to the suspenseful action in the film. The sinister and epic brass prelude from North by Northwest is performed very well here. The Wrong Man doesn't really fit on the album, as it is much more comical than the other tracks. The final music track is completely out of place; it's an electronic re-mix of the first murder scene cue from Psycho and surprisingly has nothing to do with the re-make of the film that featured a Danny Elfman adaptation. This 1999 arrangement by Joseph Bishara is a synthetic mutilation of Herrmann's famous cue with awkward sampling used as sound effects. Ultimately, what makes this album an interesting listen are the four excerpts from an audio interview with Herrmann in the early 1970's. They are about 5 minutes in total length, and a few of them are particularly interesting. The response concerning why a complaint about music in film and TV "is rubbish" is most entertaining. Herrmann's insights into film music are surprisingly similar to John Williams,' who considered Herrmann an important mentor at the time. Overall, this album's very short length is its main detractor. A few more selections and wider variety would have greatly benefited the product. As it stands, there is only music from four Herrmann scores represented here, and tracks from Torn Curtain or Trouble with Harry (or the actual score from The Man Who Knew Too Much) would have been welcomed. Some people might object to hearing Herrmann speaking every third track, but these tracks are ironically the highlights of the album. ***
* Excerpts from Herrmann interview (no music)
The insert contains a short note about the music and production of album. The packaging is very poorly designed, with text that is extremely difficult to read. Nowhere on the exterior of the product is it revealed that the music on the compilation is re-recorded, which is an unacceptably deceptive blunder. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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