{"id":129,"date":"2010-10-02T12:21:07","date_gmt":"2010-10-02T16:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?page_id=129"},"modified":"2012-01-28T19:03:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-29T00:03:00","slug":"mftm-june-2008-online-edition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?page_id=129","title":{"rendered":"MFTM: June, 2008 (Online Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to<\/strong>: \u00a0Home<\/a> \/\u00a0DVD Music Column (Music from the Movies<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

JUNE 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexander Korda\u2019s retelling of\u00a0Thief of Bagdad<\/strong>, a remake of the 1924 Douglas Fairbanks classic and free adaptation of the Arabian Nights fable, still ranks as one of the finest fantasy films ever made, and for many of its fans, that\u2019s partly the result of seeing it at an early age, and never forgetting the adventures of Abu (Sabu), and Ahmad\u2019s (John Justin) unending quest to hook up with a hot Princess (June Duprez) while eeevil Jaffar (Conrad Veidt and his creepy eyes) uses his malevolent magic to quash meddlers and woo the Princess himself.<\/p>\n

Filmed over two years during WWII and originally planned as an operetta, the multiple rewrites, rotating directors (which included Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, and uncredited Alexander and Zoltan Korda) and film shoots in England and later Hollywood could and should have doomed the film into a great big mess, but the consensus among the commentators on Criterion\u2019s sparkling new DVD \u2013 namely directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola on the first track, and historian Bruce Eder on the second \u2013 is that it was producer Alexander Korda\u2019s hand that kept the film on track, and ensured the original concept\u2019s shift from operetta to a partial song and action fable went smoothly.<\/p>\n

Both Coppola and Scorsese admit that, apart from what the cast, crew, and co-director Powell recalled in interviews and published memoirs, no one really knows who directed precisely most of the final scenes; Scorsese notes some stylistic changes in visual approaches \u2013 some scenes are opulent while others seem \u201cflat\u201d \u2013 but the film still works.<\/p>\n

Part of that\u2019s due to having a strong, charismatic villain who just wants to be loved, a dashing hero and his misanthropic companion, and a gorgeous Princess whose life changes when her daffy father isn\u2019t able to save her from the eeevil Jaffar.<\/p>\n

Add radiant Technicolor photography, witty dialogue from co-writer Miles Malleson (who also played the Princess\u2019 papa), and Miklos Rozsa\u2019s rhapsodic, multi-themed score, and you have near perfection.<\/p>\n

Rozsa\u2019s music has appeared in many recordings since 1940 \u2013 perhaps the best-regarded are Rozsa\u2019s own digital re-recording for Varese in 1983, and Elmer Bernstein\u2019s 1977 re-recording for his FMC series (released by Film Score Monthly as part of a mega-box) \u2013 but the original score recordings have remained locked away for almost seventy years, until now.<\/p>\n

Criterion\u2019s DVD offers a music and effects track, and aside from some abrupt edits, it\u2019s a surprisingly listenable track, even with mild to major sound effects popping up here and there. The age of the track has some shrillness and high end distortion (some of it still present after some major digital cleansing), but fans have both an opportunity to hear Rozsa\u2019s complete score, and watch scenes free from dialogue (which is a rare treat for older films).<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest surprise is how\u00a0Thief<\/strong> is less heavy with heavy theme reiterations and revolving fugues that often made Rozsa\u2019s later scores easily identifiable, and sometimes repetitive.\u00a0Thief<\/strong> feels wonderfully fresh, not because of Rozsa\u2019s multiple themes, but the almost watery flow from clear-cut statements to intimate variations, plus bouts of tenderness on guitar, and the operatic remnants that never fail to enhance character relationships, and their sometimes dangerous plights as power-hungry Jaffar strikes out.<\/p>\n

The vocal pieces are quite lovely, but \u201cI Want to be a Sailor\u201d \u2013 Sabu\u2019s gem of a theme \u2013 is certainly one of the best melodies Rozsa ever crafted, and will probably have you humming for a few days (or in the case of Coppola, for the next 50 years).<\/p>\n

The director commentaries have views from Coppola and Scorsese tightly edited into a steady and highly personal narrative; Scorsese cites some direct technical details, but it\u2019s mostly a nostalgic tribute; it\u2019s also bit of a jaw-dropper when Scorsese says he first saw the film on TV in 1947, and didn\u2019t get to see it in colour until some 20+ years later.<\/p>\n

That illuminates a generational split where some blazing Technicolor classics were shown on TV for years in black & white, because colour TV broadcasts didn\u2019t really come into their own until the mid- to late sixties in the U.S. (I never knew\u00a0The Million Pound Note <\/strong>\/\u00a0Man with a Million<\/strong> was in colour until I rented the video; most TV stations aired washed out black & white 16mm prints.)<\/p>\n

For Scorsese and Coppola, prior to their film careers,\u00a0Thief<\/strong> established a special kinship between themselves and future directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Brian De Palma (\u201cYou like it too?\u201d); the film effects are still highly entertaining, but more importantly,\u00a0Thief<\/strong> offers a good story, a great romance, and good characters glued together by superb photography.<\/p>\n

Criterion\u2019s transfer is vastly superior to the MGM DVD which had colour registration problems (reds hazing and colour offsets were noticeable in wide and medium shots), and the extras are spread over two DVDs, which should keep fans busy for a few days.<\/p>\n

In addition to a detailed production commentary by Bruce Eder (who saw the film at the age of six, and was \u2018determined\u2019 to find out everything about the film), there\u2019s excerpts from a 1976 KUT-FM public radio interview with Rozsa.<\/p>\n

Articulate, witty, and a delightful raconteur, Rozsa begins with his family\u2019s background in music, his aborted attempt to study chemistry in Leipzig, and settling in Paris in 1931, where he wrote \u201chorrible little pieces of music for publishing firms\u201d to stay alive.<\/p>\n

Rozsa also repeats his funny tale of meeting Arthur Honegger, where their conversation revealed to Rozsa that film music is not just \u2018fox trots,\u2019; his Hungarian Ballet in London, and the events that led him to Alexander Korda. The nearly 36 mins. interview ends with a retelling of Korda\u2019s epic scheme to get Rozsa approved by Ludwig Berg, the first director on\u00a0Thief<\/strong>, and composing the vocal cues in Los Angeles, where the film was ultimately completed.<\/p>\n

A featurette on the film\u2019s pioneering use of blue screen (it was the first!) is also very illuminating, and reveals how well the effects still look and add to the film\u2019s fantasy setting, even after Criterion\u2019s digital cleanup.<\/p>\n

Special effects aces Dennis Muren and Craig Barron are accompanied by veteran effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, and the latter makes a refreshing observation about the filmmakers\u2019 not wielding every major component at the audience; there\u2019s pantomime, grand effects, and score, but they\u2019re sometimes applied almost exclusively to scenes when one serves the drama on its own.<\/p>\n

Even on the isolated music and effects track, there are some significant silent pauses, signifying Korda\u2019s awareness that score can be more powerful when it\u2019s preceded by an absence of music altogether. One can\u2019t imagine the flying horse, magic carpet ride, or the silvermaid assassin toy without Rozsa\u2019s fantastical, exciting, and ominous music in each respective sequence. Some instrumental cues are remnants of unused vocal pieces, and Eder also cites deleted scenes and script changes that affected Rozsa\u2019s final score.<\/p>\n

Also accompanying the DVD is a booklet of essays, publicity and production stills (including some of deleted shots and a scene with Jaffar meeting an astrologist), and rare, previously unpublished Dufaycolor stills (somewhat resembling 2-strip Technicolor film) from Michael Powell\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

Excerpts from Powell\u2019s scratchy dictation recordings \u2013 later transcribed for his 1987 autobiography – detail the director\u2019s hiring, and many delicious filming details (\u201cthere was no script\u201d) as he watched Rozsa replace Berger\u2019s preferred composer, Oscar Straus, and Mischa Spoliansky, who was originally hired to compose songs.<\/p>\n

During the 65 mins. of audio selections, Powell also presents an affectionate portrait of Sabu, and screening\u00a0Thief<\/strong> at Coppola\u2019s Zoetrope studio years later (a viewing which Coppola refers to in his commentary). There\u2019s also some amusing views on the Technicolor company\u2019s displeasure with the filmmakers\u2019 colour cinematography experimentation (\u2018don\u2019t make the film for the colour, make colour film work for you,\u2019 says Powell), and the provocative, cleavage-friendly costumes clearly seen in the British footage, and the ridiculously buttoned up attire in the Hollywood-shot material.<\/p>\n

As an added bonus, Criterion\u2019s also included Powell\u2019s WWII propaganda filmThe Lion Has Wings<\/a> <\/strong>(1940), which was part of Korda\u2019s promise to Winston Churchill to make a film celebrating the might of the RAF, using some of the cast and crew (along with director Powell) during the break before\u00a0Thief<\/strong> resumed filming in America.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0Thief of Bagdad<\/strong> finally given the Criterion treatment, let\u2019s hope other London Films like\u00a0Drum<\/strong> (1938),\u00a0The Four Feathers<\/strong> (1939), andThe Jungle Book<\/strong> (1940) aren\u2019t far behind, although Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger fans will get their next fix when Criterion releases the British cut of\u00a0The Small Back Room<\/strong>, long unavailable in the U.S., around August this year.<\/p>\n

Other recent notable releases with film music extras include:\u00a0Dangerous Crossing<\/strong>, part of the latest Fox Film Noir wave, with Lionel Newman\u2019s isolated mono score; the Region 1 release of\u00a0Back in Business<\/strong> (2007) contains some informative material on Mark Thomas\u2019 score; and composer Austin Wintory joins director Rob Williams on the commentary track for TLA\u2019s\u00a0Back Soon<\/strong> (2007).<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019 Bette Davis Collection also has three notables in their boxed set (which are also available separately): the new\u00a0Hush\u2026 Hush, Sweet Charlotte<\/strong> is expanded with a stereo isolated track of Frank De Vol\u2019s score, with studio chatter and source cues; a 2-disc version of\u00a0All About Eve<\/a><\/strong>now contains an isolated mono track of Alfred Newman\u2019s score; and\u00a0The Virgin Queen<\/strong> comes with an isolated stereo track of Franz Waxman\u2019s score.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark R. Hasan (2008)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to: \u00a0Home \/\u00a0DVD Music Column (Music from the Movies) . JUNE 2008 Alexander Korda\u2019s retelling of\u00a0Thief of Bagdad, a remake of the 1924 Douglas Fairbanks classic and free adaptation of the Arabian Nights fable, still ranks as one of the finest fantasy films ever made, and for many of its fans, that\u2019s partly the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":121,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P8nuyW-25","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4207,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129\/revisions\/4207"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}