{"id":392,"date":"2009-10-05T14:09:15","date_gmt":"2009-10-05T18:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mondomark.com\/?p=392"},"modified":"2009-10-05T14:09:15","modified_gmt":"2009-10-05T18:09:15","slug":"soundtracks-highlights-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=392","title":{"rendered":"Soundtracks Highlights This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Grrr!\"

Grrr!<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently uploaded is an interview with composer Daniel Pemberton<\/a>, whose music from the British-U.S. co-production Monster Moves <\/strong>(aka Huge Moves, Impossible Moves, and Mega Moves) is out as a downloadable album (which I also reviewed<\/a>). Probably 95% of the album\u2019s content is comprised of addictive themes and vocal works, and while the TV series is still unavailable on DVD, one can view samples of the music at work via YouTube. (Editor\u2019s Advice: start with \u201cDeep Deep Down<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

Just uploaded are reviews of two La-La Land CDs: Michael Linn\u2019s Allan Quartermain and the City of Lost Gold<\/a><\/strong> (limited to 1200 copies), and the compilation Zatoichi: The Best Cuts 1967-1973<\/a><\/strong> (limited to 1500 copies).<\/p>\n

The release of Linn\u2019s music (lightly based on Jerry Goldsmith\u2019s themes from the first film, King Solomon\u2019s Mines<\/strong>) might come as a surprise to some because a) the film itself was barely released by a dying Cannon Films; and b) most who saw the film will likely recall many scenes were tracked with material from Mines.<\/strong> Whereas the two films were shot in tandem in 1985, Lost<\/strong> City<\/strong> didn\u2019t hit screens until 1987.<\/p>\n

I can still recall the news announcement of their back-to-back filming, and wondering a while later if Lost<\/strong> City<\/strong> would ever be released. This, for Cannon-philes, is significant, because in 1987 the company was going through a number of problems which ultimately led to its demise. However, Lost City<\/strong>\u2019s abbreviated theatrical release was probably more symptomatic of the company\u2019s mid-eighties attempt to go mainstream and become a major studio (fat chance).<\/p>\n

I still have a copy of a hefty Variety issue that\u2019s peppered with multiple announcements where Cannon trumpeted major directors contracted to make art house films, including Andrei Konchalovsky\u2019s Runaway Train<\/strong> (a good film), Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s King Lear <\/strong>(an incoherent mess), and what appeared to be a dip into classics: Rusty Lemorande\u2019s Journey to the Center of the Earth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Train<\/strong> was released to critical acclaim, Lear<\/strong> was spat out on VHS, and Journey<\/strong> was shut down and retooled into one of the most incoherent efforts by a studio to salvage a bad film using $2.85 cents in leftover change. (One day I\u2019ll do a piece on these films. One day. With stimulants, as I progress from good towards outright rabbit rubbish.)<\/p>\n

La-La Land also released Runaway Train<\/a><\/strong> on CD, so it seems little by little some of the good music from Cannon\u2019s archives is coming out. Wish list: how about some Gary Chang?<\/p>\n

52-Pick Up<\/strong> is screaming for rescue from oblivion.<\/p>\n

Chang was a fairly prolific composer in the eighties and early nineties, and wrote some inventive synth scores, although is his best work remains Shock to the System<\/strong> \u2013 a brilliant soundtrack + film. Other underrated scores screaming for release include Dead Bang<\/strong> (1989), Miami Blues <\/strong>(1990), and the eerie music from The Nightman<\/strong> (1992), a TV movie apparently only seen by me, and no one else.<\/p>\n

Other soundtracks of note are Edwin Wendler\u2019s Home: The Horror Story<\/strong> (2000) available as a downloadable album<\/a>, John Ottman\u2019s really striking score for 2009\u2019s clunky Orphan<\/strong> (Varese), Henry Jackman\u2019s Monster\u2019s vs. Aliens<\/strong> (Lakeshore), and Christopher Young\u2019s deliciously evil Drag Me to Hell <\/strong>(Lakeshore), all of which I reviewed for the October issue of Rue Morgue.<\/p>\n

Other soundtracks of note which were covered for an upcoming RM issue are Craig Safan\u2019s Fade to Black <\/strong>(1980), and J. Peter Robinson\u2019s The Believers <\/strong>(1987).<\/p>\n

Perseverance has done a wonderful job in releasing these scores, with Safan\u2019s full score making its debut (in mono) as a composer promo, and Robinson\u2019s Believers<\/strong> (limited to 1000 copies) remastered and expanded with complete cues and source material that actually reduces the repetitiveness that affected the shorter Varese LP.<\/p>\n

Lastly, some fans may have missed TCM\u2019s airing of The Night Digger <\/strong>\/ The Road Builder<\/strong>, a rare thriller film from 1971 scored by Bernard Herrmann. Each Tuesday TCM is airing Herrmann-scored films, and it was a shock to see Night Digger <\/strong>quietly buried among the more familiar Hitchcock titles. I\u2019ll have a review of the film next week, seeing how this is one of the few Herrmann films that evaded home video.<\/p>\n

Still waiting to see White Witch Doctor<\/strong> (1953) and King of the Khyber Rifles <\/strong>(1953).<\/p>\n

Wake up, Fox.<\/p>\n

WAKE UP.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

– MRH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently uploaded is an interview with composer Daniel Pemberton, whose music from the British-U.S. co-production Monster Moves (aka Huge Moves, Impossible Moves, and Mega Moves) is out as a downloadable album (which I also reviewed).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6,4,11],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-6k","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}