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BORN FREE – John Barry
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producers Carl Forman, Sam Jaffe and Paul Radin came across the book “Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds” (1960) by renowned naturalist Joy Adamson, and believed her heart-warming tale could be brought to the big screen. They purchased the film rights and hired screenwriter Lester Cole to forge the screenplay. For the cast, Director James Hill brought in veteran British actors Virginia McKenna (Joy Adamson) and Bill Travers (George Adamson) to lead an ensemble, which included Geoffrey Keen (John Kendall), Peter Lukoye (Nuru), Surya Patel (the Doctor) and Geoffrey Best as (Watson). Read more…
THE WITCH – Mark Korven
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
One of the most unexpected critical successes of 2016 is The Witch, a supernatural horror film set during the earliest days of the colonization of North America. The directorial debut of young filmmaker Robert Eggers, The Witch stars Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as William and Katherine, who despite their exceptional devoutness, are banished from a Puritan Christian plantation in New England circa the year 1630. Months later, William and Katherine and their five children – including a newborn baby – are eking out a meager existence on a farm at the edge of a vast forest; one day, the baby is abducted by a mysterious figure while in the care of the eldest daughter, Tomasin (Anya-Taylor-Joy), adding more strain to the already desperate family. As time goes on, the almost fanatically religious family comes to believe that supernatural forces are at work, and the spectre of witchcraft comes to the fore, with the family’s two youngest children suspecting Tomasin of dabbling in the dark arts… Read more…
THE DELTA FORCE – Alan Silvestri
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Action movies were box office gold in the 1980s, and in the wake of the success of films starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger a number of B-movie action-heroes enjoyed their own moment in the sun. One of those heroes was Chuck Norris, a Korean War veteran and martial arts grand master, who began making a series of action-adventure films in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the Cannon Films studio, and enjoyed a slew of moderate box office hits including 1983’s Lone Wolf McQuade, and 1984’s Missing in Action. The Delta Force, which was released early in 1986, remains the most successful film of Norris’s career; directed by Menahem Golan, it stars Norris as Major Scott McCoy, the leader of an elite commando unit tasked with rescuing the passengers of a commercial airliner taken hostage by Lebanese hijackers. The film co-starred Lee Marvin, Robert Vaughn, Robert Forster, and Martin Balsam, and had an original score by the then 35-year-old Alan Silvestri. Read more…
BRONISLAU KAPER – Fathers of Film Music, Part 14
Article by Craig Lysy
Born: 5 February 1902 Warsaw, Poland.
Died: 26 April 1983.
Bronislau Kaper was of Jewish heritage, and at the very early age six took up the piano, soon demonstrating a remarkable musical talent. His family realized that he was a child prodigy and so enrolled him in the prestigious Chopin Music School to cultivate and refine his gift. By time of his teens he had blossomed creatively and was already writing original compositions. Although his heart was drawn to music, in deference to his father’s wishes he began studies in Law at Warsaw University. Yet, soon after he returned to his true love, and enrolled in the Warsaw Conservatory where he studied composition and piano.
Upon graduating Kaper relocated to Berlin, then a culturally vibrant metropolis, which abounded with countless theaters and cabarets. There he joined many aspiring artists from Eastern Europe, all seeking to make a mark on a world stage. He spent the 1920s and early 1930s working as a song composer for film and cabaret, and gained an increasing notoriety. Read more…
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