Archive
DAVID AND BATHSHEBA – Alfred Newman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Following the success of Paramount’s “Samson and Delilah” in 1949, 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck believed it was time for his studio to enter the Biblical Epic genre. He decided that the film would focus on the life of the legendary King David of Israel. Zanuck personally took control of production, provided a budget of $2.17 million, hired Philip Dunne to write the screenplay and tasked Henry King with directing. The initial screenplay was a biopic, which would if filmed, render a four-hour movie. As such Zanuck directed Dune to pare it down, focusing entirely on David’s illicit affair with Bathsheba. For casting, Zanuck insisted on having the popular, successful, and beautiful actors Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward star as David and Bathsheba. Joining them would be Raymond Massey as Nathan, Kieron Moore as Uriah, and James Robertson Justice as Abishai. Read more…
ALIVE – James Newton Howard
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In October 1972 a plane carrying a rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, who were on their way to play a game in Santiago, Chile, crashed high in the Andes mountains. 15 of the 45 passengers and crew died on impact but the others – some of whom were badly injured – quickly had to figure out how to survive. During the following 72 days, the survivors suffered extreme hardships, including exposure, starvation, and an avalanche, which led to the deaths of thirteen more passengers; famously, but reluctantly, they were forced to resort to cannibalism to stave off death due to lack of food. Eventually two of the rugby players – Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa – decided to strike out for help. They climbed a 15,000 foot mountain without gear, and then hiked almost 50 miles. It took them almost in 10 days, but they finally stumbled into a remote village, where they could obtain help and call for the Chilean Army to rescue the other survivors. This incredible story was turned into a book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read, and then eventually into this film, which was directed by Frank Marshall and starred Ethan Hawke, Josh Hamilton, and Vincent Spano. Read more…
DOG GONE – Emily Bear
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dog Gone is a family adventure-drama film, directed by Stephen Herek, starring Rob Lowe, Johnny Berchtold, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. It’s a heartwarming true story about a college student named Fielding Marshall and his epic search for his beloved dog, Gonker, who goes missing on a hike and has to be found quickly as he is ill and needs a life-saving injection. Fielding’s search for Gonker becomes a local cause célèbre, making the news, and inspiring the community. It premiered on Netflix at the beginning of January and, normally, it’s not anything I would give a second thought to, based on the film itself. However, I want to take some time out to write about Dog Gone’s score, which was written by 21-year-old composer Emily Bear. Read more…
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