Archive
THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR – Hugo Friedhofer
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In the early 1950s, 20th Century Fox Studio executives committed to remaking several of their popular black and white films of the 1930s in DeLuxe Color Cinemascope. It was decided that the 1939 film “The Rains Came” would be refashioned as “The Rains of Ranchipur”. It would again be based on the 1937 novel “The Rains Came” by Louis Bromfield, with Merle Miller adapting the screenplay. Frank Ross was placed in charge of production, provided a budget of $2.9 million, and Jean Negulesco was tasked with directing. A stellar cast was assembled, including; Lana Turner as Lady Edwina Esketh, Richard Burton as Dr. Rama Safti, Fred McMurray as Tom Ransome, Michael Rennie as Lord Esketh, Joan Caufield as Fern Simon, and Eugenie Leontovich as Maharani. Read more…
UNE FEMME FRANÇAISE – Patrick Doyle
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Une Femme Française is a French romantic drama film co-written and directed by Régis Wargnier, starring Emmanuelle Béart and Daniel Auteuil. The story follows Jeanne (Béart), a passionate and free-spirited woman, who marries Louis (Auteuil), a devoted but rigid French army officer, in the early 1940s. Soon after their marriage, Louis is sent off to fight in World War II, leaving Jeanne alone for several years; she struggles with loneliness and eventually engages in various torrid romantic and sexual affairs, seeking love and companionship in his absence. When Louis finally returns, he discovers Jeanne’s infidelities but remains deeply in love with her, and they attempt to rebuild their marriage, but the emotional wounds and social constraints of the time make it difficult. Over the course of several decades their relationship is tested by Louis’ military deployments, societal expectations, and Jeanne’s unrelenting desire for independence and passion – including an extensive affair a wealthy industrialist in post-war Berlin – all of which combined to offer a deeply emotional portrayal of a woman torn between personal fulfillment and societal norms. Read more…
SNOW WHITE – Jeff Morrow, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In 1937 producer Walt Disney and his team of artists made history when they released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first ever feature-length animated motion picture. It was based on the famous fairy tale ‘Schneewittchen’ by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and tells the story of a kind and beautiful princess who is abused by her wicked stepmother, the Queen. When the Queen’s magic mirror announces that Snow White, and not the Queen, is the ‘fairest of them all,’ the jealous and vengeful Queen banishes Snow White to the forest to be killed by a huntsman; however, the huntsman takes pity on Snow White and secretly releases her, and she eventually begins a new life with seven dwarf miners who live nearby. However, when the Queen learns that Snow White is still alive, she hatches a plan: to poison Snow White with an enchanted apple, which will place her in a death-like sleep, from which she can be awakened only by true love’s kiss. Read more…
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN – Frank Skinner
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Studio executives at Universal conceived of an audacious new film featuring their star comedians Abbott and Costello, which would bring them into contact with Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Invisible Man. Lou Costello was singularly unimpressed with the script, but relented when he was offered $50,000 and informed that his friend Charles Barton would be directing. Robert Arthur was placed in charge of production with a $759,524 budget, Charles Barton would direct, and Robert Lees, Frederic Rinaldo and John Grant were tasked with writing the screenplay. For the cast, Bud Abbott would play Chick Young and Lou Costello would play Wilbur Grey. Joining theme would be Lon Chaney as Lawrence Talbot (The Wolfman), Béla Lugosi as Dr. Lejos (Dracula), Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s monster, and Lenore Aubert as Sandra Mornay. Read more…
THE ELECTRIC STATE – Alan Silvestri
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
There are a lot of similarities between The Electric State and Ready Player One. Both are based on highly respected and popular written source material – The Electric State is adapted from a graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag, Ready Player One was adapted from a novel by Ernest Cline. Both stories feature a great deal of period pop culture nostalgia seen from a point in a dystopian future. Both movies are directed by filmmakers with tremendously successful records at the box office: Ready Player One by the legendary Steven Spielberg, The Electric State by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, whose films include MCU blockbusters Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. And both films have received scathing reviews, from critics and audiences alike; one recent review in The AV Club eviscerated The Electric State, saying that the Russos had “crafted a crass commercialist product that both misunderstands and betrays its source material.” Read more…
PICNIC – George Duning
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Columbia Pictures took notice of the enormous success of the Broadway play “Picnic” by William Inge, which opened on February 19, 1953 at the Music Box Theater, ran for 477 performances, and won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1953. The studio purchased the film rights in 1953 for $350,000, Fred Kohlmar was placed in charge of production with a budget of $3 million, Joshua Logan, the director of the Broadway stage production was tasked with directing, and Daniel Taradash joined William Inge in writing the screenplay. For the cast, the studio made the controversial decision to cast 37 year old William Holden, their marquee star, as 21 year old Hal Carter, joining him would be Kim Novak as Madge Owens, Rosalind Russel as Rosemary Sydney, Betty Field as Flo Owens, Cliff Robertson as Alan Benson, Nick Adams as Bomber, and Susan Strasberg as Millie Owens. Read more…
DON JUAN DEMARCO – Michael Kamen
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Don Juan DeMarco is a romantic drama written and directed by Jeremy Leven, based on his own short story, Don Juan DeMarco and the Centerfold. The plot follows a mysterious young man who believes he is Don Juan, the figure from Spanish literature who presents himself as the world’s greatest lover. After a dramatic suicide attempt, he is placed in a psychiatric hospital under the care of Jack Mickler, a caring doctor nearing retirement. Mickler is intrigued by the young man’s passionate and elaborate tales of romance, seduction, and adventure, and as he listens to his stories rather than dismissing them outright he is encouraged to rediscover the passion in his own life, particularly in his marriage to his wife Marilyn. As the film unfolds, it becomes ambiguous whether Don Juan is truly delusional or if there is some deeper truth to his claims; either way, his influence ultimately revitalizes not only Mickler’s marriage but also the lives of others around him, and ultimately ‘Don Juan’ is allowed to leave to continue his life as an enigmatic and romantic figure. Read more…
MICKEY 17 – Jae-Il Jung
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
After Korean director Joon-Ho Bong won multiple Oscars for his film Parasite in 2019 many people wondered what he would do as a follow-up to that success. The answer is Mickey 17, a genre-defying sci-fi/action/comedy based on the novel by Edward Ashton. Set in a dystopian future, the plot follows a man named Mickey who joins a space colony expedition to a distant planet called Niflheim where he is employed as an “expendable” – a disposable human worker who is intentionally allowed to die for research purposes, but who is immediately ‘re-born’ as a clone of himself the next day, with all his memories and personality intact. The film stars Robert Pattison as Mickey, Naomi Ackie as Mickey’s girlfriend Nasha, and Steven Yeun as Mickey’s friend Timo, and features Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo in major supporting roles as the sinister husband-and-wife leaders of the Niflheim expedition. Read more…
DODGE CITY – Max Steiner
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1937 Studio executive Jack Warner decided to join the Western genre bandwagon following Paramount Pictures commercial success with “The Texas Rangers” (1936) and “The Plainsman (1936). In 1938 they believe that they had struck gold when they came across a story “Dodge City” by screen writer Robert Buckner. They purchased the film rights, Hal B. Wallis was assigned production with a $1.06 million budget, Michael Curtiz was tasked with directing, and Buckner would write the screenplay. Wallis struggled to find a leading man for the role of Wade Hutton, and decided to roll the dice with thirty-year-old Errol Flynn. Joining Flynn would be a fine cast, which included Olivia de Haviland as Abbie Irving, Ann Sheridan as Ruby Gilman, Alan Hale as Rusty, Henry O’Neill as Colonel Greenville M. Dodge, Bruce Cabot as Jeff Surrett, Victor Jory as Yancy, and Frank McHugh as Joe Clemens. Read more…
DOLORES CLAIBORNE – Danny Elfman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dolores Claiborne is a psychological drama-thriller directed by Taylor Hackford, adapted by Tony Gilroy from the 1992 novel by Stephen King. The story centers on the titular character, played by Kathy Bates, who is accused of murdering Vera Donovan, her wealthy, elderly employer on a remote Maine island. The investigation brings Dolores’s estranged daughter, Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh), back to the island. Selena is a troubled New York journalist with a complicated history with her mother, marked by years of resentment. As the investigation unfolds, the film shifts between the present day and flashbacks to the 1970s, gradually revealing the dark events that shaped Dolores and Selena’s relationship – specifically, the horrific abuse that Dolores endured at the hands of her alcoholic husband, Selena’s father. Read more…
THE SON OF KONG – Max Steiner
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Given the tremendous commercial success of King Kong in 1933, RKO executives decided to milk the cash cow and make an immediate sequel. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the producers and directors of the first film were asked to again manage production, however Cooper’s enthusiasm was dampened when he was provided with a budget of only $269,000, which was half the budget of original, with the caveat that they had to have it in theaters within six months, for a Christmas 1933 release. Ruth Rose was tasked with writing the screenplay. She decided that the sequel could not duplicate the success of the first film, and so she made a creative decision; “If you can’t make it bigger, make it funnier”. The cast would include Robert Armstrong, who would reprise his role as Carl Denham. Joining him would be Helen Mack as Hilda Petersen, Frank Reicher as Captain Englehorn, John Marston as Nils Helstrom, Victor Wong as Charlie, and Ed Brady as Red. Read more…
Academy Award Winners 2024
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the winners of the 97th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2024.
In the Best Original Music category, the winner was Daniel Blumberg, who won the award for his score for The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s epic drama about the life of a fictional Hungarian architect who emigrates to the United States in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Accepting his award, Blumberg said:
Thank you to the Academy and everyone who watched the film and honored the work. It means a lot to be acknowledged like this. I’ve been an artist for twenty years now, since I was a teenager, and when I met Brady [Corbet] I found my artistic soulmate. For him to trust me in this work and to grow alongside him has been so special; thank you, Brady, I love you. I want to thank my collaborators, my co-producer Peter Walsh, and the artists who played on the score. The sounds you hear on The Brutalist are made by a group of hard-working radical musicians who have been making uncompromising music for many years; I’m accepting this award on behalf of them too. Thanks to my family and Stacy [Martin], and my manager Mark, Keith, and Mona [Fastvold] and Ada, and my friends at Café Oto.
The other nominees were: Volker Bertelmann for Conclave, Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot, Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais for Emilia Pérez, and John Powell and Stephen Schwartz for Wicked.
In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Clément Ducol, Camille Dalmais, and Jacques Audiard for their song “El Mal” from the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez.
The other nominees were Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada for “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing, Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais for “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brandi Carlile, and Andrew Watt for “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late, and Diane Warren for “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight.
Shop at the Movie Music UK Store
Member of the
MOVIE MUSIC UK 