FRANKIE STARLIGHT – Elmer Bernstein
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
An adaptation of the best-selling semi-autobiographical novel ‘The Dork of Cork’ by Chet Raymo, Frankie Starlight is a nostalgic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, written by Raymo with Ronan O’Leary. The film stars Corban Walker as Frank Bois, a writer with dwarfism who is looking back over his life. The film charts his experiences as a child with his mother Bernadette (Anne Parillaud), a French woman who, toward the end of WWII, stows away on an Allied troop ship bound for America, but is taken to Ireland instead. There she meets Jack Kelly (Gabriel Byrne), a customs officer who eventually becomes a surrogate father to Frank, teaching him about astronomy, nurturing in him a lifelong passion and mystical obsession with the cosmos, and giving him his nickname ‘Frankie Starlight’. Later Bernadette meets Terry Klout (Matt Dillon), an American GI, and the three of them move to Texas; however, life in America doesn’t feel like home, and as he grows up Frankie dreams of returning to Ireland. Read more…
NUREMBERG – Brian Tyler
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Nuremberg War Trials, held in the eponymous city from 1945 to 1946, were a series of military tribunals convened by the Allied powers to prosecute leading figures of Nazi Germany – many of whom were close advisors to Adolf Hitler – for crimes committed before and during World War II. They were unprecedented in scope: for the first time in modern history, high-ranking political, military, and industrial leaders were held individually accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the trials established that “following orders” was not a sufficient defense for atrocities such as genocide, mass enslavement, and the systematic destruction of civilian populations. 19 of the 24 men that were tried were found guilty, and of those 12 were sentenced to death; ultimately, the trials effectively put a pin in the final parts of war, and started the world on the long road to recovery. Read more…
THE PRESIDENT’S LADY – Alfred Newman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The 1951 novel The President’s Lady by Irving Stone caught the attention of 20th Century Fox management as it offered a tale of one of America’s most dynamic and controversial presidents, Andrew Jackson, including his romance with Rachel Donelson. Playwright John Patrick was hired to adapt the novel and write a screenplay. Management was satisfied, and the project was given the green light to move into production. Sol. C. Siegel was placed in charge of production with a $1.475 million budget, and Henry Levin was tasked with directing. A stellar cast was hired, including Charlton Heston as Jackson, Susan Hayworth as Rachel Donelson, John McIntire as John Overton, and Fay Bainter as Mrs. Donelson. Read more…
TOY STORY – Randy Newman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
To infinity and beyond!
There are only a few films that you can point to as marking a genuine turning point in the history of cinema, but 1995’s Toy Story is one of them. Directed by John Lasseter and produced by Pixar Animation Studios in collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, and as such is a landmark of the genre. Pixar’s roots trace back to Lucasfilm’s Computer Division, founded in 1979. Among the early team members was John Lasseter, an animator who had previously worked at Disney but was dismissed after pushing too hard for computer animation in an era when Disney remained committed to traditional hand-drawn techniques. At Lucasfilm, Lasseter found a place where computer graphics were the focus, and he began experimenting with short animated sequences that combined storytelling and new technology. Read more…
FRANKENSTEIN – Alexandre Desplat
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s astonishing to think that there have been more than 50 cinematic adaptations of the story of Frankenstein since it was first penned, one haunted summer in 1818, by the then 20-year-old English author Mary Shelley. In writing Frankenstein Shelley essentially invented the science fiction literary genre as we know it; before Frankenstein, stories about the unnatural or the fantastic were usually supernatural, rooted in magic, myth, or divine intervention. Shelley’s innovation was to ground the creation of life in the science of the time, and it changed everything. On film, adaptations have differed wildly in tone and approach, from the early classic James Whale films starring Boris Karloff, to the Hammer horror films of the 1950s and 60s with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Mel Brooks’s campy comedy Young Frankenstein, and director Kenneth Branagh’s Gothic take from 1994. This new version, by the Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, may be the best of them all. Read more…
KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES – Bernard Herrmann
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1938 20th Century Fox decided to remake its 1929 film “The Black Watch,” which itself was adapted from the 1916 novel “King of the Khyber Rifles” by Talbot Mundy. However, the onset of WWII caused the studio to shelve the project until 1951 when it was selected to finally move into pre-production. Frank P. Rosenberg was placed in charge of production with a budget of $2.19 million, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts wrote the screenplay drawing from a story by Harry Kleiner, and Henry King was tasked with directing. The cast included Tyrone Power as Captain Alan King, Terry Moore as Susan Maitland, Michael Rennie as Brigadier General J. R. Maitland, and Guy Rolfe as Karam Khan. Read more…
JUMANJI – James Horner
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Jumanji is a children’s fantasy action-adventure film starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, and Jonathan Hyde, directed by Joe Johnston, based on the 1981 illustrated children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg. The titular object is a mysterious and dangerous board game that brings jungle hazards to life. In 1969 a young boy named Alan Parrish discovers an ancient board game buried at a construction site. When he plays it with his friend Sarah strange supernatural events occur, and Alan is suddenly sucked into the game after rolling the dice. Sarah, terrified, flees, and the game is left behind. Years later, in 1995, siblings Judy and Peter Shepherd move into the now-abandoned Parrish house with their aunt. They find the dusty board game and begin to play, unwittingly releasing Alan – who is now an adult and has been trapped inside the game’s jungle world all these years. As the game’s curse continues every roll brings new dangers into the real world, from rampaging animals to a hunter named Van Pelt, and in order to end the chaos Alan, Judy, and Peter must find Sarah and persuade her to finish the game with them. Read more…
BUGONIA – Jerskin Fendrix
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The term ‘bugonia’ comes from Latin and Greek, and relates to an ancient concept or myth describing the spontaneous generation of bees from the carcass of a dead ox. Philosophically and symbolically, bugonia reflects beliefs in the idea that living creatures can arise from non-living matter, as well as themes of death, rebirth, and transformation. In literary and religious contexts, it often serves as a metaphor for resurrection, drawing parallels between natural cycles and human or divine renewal. All this explains perfectly many of the underlying themes of director Yorgos Lanthimos’s new film, Bugonia. The film stars Jesse Plemons as disaffected conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz, who has persuaded his autistic cousin Don (newcomer Aidan Delbis) to help him kidnap Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the wealthy and powerful CEO of a pharmaceutical megacorporation. Teddy has convinced himself that Michelle is secretly an alien from Andromeda who wants to destroy Earth, and he is determined to make her admit her true identity, and then take him to meet her ‘emperor’ so that he can initiate peace talks with them. Read more…
THE FOUNTAINHEAD – Max Steiner
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The genesis of The Fountainhead lay with actress Barbara Stanwyck. She had read the 1943 novel by Ayn Rand and coveted the role of heroine Dominique Francon. She sold Warner Brothers Co-CEO Jack Warner on the story and he purchased the film rights for her. Henry Blake was placed in charge of production with a $2.375 million budget, Mervyn LeRoy would direct, and Ayn Rand was hired to write the screenplay with a contractual stipulation that not a single word would be changed. The project floundered for three years due to intervention by the War Production Board. LeRoy left the project and was replaced by King Vidor. Creative control proved problematic with Vidor, Rand and Warner Brothers often at odds. Casting was also problematic as Vidor wanted Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall for the leads, Rand wanted Gary Cooper. In the end Stanwyck was passed over as too old, yet Cooper who was also too old (two decades older than the character) was selected to play Howard Roark. Patricia Neal would play Dominique Francon, joined by Raymond Massie as Gail Wynand, Kent Smith as Peter Keating, and Robert Douglas as Ellsworth M. Toohey. Read more…
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT – Marc Shaiman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Looking back now, considering where we are today in terms of what the American political landscape has become over the past decade, it seems almost unbelievably naïve and quaint to think that, in the 1990s, people were still making films about US presidents who were good, upstanding people who cared about their jobs and the electorate that voted for them. The American President is one of those films; written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the film is a romantic drama set in the White House. Michael Douglas plays President Andrew Shepherd, a widower nearing the end of his first term. He is well-liked, pragmatic, and politically savvy, but cautious about jeopardizing his public image. Things change when Shepherd becomes romantically involved with Sydney Wade (Annette Bening), an environmental lobbyist who comes to Washington to push for a bold emissions-reduction bill. Their relationship quickly becomes serious, but because it unfolds under intense media scrutiny, it also becomes a political liability. As Shepherd’s approval ratings fall, his opponents – especially conservative senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) – exploit the situation, framing the relationship as unpresidential. Shepherd initially tries to keep politics and romance separate, hoping the story will fizzle out, but before long public pressure forces him to choose between maintaining power and standing up for the values he claims to represent. Read more…
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2025, Part 5
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
I’m pleased to present the latest installment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world.
This article, the fifth of 2025, covers another six scores released in the first half of the year from a wide array of genres and countries, including spooky sitcom from France, a gorgeous nature documentary from the Basque country of Spain, a French-Canadian comedy-drama, a Chinese military action film, a Japanese animated romantic drama film set during the French Revolution, and a French comedy-adventure film set in North Africa, with music by a recent Oscar-winner! Read more…
COPYCAT – Christopher Young
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Copycat is a psychological thriller directed by Jon Amiel, starring Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, and William McNamara. Weaver plays Dr. Helen Hudson, a brilliant criminal psychologist and expert on serial killers who becomes agoraphobic after being attacked by one of her former subjects, Daryll Lee Cullum, played in an extended cameo by jazz singer Harry Connick Jr. Years later, and now living in near-total isolation in her San Francisco apartment, Helen is drawn back into criminal investigation when a new serial killer begins terrorizing the city, and she is asked to consult with the lead detectives, M. J. Monahan (Hunter) and Reuben Goetz (Mulroney). Eventually the trio realizes that the killer appears to be copying famous murderers, mimicking the methods of killers such as the Boston Strangler, Son of Sam, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy. However, things quickly become personal when the killer begins targeting Helen herself, forcing her to confront her trauma and step outside her apartment for the first time in years. Read more…
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2025, Part 4
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
I’m pleased to present the latest installment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world.
This article, the fourth of 2025, covers another six scores released in the first half of the year from a wide array of genres and countries, including a Japanese drama TV series set in a high school, a British true life period crime drama about the last woman to executed in the UK, a Ramadan TV drama series from Syria, a German children’s fantasy adventure film, a Norwegian period drama TV series about the Norwegian royal family, and a French comedy-adventure film about a high-flying air hostess! Read more…
ANNE OF THE INDIES – Franz Waxman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Writer Herbert Sass wrote a short story “Anne of the Indies” for the Saturday Evening Post in 1947. It made an impression with the public and his New York publisher asked him to write a screenplay. Sass did so and it caught the eye of producer Walter Wanger who bought the film rights, intending to showcase his star Susan Hayward who he had under contract. Wanger however could not finance the film, and so the rights were sold to 20th Century Fox. Arthur Caesar and Philip Dunne were hired to rewrite the screenplay, which was well received by the studio. As such, George Jessel was placed in charge of production with a $1.5 million budget, and Jacques Tourneur was tasked with directing. By time production began in 1950, Susan Hayward had dropped out. So, the cast was reimagined, and Jean Peters would star as Captain Anne Providence, joined by Louis Jourdan as Captain Pierre Francois La Rochelle, Debra Paget as Molly La Rochelle, Herbert Marshall as Dr. Jameson, and Thomas Gomez as Blackbeard. Read more…
Klaus Doldinger, 1936-2025
Composer Klaus Doldinger died on October 16, 2025, at his home in Germany after a short illness. He was 89.
Klaus Erich Dieter Doldinger was born in May 1936, in Berlin, Germany. He studied piano and clarinet at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf before turning to the tenor saxophone, which quickly became his primary instrument. By the late 1950s he had established himself as a leading figure in West Germany’s post-war jazz scene, performing with ensembles such as the Feetwarmers and the Klaus Doldinger Quartet.
In 1971, he founded the fusion group Passport, a pioneering ensemble that combined elements of jazz, rock, and electronic music. The group’s long-running success earned Doldinger recognition as one of Europe’s foremost jazz innovators, and he was often referred to as “Germany’s jazz ambassador.”
Doldinger began writing music for film and television projects as early as 1968, but first came to international prominence with his score for Wolfgang Petersen’s claustrophobic submarine thriller Das Boot in 1981, which received worldwide acclaim for its tense, atmospheric writing. His sweeping and adventurous music for the 1984 children’s fantasy The NeverEnding Story, based on the classic novel by Michael Ende, raised his profile further in Europe, and it remains probably his most beloved work in film, although the North American release of the film saw his bold orchestral score mostly replaced with an electronic one by Italian disco composer Giorgio Moroder. Read more…
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