Archive
WINTERSET – Nathaniel Shilkret
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Playwright Maxwell Anderson was profoundly disturbed by the highly controversial execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in 1927. He drew inspiration from the event and wrote Winterset in 1935 as a poetic and dramatic exploration of the aftermath of a similar injustice. A 1935 stage production was a massive hit, winning the very first New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Given its success, RKO Pictures bought the screen rights to capitalize on its prestige with a film version. Pandro S. Berman was assigned as producer with a budget of $400,000, Alfred Santell was tasked with directing, and Anthony Veiller would write the screenplay. RKO decided to recruit most of the Broadway cast for the film. Burgess Meredith would star as Mio Romagna, joined by Margo as Miriamne Esdras, Eduardo Cianelli as Trock Estrella, John Carradine as Bartolomeo Romagna, Paul Guilfoyle as Garth Esdras, Maurice Moscovitch as Papa Esdras, and Edward Ellis as Judge Gaunt. Read more…
THE GREEN PASTURES – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Hall Johnson
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
A Broadway stage production of “Green Pastures” by Marc Connelly won the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened February 26, 1930 at the Mansfield Theatre in New York and ran for 640 performances. It was based on the 1928 novel Ol’ Man Adam an’ His Chillun by Roark Bradford and the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. Following the massive success of the stage play, Warner Brothers decided to purchase the film rights for $100,000. The decision was controversial as the studio would be taking a significant financial and social gamble for the era by keeping the play’s premise entirely intact – making “The Green Pastures” the second of only seven feature films during the entire Hollywood Studio era to star an all-Black cast. Co-owner Jack L. Warner would manage production with an $800,000 budget, Marc Connelly and William Keighley would direct, Sheridan Gibney would write the screenplay based on the novel and play. The cast would include Rex Ingram as Jehovah and Adam, Oscar Polk as Gabriel, Eddie Anderson as Noah, and Ernest Whitman as Pharaoh. Read more…
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME – Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I’m going to make a statement here that might be controversial, but here goes. I think that the score for The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz is the greatest piece of music ever written for a Disney animated feature, going all the way back to 1937 and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Yes, that includes Pinocchio and “When You Wish Upon a Star,” that includes The Jungle Book and “The Bare Necessities,” that includes The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas, and all the others. It is, for me, the most sophisticated, the most dramatically intelligent, the best orchestrated, the darkest, and the most mature of all the Disney scores, and the fact that it isn’t better loved, or better respected, by fans of the genre is, in my opinion, a huge oversight. Read more…
THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN – Werner Janssen
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1936 Paramount Pictures came upon an unpublished manuscript by novelist Charles G. Booth inspired by the real-life exploits of Morris “Two-Gun” Cohen. Cohen was a colorful, British-born Jewish adventurer who traveled to China and became a general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as the personal bodyguard to Sun Yat-sen, leader of the 1911 revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty. The studio was impressed, purchased the film rights, and signed Booth to a multi-film writing deal. William LeBaron was assigned to the production, Oscar-winning director Lewis Milestone was recruited, and Booth would collaborate with Clifford Odets to write the screenplay. The studio wanted marquee star power for the film, so Gary Cooper would star as O’Hara, joined by Madeleine Carroll as Judy Pierre, Akim Tamiroff as General Yang, Dudley Digges as Mr. Wu, Porter Hall as Peter Pierre, and Philip Ahn as Oxford. Read more…
INDEPENDENCE DAY – David Arnold
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When I look back at the time now, it’s increasingly clear to me that the years between 1994 and 1996 were formative in terms of how they shaped my taste in both film and music. Those were the years when I was really let loose on the world of cinema for the first time, enjoying a huge variety of movies and film scores, and many of the films I saw during those 36 months remain some of my all-time favorites. As such, it’s also important to recognize that I tend to look back at that period through rose-tinted glasses, and it’s with that in mind that I come to Independence Day. Read more…
THE INVISIBLE RAY – Franz Waxman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were coming off the success of their recent film, The Raven (1935), and Universal Pictures producer David Diamond wanted to cast them in a new film to be called Bluebeard. However, the script proved unsatisfactory, and the studio put the project on hold. A new film, The Invisible Ray, was chosen; however, it quickly went off track when director Stuart Walker left because he was dissatisfied with the script. Undeterred, Edmund Grainger was placed in charge of production with a large $168,875 budget, Lambert Hillyer was hired to direct, and Howard Higgin and Douglas Hodges were assigned to write the screenplay. For the cast, Boris Karloff played Dr. Janos Rukh, Bela Lugosi played Dr. Felix Benet, joined by Frances Drake as Diana Rukh, Frank Lawton as Ronald Drake, and Violet Kemble Cooper as Mother Rukh. Read more…
SANSHO THE BAILIFF – Fumio Hayasaka
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Director Kenji Mizoguchi was inspired by Mori Ōgai’s 1915 novella Sanshō Dayū. Its tale about the tragic realities of human trafficking in feudal Japan resonated with him because of his own harrowing childhood experience of being given up for adoption. Also influential were his Marxist-feminist politics and his belief that post-WWII Japan needed to re-examine its brutal and oppressive past. Mizoguchi decided to use this historical tragedy to create a morality play exploring themes of resilience, human dignity, and the universal need for compassion. In the early 1950s, Mizoguchi’s career was ascendant, and although jidaigeki (period dramas) were not popular with the Japanese public, Daiei Film decided to back the project. Masaichi Nagata was assigned to produce, Mizoguchi would direct, and Fuji Yahiro and Yoshikata Yoda would write the screenplay. A fine cast was assembled, including Kinuyo Tanaka as Tamaki, Kyōko Kagawa as Anju, Eitarō Shindō as Sanshō, and Yoshiaki Hanayagi as Zushiō. Read more…
UGETSU – Fumio Hayasaka
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producer Masaichi Nagata of Daiei Film Studio decided to offer renowned director Kenji Mizoguchi a new project following the critical and commercial success of his previous film, The Life of Oharu (1952). He sweetened the deal by granting Mizoguchi complete artistic control and a large budget. Mizoguchi accepted the offer, with Masaichi Nagata overseeing production. Screenwriters Matsutarō Kawaguchi and Yoshikata Yoda were instructed to draw inspiration from two stories in Ueda Akinari’s Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moon and Rain, 1776): Asaji ga Yado (The House in the Thicket) and Jasei no In (The Lust of the White Serpent), resulting in this film: Ugetsu. For the cast, Machiko Kyō starred as Lady Wakasa, joined by Mitsuko Mito as Ohama, Kinuyo Tanaka as Miyagi, Masayuki Mori as Genjūrō, and Sakae Ozawa as Tōbei. Read more…
THE LIFE OF OHARU – Ichiro Saito
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Politically, director Kenji Mizoguchi was a leftist and a frequent critic of Japan’s historical patriarchal and misogynistic culture, which persisted after World War II. He wanted to make a morality film that would force audiences, particularly men, to confront and pity the suffering of marginalized women. He found inspiration in the 17th-century classic The Life of an Amorous Woman by Saikaku Ihara. He and longtime collaborator Yoshikata Ihara wrote the screenplay, and Koi Production Company agreed to finance the film. Hideo Koi and Mizoguchi oversaw production, with Mizoguchi also directing. For the cast, Kinuyo Tanaka starred as Oharu Okui, joined by Toshiro Mifune as Katsunosuke, Hisako Yamane as Lady Matsudaira, Jūkichi Sugai as Shinzaemon Okui, Tsukie Matsuura as Tomo Okui, Eitarō Shindō as Kahe Sasaya, and Eijirō Yanagi as Kikuoji. Read more…
NAMELESS STARS – Dong-Jin Kim
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1959, director Kang-Yoon Kim persuaded Asea Films to support a “Chosun Ilbo” (national spirit) film commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Student Independence Movement of 3 November 1929. He collaborated with screenwriter Keum-Dong Choi to craft a story that utilized the concept of han in depicting what was a defining moment of national sacrifice. Han is a collective feeling of unresolved grief and injustice, and it frames the students’ patriotic uprising against the brutal and oppressive Japanese occupiers. Jae-Myeong Lee was assigned to oversee production, while Kim also served as director. Remarkably, this was the first and last film he would direct. A fine cast was assembled, including Hae-Nam Hwang as Sang-Hun Kang, Mi-Lyeong Jo as Choi Young-Ae, Nam-Hyeon Choi as Mr. Song, Ok Jeon as Sang-Hun’s mother Seung-I, Bin-Hwa Lee as Mr. Song’s daughter, Myeong-Su Choi as Tae-Min Lee, and Seok-Yang Chu as the Japanese policeman Nakajima. Read more…
THE HIDDEN FORTRESS – Masaru Sato
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Director Akira Kurosawa believed that, after the sad and tragic narratives of his previous two films, Throne of Blood and The Lower Depths (both released in 1957), it was time for a change. As he explained in an interview, “I want to make a 100% entertainment film, full of thrills and fun.” To that end, he conceived a jidaigeki adventure film – a Japanese period piece. He collaborated with writers Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Shinobu Hashimoto to create an original screenplay and secured funding from the Toho Company. Kurosawa oversaw production alongside Sanezumi Fujimoto and also directed the film. For the cast, Toshiro Mifune starred as General Makabe Rokurota, joined by Minoru Chiaki as Tahei, Kamatari Fujiwara as Matashichi, Susumu Fujita as General Hyoe Tadokoro, Takashi Shimura as General Izumi Nagakura, and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. Read more…
THE FLOWER IN HELL – Mok-In Son
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
During the Korean War, director Sang-Ok Shin chose to share an apartment with a prostitute because it provided greater comfort than government evacuation housing, which often accommodated several families. During this time, he became familiar with the misfits, losers, and outcasts of society. Drawing upon these experiences, he conceived a film that revealed the bleak underbelly of Korean society inhabited by its lower classes. He secured financing from Seoul Films Company, Ltd. and personally oversaw both production and directing, while Jeong-Seon Lee was hired to write the screenplay. For the cast, Shin selected his wife, Choi Eun-Hee, a rising star of Korean cinema, for the starring role of So-Nya. Joining her were Kim Hak as Yeong-Shik, Hae-Won Jo as Dong-Shik, and Sun-Hee Kang as Julie. Read more…
THRONE OF BLOOD – Masaru Sato
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Upon finishing his last film, I Live in Fear in 1955, renowned director Akira Kurosawa began to conceive of his next project and decided that he would retell William Shakespeare’s famous 1606 play Macbeth from a Japanese cultural perspective. To that end, he sought to impart native Japanese cultural sensibilities by embracing Noh, a classical form of Japanese dance-drama performed since the 14th century. Noh utilizes masks, costumes, and stage props to support performances in which emotions are expressed through stylized gestures and masks that symbolize ghosts, women, deities, and demons. Noh also espouses the ancient Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and the concept of a soul denied salvation and condemned to wander the mortal world, a theme reflected in Washizu’s fate. Read more…
A HATFUL OF RAIN – Bernard Herrmann
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The success of the controversial film The Man with the Golden Arm in 1955, which dealt with drug addiction, catalyzed a transformative change in the Motion Picture Production Code. The code was relaxed to allow films to address the reality of drug addiction in society. 20th Century Fox immediately sought to capitalize on this shift and decided to adapt the Broadway play A Hatful of Rain by Michael V. Gazzo. The original stage production opened on November 9, 1955, at the Lyceum Theatre in New York and ran for 398 performances. The film rights were purchased, Buddy Adler was placed in charge of production with a $1.5 million budget, Fred Zinnemann was tasked with directing, and Gazzo adapted his play into a screenplay with Alfred Hayes and Carl Foreman. The cast featured Don Murray as Johnny Pope, Eva Marie Saint as Celia Pope, and Anthony Franciosa as Polo Pope. Read more…
3:10 TO YUMA – George Duning
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The original story for 3:10 to Yuma was the brainchild of writer-producer David Heilweil, who adapted the 1953 short story of the same name written by crime author Elmore Leonard. He offered it to producer Robert Aldrich and his production company, who liked it enough to commission a screenplay by Halsted Welles. Yet the company was in need of cash, and so Aldrich sold the screenplay and film rights to Columbia Pictures for $100,000. Heilweil was assigned as producer, and Delmer Daves was tasked with directing. A creative decision was made to shoot the film in black and white using red filters on the camera lens, which afforded the picture a more arid and parched appearance. A fine cast was recruited, including Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, Van Heflin as Dan Evans, Leora Dana as Alice Evans, Felicia Farr as Emmy, Robert Emhardt as Mr. Butterfield, Henry Jones as Alex Potter, and Richard Jaeckel as Charlie Prince. Read more…
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