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Boom de Boom not to be...

2009-02-03T13:57:00.004-05:00

Thanks for your patience and diligence with our attempt be a blogger, but we're not... Besides, most of the Screen Archives Entertainment information is posted right away on our partner's newly redesigned site and forum: www.filmscoremonthly.com. So read all about Screen Archives there.

New Tribute Film Classics Banner

2008-10-05T08:36:00.006-04:00

Outstanding promotional banner (33" x 80") created by Jim Titus for Tribute Film Classics releases.

Upcoming schedule:

William Stromberg is conducting a film music concert with the Golden State Pops Orchestra in San Pedro, CA on Oct. 25th. Among the selections preformed:

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (Suite) - Bernard Herrmann

KING KONG (Suite) - Max Steiner

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - Danny Elfman

TWILGHT ZONE - arranged by Stu Phillips

For more information and tickets:

http://www.gspo.com/concert.asp?nav=Schedule&cID=53

Bernard Herrmann's Kentuckian and Williamsburg Released

2008-09-04T15:01:00.011-04:00

Tribute Film Classics presents the never-before-released complete scores for The Kentuckian and Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, together on one disc with a deluxe 32-page booklet.

Sherman Oaks, CA – September 4, 2008 - There are few things as rewarding as listening to a great composer’s music written at the peak of his power and coming from the depths of his own soul.

So it is with Tribute Film Classics’ richly realized rerecordings of Bernard Herrmann’s scores for The Kentuckian (1955) and Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot (1957). Both are wonderfully expressive examples of Americana at its most heartfelt.

In his only directorial effort, Burt Lancaster also stars as The Kentuckian, a frontiersman with a yearning to leave Kentucky and find a new life with his young son. The film is a coming-of-age story for both father and son, who find themselves up against a quandary of obstacles keeping them from having the means to travel on a steamboat to Texas, the faraway land of opportunity that awaits them. “Herrmann’s score provides both wistful and spirited insight into frontier life in 1820s America,” says Tribute producer Anna Bonn. “The Kentuckian intertwines many of his compositional styles into an Americana-themed score with undeniable trademark Herrmann characteristics.”

Tribute score reconstructionist John Morgan adds, “Since this 2008 rerecording would include all the music Herrmann wrote for the film and would contain forty-eight separately titled cues, we put many of the short cues together without pause to maintain a solid, rewarding listening experience. Due to Herrmann’s inherent musicianship, these cues fit together beautifully...”

Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot is one of Herrmann’s undiscovered treasures for many film-music enthusiasts. The film was created to run exclusively in the specially designed twin Patriot Theaters in Colonial Williamsburg. It first premiered in March of 1957 and is currently the longest-running motion picture ever: fifty-one years and counting. Herrmann scored Williamsburg with a small orchestra, composing melodies that gave individual instruments each their own moments to shine.

Steven C. Smith, author of the acclaimed A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann, says, “In Williamsburg – a project Herrmann so loved, he declined payment – his recreation of the Georgian idiom is not glib pastiche, but music worthy of its ancestors. In its grace and unforced elegance, it offers a window into a side of Herrmann’s nature often forgotten amid tales of his tempestuousness. Finally, it demonstrates another remarkable aspect of his gift: Herrmann’s ability to 'get inside the drama' and enrich the cinematic experience – while writing personal, uncompromising music from the depths of its author’s soul.”

As with previous Tribute releases, the music is performed to perfection by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under the baton of William T. Stromberg, who says, “Herrmann had a gift for writing wonderfully nostalgic and expressive Americana music, and for me these scores were a real pleasure to conduct. The Kentuckian and Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot are great examples of his gift. The orchestra recognizes this as well and always plays his music with feeling and energetic enthusiasm... I am very lucky and so honored to be able to perform his music – music I grew up inspired and moved by more than any other. For me personally, our new recording is yet another tribute to the master of American cinema.”

Included with the CD is a 32-page deluxe booklet beautifully designed by Jim Titus, with a Herrmann overview by Steven C. Smith and exhaustive cue-by-cue analysis of both scores by Kevin Scott.

The expert production and distribution of Tribute Film Classics score CDs is by Screen Archives Entertainment.

Sneak Preview

2008-07-01T15:58:00.002-04:00

The new Screen Archives release of ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER by Dimitri Tiomkin will be available for orders on July 8, 2008.

"Does Craig really live in a purple house?"

2008-06-28T05:30:00.002-04:00

The man behind Screen Archives Entertainment

2008-06-26T10:03:00.017-04:00

"SAE what?"

By Curt Hardaway

"Screen Archives Entertainment is one of the largest distributors of soundtracks and movie music in the world. SAE even produces exhaustive restorative film music recordings under its own label, working with major studios, composer estates, and universities to preserve music that would otherwise be lost to deteriorating celluloid."

That’s part of what I wrote last year for SAE’s Amazon information. I do go on a lot more about Craig, but it’s in an impersonal way, which gives a typically brief ‘press release’ capsule version of the man. But here’s what I should have said..."In the annals of soundtrack producing and distribution, the name of Craig Spaulding is definitely very high on the list of all-time movers and shakers. Yet he somehow maintains a mysteriously low profile."

But that’s not to say he’s aloof. I remember when I first met him back in the early 1980s, he was as amiable and friendly as you can imagine. He ran a store called Crossroads Market that had a truly eclectic inventory of merchandise for an equally eclectic clientele, and at the back of the store were bins of soundtrack LPs that no one else in the Dallas area had. No one anywhere. Believe me.

I’ll never forget walking in one day and Craig showing me his latest acquisition – the Southern Cross recording of John Barry’s BODY HEAT! It even had the John Williams’ Ladd Company logo music!!! I loved the guy from then on...

I wouldn't learn until later that Craig's reputation had already spread nationally, with collectors calling him from across the country for the latest releases.

Sadly, Crossroads Market came to an end as a music outlet when Craig sold the store and moved away to the mountains of northern Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C.. This was just about at the beginning of the CD era, so I should have known what would happen next. SAE what? (Sorry, I just had to use that gag at least once.)

"After we sold the store, I was looking for a job in D.C. when customers found me and literally demanded that I start selling film scores again," Craig says. "I called some of my old suppliers. We set up up a small space inside the house and started all over again, shipping out records and CDs one at a time. The internet was just taking off, making it easier to communicate with customers, list new releases and available titles, and exchange information.

"SAE just grew from there, first with one part-time employee and now with a huge warehouse and offices about 70 miles outside of Washington,” he said.

But what do we really know about this guy we’ve loved for all these years who gets us the film score fix we need at a price we can afford?

Craig was born on September 29, 1946, except the nurse on duty screwed up and typed ‘September 26.’ “So that’s the legal birthday and I get my presents three days early!” he says. He grew up in Monroe, Louisiana, on a bayou. (Isn't that the hardest thing in the world to imagine?) “I caught a lot of snakes, fish and turtles – and got bit more times than one can count.”

He received a commercial art degree in college, but joined the Air Force to serve in Viet Nam, of which he only says, “Great food, but a total waste of lives – and a country.” Once back, he worked as news department art director for two of the largest newspapers in the country, winning numerous awards (including some big national ones) before abruptly quitting to devote more time to collecting and selling soundtracks.

Now we zip forward to Virginia and SAE. I asked him what his primary responsibility was for the company (besides the obvious).

“I walk the dogs.”

Craig and partner William Waybourn are proud of their dogs. “One is Hank the wonder dog, who volunteers his time as an AAA/AAT (animal assistance activities/animal assisted therapy) canine at the children’s cancer ward at a local major hospital, as well as with patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C.," Craig says. "Being a German shepherd, he's very popular with the soldiers.

“Then there's my dog, Wilson, a 135-lb., long-haired slug of a German Shepherd who goes to work with me – and everywhere else – and is named after the 1944 film WILSON that Alfred Newman scored and that we produced a CD of years ago for 20^th Century-Fox.” A third German shepherd (10-year old Cheyenne) stays home to guard over their mountain home.

If you don’t know, Craig has produced some of the finest Golden Age scores ever made, including Newman’s CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE, Max Steiner’s MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR and PURSUED, and Dimitri Tiomkin's THE COURT-MARTIAL OF BILLY MITCHELL and HIGH NOON. Pretty damn impressive – and that’s just the short list.

What does he really enjoy about his own company? “I like the night shift, the people, and all those new film music arrivals!”

Craig's memory of customers' tastes and buying habits is legendary, and staffers say it's not uncommon for him to remind a customer that he already owns something in his shopping cart, or that "you won't like this."

Because SAE is so much bigger now, it's hard for him to have as much contact with all the customers, but he still checks incoming orders while leaving overall operations to a dedicated crew run by Ed Dennis.

Craig's very proud of SAE's customer service record, especially since the company is considered one of the largest distributors of film scores in the world. In fact, SAE's customer list is a who's who of the film industry, and the staff frequently chats with celebrities attempting to enhance their personal collections.

An astute businessman, Craig says that SAE was always profitable, but he chooses to put a major portion of profits back into the company by buying more licenses and releases, and improving operations. Two years ago, he partnered with Lukas Kendall of Film Score Monthly to become its exclusive distributor. "That allows Lukas more time to focus on finding titles before they are lost forever," he says. Another partnership that Craig has nurtured is with John Morgan, Anna Bonn and William Stromberg and their label, Tribute Film Classics.

Composers, other labels, and even Craig's competitors speak highly of him. More than a few of them have stayed in business during rocky times thanks to his advice and/or financial support. "I treat everyone the way I would want to be treated," he says. "In all my years, I have gotten burned only once. That really speaks to the quality of the individuals of this business we're in."

And what does he like about life in general? “Food is the best part, but then there’s music and there’s so much of it. I usually just watch old movies on TV and hang out with the dogs at our mountain-top home overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. And my partner William, who likes basketball when Duke plays and a few favorite football teams – so I watch them too." Craig also enjoys maintaining their forested 40 acres -- and the cleared portion around the house keeps him busy. “I read every night, but it makes me sleepy – which is the effect I want."

Several years ago, Craig's “hobby that turned into a business” took a new turn by his amassing quite a collection of lobby cards and one-, two- and three-sheet posters from movies, including having some of them restored to their original splendor. "I collect film posters from projects we have produced, as well as others, but they are so big that most are still rolled up for lack of space to frame and hang,” he says.

I had to ask him about his favorite movies, of course. “KING KONG, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE MIRACLE WORKER, NETWORK, THE BIRDS, NOW, VOYAGER, THE LITTLE FOXES, HIGH NOON, PSYCHO, GONE WITH THE WIND, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, THE SEARCHERS, and just too many more.”

(Does anyone else think that NETWORK is the oddball out on that list?)

But the big question I’m sure you all probably want to know is who his favorite composers are. Oddly enough, I’m confused myself because he listed Alfred Newman first, but then put Tiomkin in all caps with two exclamation points! So I’ll print it as he wrote it and y’all can sort it out...“Alfred Newman, TIOMKIN!!, Waxman, Rozsa, Herrmann, Friedhofer, North, Korngold, Raksin and all the other Golden Age composers. “

So there you have it. Not a Media Ventures guy in the bunch...

That doesn’t mean he won’t try to get you whatever you want in film music, regardless of the composer. As far as I know, he’s the best there ever was at that.

And I have to say that he listed his career highlight as “Just having grown up with classic scores and then having the privilege to actually produce some of them with others who love film music.”

Nuff said.

(Curt Hardaway has been a journalist, editor and writer for over 30 years and in many venues, including newspapers, national trade magazines, marketing and advertising copy, and on-line magazines and blogs. His love of film music began with Herrmann in the 1960s, but advanced to Steiner, Newman, Waxman and many others before discovering his favorite composer, Jerry Goldsmith. He lives in Dallas, Texas and recounts his first meeting with Craig Spaulding years ago.)

Ed Says...

2008-06-09T20:45:00.002-04:00

I want to take a moment to tell all the collectors about the great Italian CDs that just came in and that we are are blowing out the door -- many at the low price of $9.95. Some of these CDs were originally priced at $24.95.

This is your chance to pick up what you may have been missing, or if you have ever been curious to pick up some Italian western scores, then here is a great way to start. Death Rides A Horse and the great score to Secret of the Sahara are just two of the titles we have for sale. Hurry, these won't last long, as some titles are already sold out and the manufacturer only printed 1000 copies of many titles. Whether you are a completist, a genre fan or even a casual buyer, I highly recomend taking advantage of this great sale.

Ed

Superman Is Back!

2008-04-24T19:04:00.006-04:00

Superman Second Edition has just arrived, so order here now. A recent review by Danny Graydon at Empire Online gave it FIVE stars:

Superman The Music: 1978-1988

With its patriotic bombast and a fanfare that all but proclaims the name “Su-per-MAN…!”, John Williams’ famous march for 1978’s Superman: The Movie arguably ranks as his most accomplished character theme - no mean feat considering his track record. Instantly recognisable, it’s the unifying element of this astounding 8-disc set that offers the most complete and remastered scores for the four Christopher Reeve films and the 1988 cartoon. Read the rest of the review here.

SLUGE MUGS

2008-04-19T18:19:00.004-04:00

Let your cup runneth over with the latest trinket from Screen Archives Entertainment and Film Score Monthly. Free with orders of $200 or more, $14.95 (+shipping) when purchased separately. Hurry! Quantities are limited and then they're gone, they're gone. You can order here!

FSM Get-Together Photos

2008-04-12T19:26:00.009-04:00

I want to thank everyone who came out to our get-together on Wed. evening, April 9th at Private Island Trax in Hollywood. I had no expectations and made even less preparations but it was a really lovely evening that everybody seemed to enjoy. Nowell Beer kindly sent the following photos.

Unfortunately, this blogging software is driving me nuts and I messed up the order of the photos. The second photo (sorry these are out of order) is me doing my best director impersonation (they say if you are a movie director and a photo is being taken on set, point at something so show you are directing) with Private Island Trax proprietor and engineer Michael McDonald at right. We had a Pro Tools rig connected to a projection monitor so that people could see the screen (what I was pointing at) -- thanks to Trax for setting that up.

Photo below that is another angle of the room with guests looking at the big screen.

Next photo is a shot of Mike McDonald.

Bottom photo is the incomparable Jeff Bond. Note: That light blue shirt of his is older than most Hans Zimmer fans.

Finally, the photo up TOP (sorry I can't get this blog software to let me line up the captions and the photos) includes some luminaries, who in their defense probably were not posing for the photo. Left to right, that's Beth Krakower of Cinemedia Promotions, producer Didier Deutsch (how many CDs of his do we all have in our collections?), Preston Jones, I think Mike Hyatt, agent Richard Kraft, Eugene Iemola, I think Chris Mangione, Matt who was filming the event possibly for Headline News (provided there was no news that day -- but seriously, thank you for documenting this, and acting as your own cameraman too!), and seated in the orange shirt is John Davis of Precision AudioSonics who does most of our analogue-to-digital transfers.

This event was really special for me because it took me full circle to what inspired FSM when I was a high school student on Martha's Vineyard in 1990. Other kids had their friends with whom they could talk about Guns 'n' Roses and go off-island to see concerts, and I wanted someone with whom I could discuss Jerry Goldsmith. Everything at FSM -- from the magazine to the website to the CDs -- came down to a primal human need to turn to your pal and say that you liked something. That's why I've invested a lot of money in the message board and why I hope we have one of the more robust online communities for film score discussion.

Fortunately, I've talked about making CDs enough that I could hold a room (I hope) and answer questions and that's mostly what we did. I've done this before in print and radio interviews but it was really rewarding to do it in person because I felt free to open up and tell some stories and not worry about something being taken the wrong way. After this Q&A was over, people hung around to mingle (I'm very glad they did) and eventually it ended with a few people forming a semi-circle around Richard Kraft (a usual occurrence when Richard is around) for a combination of war stories, bull session and random musings -- totally interactive and full of love and humor. It really was all I ever wanted when I was 16.

I do have one regret which is that the event was necessarily limited to those who could make it in the L.A. area. Growing up on an island, I am particularly sensitive to not having access to something fun. I would encourage people to put on their own “satellite” get-togethers – all you need, really, is to pick a place to meet (be it a Borders or bar/diner or something), post the announcement, and have someone who doesn’t mind a small amount of organizing and the prospect of greeting strangers. It can be weird meeting people who are otherwise mysterious screen names on the Internet, but as we showed last week, it can be done. So I would encourage you to try -- next up, New York? (And yes, I would be happy to host another in Los Angeles.)

Please see the message board thread -- http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=49440&forumID=1&archive=0 -- for more reactions on the gathering and to post your comments. If you were there, by all means chime in!

Duplicates? Cleaning out your closets?

2008-04-08T12:42:00.003-04:00

Don't throw away those CDs - someone may just want one (or two). Plus, we will pay you for them. Here's how to turn your duplicates and trash into cash.

IF Magazine Interview with Ken Thorne

2008-04-08T12:32:00.002-04:00

E-Notes: KEN THORNE FLIES HIGH AT LAST WITH 'SUPERMAN' 2 AND 3

The composer chats about putting music to the tights and the challenges that entailed

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER, Soundtrack Editor
Published 4/8/2008

Sure John Williams may have written one of the greatest scores of the last century with SUPERMAN: THE MOTION PICTURE. But just imagine being the composer who had to fit on the same cape for SUPERMAN 2 and 3. That no less heroic figure was Ken Thorne, a long time musical collaborator for director Richard Lester on such films as HELP, FINDERS KEEPERS and ROYAL FLASH. No slouch himself when it came to writing such other memorably adventurous scores as JUGGERNAUT and HANNIE CAULDER, Lester was given the almost unimaginable task of using John Williams’ pre-existing music to score SUPERMAN 2. And where Williams had brilliantly tailored his music to fit scenes it was actually written for, Ken Thorne would have the task of cutting up another composer’s musical cape to fit an entirely different move- one already shaken by the producers’ replacement of Richard Donner with Richard Lester. Read the rest of Schweiger's interview with Thorne here.

Pre- order copies of the Superman Blue Box 2nd Edition or any of the other Superman titles set here.

Take note

2008-04-07T11:02:00.007-04:00

Disques CineMusique has reissued two Canadian CDs: Interlude/Rapture includes a newly revised 20-page booklet and the film music of Georges Delerue for Jack Clayton films has been reissued.

You can order both from here.

First edition of Superman is sold out

2008-03-29T08:12:00.002-04:00

Now taking pre-orders for 2nd edition SUPERMAN: THE MUSIC (1978-1988).

It doesn't get any better than this!

2008-03-25T16:07:00.003-04:00

Meet up with Lukas Kendall and get free shipping
If you are in the Los Angeles area and planning to join Lukas for an afternoon of film music gab at Private Island Trax on Wednesday, April 9th, you can place an order through SAE's web site on or before April 1st, and it will be shipped direct to Lukas at his FSM office so he can personally hand it to you, as well as personally autograph any FSM releases of your choice. Just make a note when you order in the notes field that your order is to be shipped to Lukas and we will automatically deduct the shipping charge from the invoice. All orders must be made no later than April 1st so we can them out the door in time for the event. Please use only credit cards or PayPal for payment. If you order any titles that are not in stock at the time of shipping, we will remove them from the order.

We hope you can meet Lukas and hear some of the secrets of making a CD.

When: April 9th, 7-9PM

Private Island Trax
6671 Sunset Blvd
Suite 1550
Hollywood CA 90028
323-856-8729

Thanks from the SAE/FSM staff!

Low Quantity Alert

2008-03-21T08:19:00.004-04:00

Basil Poledouris' "The Legend of Butch & Sundance" is below 100 copies of its original limited edition of 1500.

Order now to get one of the last copies of this beautiful and inspiring score.

Taarna Has Her Day

2008-03-13T13:11:00.005-04:00

Lukas here. This was a fun day in that we could unveil one of the "Holy Grails" of collecting: Heavy Metal by Elmer Bernstein. For years, this was a treasured LP; we have released not only the album, but the whole thing. But as this was a great LP that Elmer produced, the tracks are sequenced in such a way that you can program just the LP sequence, or the entire thing. It was recorded in England so there are no AFM union issues and the release is not a limited edition. The CD represents a good year's worth of negotiations on the part of Rhino, Elektra, Sony, the estate of Elmer Bernstein (who provided the masters) and other concerned parties...the album rights went through several hands and we are very grateful to everyone involved who took time to research their end of it and get back to us. I don't know why people thought this CD would never get done...it was just a hard road to climb due to the way the film was financed and distributed and the album released on Elektra in 1981. But really, Elmer's manager and attorney had researched it around six years ago when Elmer himself intended to release it on this Amber Records label (before his illness) -- they did most of the groundwork here, and very generously forwarded all of their research. I can't say enough about how wonderful the Bernstein estate continues to be as far as having a great attitude towards his legacy and putting their money and resources behind these efforts.

After the Superman rigamarole of months of leaks, pre-announcements, updates, etc. we thought there was maybe a little fatigue on the part of collectors waiting for these things to come out, so we have dropped Heavy Metal into the marketplace with just a photo of our warrior friend Taarna to publicize it. I think it's worth remembering that soundtrack collecting ought to be fun, and one of the things that used to be fun was going to the record store and finding some amazing item that you never knew existed that you wanted to devour there in the store. That rarely happens anymore, so this is probably the closest we'll come.

Finally, it's worth pointing out that this score is absolutely fantastic. When you troll the studio vaults like we do, you come across a lot of interesting and worthy items but sometimes you've got damaged elements, an obscure title, something that is more of a curio than a blockbuster. And we're devoted to those. But once in a while it's great -- as with Superman -- to have something that needs little introduction. Although my favorite message board post today was over at moviemusic where somebody asked (paraphrasing here) "What's the fuss about this score?" and put underneath it, "Just listened to the sound clips...Never mind. Ordered!" A special thanks to Paul MacLean and Al Kaplan who have written some great liner notes for us. Taarna would say thanks, if she ever talked.

Mysterious Island wins Rondo Award

2008-03-13T08:58:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to Tribute Film Classics' Mysterious Island for winning the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for BEST CD.

You can view a list of all of the winners here.

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (288 votes)

Runnerup: THE GHASTLY ONES
Honorable mention: LURKING CORPSES, Lust for Blood;
RADIO APOCALYPSE

Super customer's Superman opening

2008-03-13T08:32:00.004-04:00

Posted on The Superman Saga by SuperFan. You can read the entire thread here.

"I used to post at the old forum on occasion but mostly lurked, and didn't realize a new forum was in place (thanks to Alex, for activating my account!). But I thought I'd capture yesterday's momentous occasion on film and share it with the forum. Of course, if opening up the Blue Box is something of a spoiler, then maybe you shouldn't scroll down past the 4th photo. Everyone else, though, carry on!

"I saw this on my front stairs:

"Carefully, I opened the package:

"No deep incisions now, Doc.

"One step closer...

"Something blue emerges

"Steady hand, doc

"*cue victorious choir music*

"Like many, I've waited for what seemed like an eternity to have a tangible copy of the sequels music, and when the time is right, I'm going to sit like the TDK guy in front of my living room stereo, and blast the hell out of my ears. But for now, I'm going to lie dormant in anticipation until that moment comes, and just admire the blueness of the box. I'm sure when my anxiety boils over, I'll open it. I hope everyone's box arrives safely. This will be a great week for all of us. Cheers!"

From Leonard Maltin

2008-03-11T08:13:00.012-04:00

HIGH NOON reviewed by Leonard Maltin

Music Composed and Directed by Dimitri Tiomkin (Screen Archives Entertainment) — Although it boasts one of the most famous theme songs in movie history, the entire music score for High Noon has never been released on disc until now. Producers Ray Faiola and Craig Spaulding obtained composer Dimitri Tiomkin’s original acetate recordings from his widow and treated them with tender loving care. Given that the famous ballad, “Do Not Foresake Me,” dominates the film, the balance of the score is surprisingly listenable, with a variety of instrumentation from one cue to the next. Of course, many scenes involve tension and conflict, but Tiomkin never overplays his hand.

The recurring use of the Tex Ritter vocal is especially effective on this CD, as the producers only used those reprises that Tiomkin had intended, and left out some additional fragments that were added to the movie soundtrack at the last minute. (They also remastered the music for the finale to reflect the composer’s original plan.)

There is an endearing moment at the end of the finale—never heard on the movie, but audible on the original session recording—when Tiomkin happily exclaims, “Wonderful! Wonderful!” to his musicians. Two additional tracks allow us to eavesdrop on Tex Ritter rehearsing his ballad, and then recording a demo version.

As with most of Screen Archives Entertainment’s releases, this one comes with a beautifully designed booklet featuring rare behind-the-scenes photos and a superbly detailed essay on the genesis and production of the film by Rudy Behlmer. It’s taken more than half a century, but this score was well worth waiting for.

Blue Box Second Edition and Bookbinding Blues

2008-03-10T23:29:00.003-04:00

Lukas says:

"We are going ahead with a second edition of the blue box that will be IDENTICAL to the first except for the fact that the book will notate (somewhere) that it is the second printing. There will be 3,000 copies in this second run. We are pressing it immediately and hope to have it in stock so that there is no interruption in the set's availability -- but we can't guarantee that. The first edition continues to sell lightning-fast and we have probably sold around 2,400 of the 3,000 copies.

"We have heard of collectors having issues with the binding of their books. We specifically (and expensively) ordered the high-end book binding in which pages are sewn (not glued) together -- however, there is some gluing involved and evidently somewhere in the first edition of 3,000 sets there were some books that were not correctly bound.

"I think I saw a message board post from someone saying, 'I think I'll wait for the second edition that doesn't have this problem.' Folks, it doesn't work like that. These things run on an assembly line -- a metaphorical one if not a literal one. Along the way of the 3,000 books being printed and bound you might have a period of time where a machine is misaligned or someone does his job lazily -- this is all out of our control as it happens at the plant or is sometimes outsourced to yet a different plant. The copies that were printed/bound/whatever during that time are the ones that are problematic. And rest assured we have complained about these problems to our vendor. But it doesn't mean the first edition copies are all one way and the second edition copies all another way. There is an element of Murphy's Law in all of this.

"If you think this is a nightmare for you, think of what it is like for us: we asked for the best kind of binding, we were told we were getting it, we can't visually inspect 3,000 books, and now we get these reports. We do monitor customer feedback on various message boards, and it is not a good feeling to see posts of how exciting it is to hear all this wonderful music get overtaken by frets (which are legitimate) of whether someone's binding might be one of the questionable ones. (I could probably post somewhere that my CD release of such-and-such had a dead fly in it, and then have 30 posts follow it from people worried that they might also get a dead-fly copy. THERE IS NO DEAD FLY COPY OF ANYTHING. IT'S AN EXAMPLE.)

"Here is what we are doing: We are having additional books printed (at the manufacturer's expense) as part of the second run and combined with some overrun on the first edition we will have more than enough books on hand to replace defective books. If your book is defective, email SAE at info@screenarchives.com.

"However, we ask collectors, sincerely, to contact us only if the book is ACTUALLY coming apart. Not if you are afraid it is coming apart, or think you breathed on it funny, or your dog ate it, or you want a second one for reading purposes.

"There have been some requests for us to publish a pdf of the book. Sorry, but we can't, because we licensed the Superman images contained in the book from DC Comics for the hardcopy only and do not have download rights. And, in all honesty, it doesn't make business sense for us to give away for free one of the box set's main attractions -- and even if we emailed these privately, they would end up archived at websites in short order.

"The one thing that we can control is our customer service which we aim to make second-to-none. If you have a defective copy of any FSM CD, you can get it replaced. That goes for all of our stuff, Blue Box included. Think of it as the SAE insurance: we know you want your collectibles to be in perfect condition, and we'll work with you to that end. But there is an element of the honor system to this: the "insurance" breaks down if people abuse this principle (forcing us to be more discriminating in fulfilling requests) and in some cases there are things that are beyond our control that you will have to live with -- like the discs becoming loose in transit within the sealed Blue Box. Just stick them back on the spokes and if they aren't scratched, who cares? Ah, I remember the old days where we had (for example) every copy of The Prodigal have a slightly crinkled booklet because a heavier stock of paper was used by the printer. EVERY SINGLE COPY had the same crinkle in the same place but there was one poor guy who raked me over the coals and I remember opening box after box trying to find a "clean" one -- to no avail. And that's when I called my friend Craig Spaulding and offered him the FSM catalog to distribute.

"Thanks and good night...and if you call or email SAE, ask them for whatever you need to, but be nice. Pretend you're Superman. He's a good guy..."

-Lukas Kendall

Superman Second Edition

2008-03-07T13:12:00.003-05:00

Lukas says:

"There are less than 600 remaining of the 3,000-qty. blue box first edition. There WILL be a second edition but we are waiting on a few answers from our manufacturer before a final decision about whether it will be the same format as the first. Also, the second edition may not be in stock for a couple of months so you may want to purchase now to avoid the dreaded "backorder" notice."

You can order it here now.

Leonard Rosenman Dies

2008-03-05T21:29:00.005-05:00

Composer Leonard Rosenman dies

Oscar winner helped modernize film music

By JON BURLINGAME
(c) 2008 FilmMusicSociety.org

Leonard Rosenman, a two-time Oscar-winning composer who was credited with helping to modernize film music in the 1950s and '60s, died Tuesday of a heart attack at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 83.

Rosenman composed the scores for about four dozen films including the James Dean classics "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause," as well as such
science-fiction films as "Fantastic Voyage" and "Beneath the Planet of the
Apes" and period pieces including "A Man Called Horse."

He won back-to-back Oscars in 1975 and 1976 for adapting the classical music
of "Barry Lyndon" and the Woody Guthrie songs of "Bound for Glory." He also
received Oscar nominations for the original music of the mid-1980s films
"Cross Creek" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and a Golden Globe
nomination for his music for the 1978 animated version of "The Lord of the
Rings."

Click here for more of Jon Burlingame's report on Leonard Rosenman.

Vote Now for Mysterious Island

2008-03-01T10:26:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Curt again for alerting us to the voting for the Rondo Awards -- mark your ballot for Clinton or Obama, er Mysterious Island as the Best CD of 2007 by March 8th.

Monster Kids Music

2008-02-29T19:24:00.007-05:00

During the mid-1960s, I really hated The Beatles.

While all my friends were playing ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ I shook my head in disgust and played Al Hirt’s ‘The Horn meets the Hornet,’ a collection of redone TV themes by the great trumpeter. That was the very first LP I ever bought.

Being a very devout Monster Kid, I’d gingerly turn the pages of my Famous Monsters of Filmland collection every day. And just like every other Monster Kid, I’d dream of buying all those great things from the Captain Company, including ‘Horrible Herman’ (I really wanted to know what that thing was and still do to this day).

One of the holiest of Holy Grails was the Dick Jacobs Coral LP, ‘Themes from Horror Movies.’ Man, did I salivate over that. I finally got it a few years later and was crushed to hear the awful sound effects and narration (“They zig... they zag...on and on!”). Still, I listened to it religiously, particularly the HORROR OF DRACULA and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN cues. I wouldn't find out until later just how off-center all those themes really were.

I also remember being devastated when Bernard Herrmann put out those London re-recordings of his science fiction and monster movies, ‘The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann’ and ‘The Mysterious Film World of Bernard Herrmann.’ Hardly anything sounded close enough to the music I loved in all those films. The real heartbreaker was his recording of a few tracks from MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, probably my favorite Ray Harryhausen movie (and Herrmann score) of all time. Particularly horrible was ‘The Giant Bird,’ a cue that was so slowed down I had to play it at 45 rpm to get the tempo right, which really made those piccolos shriek, let me tell you!

And that’s how I learned about the incredibly iffy world of re-recordings. Although the original soundtrack to MYSTERIOUS ISLAND eventually surfaced on Cloud Nine Records, it was incomplete (most prominently missing were ‘The Giant Bee’ and lots of ethereal island cues) and with only so-so sound quality.

Enter Tribute Film Classics, the new label specializing in meticulous re-recordings that finally released the complete MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (with outtakes even) as their premiere CD last fall. It was more than I – and many, many others – could have ever hoped for.

But way before founding the company, two of the principals behind TFC already had a big hand in some of the best re-recorded monster music of all time, along with even more great non-genre film music. And, with a third partner, they’ve written a substantial number of original scores – most of those genre-related, too.

Click here for the rest of Curt's take on "Monster Kids Music."

More Blue Boxes in the mail

2008-02-29T19:09:00.003-05:00

Another big day of shipping Superman box sets to customers. Our plans are to work through the weekend, mailing Saturday, plus have a larger number ready for Monday's mail. Enjoy!

Blue boxes out the door

2008-02-28T17:05:00.003-05:00

The first wave of 204 Superman box sets in 51 USPS tubs left SAE today for their new homes. SAE has brought in extra help to meet the demand of shipping so many boxes, and will work through the weekend to get the orders out as quickly as possible.

Prince and the Pauper Rehearsal

2008-02-26T10:08:00.004-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming release of "The Prince and the Pauper" by Tribute Film Classics at a recent recording session with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's classic will be released at the same time as "Charge of the Light Brigade."

Charge of the Light Brigade rehearsal

2008-02-25T08:10:00.009-05:00

Tribute Film Classics conductor Bill Stomberg and composer John Morgan rehearse with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra on one of the takes from "Charge of the Light Brigade" that will be part of a two-CD set. The recent session also included Tribute's Anna Stromberg in the re-recording of Max Steiner's classic score.

Superman's Blue box and discs

2008-02-22T09:19:00.003-05:00

From Lukas regarding the blue screwup...

2008-02-21T21:13:00.004-05:00

Friends,

We tried to have an orderly and fair Super-launch. What can we say? We
tried, and failed. The server crashed, and continued to crash despite our
efforts to handle the bandwidth. Finally, SAE stripped the site back to its basics, leaving only the Superman ordering up for now and that seemed to work. As demand subsides, we'll turn the other stuff back on.

If you order anytime in the next day or so, you should be fine and you'll have your copy in a regular amount of time (they are presently on their way to us from the manufacturer). We will post updates, too.

While things have vastly improved since later this afternoon, please accept our apologies. The overload was just too much.

And yes, the 50 signed copies are all gone -- if you got one, consider yourself very very lucky.

Thanks!

LK

Timeless boom de boom

2008-02-18T17:18:00.009-05:00

If you haven’t heard this live boom-de-boom duel pianos performance of Franz Waxman’s “Ride of the Cossacks” from TARAS BULBA you’ll find that it’s more exhilarating than morning’s coffee to get you fired up for the day’s endeavors or if you need a pick-me-up anytime when you are feeling a bit down, so save this performance from YouTube.

You can find more Franz Waxman titles on SAE here:

A lot of boom...

2008-02-18T17:13:00.010-05:00

At the moment I can think of nothing much else but the boom-de-boom cue for Tiomkin’s “Pharaoh’s Procession” right after the “Main Title” from his epic LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. One of the greatest film music cues ever!!! Check out the music on SAE's website.

FSM announces the date of...it's announcement

2008-02-14T11:47:00.005-05:00

We're almost there, friends. The blue box will go on sale beginning at 3:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2008.

FSM's 8-CD box set, SUPERMAN: THE MUSIC (1978-1988), encompasses a new fully remastered and complete edition of John Williams's Superman: The Movie along with previously unreleased presentations of the complete scores for its three sequels: Superman II and Superman III (adapted and conducted by Ken Thorne) and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (adapted and conducted by Alexander Courage and featuring new themes by John Williams). The latter is spread across two full CDs of never-before-released music and songs. Also included in the set is a bonus disc of additional alternates, source music and songs, plus a full disc of Ron Jones's music for the 1988 Superman animated series, rounding out a full decade of Superman music. The 8 CDs are accompanied by an in-depth, full-color 160 page hard-bound book, all housed in an elegant blue slipcase box with the Superman "S" embossed in silver.

The set is available as a limited edition of 3,000 copies priced at $119.95 each, and may be ordered beginning at 3:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on Thursday, February 21, 2008 via ScreenArchives.com. Additional information and sound samples will be available at that time.

Why announce the announcement? Because we have a limited number of autographed copies and want everybody to have the same chance at reserving one: Fifty (50) copies of the enclosed book have been signed by composers Ken Thorne and Ron Jones. These autographed editions will be available for $199.95 each on a first come-first served basis and with a limit of one (1) per person -- also through Screen Archives Entertainment at the same date and time. Please no e-mailed reservations before the officially announced SAE website sales on February 21th.

SUPERMAN: THE MUSIC (1978-1988) is produced by Mike Matessino and Lukas Kendall and celebrates the Man of Steel's official birthday of February 29 as well as a triple anniversary year.... The character made his debut 70 years ago when Action Comics #1 hit newsstands, and 30 years ago, on December 15, 1978, Superman: The Movie was released, introducing audiences to Christopher Reeve's indelible portrayal and John William’s classic themes. Additionally, Warner Bros., the studio behind the Superman series, celebrates its 85th anniversary in 2008. With SUPERMAN: THE MUSIC, Film Score Monthly delivers a release befitting this multi-tiered celebration.

See you next Thursday!

The Fine Print

2008-01-31T11:31:00.000-05:00

We assume that everything everyone has written here is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but don’t think for a minute we have time to verify it. What’s “accurate” today may not be tomorrow. That’s life. We take no responsibility for accuracy or validity of what someone says even though this is a moderated blog where comments require approval. That said, there may be a slight delay before comments appear. Be patient, as shipping out orders come first.

Mistakes happen, links break and domains come and go and we’re not big on intelligent design evolution. If you notice something out of whack, please let us know.

We borrow most of the images here, so there’s no intent to offend anyone. As much as the images are not ours, we’ll remove one if anyone complains. Likewise, downloading files or content is at your own risk. We don’t even attempt to verify that it’s bug-free, etc.

In fact, reading this is at your own risk, as the comments are the opinions of others and not ours. Personally, we don’t believe in maligning any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual or anyone or anything, animal, vegetable or mineral. There, you can’t blame us.

We are responsible only for our content, period. We believe in the right to self-determination and “do no harm.” If what you say will injure, defame or libel others, then don’t say it. If you do, then we’ll remove it and guess who gets the last word?

Everything here is copyrighted. Copy if you must, but give us credit. Otherwise it’s stealing. Even better, send us a check.

Because we sell across borders, we respect all who read this and aren’t responsible for individuals who make defamatory statements about governments, religions, cultures or local laws, such as the stupid mega-penalty known as the Virginia Abusive Driver fees that require selling both your car and your home just to make the first of three years of payments.

There’s no other way to say it, but if legal action is brought against us for any reason, we’ll get pissed and the most you can get is $10. What? You didn’t think we already had lawyers who knew to cap any fees that you just agreed to?

Even if we left something out, we still claim it.