Kritzerland Takes Flight With "The Red Balloon" World Premiere Release

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For its latest release, the Kritzerland label has turned to a classic film in which music is very nearly a central character. Though it won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, writer-director Albert Lamorisse's 1956 The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge) has very little dialogue. Many scenes of its whimsical story play only with music, and others just with natural sound. Now, the movie's bewitching score by Maurice Le Roux is coming to disc for the very first time in a two-for-one release, paired with Jean Prodromides' score to Lamorisse's next picture, 1960's Le Voyage en Ballon.

The Red Balloon tells simply of a young boy who finds a red balloon and of the relationship that follows. Though only 35 minutes long, the movie has captivated generations of audiences with its simple, wondrous and affecting tale. Starring the director's son Pascal and also featuring his daughter Sabine, The Red Balloon was shot in Paris by cinematographer Edmond Sechan and scored by Maurice Le Roux. Kritzerland's Bruce Kimmel describes the film's beguiling soundtrack: "Le Roux's score hits all of the film's emotional bases and does so simply, effectively, and beautifully. The film begins with his gorgeous, lyrical main theme, and the rest of the score musically tells this wonderful story brilliantly, whether playful (the balloon tormenting the headmaster of the school, the magical sequence of the red balloon flirting with a little girl's blue balloon), or tense when the bullies steal the balloon, and then the stunning sequence when all the balloons of Paris unite and find Pascal, and lift him into the skies for his joyous, exhilarating ride over the city."

The soundtrack is joined by Jean Prodromides' work for Le Voyage en Ballon (a.k.a. Stowaway in the Sky). Narrated in its English version by Jack Lemmon, the film again centers on young Pascal and a balloon; this time the director crafted a full-length family adventure. Kritzerland promises that "Prodromidès' score for Le Voyage en Ballon is filled with beautiful themes that, like the film itself, take flight, and it takes the listener on a musical journey that is truly breathtaking."

The score of The Red Balloon has been beautifully restored from acetates by Chris Malone; the original tapes, alas, have never surfaced so this presentation is likely the best this significant score will ever sound. Malone has also done new work on Le Voyage, making sure that it sounds better than previous CD reissues.

This limited edition of 1,000 units is available now for pre-order from Kritzerland at the link below. CDs will ship by the second week of September, but the label usually ships pre-orders an average of three to five weeks earlier! You can check out the track listing below!

Original Soundtracks, The Red Balloon/Le Voyage en Ballon (Kritzerland, 2016)

THE RED BALLOON (Composed and conducted by Maurice Le Roux)

Main Titles
Pascal Finds the Red Balloon
School/Balloon in the Rain
Home
Balloon Games
Detention/Following the Headmaster
Tormenting the Headmaster/Free from Detention/Flirting Balloons
Church/Pastries/Stolen Balloon/Rescued Balloon/Death of the Balloon
Balloons Unite/Pascal in Flight

Composed and Conducted by Maurice Le Roux

LE VOYAGE EN BALLON (Composed and Conducted by Jean Prodromidès)

Generique - Introduction/Les Cloches de Bethune
Envoi
Ballet de la Chemise Blanche
Alsace/Les Vosges
Paris
Chenoceaux/La Chasse
Les Grands Voliers/Goemons
Poursuite en Bretagne
Les Alpes/Les Glaciers
Provence
Camargue/Les Taureaux/Les Flamands Roses
Finale

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.