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Really, it's almost pointless to speculate why John Williams never received an Oscar nomination for his score to Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The composer's CV features several of the most iconic scores in the history of movies with synchronized sound. Five of his projects - an adaptation of the music to the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof and four originals (JAWS (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993)) have won gold statuettes,

After more than three years of planning, preparing and waiting, audiences finally have a chance to enjoy an expanded edition of John Williams' score to Steven Spielberg's 1991 cult classic Hook (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1211). The world had been "getting by," so to speak, with the Epic label's original 75-minute CD presentation - a generous offering, to be sure, but one that only sort of did the score justice. While critics remain divided to indifferent on the celluloid continuation of James M.

Film Score Monthly has established a top-notch reputation for restoration, but the label can carve a notch on its belt for resuscitation, too.  With the release of the Original Soundtrack Recording of The Belle of New York, FSM has resuscitated the line of expanded MGM musical soundtracks, once the province of Turner Classic Movies Music and Rhino, later Rhino Handmade.  Under the aegis of George Feltenstein, the Rhino/Turner affiliation produced definitive editions of classic musical

"I look around and what do I see? Nothing's the way it used to be..." In 1969, Eve Merriam bluntly took aim at violence, racism, corruption and poverty in her ironic collection of verse, Inner City Mother Goose. Controversial from the outset, Merriam's Mother Goose became one of the most banned books in the country. Enter visionary theatre director Tom O'Horgan. Having replaced Gerald Freedman for Hair's move uptown in 1968, O'Horgan was well known for his experimental flair. Julian Barry's

Close your eyes for a moment and pretend you're on Jeopardy! The answer: "This 1963 widescreen epic opened Hollywood's Cinerama Dome." The question: "What is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?" Raise your hand if you got it right! Yes, Mad World, as we'll abbreviate it for expediency's sake, is this author's epic film to end all epic films (sorry, Ben-Hur!) and certainly one of the only Hollywood epic comedies! While the designation "all-star" has been applied before and since, perhaps no film

When you discuss the best modern entry into the Christmas music canon, most discussion centers on Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You." The 1994 song did a fantastic job of paying tribute to the always-excellent A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector (1963), bringing the Wall of Sound to the '90s, and it's lived on for over 15 years. One Yuletide tune that deserves your attention from earlier in that decade, however, is "Somewhere in My Memory," the heartwarming main theme from

It's a credit to one's abilities as a composer when people all over the world can vocalize the instruments that play your songs. Every hook The Beatles got on the radio proved their expertise at this. Plenty of album-oriented rock bands have accomplished similar feats. In terms of worldwide appeal, however, Koji Kondo may have them all beat. Though few know his name, a simple vocalization - "Doo-doo-doo-do-do-DOOT" - solidifies his status as a legend. And to think, his most successful music

Sometimes the most rewarding soundtrack releases are the least expected. 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther marked the end - well, for a decade, anyway - of Blake Edwards' long-running series of comedies which began with 1963's The Pink Panther. Edwards' seventh and eighth Panther films had been shot following the death of series star Peter Sellers, who proved to be irreplaceable as bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau. (A previous attempt to do Clouseau sans Sellers was 1968's Inspector Clouseau,

It's a safe guess that your enjoyment of La La Land's new expansion of Danny Elfman's score to Batman (1989) (LLLCD 1140), like so many soundtracks, hinges on your enjoyment of the film itself. That sentiment, in turn, hinges on how much you can separate the idea of a fun movie from a good one. The blockbuster - drawn from the immortal DC Comics superhero - never falls short on action, thrills or compelling visuals. But it is too long and bloated, with thin characterization and a