/ Soundtracks

Twentieth Century Fox’s 1953 Biblical epic The Robe boldly trumpeted on its posters, “The First Motion Picture in CinemaScope – The Modern Miracle You See Without Glasses!”  So confident was Fox about the success of The Robe and indeed, the widescreen CinemaScope format, that the studio began production on a sequel (or “continuation,” as it was dubbed) before the first film had even reached theatres.  Screenwriter Philip Dunne, producer Frank Ross, art directors George W. Davis and Lyle Wheeler,

When L. Frank Baum published his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the turn of the century in 1900, could the author have ever possibly imagined that his characters would still be known by virtually every man, woman and child some 114 years later?  Much of that success, however, is attributable to MGM's lavish, Oscar-winning 1939 musical film adaptation which immortalized Judy Garland as Dorothy along with Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr as, respectively, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man and

Upon its release, movie posters heralded the 1977 film Joseph Andrews as "the story of a young, English footman who served the Lady Booby but loved the little Fanny."  Just in case anybody still wasn't sure about exactly what the ribald film offered, the poster was illustrated with an image of the titular character surrounded by two ladies against the backdrop of a third, with a rather ample bosom.  Joseph Andrews was a belated thematic sequel to 1963's Tom Jones, and like that film, it was

Today, more than 25 years after his passing, the name of Fred Astaire still instantly conjures up a world of top hat, white tie and tails; of sheer elegance, easygoing charm and abundant grace.  His enduring talents have recently been celebrated by Sony’s Masterworks label and Turner Classic Movies on the latest in their series of joint CD releases, Fred Astaire: The Early Years at RKO.  (Previous titles have been dedicated to Doris Day and Mario Lanza.)  This 2-CD, 37-song anthology spans the

Kritzerland’s final release of 2013 is sure to be one of its most talked-about.  Today, the label announced an expanded and remastered CD presentation of Elmer Bernstein’s score to The Buccaneer.  The 1958 Paramount Picture starred the King of Siam himself, Yul Brynner, opposite Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer and Charlton Heston in a rip-roaring adventure tale loosely based on real life and set during the War of 1812. Director Anthony Quinn’s film was a remake of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1938 movie of

Kritzerland has just jumped headfirst into the holiday season with three exciting releases on the soundtrack front.  Continuing the label's commitment to the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond, the label has just made these three titles available for pre-order: John Wayne at Fox: The Westerns - Two CDs and three scores for the price of one CD!  This double-disc anthology brings together three classic scores from films featuring The Duke: Elmer Bernstein's The Comancheros (1961), Lionel

In 1962, Henry Mancini scored a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Music from the Motion Picture on the RCA Victor label.  But that 12-track LP only told part of the story of Mancini’s Academy Award-winning score for the film starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Buddy Ebsen, Patricia Neal and Mickey Rooney.  Like most of the scores from his classic period, Mancini re-recorded his Tiffany’s music in pop arrangements for its RCA “soundtrack” LP.  Consequently, the

The folks at Varese Sarabande have not made a huge mistake with one of their latest, somewhat archival soundtrack releases: a compilation of songs and score from the acclaimed television series Arrested Development. "Now, the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together." A catchy intro from the show's narrator/executive producer, an uncredited Ron Howard - but for a number of semi-explainable reasons, Arrested Development failed