No comments about A Maurice Jarre Trilogy: The Damned, A Season In Hell, For Those I Loved.

5 comments about Gone With The Wind: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition).

1. Not another recording of GONE WITH THE WIND I hear you say! But please don't jump to any conclusions for here we have the most fantastic and without doubt the most definitive version on record of this classic score.
   The presentation of this original soundtrack double CD is positively stunning! Like Rhino's previous release of the double CD of Rozsa's brilliant BEN HUR their GONE WITH THE WIND is even more impressive. The elongated book-like container is graced with beautiful art work and has a handsome 52 page booklet detailing the history of the movie and score by the erudite Rudy Behlmer.
   All other soundtrack versions and re-recordings can now be confidently
   discarded except, of course, Muir Mathieson's fine version he conducted in 1959 when Steiner was in London scoring JOHN PAUL JONES.
   Max Steiner's music for GONE WITH THE WIND is now history. Here was the budding genius that was to blossom into full flower later with such film music masterworks as "Now Voyager" (1942), "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre"
   and "Johnny Belinda" (both 1948), The Flame & The Arrow" (1950),"The Searchers"(1956),"A Summer Place" (1959) and "Spencer's Mountain"(1963).
   The music is arguably the most popular film music ever written. It was the first 'Blockbuster' movie score and the one that woke us up to the fact that there was music in the background of films at all. It is remarkable that the majestic 'Tara Theme' is still capable of sending a shiver up the spine.
   All the themes we know and love are here but there are many more glorious cues making their way onto disc for the first time such as the lovely six minute cue "The O'Hara Family", the music for "Twelve Oaks" and "The Barbecue", the complete "Escape From Atlanta", "Scarlett in Shantytown"
   and you haven't heard "Melanie's Death" until you hear it here complete with the almost bittersweet angelic chorus. Guaranteed to soften the hardest of hearts this piece is one of the composer's loveliest and most
   touching musical inspirations!
   Listening to the album and reading the informative booklet one begins to
   realise just how gargantuan and exhaustive an undertaking the scoring of
   the picture really was. Due to time constraints and constant demands from David O'Selznick Steiner was forced to enlist the help of fellow composers Hugo Friedhofer, Heinz Roemheld, Franz Waxman, Adolph Deutsch
   and William Axt. Their contribution to the overall score, however, was minor and based mainly on Steiner's material. It's fun to try and locate some of these pieces on the album.
   Sound is surprisingly excellent and it's hard to believe that the recording is almost 70 years old. The whole album is a collector's joy
   from start to finish and makes a nice companion piece, on your bookshelf,
   to the double BEN HUR - the two best soundtrack albums of the nineties!
   Leonard Bernstein once remarked of Max Steiner "had he written nothing else but "Gone With The Wind" we would be forever in his debt".
   WE ARE!



2. Sadly, my exposure to this excellent 2-CD soundtrack set of Gone With The Wind has been from friends who own this set. Almost every note of music from this historic film score is present, including music not previously heard in the film. The sound quality is not always perfect, but considering these recordings are nearly 70 years old, it's forgiveable.
   
   One glaring omission is the exclusion of the overture, intermission, entr'acte, and exit music tracks. True, they're merely 5 minute suites of score heard elsewhere in the film, but I happen to think they're excellent suites and should have been included here. Other than that, it's a perfect set.
   
   However, I'd like to be able to enjoy a 2-Disc set of my own. I'd like to be able to actually touch it and hold it and see the beautiful box art in person. I'd like to be able to look at the disc art in person. I'd also love to be able to read the booklet that comes with the box. I own Rhino's 2-CD Wizard of Oz soundtrack, and I know this one's booklet will be just as excellent as the Oz booklet.
   
   And yes, I can touch it, read the booklet, and flat out own the thing...if I'm willing to pay $80 or more on eBay or Amazon Marketplace. C'mon, Rhino, I know you're reading this. Stop acting like you work for Disney and keep your soundtracks, compilations, etc. in print. Not all of us can just afford to toss aside $100 for an out of print soundtrack. True, there's the single-disc version that's still in print, but why? Why not keep BOTH in print? Consumers LIKE choices. I'd surely pay $25-$30 for this soundtrack, as it's absolutely 100% worth it. But not $100+ from internet sellers. It's not fair to force the fans to choose between an affordable release that's incomplete and made really only for the casual fan, or an outrageously expensive OOP edition that has everything you could want.
   
   Please bring this 2-Disc set back into print, Rhino! As FRank Kennedy would say, please don't leave us on tenderhooks!



3. What a pleasure to be able to hear virtually all of the original soundtrack! I bought the standard vinyl original soundtrack recording in the late 60's after the theatrical re-release that introduced me to what was to become my all-time favorite film, and eventually wore it out through overuse. It was worth the wait to be able to replace it with this fine effort, which includes deluxe packaging and a beautiful 52-page booklet on the making of the film. Granted, one wonders if perhaps the music could have been better restored but I suppose caution is indicated--overzealous use of noise-reduction technology has ruined many a remastering effort. No matter; the first few notes brought tears to my eyes.
   I advise GWTW fans to go the extra mile and invest in this two-disk definitive set that will grace any collection. And for the uninitiated, my advice is to "go for it." Max Steiner, who blessed generations of movie goers with scores for such classics as King Kong; Now, Voyager; and Casablanca, composed one of the most famous and recognizable soundtracks in cinema history for what many believe to be the greatest movie of all time--find out why.



4. A wonderful 2 disc soundtrack of the film. I know GWTW like a second language, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear music that I never noticed before such as Charles Hamilton Challenges Rhett, and many other "extended" versions.
   Rudy Behlmer's liner notes are enlightening, informative, and make for interesting reading.
   Max Steiner enthusiasts, and soundtrack aficionados will relish this set.



5. Not only is Gone With The Wind the greatest movie of all time, Max Steiner produced the greatest moviescore of all time. The ONLY way the movie Gone With The Wind could have been improved would have been to crank the music score up a lot louder!

1 comments about Movie Hits.

1. what I have had is a box set of movie hits which is different from the set introduced here ( "Today's movie hits"/performed by the countdown singers, Rel.1995), 2/3 of my set are in this set, some of them are familiar for people all of the world, some are ordinary. My friend lent them from me and never return them back. Now I need to buy them again. :-) I don't know whether it is saled in China? please help me to buy it ok?

5 comments about Romy And Michele's High School Reunion / More Romy And Michele's High School Reunion.

1. Not only is the movie hilarious but the original soundtrack is packed with great 80's hits. I NEVER KNEW that this part 2 "More Music..." even existed until I went on to Amazon.com to replace the original one. I'm an 80's DJ and when I found this one I had to get it with even more TOTALLY AWESOME 80's hits! I'm really glad I own it-thanks Amazon!!!



2. I bought this video after I saw the film on ABC. All I can say is, you will watch it over and over again. It is really funny beyond believe.



3. Who doesn't want to go to their high school reunion, and show everyone they look better then they did then with success beyond anyone's dreams? This laugh out loud satire of course takes it to the extreme, but it is a fun movie. As the movie switches back and forth between the present and the past, we see how they were tortured in high school. Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow act well together with great screen presence. The supporting cast is priceless! Well done comedy!



4. I absolutely love this movie! It is my favorite movie!It is so hilarious! I can watch it over and over again!It makes you laugh from beginning to end. Kudrow and Sorvino are so great together! What a perfect comedy team match! They go so well together. It is so funny, because they are so stupid and ditzy. If your looking for lots of laughs, this is the movie to see and if you love chick flicks. Great 80's music, a great cast, and lots of laughs makes this a great movie!



5. I picked up this movie just to see it, if that makes any sense. It was a nice, lite, airy comedy about a real horror story we have all dealt with : high school. Two dizzy blondes who had been friends since those days and are still together have returned to their high school for the ten year reunion. They really haven't amounted to much, but try to reinvent themselves as success stories to impress their former classmates.
   
   This was a clever idea, but the idea did not stretch out enough to make a quality movie out of it. I have been to my ten year reunion, and I must say that you feel sort of like a loser. You can use it as a motivation to make things better for you, but we all lack in some way. What is so funny is that, at least at my reunions, the popular kids, whose high school experience must have been so wonderful because they made everyone else so miserable, didn't show up. People go right back to the same cliques they were in, even if they haven't seen or spoken to each other in years. Maybe you don't have the loving spouse, fame, fortune, steller career or whatever else is so important, but neither do others. The Mean Girls are losers. Romy and Michelle of course rise to prominence after the reunion, and tell the Mean Girls off.
   
   And know what? You didn't need their approval then and you don't need it now. So when the invite comes, pitch it out and move on.

No comments about Silver Screen Classics, Vols. 1-5.

1 comments about Silver Screen Classics, Vol. 7.

1. this recording is very good. the first time i heard it i thought "wow! such great masterpieces so well done!". my favorite tracks are: raphsody in blue. gershwin is amzing in this piece. one of his best! and marriage of figaro is great with a wonderful power and intesivity it needs! a great one!

No comments about Silver Screen Classics, Vol. 8.

4 comments about The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen.

1. I used to tape these shows to listen to the music, so I was overwhelmed and could not believe it when it came out on cds. This is a MUST for every IAllen shows!!! Just wished they could have edited more of the Voyage (LStevens, MStevens, NRiddle, ACourage) and Tunnel music. Liner notes/pictures are great. I'll never sell that one...



2. "The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen" remains one of my most rewarding musical purchases. As a teenager during the runs of the four television shows highlighted in this collection, I vividly recall how important the respective composers' scores were to the on-screen action.

   Music from the first season "Lost in Space" disc was featured throughout the show's run. It has many of the themes that became synonymous with the various characters. A young John Williams did an incredible job and one can hear predecessors to the melodies that he would later use so effectively in his movie work.

   But Williams' best work can be found on the disc which features music from the pilot of "Land of the Giants." He has cues that are exhilarating, tense-filled, majestic, and awe-inspiring, perfect for the story of normal Earthlings propelled into a world where they are no more than insects.

   The "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" disc benefits from the inclusion of Jerry Goldsmith's sole contribution to the show, the second season opener entitled "Jonah and the Whale." Goldsmith composed a new theme that was incorporated throughout that episode, but was discarded and replaced by a revamped version of Paul Sawtell's signature theme. Goldsmith's work still was effective and his closing cue was re-used for much of the duration of the show's four-year run.

   Two of the other three discs feature Williams and other composers who contributed to all of the sci-fi television productions of Irwin Allen. The sixth disc has the various themes as well as interviews with the actors who played the parts in the respective shows. A pleasant addition is a series of radio spots performed by cast members of "Lost in Space."

   A great value is this compilation!




3. This special collection - The Fantasy World's of Irwin Allen is a treasure and souvenir for all Sci-Fi enthusiasts. The liner notes are great and the pictures behind the scenes are a collectors dream.

   If you enjoyed VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA - LOST IN SPACE - LAND OF THE GIANTS - THE TIME TUNNEL - this is a must have collection, bringing and recapturing so many wonderful memories of early Sci-Fi television. The entire collection is spectacular and GNP/Crescendo has given us another winner to place alongside further adventures in SPACE!

   GNP/Crescendo Records




4. Six CDs offering pure, original Irwin Allen soundtracks. Not to be missed if you enjoyed any of the TV shows: VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LOST IN SPACE, TIME TUNNEL and LAND OF THE GIANTS. Takes me back to my childhood, and will be a treasured souvenir we can all enjoy.

5 comments about Brain in a Box: The Science Fiction Collection.

1. First off, the design of this boxed set is outstanding, from the 3-D panels showing a brain in fluid to the CDs and cases themselves, which highlight various grade-Z schlock sci-fi themes. The construction, however, is another story, as the box itself is sloppily made, and the foam padding which houses the CDs is not the ideal method, as it makes re-inserting the CDs without damaging them a bit annoying. The accompanying book is an interesting (if hodge-podge) overview of pop sci-fi culture. As for the music itself, kudos go to Rhino for their excellent compilation, which is head-and-shoulders above other compilations of novelty music, though one can argue that some of the obscure selections should remain obscure. Still, many should enjoy the discs devoted to movie and TV themes; I, for one, was overjoyed to see the inclusion of the theme from The Blob (by Burt Bacharach!) on the Novelty disc.



2. The first thing you will notice is the beautiful box. Though not metal (decorated to look as if), it has a really cool hologram on three sides, with all track listings on the back. Decent construction, though some may not like the foam insert inside which holds the 5 discs and book.

   The 5 discs are packaged with their own cardboard sleeve that is decorated in a 50's style retro design and categorized by a main theme: T.V., Movie, Lounge, Novelty & Pop. But the best part of the inserts is the small hard cover book included. It is chock full of old B-movie posters and artwork, news/articles, and information/history on 'space' related music over the years. This is truly a gem and adds quite a bit to this collection. You will spend hours marveling over the old retro designs and comic like appearance of all things sci/fi that are within this books covers.

   Now why only 4 stars? Well though you will be giddy to hear old show tunes like 'Lost In Space', 'The Outer Limits', and some of the movie themes and lounge, it does lack some heavy hitters. One can argue that Rhino probably had hundreds of tunes to sift through, and they picked what they could for licensing reasons and taste, but while others may enjoy some tunes, others will wonder how this made it into the collection. For me, I was a little let down by the Novelty disc....some songs were actually annoying to me.

   The biggest let down, and I realize the issues behind it, were the absence of a few major players: There is no Star Wars theme, no Cantina, no Dune, no Klingon music, a few TV shows that were not represented, but you can't please everybody right?

   Otherwise a very good collection...and a stellar book.




3. If you're the kind of person that stays up weekends until 4AM just to see a rare '50's sci-fi drive-in movie on the tube, start saving up,you've got to have this. The other reviews point out the superb packaging (I can't imagine anyone bringing out a better graphic design for CDs this year,give the Grammy right now) and the esoteric music, and I fully agree. But I think I've found how to enjoy this set the most:stick all the discs in your 200-CD jukebox and use random play mode. This stuff is the greatest for spicing up your round-the-house listening! Extremely highly recommended (if you're into old sci-fi and unusual music).



4. This offering from Rhino Records sets a new standard for graphic design! Really, it's absolutely terrific. Before ever getting around to opening the box, I luxuriated in the marvelously rendered details, the perfect switches and gauges, the tongue-in-cheek labels from the "brainstorm" light to the warning to "replace fluids every 3000 hours." I got more kicks from just reading the box than I've gotten from many novels!

   And the box is only the beginning! The 200-page booklet is a sheer delight for fans of 1950s sci-fi B-flicks. Really, you can't appreciate the genius that went into this package until you experience it for yourself! More than a box, it's Art.

   Very highly recommended!




5. With an ultra-cool holographic box that instantly transports you back to the sci-fi B-movie days of the past, "Brain in a Box" also serves as a fairly comprehensive library of all kinds of music relating to science fiction, from movie and TV themes to pop and novelty songs. If I had to introduce someone to sci-fi music, this wouldn't be a bad way to do it. I could easily quibble over what's missing, but I prefer to focus instead on what you DO get: an excellent hardbound book with info and commentary, several tunes I would never have heard otherwise (like "Tiny Space Man"), and the amazing brain storage container that is it all comes in. I do have complaints: the sound quality varies widely (couldn't be helped, I'm sure)

2 comments about 100 Years of Cinema: 40 Classic Performances.

1. Have you ever heard Cary Grant, Jack Nicholson, Bette Davis or Robert Mitchum sing a song? What about Joan Crawford, Tyronne Power, Jimmy Stewart, or Clark Gable? Well, believe it or not, these famous dramatic actors and actresses all took a stab at musical careers in their films. Some were actually great, many had adequate singing voices, and still others were near awful. But for pure curiousity and uniqueness, many of the recordings preserved here are invaluable. Although you may think Rudolph Valentino's rendition of Kashmiri Love Song is barely discernable, just the fact that it's Valentino's only recording makes it worthwhile. Of course, you do get some classic numbers from musical stars, too: Judy Garland does her "Over the Rainbow," Dietrich sings "Lola," Jolson does "Mammy," and Dorothy Lamour sings one of her famous sarong numbers. I would highly suggest buying this set, for some of the best songs ever sung and some of the rarest musical recordings from stars who would probably rather forget them. Don't expect greatness all around, but expect to be shocked by the all-star cast. Don't pass it up!



2. This album contains songs from the brightest and most accomplished personalities of the 20th Century. The songs span from the 1920s until the 70s. Al Jolson opens the alum with his career defining song Mammy; the song was his trademark, and he himself the most popular Broadway star and film actor at one point. Next on the bill is Rudolph Valentino, singing Kahmiri Love Song, the only audio recorded legacy of this classic silent film star. As the songs fly by, we hear blonde bombshell Jean Harlow rasping out Reckless, Fred Astaire classically singing Chee to Cheek, Marlene Dietrich with Lola, ad Judy Garland giving her famous rendition of Over the Rainbow. Mae West, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, and Rita Hayworth do some numbers too! The males hold their own, with stars like Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, Gene Kelly and Jimmy Cagney. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby sing the hilarious theme song from Road to Morocco and Dorothy Lamour sings a beautiful solo piece entitled Lovely Hula Hands.

   The second C.D. is the latter half of film music, including Marilyn Monroe breathlessly singing Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, Crosby's White Christmas, Ann Miller singing Too Darn Hot,and Maurice Chevalier with Thank Heaven for Little Girls. Superstar Bette Davis does They're Either Too Young or to Old. Louis Armstrong performs Hello Dolly! Gloria De Haven sings a beautiful rendition of Who's Sorry Now and Noel Coward entertains with a hilarious version of Let's Do It. Cary Grant, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mitchum, Tyronne Power, and even Marlon Brando do their numbers.

   This album is truly a must have. It's not the songs that make it, and it's not the films their from...what this album does is represent brilliantly the cinema superstars of the century.