Intrada Soundtrack Forum

I've just watched a documentary on BBC television about Alfred the Great and it reminded me of the movie made in 1969 by Clive Donner (What's New Pussycat!). It was scripted by the great (no pun intended) James R Webb who was best known for his western screenplays, The Big Country, Apache, Cheyenne Autumn, and How The West Was Won. It has never, as far as I know, had a video or DVD release and I've never seen it on television. It was a flawed film, not great, but eminently watchable with good performances by David Hemmings (as Alfred) and Michael York (Guthrum). It also boasted perhaps the only film score by Raymond Leppard who at the time was better known as a conductor of baroque music with the English Chamber Orchestra. The score was released on an MGM record and on a promotional LP. (With a truly awful cover) The film and the score seem to have disappeared into oblivion but both are worthy candidates for reappraisal. Are any of the film (and score) elements still existing? Is there any chance of locating them and releasing a CD of Raymond Leppards' score? After 45 years I'm not optimistic but you never know!

I have this score on lp (a very good score) and would love to see a re-mastered cd release. Perhaps a label like Kritzerland would release it if possible?

Oh yes please! I did have the (must have been a boot) CD, but it went missing a few years back (with a few others, I think a box must have gone astray during a house move). Mind you, the official MGM LP looked for all the world like a bootleg with its b/w cover, I think its release was an afterthought by MGM, who knew the film was a lost cause. I enjoyed the film at the cinema even though I knew it wasn't very good. Raymond Leppard is a bit of a hero of mine, when I got into classical music in the early seventies, it was a lot of his records I bought, & I still listen to CD's of his recordings of Rameau & Handel & C.P.E. & J. C. Bach (& just like some soundtracks, there's a few favourite recordings that still haven't made it to CD yet). You can here some tracks on you tube, the music is great, quite magical. It needs releasing & Intrada is just the company to do it!

Actually this is not the only original movie score by Raymond Leppard: I'd direct you to the 1963 version of THE LORD OF THE FLIES. But we are in consensus: the ALFRED score should make its official debut on CD. (The LP, which I believe was only issued in the U.K., is just about impossible to find! Even harder to find than THE SOUTHERN STAR by Georges Garvarentz...)