Intrada Soundtrack Forum

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I'm an old cowhand ...

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I'm an old cowhand ...

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WE HAVE COME TO VISIT YOU IN PEACE AND WITH GOOD WILL.

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I'm an old cowhand ...

I thought I'd just cut-and-paste this post I made at the MMUK forum just now, so that you guys at Intrada can get my thoughts on your release:

"Shame on me for not starting a thread when this was announced, but better late than never and I just got my copy today. Holy cow. Woman Obsessed has gorgeous moments, to be sure, but so many sections of it are DARK and even ACTION FILLED. I mean, really turbulent, exciting stuff! IMO it's easily the highlight of the disc, more exciting than the much more famous (I'd never even heard of Woman Obsessed, although Susan Hayward apparently won best actress for her performance) In Love and War, which is still a five-star score in its own right. Perhaps it isn't a fair comparison since only a little more than half of ILaW survived (see the FSM board for details...bummer to miss out on some great thematic development, but what is here I'm still very grateful for), while the complete Woman Obsessed made it. There are some string passages that are just heavenly in WO, as well as some superb french horn solos by the master himself, Vincent DeRosa, who worked prominently in film music from the Golden Age to the modern age (I think the only film he received screen credit for was Michael Kamen's The Last Boyscout).

The packaging (and front cover art in particular) is great. The liner notes by Julie Kirgo are very nice but kinda brief...there is no cue discussion and that was kinda disappointing especially since I know nothing about Woman Obsessed or what exactly is going on with the music aside from what I can gleam from the track titles. But perhaps I am extremely spoiled by FSM in that regard, because they never release an album without an essay on the film, an essay on the composer, AND a complete track by track analysis! Intrada's liners are easily better than par. (I wonder, if they left the title "Woman Obsessed" off of this music, what kind of film I'd guess it was written for.)

Oh yeah, and the sound quality. For the late 50s, the sound quality on both of these is FANTASTIC. I mean, Ben-Hur as an example from the period is really excellent sounding for the most part but this just is almost flawless and really rumbles my speakers for those aforementioned turbulent parts. It's strange that parts of In Love and War didn't survive the years at all but the rest wasn't even moderately damaged!

Two thumbs up, Intrada. Probably my favorite release of the year so far (but then you guys know that Friedhofer is one of my favorites).

Anybody else get this and do you think it's as great as I do?

Yavar "

Yavar you might have been thinking about her film in 1958 I Want To Live which was her fifth nomination and she finally won. In 59 Simone Signoret won for Room At The Top. I haven't seen the film either so naturally I am intrigued.

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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which can not fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance...that principle is contempt prior to investigation.
Herbert Spencer

Nope. What I was thinking was the movie poster annoucing "Academy Award Winner!" in the liner notes. Silly me -- must have been touting her win for the previous year. Today films will often be shown in theaters after they've won awards and I guess my brain just interpreted the poster that way.

Yavar

...and did you see in the thank you section Ron is given the golden back slap.
Ron you are now a made man.

Time to offer up the favorite cue of the moment, from In Love and War, I chose Kala1, following you get a nice reprise in Farewells and also which ties into the main.

I can't say how much I enjoy this stuff.

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I'm an old cowhand ...

I finally had a chance to listen to this yesterday, and it really is fantastic. The sound quality is beyond belief ( it is REALLY excellent), and Woman Obsessed was like finding a lost treasure ( I had not seen the film before) from a master of the art of film scoring.
Listening to In Love And War , I thought about how very lucky we are to have ANY of it presented in such pristine form. This gives me some hope that (the purgatory of film scores, Paramount, notwithstanding) we perhaps may one day see a similar release of the likes of Vera Cruz, One-Eyed Jacks, Hondo, Boy On A Dolphin, This Earth Is Mine and a few other Friedhofer "gems". Thanks again Intrada; as I put a healthy "check-mark" in the "found" column of my "lost" film score list. Here's to the next one .

--Rich

Well, the decision has been made. The next order at Intrada shall include:

Cleopatra
The Hallelujah Trail
In Love and War / Woman Obsessed
Jason and the Argonauts

All happy? Well, I almost am, too: thing is, 4 CD cost $13 to ship to Germany. Had I somebody in the States to whom I could have them sent, with only $5 for postage and have in trun them forwarding it to me, that would be better...crumbs! I have to move to the States sooner or later!

CK