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9 Film Scores That Deserved a Pulitzer
The Pulitzer Prizes, handed out every April, are arguably the most prestigious prizes for journalism, arts and letters, and music in the U.S. Their monetary value is nominal; what matters is the prestige. In
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9 Favorite Science Fiction Film Scores, Vol. 1 – Space
Like many boys who liked to read, my genre of choice during my teenage years was science fiction. And since one of my earliest memories of the outside world was the moon walk, it
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CD Review: Spartacus
Ever since the beginning of message boards, there have been film music threads about SPARTACUS. With every new announcement of upcoming CDs, someone would invariably (and idiotically) say, “I bet it’s SPARTACUS!” The holy grail
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The Agony and the Ecstasy
Film is the ideal medium to showcase the visual arts. The lives and work of Frida Kallo (FRIDA), Van Gogh (LUST FOR LIFE) and Jackson Pollock (POLLOCK) have all had varying success in film.
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I Am Spartacus!
All good things come to those who wait. Fifty years after the release of Stanley Kubrik’s epic film, we finally have the ultimate release of Alex North‘s monumental score for SPARTACUS! Varese Sarabande is releasing
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CD Review: Dragonslayer
A dragon of a very different color is on display in Alex North‘s 1981 score for DRAGONSLAYER. Peter MacNicol stars as young sorcerer’s apprentice Galen, who must slay the dragon Vermithrax in order to
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9 Favorite Scores of Alex North
Originally, this month’s “9 on the 9th” post was going to be dedicated to romantic film scores as a precursor to that evil holiday–Valentine’s Day. Then I realized most of what I had on
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I’ll Cry Tomorrow
I’LL CRY TOMORROW contains one of Susan Hayward’s best performances as singer Lillian Roth (1910-1980). Once dubbed “Broadway’s Youngest Star,” Roth suffered through failed marriages, alcoholism, homelessness, and a suicide attempt. With the help
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Stella!
Wah-wah… With those two notes, Alex North’s groundbreaking score for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) ushered jazz elements into the world of dramatic film music. Jazz was no longer content to serve as mere source
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Dance of the Dead
With its bleak vision of an alcoholic British diplomat in Mexico, Malcolm Lowry’s 1947 semi-autobiographical novel, UNDER THE VOLCANO, was considered unfilmmable for nearly forty years. Director John Huston returned to his beloved Mexico
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