Volume 14
Number 1
Winter - Spring 2012
Managing Editor:
+Roger Hall
Contributing Writers:
+Steven A. Kennedy
+ Steve Vertlieb
+Member
Main Titles
Latest News
The Sammy Film Music Awards
The Best Film Music of 2011
Ratings and List of FMR Online Issues
Films In Focus - A series about film scores and composers
Editor's Choice, Best Recordings of the Month - 2012
New CD Reviews For 2012
Recommended DVDs and Books
Film Music Links
Your comments or questions are welcome.
Write to:
Film Music Review
Please Help Support
Film Music Review
Use this handy Search Box for your purchases from Amazon.com
Latest News
John Williams: An 80th Birthday Tribute
(including a special CD with his film music)
The International Film Music Critics Association have announced their choices for the best of the year for 2011. See the entire list at this link:
IFMCA Awards
Favorite Film Music Poll
Here is your chance to pick some of your favorite Hollywood movie songs
and film scores from the past 75 years (1933 to 2008).
The titles don't have to be what you consider to be the greatest or most popular film music. They are your choices of film music you especially enjoy, both scores and songs.
Send your list of up to 30 favorites (songs or scores in any order) to:
My favorite movie music
See the film scores and movie songs selected so far at the
Film Music Web Poll
For more titles, see these links:
100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century
Top Ten Movie Song Favorites
Twenty Essential Hollywood Musicals
FMR Critics In Print
By Steve Vertlieb
"Tribute to James Bernard" in Memories of Hammer (2002)
edited by Gary J. and Susan Svehla.
"The Horror and Fantasy Films of Max Steiner" in
The Max Steiner Annual (1970)
"Film Music in the 1980s: A Symposium" in
Pro Musica Sana(Spring 1990)
"The Reinvention of Miklos Rozsa" in
Midnight Marquee (no. 52)
By Steven A. Kennedy
"Copland on Celluloid" (interview with
conductor Jonathan Sheffer) in
Film Score Monthly (February 2001)
By Roger Hall
A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores
(1st ed, 1997; 2nd ed, 2002, 3rd ed, 2007; 4th ed, 2009)
"Bernard Herrmann" in
American National Biography (24 vols.)
"From Hitchcock to Harryhausen: Ten Essential Herrmann Scores"
in Film Score Monthly (April-May 2000)
"Remembering (David) Raksin"
in Film Score Monthly (September 2004)
"Elmer's Magnificent 7:
Essential Elmer Bernstein Scores of the 1960s"
in Film Score Monthly (October 2004)
"Tip to Moviegoers: Take Off Those Earmuffs!"
(interview with Aaron Copland)
in Soundtrack! (Fall 2000)
"The Magnificent One: 50 Years of Elmer Bernstein Film Scores"
in Soundtrack! (Summer 2001)
"Bernard Herrmann: The Early Years"
in Soundtrack! (Spring 2002)
"Dimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade" (1948-1958)
in Soundtrack! (Winter 2002)
All these articles are listed in
this well organized and very useful reference book...
FILM AND TELEVISION MUSIC -
A Guide To Books, Articles, and Composer Interviews
Compiled and Edited by Warren M. Sherk
Film Music Guide
An informative resource guide on DVD-R,
with 50 music examples and a video program.
Read more about A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC at
Film Music Guide
Now On DVD
A play written with music by Roger Hall
and based on a famous utopian 19th century novel
is now available on DVD and titled,
The Musical Telephone: A Romantic Narrative
"Moon River" at 50
"Moon River" - Memories of Henry Mancini
List of CD, DVD and Book Reviews
on
FILM MUSIC REVIEW
(1998 - 2010)
click here
Film Composers Remembered
John Barry (1933-2011)
Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)
Sammy Film Music Awards
The longest-running awards chosen
exclusively for film music recordings
The 24th Annual Sammy Awards for 2011
have been announced
here
Best Album Producers
(2007 - 2011)
James Fitzpatrick
5 Sammy Awards (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 - 2 Sammys)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Anna Bonn, John Morgan, William Stromberg
4 Sammy Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Nick Redman
2 Sammy Awards (2012)
Douglass Fake (2008)
3 Sammy Awards (2008, 2009, 2011)
Robert Townson
2 Sammy Award (2008, 2011)
David Schecter
Sammy Award (2009)
IFMCA Legends
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is proud to announce the formation of the IFMCA Legends archive, celebrating the life and work of some of film music’s greatest historical artists.
Although the primary focus of the IFMCA is the celebration of the best in modern contemporary film music, it is also fully aware of the amazing legacy of groundbreaking music left by the classic Golden Age and Silver Age composers of decades past. To that end, the IFMCA has established the IFMCA Legends archive, which celebrates the work of these cinematic pioneers. Other than their musical contribution, the only other criteria necessary to become a member of the IFMCA Legends archive is to be deceased.
Each year, starting this year, IFMCA members will vote on new inductees who, in their opinion, have left an indelible mark on the world of film music through their groundbreaking scores, and who are deserving of recognition for their work. Each inductee will be the subject of an in-depth essay written by one of the IFMCA’s members, highlighting their life and most important scores, and which will be featured in a special new section on the IFMCA website.
For this inaugural year, IFMCA members chose five initial inductees. In future years, two new inductees will be chosen. The initial five inductees are:
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.
The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct “Film Music Critics Jury” by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a regular contributor to Music from the Movies, and the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media. Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 40 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The group’s main focus is the IFMCA Awards, which it presents annually to the best riginal scores from motion pictures, television and video games from the preceding calendar year. Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Michael Giacchino’s UP in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.
For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of their awards, please visit them at this link: http://www.filmmusiccritics.org
The Best Film Music of 2011
Read our film music critics picks for
Best Film Music Releases of 2011
(CDs, DVD and Film Music Books)
FMR rating system for CDs and DVDs:
**** = Superlative (Highest Recommendation)
***1/2 = Very Good
*** = Good
**1/2 = Okay
** = Barely Passable
* = Poor
The Special Merit CDs are chosen at any time during a month for outstanding overall production of a soundtrack or compilation.
The Editor's Choice - Best of the Month designation is for those CDs that are singled out for their excellence. They are chosen anytime within a given month and may not be chosen every month.
2011 (Volume 13 )
Number 1 (Winter)
Number 2 (Spring)
Number 3 (Summer)
Number 4 (Fall)
2010 (Volume 12)
Number 1 (Winter)
Number 2 (Spring)
Number 3 (Summer)
Number 4 (Fall)
2009 (Volume 11)
Index to All Reviews (January - December)
Number 1 (Winter)
Number 2 (Spring)
Number 3 (Summer)
Number 4 (Fall)
2008 (Volume 10)
Index to All Reviews (January - December)
Number 1 (Winter)
Number 2 (Spring)
Number 3 (Summer)
Number 4 (Fall)
2007
(Volume 9)
Index to All Reviews (January - December)
Number 1 (January - February)
Number 2 (March - April)
Number 3 (May - June)
Number 4 (July - August)
Number 5 (September - October)
Number 6 (November - December)
2006 (Volume 8)
Index to All Reviews (January - December)
Number 1 (January - February)
Number 2 (March - April)
Number 3 (May - June)
Number 4 (July - August)
Number 5 (September - October)
Number 6 (November - December)
Volumes 1 - 7
These reviews no longer available online.
Here is a link to the complete list of
CD Reviews (1999-2005)
These reviews are included on
the DVD,
A Guide to Film Music (4th edition)
Index to Volumes 1 - 12
nInCDs, DVDs and Book Reviews)
Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century
.jpg)
See the list at
100 Essential Film Scores
Films In Focus
A series devoted to one film and its film score,
from the 1930s to 1960s
.jpg)
No. 1: THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES and
Hugo Friedhofer's Oscar-winning score
No. 2: PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE and
Miklós Rózsa's score
.jpg)
No. 3: KING KONG and
Max Steiner's milestone score
.jpg)
No. 4: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and
Elmer Bernstein's score
No. 5: VERTIGO and
Bernard Herrmann's score
No. 6: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and
Dimitri Tiomkin's score
.jpg)
No. 7: THE SONG OF BERNADETTE and
Alfred Newman's Oscar-winning film score
No. 8: SOME LIKE IT HOT and
Adolph Deutsch's score
No. 9: PSYCHO and
Bernard Herrmann's score
No. 10: CITIZEN KANE and
Bernard Herrmann's first film score
No. 11: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and
Elmer Bernstein's film score
Coming Soon!
Editor's Choice for 2012
Best Recordings of the Month
January
BATTLE OF NERETVA (1969) and THE NAKED AND THE DEAD (1958)
music by Bernard Herrmann
(Tribute Film Classics)
February
A Tribute To John Williams: An 80th Birthday Celebration
(Sony Classical)
March
BEN-HUR - Music by Miklos Rozsa -
Complete Soundtrack Collection
Film Score Monthly (5 CD Box Set)
April
SHIP OF FOOLS - Music by Ernest Gold
(Monstrous Movie Music)
Soundtrack and Compilation CD Reviews
For 2012
CD reviews:
The Complete Harry Potter Film Music Collection - Silva
The Golden Age of Hollywood (Compilation) - RPO
John Williams Greatest Hits (Compilation) - Telos
NEW BABYLON (2 CD set) - music by Dmitry Shostakovich - Naxos
William Alwyn - Film Music For Wind Band - Naxos
IT'S ALIVE - Music by Bernard Herrmann - Film Score Monthly
THE McCULLOCHS - Music by Ernest Gold - Monstrous Movie Music (Special Merit)
TITANIC (Anniversary Edition) - Music by James Horner - Sony Masterworks
.jpg)
Useful resource guide now on DVD-R,
with 50 music examples and a video program.
Read more about A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC at
Film Composers and Soundtracks
Recommended DVDs and Books
DVDs with outstanding soundtracks
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
(Blu-ray Special Edition)
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Isolated score track and
commentary by film & music historians: John Morgan,
Nick Redman, Steven Smith, William Stromberg
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
2 Disc Deluxe Edition --
music by Dimitri Tiomkin
GARDEN OF EVIL (1954)
(Included in Fox WESTERN CLASSICS box set)
Music by Bernard Herrmann
THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW
(Guests: Dimitri Tiomkin & Dr. Samuel Hoffmann)
THE ROBE (1953)
(Special Edition)
Music by Alfred Newman
Commentary by
film composer David Newman,
film historians Jon Burlingame, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman
RecoRRecommended Books
The Hollywood Film Music Reader
by Mervyn Cooke
.jpg)
Pick Yourself Up - Dorothy Fields and The American Musical
by Charlotte Greenspan
mmended Books
THE SONGS OF HOLLYWOOD
by Philip Furia and Laurie Patterson
A HISTORY OF FILM MUSIC
by Mervyn Cooke
Alex North's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE:
A Film Score Guide
by Annette Davison
End Titles
Links
See the list of recommended sites at
Film Music Links
Editor's Choice for Best of the Month
2009 - 2011
Please help support Film Music Review
