INTRADA Announces:
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Leith Stevens)
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (Leith Stevens)
THE NAKED JUNGLE (Danielle Amitheatrof)
CONQUEST OF SPACE (Van Cleave)
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 202
Before Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson, one man captivated film audiences with colorful, big-budget science fiction and fantasy spectaculars: George Pal. Pal would produce four highly imaginative films during the period 1951-1955: When Worlds Collide (1951), The War Of The Worlds (1953), The Naked Jungle (1954) and Conquest of Space (1955). These pictures would employ top actors, large casts and the elite of the Paramount special effects and art departments, and each would provide film composers with the opportunity to underscore spectacle, astonishing visual effects, terror and intense human drama.
With its world-spanning plot and chaotic scenes of humanity preparing for the threat of approaching planets, When Worlds Collide features by far the busiest and most energetic score of the three sci-fi films represented on this set. Leith Stevens' eerie, foreboding melody for the approaching planets dominates the score, reinforcing both the menace of the looming planets and the boiling cauldron of human emotions that threaten to derail humanity's last hopes.
The War Of The Worlds showcased scenes of destruction and mass panic that outdid even When Worlds Collide. Leith Stevens managed to find a fresh way to pay homage to Gustav Holsts's "Mars, The Bringer Of War" from The Planets. Instead of mimicking Holst's famous rhythms, Stevens overlays driving percussion onto his main title music, which launches from a spiky, startling fanfare through a gloomy yet propulsive dirge for humanity finally brightening into brilliant, spine-chilling major chords.
With its lurid title, well-established actors and unique "invaders," The Naked Jungle might be George Pal's strangest film but also one of his strongest human dramas. Composer Daniele Amfitheatrof had ample experience scoring dramatic films, and he possessed the technical background to create the sort of orchestral fireworks necessary to reinforce the idea of an army of killer ants advancing through a jungle.
Pal returned to "hardware" science fiction in 1955's Conquest of Space, an ambitious epic about a flight to Mars. The score primarily called for bright, semi-militaristic music for the space mission, an ethereal portrait of outer space itself and some psychological shading for the mission commander. Van Cleave created a noble march that recurs throughout much of the score, embodying the driven character of Commander Merritt but ultimately standing for the heroic nature of the mission.
For this 2-CD set, spearheaded by Lukas Kendall, Intrada had access to all existing materials. The War Of The Worlds, The Naked Jungle and Conquest Of Space are mastered from 35mm protection copies of the music tracks at Paramount Pictures, in varying degrees of completeness. The Naked Jungle is the only title to survive in three-track stereo, one of the earliest scores so recorded at Paramount. When Worlds Collide is presented in complete form, largely from acetates. All combined, this set presents a rare, but thrilling listen into the sci-fi/adventure sound of George Pal's '50s Paramount epics.
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 202
Retail Price: $29.99
Available Now
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7685/.f
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