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I too am enraptured by this LaLa Land release. As a buff, I can say that Alfred Newman for me is an extremely close second-favorite composer (only a shade behind Goldsmith in my preference, although Newman possibly is the greater of the two in terms of emotional power and orchestral command).
In that context, I declare to all who will read this that A CERTAIN SMILE became and still remains my all-time, top favorite score for any film which I still have never seen. I was delighted to find a sealed mono copy of that LP in a store's remainder bin on Christmas Eve 1973; it turned out to be my greatest gift that season! Perhaps five years ago, I finally found a used stereo copy of the album. But predictably, the complete score within the LaLa Land package adds fine, sublime new material not contained on the LP (which I finally get to enjoy in pristine condition).
As with the earlier LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING, Newman took a Fain/Webster title tune as a starting point and wove his own masterful original material around it. But in my strictly subjective opinion, the richness, melodic delicacy, and emotional depth of the CERTAIN SMILE score render it superior to its more famous, Asian-flavored sibling. (Again, this is without my ever seeing the movie itself.) Also, I love the theme for the film's Francoise character as much as anything I have experienced on Earth.
Nobody who has any appreciation of Alfred Newman -- especially of his romantic scoring, whether WUTHERING HEIGHTS or ANASTASIA or A MAN CALLED PETER -- should neglect this authentic masterpiece.
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