Is there anyone who buys DVDs for the Special Features? I have often wondered that. Obviously, if there's a choice between a super-duper Special Deluxe Collector's Edition at $19.95 and a plain-vanilla version at $19.95, it's a no-brainer. I may ...
Although Basil Poledouris has composed more than 80 film scores, none is more impressive than 1982's Conan the Barbarian. For those who like epic, militaristic soundtracks, this makes for compulsive listening. It's the score that elevated the ...
Not what you expected? Gettysburg has been a favorite of mine since I picked up the soundtrack shortly after seeing the movie in 1993. Over the years, it has grown on me. I took several plane trips during the mid-1990s with it as my only CD ...
I am one of the few people who will admit to liking the 1976 version of King Kong. There are three reasons for this. It was the first movie I saw in an indoor movie theater and, as such, it left an imprint on the impressionable mind of a nine-year ...
It should come as no surprise that Patton has placed high on this list, although many will doubtless have expected the score to mirror the movie and take the #1 position. One thing I have wondered is whether I would have appreciated the film as much...
John Williams has scored all six of the Star Wars movies, and each of the soundtracks had its strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, not only is The Empire Strikes Back the most mature and complete of Williams' Star Wars efforts, but it's among ...
Can you read my mind? Do you know what it that you do to me? I don't know who you are - just a friend from another star.Most people who heard those lyrics on the radio during 1979 associated them solely with the pop hit by Maureen McGovern. In ...
In the pantheon of film composers, few are more respected than Ennio Morricone. Over a career that spans (thus far) 45 years, Morricone has composed about 540 movie scores, which puts him ahead of the great, prolific Max Steiner. It's a nearly ...
For people of my generation, the score for Star Wars is iconic. It's impossible for me even to pretend objectivity where this music is concerned, because it's the first album I bought with my own money, and I listened to it constantly. There ...
As a former Star Trek fan, it was likely that a Star Trek score would show up on this list. From a musical perspective, one of the problems with the 10-film Star Trek series (especially early, before Jerry Goldsmith took over on a "regular" basis ...
If I had to name a favorite contemporary composer of movie scores, it would likely be John Barry (although Jerry Goldsmith would make the decision difficult). Barry has composed some lasting and familiar music over the course of his long career. In...
In the past, I have tried to match performances with the Academy's four vaunted categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress. However, since who gets into what category is a matter of games and politics, I'm not going ...
Bottom 10 lists are curious things. They're more fun to read than to produce. (Doing so requires the critic to peruse titles of which he/she would prefer not to be reminded.) They are often used to promote a critic's "message," with some Bottom ...
Every year, I get asked why I don't post this list earlier. After all, some critics make theirs available in mid-December. To me, it's unseemly to reveal my favorites of the year before the year is over. So here's the list, with a few comments for...
HBO calls it Rome, but it's really a prequel to I, Claudius. The classic 1970s BBC series (based on the Robert Graves novels, I, Claudius and Claudius the God) examined the reigns of the first four Roman Emperors: Augustus (born Octavian), Tiberius...
Festival decompression is over. The major problem with going to a festival is that, after non-stop movie-going and writing for eight days, laziness asserts itself. I need a period of limited movie-going and minimal writing. That period has come to...
No lengthy discourses today. A few random thoughts...On serializing The Price of the Crown... Thus far, I have gotten close to 100 e-mails, and about 98% are in favor of posting it. The others think I should avoid giving away what I might be able ...