Category My Soundtrack Collection

My Soundtrack Collection: The Abyss (1989)

Chadwick Saxelid Leave a comment

For more than twenty years, maybe closer to thirty, I had to settle for the truncated 1989 soundtrack album released by Varese Sarabande for what remains my all-time favorite James Cameron movie, The Abyss.

That changed when Varese Sarabande released this two-disc Deluxe Edition. It contains the film’s entire score, which clocks an impressive, and almost feature-length, running time of one hour and twenty-nine minutes. Cameron himself, for the original album’s liner notes, described Silvestri’s music as “explosive, delicate, intensely emotional, wondrously expansive, mysterious, fiercely driving, tender, and ecclesiastical.”

That is not hyperbole. It is accurate. Silvestri’s compositions for The Abyss are explosive, delicate, emotional, expansive, mysterious, driving, tender, and ecclesiastical.

The presentation here is the composer’s original and, I am assuming, preferred order. Which means some different sequencing and, in a few instances, longer tracks that feature unused music.

Listening to this over the years only made me crave a high definition upgrade of the film itself. Something that finally happened this year. I could not be happier…

My Soundtrack Collection: Abulele (2015)

Chadwick Saxelid Leave a comment

Not every soundtrack in my collection is for a movie I have seen. Abulele is one of them.

My knowledge of Israeli cinema is not all that impressive. I knew that Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, of the Cannon Group infamy, were Israeli and I have seen both Footnote and, because my wife was a huge fan of the Broadway musical adaptation, The Band’s Visit. That’s pretty much it.

I had never even heard of Abulele until Intrada offered the film’s soundtrack as part of their Special Collection. Seeing that it was a family friendly monster movie got me interested enough to give a listen to some of the selected clips. Those clips were enough to convince me Abulele needed to be in my soundtrack collection. It’s good stuff.

Writing this entry also reminds me that I still need to watch Abulele. It appears to be on Tubi…

My Soundtrack Collection: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Chadwick Saxelid Leave a comment

The liner notes for this CD release of Basil Kirchin’s original score for The Abominable Dr. Phibes tells quite the convoluted tale.

Like so many other low-to-medium budget independent films, the rights for The Abominable Dr. Phibes changed ownership a great many times across the years/decades. Which is the primary reason given for why the original masters have gone missing and, in the case of John Gale’s original theme for Vulnavia, may never be found. [Never say never, though.]

When composer Basil Kirchin first met Vincent Price, he asked the actor how he intended to play the titular character. Comedic or straight? “Straight,” Price replied. Armed with this knowledge, Kirchin composed the film’s score to reflect that choice.

Kirchin’s serious approach disappointed director Robert Fuest, though. Fuest thought Kirchin’s music “too austere” and “understated” and that it did not reflect the character of Anton Phibes as he understood it. That is when composer John Gale was brought in and, in Kirchin’s opinion, “spoofed up” the film’s music style.

Although the original masters are lost, composer Basil Kirchin did retain possession of a few session recordings. Against Kirchin’s wishes (again!) this album presentation is broken into separate cues that are placed in film order. Kirchin wanted his score presented in two lengthy suites that contained both used and unused music for the film.

The pipe organ performance of Mendelssohn’s War March of the Priests that plays over the opening titles is taken from the film itself and starts the album in suitably grand fashion. Track 2 contains the memorable Dr. Phibes’ Waltz, which Phibes and Vulnavia dance to just after the opening titles end.

Not contained on the album is the bombastic trumpet variation of the Dr. Phibe’s Theme used in the film. So it goes.