The curtain closed on one of the most enduring careers in film composing when Jerry Goldsmith died in 2004. The path of his astonishing success is traced across 4 CDs and 57 tracks, with many recordings conducted by Goldsmith himself; includes music from Chinatown, Poltergeist, Alien, Twilight Zone: The Movie, First Blood, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, L.A. Confidential , TV themes from The Waltons and Barnaby Jones over 280 minutes of movie-scoring mastery!
For years one of Intrada's most requested albums was an expansion of Jerry Goldsmith's epic score to the 1975 film The Wind and the Lion. While Intrada had previously re-issued on CD the excellent original LP program, collectors still clamored for more of the score. Now, thanks to the cooperation of Sony BMG, Warner Bros., and Film Score Monthly, Intrada is able to present the definitive presentation of The Wind and the Lion from one of Goldsmith's richest periods on a 2-CD set. The first disc presents the entire score in chronological order, remixed from the original 3-track elements. The second disc presents the 2-track Arista mix LP program everyone has grown familiar with over the years, as well as the source music heard in the film. Some of the highlights on the expanded program heard here for the first time include the fabulous Americana fanfare for brass that accompanies President Roosevelt's afternoon horse gallop; the complex material for "The Blue People" with whom Candace Bergen's character mistakenly seeks refuge when escaping from Raisuli; rich thematic statements during "The Riff/The Well"; and powerful music during "Mercy" -- all bringing exciting new depth to the score. Just as this album is a cooperative effort, so was the film itself -- a co-production between MGM and Columbia Pictures. The Wind and the Lion is a throwback to the spectacle and romance of an earlier era, yet with more than a touch of '70s cynicism. It is based on a 1904 incident in which Teddy Roosevelt supposedly sent US Marines into Morocco to rescue a man kidnapped by a desert chieftain named Mulay Hamid El Raisuli. Writer-Director John Milius was fascinated with the potential of this story, and deemed that "Raisuli and Roosevelt were cut from the same cloth." The film stars Sean Connery, Candace Bergen, John Huston, and Brian Keith. The original elements were stored in the Warner Bros. vaults, the source for many recent CDs by the highly regarded FSM label. It was a natural choice to engage FSM's Lukas Kendall to co-produce this 2-CD set. The elements were in excellent condition and all the power and exotic detail come through with stunning clarity in this new release.
