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![[Article - Music on DVD]](/img/features/articles/1223200500.jpg)
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by Dan Goldwasser |
In addition to being a fan and supporter of film music, I'm also a fan and supporter of movies in general. I tend to buy too many DVDs for my own good, and in 2005 we saw many great releases of new and older movies, with lots of extra features.
In this article, not really in time for Christmas - but in time for the gift exchange that follows - I list some of this year's DVD releases that have film music-related extras that are worth checking out. This is by no means comprehensive - it's just a few of my picks that I thought you'd enjoy!
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BATMAN (1989): Finally a 2-disc special edition, with commentary by Tim Burton. While we don't get an isolated score or commentary by Danny Elfman, we do get a great featurette on the music, "Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman", all about Elfman's score. Danny also shows up in the main documentaries as an interviewee. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/batmanreturns.jpg") |
BATMAN RETURNS (1992): Elfman continues his involvement in the documentary here, and there's another featurette about his score: "Inside the Elfman Studio: The Music of Batman Returns". Includes vintage footage of Elfman at work, and seeing him working at the computer is a hoot! |
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BATMAN FOREVER (1995): Elfman's out, and in comes Elliot Goldenthal! He contributes to a featurette on the scoring, "Scoring Forever: The Music of Batman Forever". If you don't like the movie, it's worth a rental for the extras. |
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BEN-HUR (1959): Like the old laserdisc release, this new 4-disc edition of Ben-Hur contains Miklos Rozsa's complete score as an isolated audio track. Additionally, in the new documentary about the film, "Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema", composers Don Davis and Elia Cmiral discuss Rozsa's score and the impact it had on the industry. |
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CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005): Danny Elfman is highlighted in two featurettes: "Becoming Oompa-Loompa", and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds", in which he talks about the songs he wrote for the film. Not much on the score here. |
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THE FLY II (1989): Oddly enough, the special edition of The Fly didn't have anything on Howard Shore's score, but there's a small featurette on the sequel, "Composer's Master Class: Christopher Young" in which Chris Young talks about his approach to scoring the sequel. He also shows up in the lengthy documentary, and the most interesting bit is when he reveals that he was told to forget Shore's score entirely! |
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THE FRIGHTENERS (1997): The original 4.5-hour long documentary from the Signature Edition Laserdisc release is finally out on DVD, and it includes a hefty segment on the music that Danny Elfman wrote for the film. Peter Jackson and Elfman talk about the approach to the music, and a few examples of the opening scene are shown with and without music to demonstrate the effectiveness. |
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THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954): This long absent-from-DVD film contains a retrospective on composer Dimitri Tiomkin. It covers his career, with an emphasis on the Oscar-winning score for this film. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/karatekid.jpg") |
THE KARATE KID (1984): Bill Conti is interviewed in a small but surprisingly insightful featurette to talk about his work process, and how he came up with the themes for the film. Now if only there was an official soundtrack release... |
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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (2004): As quirky as the film was, it was made even quirkier with help from Thomas Newman's Oscar-nominated score. In the featurette "The Sad Score", Newman discusses his work on the film. |
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THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU: You have to leave it to the Criterion Collection - they do some great work when it comes to extras! In a nice 20-minute featurette, Mark Mothersbaugh talks about how he approached his score to this film, and gives him an opportunity to show off his studio and favorite instruments. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/looneytunes3.jpg") |
LOONEY TUNES: GOLDEN COLLECTION VOL. 3: This third volume of classic animation shorts has selected isolated scores, with music by Carl Stalling. The collections are amazing, have a staggering amount of extras, and are great fun. It's a must-have! |
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SCRUBS: SEASON TWO (2002): It's not often that a television show on DVD delves into the music, but in this case, there's a nice featurette on the use of songs in one of my favorite quirky comedies, "Scrubs". "Musical Stylings" talks about how important the musical choices in the show are. Surprisingly in-depth, the only thing they don't talk about is the original score! |
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STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996): Released early in the year, the Collector's Edition DVD includes "Jerry Goldsmith: A Tribute", as homage to the late composer. Running about 20-minutes long, the featurette covers his career, with a focus on the Star Trek films. |
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STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005): There isn't a featurette dedicated just to the music of Star Wars, but there is a nice segment on John Williams' score in the "Within a Minute" documentary. Scoring session footage and discussions about how the score came about make this one worth checking out. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/titanic.jpg") |
TITANIC (1997): James Horner doesn't seem to show up in any of the documentary featurettes, but does contribute to the Cast & Crew Commentary track on the film. He lends some insights into his thought process, and while his story about the piano solo track contradicts the version James Cameron tells on the other commentary, it's still great stuff to hear about. |
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WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005): "Scoring War of the Worlds" is a nice featurette on the score to this film. What makes it even neater is that all of the scoring session footage was shot by Steven Spielberg himself, with his video camera. Williams discusses the challenges on scoring the film without a completed film (or completed footage), and it was entertaining and informative. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/warriors.jpg") |
THE WARRIORS (1979): This new director's cut of the cult classic includes a four-part documentary, in which composer Barry DeVorzon talks about his work on the film, and how he came up with some of the idea of using synthesizers to make it eerie. |
![]("/img/features/articles/2005-12-23-musicdvd/wizardofoz.jpg") |
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939): This classic film finally gets the uber-DVD treatment, and includes an isolated music-and-effects track, with Harold Arlens's songs, and Herbert Stothart's score. In the disturbingly expansive "Jukebox" section, over 4.5-hours of audio, including songs, demos, session tapes, and more, can be heard. "The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz" is a 30-minute documentary discussion the artistic influences the film has had on current day filmmakers. Composers Howard Shore, Don Davis and Randy Newman are interviewed to talk about it. As an extra special bonus, Arlen's home movies are included as well. |
Special thanks to Rafael Ruiz for his assistance with this article