[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] laserdisc
Bedazzled had a Manciniesque/John Barry type soundtrack.I know.I sold one on eBay a few months ago,and gave it a spin before I put it up.
The younger generation may think of Bedazzled in terms of Elizabeth Hurley, but her film was in reality a remake of a Faust-based comedy from 1967. In the original film Peter Cooke played a much more convincing and tricky Devil than Miss Hurley, who is hell-bent on purloining a short-order cook's soul in exchange for seven dubious wishes. Dudley Moore not only played the cook, who is a few French fries short of a Happy Meal, but also wrote one of the coolest easy listening scores, well before easy listening was invented. If that's not enough, Dudley Moore also plays the piano in the trio, which supported by some brilliant "featured" musicians and at times a reasonable orchestra, forms the basis of this (be)dazzling score.
The 'Main Title' has a rich Roy Budd feel, which is enhanced by the trumpets, busy percussion and the action jazz. 'Moon Time' and 'Italy', like many of the following cues, is mellow jazz with a touch of Henry Mancini and like Mancini, Dudley Moore has that knack of adding wit, humour and mischief to his music which surfaces delightfully in cues like 'Strip Club' and 'G.P.O. Tower'. In the middle of this laid back jazz is a real Pete-and-Dudism, 'The Leaping Nuns' Chorus', which is perfectly adequately described by its title. The cue 'Bedazzled' is one for the Peter Cooke fans with his unique monotone commentary containing the wonderful putdown line, 'You fill me full of inertia'. The score ends with five cues of wonderful jazz including some inspired piano playing from the composer. Among these, 'The Millionaire' is a particularly brilliant and enjoyable cue.
Bedazzled is one of those films with a large cult following, whose numbers are swollen by those who followed (and still follow) "Pete and Dud" through their cult TV shows, like 'Not Only...But Also'. Sadly, few remember how accomplished a jazz musician Dudley Moore was before his illness, but this wonderful score is a testament to both his playing and scoring. Among a busy acting career that included some thirty films, he went on to score a further six films over the following fifteen years, including The Hound Of The Baskervilles and Six Weeks. This score is bound to appeal to jazz and easy listening fans alike, as well Pete and Dud followers.
http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/review.asp?ID=701
Matthew Barton <mbarton@xxxxxxx> wrote: THE GANG'S ALL HERE was released on laserdisc, but not VHS, and still has not been released on DVD. The original version of BEDAZZLED came out on laserdisc and VHS, but the VHS is panned and scanned, while the laserdisc is letterboxed. This one is not on DVD, though you can get the misguided remake of a few years ago. For that matter, the original BEDAZZLED soundtrack, with Cook and Moore's wonderful 60s rock send-ups, is not available on CD. If you look at the laserdisc page on ebay, some titles will say "No DVD" or "Not on DVD." These claims are not always up to date, but there are more than a few of them still.
Many music oriented feature films have never been on home video, or were available only briefly before rights issues surfaced. I don't think that there have ever been legitimate, licensed versions of the complete TAMI and TNT Show feature films for instance, though clips have surfaced over the years. For instance, The Maysles Brothers shot a brilliant documentary of the Beatles' first week in the USA, which helped to inspire A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. It was commissioned by Granada TV of Britain. The problem seems to be that, apart from the Beatles's own songs, it's filled with other hits of the period heard in the background whenever a radio is playing, which is quite often. Every one of them has to be cleared before a DVD can be issued.
Matthew Barton
MBRS
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-4610
202-707-5508
email: mbarton@xxxxxxx
>>> tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 12/28/06 4:41 PM >>>
Hi Bob:
I'm curious, what are some films that were out on LD but not on DVD? Is it all just Really Old Stuff
or Really Obscure Stuff or are there more recent or famous gaps in the DVD catalog?
-- Tom Fine
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com