Film Score Focus

Hollywood has long been infatuated with stories from ancient Rome. I guess when you rule the world for a thousand years your history is bound to sprout interesting tales of love, deception, betrayal, power, corruption, and destruction. With such rich subject matter to recreate on screen, these films have long been a fertile ground for some exceptional film music. Composers like Miklós Rózsa, made names for themselves crafted epic orchestral music to accompany these films.

Let's travel back in time to an age of a mighty empire and listen to the music written to tell their stories.

Here is the lineup for FSF-097 Friends, Romans, Countrymen



I have yet to watch a single episode of HBO's epic mini-series titled ROME (2005 - ) but I listen to the music a lot! You've probably heard me talk a lot about the upsurge of great music that can be found on television these days. ROME is just such an example of how good television music has become. Composed by Jeff Beal, the music utilizes strange and exotic instruments to accurately reflect the culture of ancient Rome. A CD of Beal's music was recently released earlier this year and should be acquired for those in love with the show or its music. I've heard so many good things ROME. I want the DVDs badly and Christmas is approaching so hopefully....

One of cinema's favorite Roman tales to tell is that of JULIUS CAESAR (1953) based on the play by William Shakespeare. On this week's program I use a rerecording of Miklós Rózsa's famous score conducted by Bruce Broughton and the Sinfonia of London released on Intrada. Up until a few years ago that was the only way you could hear the score on CD. Since then Film Score Monthly has released the full original score which is a real godsend. Rózsa is uber-famous for his epic Roman scores and this one ranks among his best efforts.

I've always considered Alex North to be one of the most underrated film composers ever. Sure, he's loved and regarded well but this man was a genius way ahead of his time. Any of his scores reflect this including his epic score for CLEOPATRA (1963). Varese Sarabande released the complete score awhile back and like the aforementioned JULIUS CAESAR, it too is a real godsend. Most copies have been bought up but other copies are floating around. If you find one and want one, I'd suggest get it quick before it skyrockets in value.

QUO VADIS (1951) by Miklós Rózsa is another hard to find score. In fact it's very hard to find. I couldn't even find a reference of the actual recording on the London label that I used anywhere on the internet. The one I link to below is a compilation of music from QUO VADIS and BEN-HUR (1959) which is also by Rózsa.

Speaking of BEN-HUR, this could be the most famous of the ancient Roman scores and of Rózsa's entire filmography as well. There's a great two-disk set released in the mid 90's that features every cue Rózsa ever wrote for the film with a huge booklet detailing each cue included as well. BEN-HUR is a classic among classics.

There's a very interesting story the late Elmer Bernstein would love to tell. When scoring a certain picture earlier in his career the director he was collaborating with asked him to compose a certain scene like the chariot race scene in BEN-HUR. Elmer knew exactly what he was talking about and did so to the satisfaction of the director. Of course, Elmer knew then as most film score buffs that there was no music in the chariot race scene in BEN-HUR.

There's a TON of great film music written on films centering around ancient Rome that a mere hour can not accurately reflect. I may do a follow up show on this very topic in the future. Until then, enjoy the Roman music.