Morricone: Movie Music Maestro

It's a real shame that many folks have not tried, or seen, the special about Ennio done by Giuseppe Tornatore ... in many ways, it is better than a lot of the films listed here ... since you get to hear how he found the music for many films ... 

Sad ... that the listing is more important than the actual appreciation of the art form! 

Hi,

I have for many years, also included some reviews of the music in films ... as there are some composers in film that are outstanding and deserve the mention. 

Ennio is but one of them, but we should not forget Maurice Jarre, Bernard Herrmann, Henri Mancini, Leonard Bernstein, Nino Rota, Ryuichi Sakamoto and a large list of Japanese and Chinese names, I can not even spell, or remember, but the music in the film sure was neat.

The subtitles, often, are an issue, and I wish the folks that release these things would pay attention to their product and what they are doing ... however, the worst crime, is the fact that a lot of European stuff does not get released or show in America because of the CD/DVD differences between the 2 continents ... been trying forever to see if this could be fixed, but it seems like either big money, or who gives a damn ... and too many of these films are ignored ... and the ones that suffer the most? German, Italian, Spanish and French in that order, and I'm not even considering many others from Europe ... Russian films are a real problem ... only a handful get the subtitles and are defined for foreign locations ... 

I remember a Cuban film (Bitter Sugar) that had a fantastic soundtrack ... and a film and music never to be heard again! So sad to see that lack of appreciation for the arts!

Before the Revolution is Ennio Morricone's first classical score in a movie directed by cinema auteur Bernardo Bertolucci. The movie is a love story set against a backdrop of political turmoil (no surprise there again) where Italian leaders come and go in and out of office almost as fast as former British P.M. Liz Truss. 

Nightmare Castle       Spooky goings-on with Ennio Morricone's first horror film score. Don't have nightmares. 

1965: Nightmare Castle (full movie with English dialogue and English subtitles - the belt and braces approach, but not if you happen to be Italian ) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auzcKVvqpYM

Menage Italian Style      One of Ennio Morricone's most romantic scores in this three-in-a-bed romp. Well, what did you expect from an Italian sex comedy!? 

1965: Menage All'Italiana (full movie in Italia without subtitles - this might be a good time to start learning Italian ) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5SzbekvHho

The Return of Ringo     Not a sequel to A Pistol for Ringo as you might expect, but an entirely different character and storyline. The Return of Ringo is not a particularly memorable western, but as with all of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western movie themes, this is another one to love and treasure. 

Wake Up and Die      An Italian crime drama that's not especially memorable, but Morricone's superb soundtrack is (almost) worth waking up and dying for (complete with rat-a-tat machine gun sound effects). 

El Greco      Ennio Morricone's second classical score for a film which portrays the life of Greek painter El Greco, starring Mel Ferrer (in the titular role) and co-starring Rosanna Schiaffino and Adolfi Celi, although we all know him better as cat-loving Bond villain Emilio Largo in Thunderball.   

1966: El Greco (full movie with English dialogue and handy Spanish subtitles for any Latino hombres amongst us ) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxLz59BX6M

Hi,

I saw it on Amazon ... and had no issues. I do remember, somewhere, that I had to turn the Italian subtitles off ... but not sure if it was in this special or some other film.