ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE CLASSIC SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION (4 CD Set)
Enlignment EN4CD 9151
Rating: ***1/2
The first thing that came to my mind - is this a bootleg release? There are no names listed in the brief booklet accompanying the 4 CDs, which makes me suspicious of it.
It states on the CD case that: "All rights of the producer and the owner of the work reserved." That seems to suggest they are trying to protect themselves from any lawsuit. But this CD collection is being sold openly from many distributors so I assume it is a legitimate release probably from some UK company though there is no address given.
There is also this statement: "All Tracks Composed by Bernard Herrmann Except Where Noted." This is a strange statement to make when there are so many other composers included in this collection, except that the major portion of each CD consists of soundtracks by Herrmann.
Each CD consists of the following tracks:
CD One: Tracks 1-10 (1934-1942)
and Tracks 11-26 - VERTIGO by Bernard Herrmann
CD Two: Tracks 1-6 (1943-1948)
and Tracks 7-29 - NORTH BY NORTHWEST by Bernard Herrmann
CD Three: Tracks 1-13 (1948-1958)
and Tracks 14-53 - PSYCHO by Bernard Herrmann
CD Four: Tracks 1-12 -THE BIRDS
and Tracks 13-32 - MARNIE by Bernard Herrmann
The themes from 1934 to 1958 are worth having since many of the them are by major film composers like Franz Waxman (REBECCA, THE PARADINCE CASE), Alfred Newman (FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT), Miklos Rozsa (SPELLBOUND), Dimitri Tiomkin (SHADOW OF A DOUBT, I CONFESS, DIAL M FOR MURDER), Roy Webb (NOTORIOUS) and others. Though most of these tracks are brief consisting on only one or more themes. The very first theme on CD One contains the 1934 recording from Arthur Benjamin's "Storm Clouds" cantata from the first version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH but cuts if off just before the scream scene in the film and is awkward. There is also one track from the better known second version of that film (CD Three, Track 11) but not from the cantata, instead Bernard Herrmann's highly dramatic Main Title music from THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956). There is also the wonderfully dancelike Main Title music from Herrmann's score of THE WRONG MAN (1956). For those who may already have the soundtracks of the four main scores (VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO, MARNIE) there is nothing much added except for a few short themes that were not on other recordings and are useful for collectors who want whatever is still available.
But CD 4 contains rarer items and make this set worth having. First up is from THE BIRDS (1963) which is hard to find anywhere else. Of course THE BIRDS does not really have a traditional music score but instead has electronic sounds
to indicate the seagulls and crows. It appears to be extracted directly from the film itself and is very creepy to listen to especially if you have seen this scary Hitchcock film. Also a longer version from MARNIE (1964).
The sound quality (many of the later tracks are in stereo) is quite good for many of the soundtracks except for some of the earlier ones taken directly from the film soundtracks.
Having written all this -- if this is a bootleg release I don't endorse it.
But if it is a legit release then I would agree with what the the CD booklet states:
"This collection brings together five original full soundtrack albums for Hitchcock films along with numerous themes for others of his classic creations. Totaling nearly five hours of music over four discs, this compilation offers a unique experience by isolating the scores from their original settings."
Taken all together, it is a very good collection of soundtrack themes from these Hitchcock films and at a very reasonable price too.
-- review by Roger Hall, Film Music Review
Film in Focus Series
(1930s-1960s)
Film Music Review (Home Page)
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