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I did extensive research to find a copy or even just information about both film and score throughout the years. I know Matessino searched for master tapes of this score without results (at least so far). It appears the score was recorded in Rome, Italy, somewhere in 1968 under the supervision of Stanley Wilson (who was then Universal Pictures music supervisor). Williams was unable to attend the sessions because he was in London to record Goodbye Mr Chips. The orchestral backing of the vocal version sung by Ornella Vanoni was however conducted by JW in Los Angeles, but that was probably produced in a different timeframe for the 45rpm single release. Another thing most people don't know is that Alan & Marilyn Bergman wrote the original lyrics of the song, which were then translated/adapted in Italian by Antonio Amurri.

Sometimes, the films (or books or music or whatever medium) that prove most frustrating, or not quite as we had imagined or hoped to have been, at first encounter can end up the more enduring stories, becoming better understood as time goes by. Indeed, their imperfections become a part of their fascination. Is there such a thing as a perfect artwork I wonder ?

Really, to my ears, most of the reused/repurposed music isn't tracked but are in fact new arrangements and recordings. Things get iffy with the moments of "The Breaking of the Fellowship" in the middle of the film and "Samwise the Brave" at the end, those may be tracked because the edits in them don't flow very well. But most other cases of reused music seem to be new recordings. Also, after seeing the film, I feel pretty certain that "Edge of the Wild" is an alternate for the "Overhill" sequence.

Watched the film again and I can say I enjoyed it more and realized there were some great stuff here. I think what needs to be fixed is the muddled storytelling of the appendix material and some poor editing up until Rivendell (love the troll scene though!) and the fact that the Azog storyline was given so much prominence. After Rivendell, everything goes in a breeze and its great fun seeing all this spectacle in action. The emotional sustenance of the film needs work though, could have lingered on it more. And Thorin's slow motion Azog fight is still quite jarring. There are several other flaws too, that I previously mentioned, but this was the big stuff I think. It's a far drop from LotR, but I was able to enjoy it more this time around. My friends loved it though.

Negative. Go read some of the comics. The Superman of the Donner film is a very simplistic view of Superman. This film is actually touching aspects of the character that are hardly explored on movies or tv, but have been a part of the comics for decades.

Gandalf the Chicken Shit!