Which soundtracks for films released pre-1940 do you have in your collection?

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

I'll tell about mine if you tell about yours. It's OK to list re-recordings.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Metropolis

Chang

King Kong

Adventures of Robin Hood

Gone With The Wind

The Wizard of Oz

 

And a few Marco Polo re-recordings I've forgotten about.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

There are the ones I have on CD:

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Korngold + Stromberg + Kojian)

The Prince and the Pauper (Korngold)

Juarez (Korngold)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Albrecht re-recording)

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Davis re-recording)

Gone With the Wind (Gerhardt re-recording)

The Bride of Frankenstein (Waxman)

Conquest of the Air (Alwyn re-recording)

City Lights (Davis re-recording) 

Modern Times (Brock re-recording)

 

So I guess I like Korngold

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Oh yeah I have the Gerhardt and the big Rhino book CD set for GWTW.

[Thor 7,465]

Not a lot on actual albums, alas, even if I've heard a great deal more in the movies themselves.

 

METROPOLIS

KING KONG

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD

ALEXANDER NEVSKY

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX

 

But then I also have MANY composer compilations, various film compilations and the like that contain tracks or suites from titles of this period, like all four Franz Waxman LEGENDS compilations.  It would be too much work to go through all of these to see what pre-1940 titles are included.

 

And if we include 1940, just for the sake of it:

 

THE SEA HAWK

REBECCA

PINOCCHIO

THE THIEF OF BAGDHAD/THE JUNGLE BOOK

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

48 minutes ago, Thor said:

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX

 

I forgot about that one. Added!

[Fabulin 3,510]

.

[Thor 7,465]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I forgot about that one. Added!

 

It's my favourite Korngold (as you might have gleaned from the 144 album challenge on Facebook).

[Jay 37,287]

None recorded pre-1940, but I do have this Gerhardt re-recording

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I have more re-recordings of pre-1940 scores than I really feel like cataloging at the moment, but I'm pretty sure these are the only pre-1940 scores I own in their original recordings;

 

 

and the 4 pre-1940 scores in this compilation:

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

29 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

It's my favourite Korngold (as you might have gleaned from the 144 album challenge on Facebook).

 

Of course, I even made a comment about it! It's among my top four Korngold scores, and Davis' re-recording is quite good!

 

22 minutes ago, Jay said:

None recorded pre-1940, but I do have this Gerhardt re-recording

 

 

And is Gerhardt's greatest record, but you also need the expanded version prepared Gerhardt himself!

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Hawk-Classic-Wolfgang-Korngold/dp/B00000E6G0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=korngold+the+sea+hawk&qid=1588251204&sr=8-1

[Jay 37,287]

I really don't need it, I never listen to the first version.  These old scores aren't my bag, baby

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Whatever you say, sugar.

[1977 1,743]

Not sure if these are all pre-1940 films but here goes:

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Kojian USO)

The Sea Hawk (Kojian USO)

The Thief of Bagdad / Jungle Book (Varese)

Rosza Centenary Celebration (Varese)

King Kong (F Steiner NPO)

 

No originals as I cannot stand the poor SQ on these old recordings.

 

I used to have:

 

Gone With the Wind (Polydor)

 

but it sounded atrocious so I sold it. I'll get the Gerhardt someday.

 

Not pre-1940, but I previously owned and sold King of Kings / The Greatest Story Ever Told and How the West Was Won due to their archival SQ. I look forward to the Tadlow King of Kings release.

 

I believe the oldest original film score recording I own is Rhino's Ben Hur (the hardbound book style one).

 

[Thor 7,465]

17 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

No originals as I cannot stand the poor SQ on these old recordings.

 

Indeed. For scores this old, I MUST have rerecordings to get any kind of pleasure out of it. No exception.

 

A shame old scores weren't recorded as well as old classical recordings at the time. For example, compare any given soundtrack from the 50s (which, even remastered, sound their age) with Karajan's DG recordings from the 50s (which basically sound like they were recorded yesterday!). OK, the 50s aren't the 30s, but still.

[filmmusic 1,823]

Just now, Thor said:

 

Indeed. For scores this old, I MUST have rerecordings to get any kind of pleasure out of it. No exception.

I do not have any problem with old poor recordings. I prefer the originals to tell the truth.

[Thor 7,465]

To each their own. I get completely detached from them; only an academic interest remains. But then I'm into soundtracks for the listening experience, not to have any kind of connection whatsoever to the movies.

[Fabulin 3,510]

I have over 3 hours of Korngold conducting his own music.The re-recordings are just lifeless in comparison. Mauceri (or even Stromberg) are good conductors, etc., and Gerhardt had the help of George Korngold, but Erich Wolfgang had one of the greatest innate musical talents of the 20th century, developed his conducting from religious observation of Mahler himself, and, after all, intended and wrote the music.

 

This is true for many other great composers as well. "Never" surpassed and seldom equalled, be it Williams, Herrmann, Khachaturian, Rachmaninoff, Steiner, or Sousa.

 

I recommend Brendan Carroll's [Korngold's biographer] youtube channel. It's full of privately digitalized acetate discs from Korngold family's collection. Rip whatever you can as long as this old timer is alive, I say!

 

 

 

 

[Thor 7,465]

No doubt having Korngold conduct himself is superior to anyone else, but in this case sonic quality trumps conducting or even orchestral performance. Sounds harsh, but that's how it is to me.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Indeed. For scores this old, I MUST have rerecordings to get any kind of pleasure out of it. No exception.

 

Do you also require remakes of the films?

[1977 1,743]

Agreed Thor. Also if one is unfamiliar with the performance of the OST then a modern re-recording easily becomes the accepted standard. That's why I prefer the Gerhardt / NPO CE3K performance to Williams' own (for that particular passage of music).

 

There are many examples where re-recordings exceed the originals. Kunzel's SpaceCamp is fantastic compared to the very limp performance under Williams' baton on the OST / film score.

 

6 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Do you also require remakes of the films?

 

Yes, but only if they are bit-for-bit identical to the originals.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

2 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

Yes, but only if they are bit-for-bit identical to the originals.

 

You must love the Psycho remake then.