Bill Wrobel's DVD - Film Score Rundowns

-Advise & Consent (1962) ** � [music **]
http://www.amazon.com/Advise-Consent-Franchot-
Tone/dp/B0007TKNGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1292884256&sr=1-1
This was a popular book about Washington D.C. machinations but I thought the
Otto Preminger film was rather uninteresting. It was visually or aesthetically
uninteresting. I know Preminger liked the constant/real space & time technique in filming
(continuous shots) but I found it static after a while. Also this is a rather dated and boring
“political intrigue” type of film. I like the stars but not the story, especially the
homosexual angle. Sure, that was a shocker for that period when the movie came out, but
for modern eyes, it is ho-hum. The audio commentary by Drew Casper is informative but
sometimes rather boring and static too. Unless you are a Preminger fan (I am not!) or a
big fan of some of the stars, I suggest you can pass this one by. Watch it on tv but don’t
buy the dvd. Also I am not a Jerry Fielding fan. The music was also static and boring to
me.
-Ben-Hur (1959) **** [music **** 1/2]
http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Hur-Four-Disc-Collectors-Ramon-
Novarro/dp/B0009UZG1O/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1292884325&sr=1-2
This is truly a classic film and excellently produced and directed (hence the four
**** star rating). I am hesitant to label it a “masterpiece” (my five-star rating) overall,
although there are sequences (such as the chariot race) that can perhaps be called
masterpiece sequences. Perhaps I am prejudiced because I generally do not care for
biblical epic movies! But I can appreciate a good work when I see it or hear it. Rozsa’s
excellent score is classic as well, but I hesitate to give it a “masterpiece” distinction. I
think I would reserve that for El Cid, although Ben-Hur and even King of Kings come
close. In some ways I enjoy the King of Kings score more than Ben-Hur. As for the latter
score, I really liked the Star of Bethlehem extended music (and scene) starting at dvd
00:08:23. I like the Roman Legions music, and so forth. If the full score was available for
research I definitely would’ve spent time researching it. Alas, the written music was
heaped into the infamous MGM landfill event. The only other composer that I would
have loved to hear in this movie would’ve been Korngold if he were alive then (he died
in 1957), especially the naval battle scene, but actually the complete movie! There is a
great deal discussed about the movie and score on the Rozsa Forum. Search there:
http://miklosrozsa.yuku.com/forums/1/t/The-R-zsa-Forum.html
The stars were wonderfully cast. I particularly admired Stephen Boyd as Messala.
Jack Hawkins as Quintas Arrius is very good. I really like Andre Morell, so to see him in
his minor/short role as Sextus was a treat for me. And it is well that Charlton Heston
played the title role as Moses…eh, I mean, Ben-Hur. Most people were familiar with him
already! As given earlier, the production values are usually excellent, but I must say that
the naval scenes (starting 1:05:31) were soggy and lame and quite unbelievable. Nothing
like perpetually unmoving clouds in the background!
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