BY DARREN ALLISON
It’s certainly great to see Chris' Soundtrack
Corner back on the pages of Cinema Retro. It’s been a little while, but rest
assured, Christian Riedrich and his team have been hard at work and it’s always
worth the wait.
CSC has released no less than three brand new
soundtracks, all of which are essentially their world premiere debuts. Sure, if
you deep long and hard enough you may discover an odd track or a popular main
title that has previously surfaced here and there or perhaps on some obscure
library compilation – but hey, good luck with that search, should you wish to
undertake it.
Across these three releases you will
certainly unearth a delightful range of styles and moods as well as sampling
various flavours of the exotic Mediterranean.
Daniele
Patucchi’s Il Sorriso Del Ragno (1971) (CSC 031)
sets us on our way rather nicely.
This rarely seen 1971 Italian film
(translated as, The Spider's Smile) was recognised more by its international
title, Web of Deception. It was the only film directed by Massimo Castellani, a
more established second unit director who had enjoyed greater success as a
script supervisor. Based on a script written by Italo Gasperini and Armando Morandi,
with dialogue by Fabio Piccioni, Il Sorriso Del Ragno, this is a crime thriller
disguised as a roaming travelogue. With locales ranging from France to multiple
regions of Greece, all of which was captured beautifully by cinematographer
Giorgio Tonti,– it was pretty much guaranteed that both cast and crew would
enjoy their opportunity in the sun- soaked regions.
The story involves private investigator Tony
Driscoll; a ladies' man perhaps, but he also has a good reputation when it involves recovering
stolen goods. So when thieves make off with $5 million in jewels from a French
bank, Driscoll is hired to get them back. However, certain questions point
fingers at Driscoll and the film’s plot makes the most of this twist up until
its conclusion.
A self-taught musician, composer Daniele
Patucchi was born in 1945 in Turin. By the time he began writing and performing
music professionally, he was adept in a wide range of styles, from jazz and
rock to classical and displayed a certain amount of flair when it came to digital
synthesizers – all of which served him well over 35 movie soundtrack scores.
His music for Il Sorriso Del Ragno is based around five central musical styles.
Three of them- Main, Suspense and Action themes- occupy the majority of the
score's structure and serve to enhance the adventure, tension, and intrigue as
the story unfolds. Additional musical motifs signify more regional themes and
local instrumentation. Acoustic guitar and Greek mandolin in particular feature
prominently and work to wonderful effect throughout.
Il Sorriso Del Ragno is really enjoyable little
score. There’s plenty of variation, but never too much. It never spills over
into a heavy clash of styles, and retains a comforting, common thread. Christian
Riedrich’s pin sharp production and remastering by Stefan Betke is what we have
come to expect. Only three tracks have been previously released. Additionally, five
tracks that were not used in the movie have been added as bonus tracks:
alternate or varied versions composed for the movie or re-edited for inclusion
on one of CAM's promotional library music albums. The CD includes a 12-page
illustrated booklet by Aletta Heinsohn and features detailed, exclusive notes
on the film and its score by film music journalist Randall D. Larson.
Chris' Soundtrack Corner’s second score
release is another by Daniele Patucchi, Sans
Sommation (1973) (CSC 032). This was a much harder hitting German-French-Italian
co-production (released in the UK as Without Appeal and Internationally as
Without Warning). Made by French director Bruno Gantillon, Sans Sommation was a
tougher, straight-shooting thriller which again presented composer Daniele
Patucchi the opportunity to demonstrate his diverse range of talents.
Maurice Ronet stars as Raoul Maury, a former Police
inspector who made a seriously bad career move when he attempted to take down
the son of a prominent politician on drug charges. As a result, Maury finds
himself demoted to the role of archivist in the police records department. When
it is discovered that Maury bears a striking resemblance to Lt. Kieffer, an
associate of wanted mercenary Pierre Capra, he is reinstated in order to
impersonate Kieffer in order to get close to Capra and assassinate him.
However, conflicting acts of suspicion and trust will all head for collision
and loyalties will become strained and tested to the full.
Patucchi's film compositions were plentiful
throughout the 1970s and '80s. Sans Sommation is one of more than 35 European
movie soundtracks he composed throughout the 1970s and '80s. His gift for
tuneful melodies served him well in this score. Its opening theme in particular
offers a dusty, smooth Jazz trumpet and for the first couple of tracks the ride
seems distinctly mellow and easy-going. But don’t get fooled, by the time
‘Elikiller’ kicks in we are on much tougher, off road territory and the bold,
brassy action cues are allowed to take full flight. There’s a good degree of
suspenseful tracks, too, that really build nicely along with some very cool
Hammond organ playing on display. The single central theme is a brisk,
high-energy, driving motif that continuously helps the score race forward.
The album is produced again by Christian
Riedrich and mastered this time by Manmade Mastering – all of which results in
a big, fully rounded sound. The main score consists of 12 tracks with 3 bonus
tracks included. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet
designed by Aletta Heinsohn and featuring detailed, exclusive notes on the film
and its score by film music journalist Randall D. Larson, who deconstructs the
score's elements in deeper detail.
Finally, Ingrid
Sulla Strada (1973) (CSC 036 rounds up this excellent trilogy of scores and
sees a welcome release from composer Carlo Savina. Ingrid Sulla Strada is an Italian
psychological drama written and directed by Brunello Rondi. Rondi was arguably better known as a
script-writer and script consultant, a reputation which had lead him to several
collaborations with Federico Fellini. Rondi's directorial debut came more than
a decade earlier in 1961 with the film Una vita violenta (aka Violent Life). Rondi
went on to make a number of psychological/sexual dramas of which Ingrid Sulla
Strada was one of the last.
Ingrid Sulla Strada is a drama in which young
Ingrid (Swedish model and actress Janet Agren) leaves her home after being
raped by her father. After her arrival in Rome, Ingrid, with little option,
slips into prostitution. Life is not
easy for Ingrid and soon her life begins to spiral out of control and
eventually leads to her suicide. Ingrid Sulla Strada is not an easy film to
find, and the limited amount of footage revealed within the trailer tends to
suggest a rather bleak narrative and a Fellini- influenced style of filmmaking.
Ingrid Sulla Strada is without doubt an
eclectic score. At its heart, Savina provides a light, delicate melody which is
quite charming. And yet, the score’s overall soundscape doesn’t naturally
provide a standardised form or perhaps an obvious sense of continuity. There’s
certainly nothing wrong with Savina’s music, but the styles are so varied, one
could almost be excused for thinking certain cues could had been taken from
entirely different scores. As a collective it’s incredibly diverse and perhaps
reflects the up-and-down nature and psychological aspect of the story.
Regardless of its random style, it remains a fascinating listening experience.
Chris' Soundtrack Corner has completed an
excellent challenge in making this obscure title available for the first time.
Only the main theme and the pop organ track, ‘Walking through the falling
leaves’, have been previously released. Christian Riedrich has beautifully
produced the release, which certainly must have been a challenge. The result is
the release of an entirely engaging score. Consisting of 15 tracks and 2
additional bonus tracks, the CD comes with a 12-page illustrated booklet
designed by Tobias Kohlhaas and featuring detailed, exclusive notes by Randall
D. Larson.
A fine collection of European scores for
which everyone involved should be congratulated.
To order go to:
http://www.soundtrackcorner.de/
(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro.)