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Post by loucapitano on Jun 2, 2011 19:46:26 GMT -5
Were you guys as shocked as I was to hear "The Green Leaves of Summer" in the opening of the Brad Pitt movie "Inglorius Basterds?" The recording they played is one of my favorites. I think it was performed by something like the Nick Perdito Orchestra. But I may be wrong. Anyway, it definitly improved the picture for me.
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Post by Hiram on Jun 2, 2011 20:54:10 GMT -5
The track was from a Nick Perito album, Great Motion Picture Themes, released by United Artists Records in 1960. Other songs included Exodus, Never On Sunday, Theme from The Apartment, Magnificent Seven, Theme from Big Country, I Want to Live, Theme from The Vikings, On the Beach, Some Like it Hot, God's Little Acre, Theme from Solomon and Sheba, Theme from The Horse Soldiers, Theme from Wonderful Country, and Smile. I sold a copy of it to a buddy of mine back in L.A. during the mid-70s. Wish I still had it.
It was an interesting musical choice, which is one of Tarantino's trademarks. Listening to Dick Dale's Misirlou as Pulp Fiction opens and jamming to Stealer's Wheel as Mr. Blonde trims the ear of of a cop in Reservoir Dogs are memorable to moviegoers because of the incongruity between musical themes and visual themes.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 3, 2011 8:14:31 GMT -5
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Post by Kevin Young on Jun 3, 2011 9:48:47 GMT -5
Were you guys as shocked as I was to hear "The Green Leaves of Summer" in the opening of the Brad Pitt movie "Inglorius Basterds?" The recording they played is one of my favorites. I think it was performed by something like the Nick Perdito Orchestra. But I may be wrong. Anyway, it definitly improved the picture for me. It was also one of the songs looked at for the opening credits of Kill Bill. Was not used of course, but then came IB.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 3, 2011 14:20:36 GMT -5
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Post by Hiram on Jun 3, 2011 16:18:47 GMT -5
That's it! Very cool.
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Post by loucapitano on Jun 4, 2011 11:04:00 GMT -5
My God, I just went through my vinyle LP collection and found the United Artists "Great Motion Picture Themes" with the Nick Perito "Green Leaves of Summer." It's playing in the back ground as I write this. UA also released at about the same time, "Original Motion Picture Themes Hit Themes." I found that recording also in HI Fi Monaural. Like the Great Motion Picture Themes most of the recording are by Ferrante and Teicher, but there are some actual sound tracks also. The themes included are: Moon River (in 4/4 time by F & T) King of Kings, Maria, Tonight, Fanny all by F & T. Plus the themes from Town Without Pity, Paris Blues, Pocket Full of Miracles, Blue Hawaii, El Cid, Lili Marlene, The Parent Trap and Flower Drum Song. Nick Perito also gets to perform the theme from a movie I never heard of: "The Happy Thieves." Best of all is a guitar picking masterpiece by Al Caiola of the "Guns of Navarone" who also did the "Magnificent Seven" on the other album. My recordings are old an scratchy, but precious to my collection. I should look to see if they were ever released in CD, which I'll do after I sign-off from the Forum. Allen, you always seem to have a handle on recordings of this type. Any ideas?
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 4, 2011 13:41:53 GMT -5
Lou, I bought an interface device (InPort) years ago that connects my computer to my stereo system. I also bought the low-end version of Sony Sound Forge Audio software and learned how to use it. I am able to copy all of my old vinyl, cassettes and even the soundtracks from videos onto the computer and then edit them. Depending on the condition of the original vinyl, it is sometimes possible to literally "delete" noticeable cracks, scratches and pops, but some are in such bad condition that I'm just happy to have them at all. If the condition is pretty dicey, I look for a CD release of the material on Amazon or iTunes and often find what I'm looking for there. It's often more cost effective to just buy/download the clean digital version, usually from iTunes. In the case of the Nick Perito LP, my copy is so-so and now that this thread has reminded me of it, I'll probably get it out and copy it, along with some of those other 1960s soundtrack anthologies you mentioned. I could not find any CD/digital release of the Perito LP, so I'm glad to have it at all. One mail-order outfit that specializes in remastered movie soundtrack CD is Screen Archives. They are a bit pricey, but I've found some pretty rare stuff on there; here's a link: www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/14538/PATTON-2CD/Once in a while, I've found CD bootlegs of old vinyl soundtracks on eBay or iOffer, which have been cleaned up nicely and copied from good quality vinyl. If there is no legit CD release, I sometimes buy those if it is a special soundtrack LP. One soundtrack that nearly drove me nuts was from "The Victors," a 1963 Carl Foreman movie about a group of GIs going through WWII in Europe. Stars George Peppard, Eli Wallach, George Hamilton, Vince Edwards, Elke Sommer, Melina Mercouri and a bunch of other people. I have 4 copies of the soundtrack, 2 in mono and 2 in stereo, 3 of which I bought on eBay. The last was a farily pristine stereo copy that I was able to load into the comptuer and burn onto a CD-R, while also loading it onto my iPod. No commerical CD of the soundtrack has ever been issued, nor any VHS or DVD of the film itself, which puzzled me. I later surmised that the reason for that is that Frank Sinatra recorded a special version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" just for that film and the recording is on the soundtrack LP. Apparently, no one has ever been able to secure a clearance for that recording, thus holding up any efforts to release a CD or DVD of the film. Hope this is of some help; good luck! Allen
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Post by loucapitano on Jun 5, 2011 14:51:53 GMT -5
Allen - your information is priceless. I'll look in to those devices you described. Right now, I'm mostly interested in converting my VHS classics to DVD. You also cleared up a question I had about the "Victors" and the Sinatra version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I've listened to just about every Sinatra Xmas album and never heard a version quite like this movie (which is as haunting a Garland's original) due to the circumstances occuring when it's played. I never thought that it was a special recording made just for the movie. You cleared up a lot of frustrating searches. Keep up the good work Allen...
Lou ("I've got to get back to the Alamo!")
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 5, 2011 16:02:35 GMT -5
Glad to be of some help, Lou. I also have traced all those Sinatra Xmas LPs and finally found out somewhere that he actually recorded that version just for the film. You're right - it is the best version I've ever heard, with the possible exception of Garland's original, and partly due to the incredible scene it was juxtaposed with in "The Victors." They released a very costly boxed set of CDS with all of the songs Sinatra ever recorded for films not long ago; it's a fantastic set and it has the recording from "The Victors" in mono, all cleaned up and fantastic. The only stereo version I know of, however, is on the soundtrack LP, so I was glad to finally get a copy in terrific shape and preserve it on a CD. In fact, that entire soundtrack (by Sol Kaplan) is excellent and highly underrated, like the film itself, probably due to the near-total lack of re-release.
I hear you on the transfer of VHS tapes -- I've been at this for nearly a year, since I bought a DVD recorder, and still have a long way to go, but it's great to toss those tapes out and clear a lot of shelf space!
Allen
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 5, 2011 19:33:09 GMT -5
Paul, I believe you are confusing "Green Leaves of Summer"(Kingston Trio and others) with " Greensleeves"(What Child is This). They are both beautiful and moving tunes. I know both songs ... kinda thought the melodies were basically the same (more or less) even though lyrically, quite different. I used to hum the tune non-stop as a kid, thanks to Wayne's "Alamo". I'm sure I drove my mother nuts in the process ("Can't you hum another sing ... PLEASE!").
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 6, 2011 7:22:56 GMT -5
Re: Dimitri Tiomkin/Paul Francis Webster's "The Green Leaves of Summer," the following is from Music of the Alamo by Bill Chemerka and the other guy:
"But an earlier composition may have inspired Tiomkin to create the song. According to researcher Jerry Laing, Antonio Saleri’s "Variations on Folia di Espagne" ("Variations of the Leaves of Spain"), which was created around 1815, is surprisingly similar to “The Green Leaves of Summer.” “The basic theme dates back to a Portuguese folk song similarly titled,” wrote Laing. “It is quite possible that Tiomkin was already familiar with one or several of these works, and therefore, based both theme and title for ‘The Green Leaves of Summer’ on ‘La Folia.’”
Also, one reason I believe the Brothers Four's recording of "The Green Leaves of Summer" did not do better on the charts is that they had a hit with a very similar song the previous year, "Greenfields," written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr & Frank Miller, which reached #2 and remained on the charts for 20 weeks.
Paul, I was even worse than that I think. A friend and I played "The Alamo" soundtrack LP non-stop in my basement for weeks while building a balsa wood model of the Alamo. I'm surprised someone in the house didn't dynamite us!
Allen
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Post by loucapitano on Jun 6, 2011 16:58:48 GMT -5
See that 12 year old boy playing his Alamo LP on his portable victrola over and over while building an Alamo out of modeling clay for days. That was me. It was my old man (still living) who screamed at me to play something else before he went nuts. I ended up alternating between The Alamo and Ben Hur. Who had time for drugs? We had our music...pre-Beatles. Lou PS: June 6th. Different subject, but did any of you ever play an Avelon Hill game called D-Day? I wanted to take it out to honor today, but my grandson is too young to play.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 6, 2011 22:24:26 GMT -5
Ah, glad to know I was not the only kid doing that stuff! I had to switch off to the "Spartacus" soundtrack now and then to placate the family.
Never played that game, Lou, but had a few similar way back when.
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Post by Rich Curilla on Jun 15, 2011 23:20:21 GMT -5
Well, you're in my playroom now. The Alamo, Spartacus and Ben-Hur. My favorites of all times. Spartacus is unique because North based his music on jazz forms rather than classical. My Uncle Johnny thought it sounded like my aunt washing dishes in the kitchen.
I got The Alamo before I had a stereo to play it on, but I knew where it was -- under the bed waiting for Christmas! When Dad and Mom would be in the living room watching TV, I would sneak it out, set it up (it was a suitcase type portable) and lay on the floor with the two speakers six inches from my ears. I'd turn the lights out and Tiomkin on low. Lying flat on my back, the stereo arc went left to right behind me, below the floor. How way cool was that! String section on the left; brass on the right; me in the middle, conducting.
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