Search - Ennio Morricone, Malena, Original Soundtrack :: Ost

Not Morricone's best -here's my choices

VINCENT P TARSITANO | 03/10/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a huge fan of Morricone, but this CD is not the one to get. Save yourself a lot of money and effort and just get the following: 1. Lolita 2. Love Affair 3. The Mission 4. Once Upon a Time in America 5. Cinema Paradiso 6. Concerto at Santa CeciliaThere, that was easy, wasn't it? Six CD's and you have the breadth of one of the premier composers of the 20th century."

MARVELOUSLY MUSICALLY MAGNIFICENT MALENA!

VINCENT P TARSITANO | PORT ORANGE, FL USA | 05/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ennio Morricone's score to MALENA is totally original, but totally Morricone at the same time. Perhaps that's why one disgruntled reviewer felt there were too many similarities to another of his scores. My musical ear does not hear what he hears. And another reviewer sadly stated that you can sum up the Maestro's entire career in 6 albums, and proceeded to name them. Unfortunately, the 6 cds he named are all from a Morricone "later period" [roughly '86 - '98] and, thus, only cover a small fraction of his range and genius. You'd be missing that most wonderful period from '70 - '76, or thereabout, that for many of us diehards defines a big part of the Morricone mystique. [Those totally original and extremely creative and unforgettable scores for THE BURGLARS, A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE [A/K/A DUCK, YOU SUCKER], LE PROFESSIONEL, VERUSCHKA, etc., etc. Not to mention even earlier masterpieces as diverse as METTI UNA SERA A CENA, THE LADY CALIPH, AND ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.]



There simply is no greater movie score composer, and it's hard to peg just one Morricone "sound," because the Maestro's genius is just too big. Quite plainly, no one has created a body of work for movie music that is as diverse, and at the same time, so distinct and identifiable. In a nutshell, that is the genius of Morricone.



Now, for the music to MALENA. I can't imagine how it could have better captured the feel of what happened on the screen, and, at the same time, elevate the story, and become a character in itself. It's also wonderful how Morricone used a period song, written by D'Anzi & Galdieri, "Ma, l'amore no!" to accentuate the story. What a beautiful addition to the movie, what an unforgettable melody, how absolutely brilliant and evocative!! If I have a complaint, it's that the original sung version of the tune [which we hear a few times in the movie, when Malena dances with the picture of her missing-in-action husband, etc.]is not included, rather, a lovely and fully orchestral version by the Maestro is featured on the album. Also, one of my other favorite original themes is not isolated, but always combined with either an action cue or another theme. I would have liked one version of this theme by itself.



The score to MALENA, while perhaps not Morricone's VERY best, still represents the absolute best of his work. Yo Yo Ma, in fact, included the main theme in his Morricone tribute album, which has been one of the biggest "classical" cds of the year.



TOTALLY and thoroughly enjoyable, very satisfying, and highly recommended."

Amazing!

VINCENT P TARSITANO | 02/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Walking into the theatre to see this film, I had no idea that Ennio Morricone composed the score. Once I heard the music, though, my heart sunk. I knew it was him as soon as I heard it. The "Malena" soundtrack is somewhat reminiscent of his soundtrack for Adrian Lyne's "Lolita". There were a few spots in the film where I had flashbacks of certain scenes in that film. The music is absolutely gorgeous. It is extremely emotional. The film itself changes emotion so often and the music always fits the scene. Even if you haven't seen the film, buying this soundtrack is definitely worth it. You don't necessairly need the visuals to enjoy the music (although I would reccomend the film also)."