I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me
Telekinesis (Incidental Dialogue From The Film)
And God Made Eve
The Raven Was Called Sin (Incidental Dialogue From The Film)
At The Prom
Contest Winners
Born To Have It All
Bucket Of Blood
They're All Going To Laugh At You (Incidental Dialogue From The Film)
School In Flames
Mother At The Top Of The Stairs
For The Last Time We'll Pray
The Devil Has Come Home (Incidental Dialogue From The Film)
Collapse Of Carrie's Home
Sue's Dream
Powers (Incidental Dialogue From The Film)
Theme From 'Carrie'
In 1976, Carrie made a star of Sissy Spacek, a bankable first-tier director of Brian DePalma, and a household name of horror writer Stephen King (on whose first novel the film was based). Newcomers John Travolta, Amy Irvin... more »g, and Nancy Allen didn't do so bad for themselves either. But like the solid efforts of many film composers, Pino Donaggio's work went largely unheralded at the time, though DePalma would reward him with no less than five more scoring assignments in the years to come. Ironically, Donaggio was the director's second choice; the first, Bernard Herrmann, died just hours after the final recording session for Scorsese's Taxi Driver in December, 1975. For the Carrie, score, Donaggio descends from the breezy string and flute arrangements that introduce the innocence of the title character into a darkening orchestral maelstrom as the troubled telekinetic Carrie suffers increasingly harsh indignities at the hands of her schoolmates and madly fundamentalist mother. Like his peers Morricone and Rota, Donaggio often understates the most dramatic scenes of his projects; the famed school prom hell storm scene is accompanied merely by rumbling sustained chords from the strings beneath subtly disquieting electronic effects. Ryko's interspersing of dialogue clips is especially effective here, particularly the chilling rantings of Piper Laurie as Carrie's mother. --Jerry McCulley« less
In 1976, Carrie made a star of Sissy Spacek, a bankable first-tier director of Brian DePalma, and a household name of horror writer Stephen King (on whose first novel the film was based). Newcomers John Travolta, Amy Irving, and Nancy Allen didn't do so bad for themselves either. But like the solid efforts of many film composers, Pino Donaggio's work went largely unheralded at the time, though DePalma would reward him with no less than five more scoring assignments in the years to come. Ironically, Donaggio was the director's second choice; the first, Bernard Herrmann, died just hours after the final recording session for Scorsese's Taxi Driver in December, 1975. For the Carrie, score, Donaggio descends from the breezy string and flute arrangements that introduce the innocence of the title character into a darkening orchestral maelstrom as the troubled telekinetic Carrie suffers increasingly harsh indignities at the hands of her schoolmates and madly fundamentalist mother. Like his peers Morricone and Rota, Donaggio often understates the most dramatic scenes of his projects; the famed school prom hell storm scene is accompanied merely by rumbling sustained chords from the strings beneath subtly disquieting electronic effects. Ryko's interspersing of dialogue clips is especially effective here, particularly the chilling rantings of Piper Laurie as Carrie's mother. --Jerry McCulley
"The movie CARRIE is truly one of the best psychologically terrifying movies in recent history; part of its "get under your skin" power lies in Pino Donaggio's eccentric and transporting soundtrack. While it is not the kind of music you play for a candlelit dinner, if you want to evoke memories of the haunting film, this will more than do the trick. Mother At The Top Of The Stairs is perhaps the most artistically gratifying piece for me, with its perfect blend of suspense and unbearably sad chords repeated over and over. It captures, without fail, the specific moods and feelings of the characters and story brilliantly. There are pieces missing however -- as in the playful piece that underscores the girls' punishment-workout, and the guys' tuxedo shopping."
This is a beautiful c.d...simply beautiful.
Brendon J. Wenzel | minneapolis, minnesota | 12/09/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"carrie is not only one of the best films of the 20th century; beneath each scene of the film seethes a stirring and evocative score. this is honestly one film that is, quite simply, inconceivable without the underlying propulsion of pino donaggio's remarkably breathtaking score. each note on this score brings forth intense visuals from the film in the listener's mind (i find carrie's theme to be one of the most succinctly enchanting melodies ever written). rarely is a score written that so effectively and astoundingly encompasses the depth and psychology of the film's characters. the lyrics to the two vocal tracks express intense longing and disillusionment, and are brought to life in a hauntingly bare style. i highly recommend this score for anyone who enjoyed the film. this is not a rushed collage of overtly mismatched songs; it is a painstakingly precise glimpse into the soul of the film."
Anyone who loves the film will also love the soundtrack!
Robyn Fuller (r.j.davey1@wkac.ac.uk | England | 10/21/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album's excellent, but probably only fans of the film will think so. A lot of the music is very dark and conjurs images of isolation, but the two Katie Irving songs are beautiful, especially "...Someone Like Me". The inlay card is interesting and has a detailed write-up about the film and the score, as well as a film poster on the back. The only disappointing thing I found about the album is that songs like "Education Blues" and "Heatwave" aren't on it. These are just as much a part of the film as the rest of the tunes, and perhaps their lighter tone would have made the album more accessible. Still, never mind, it's definitely well worth the money in my opinion!"
A top-notch soundtrack enhances an awesome movie
wculbertsn@aol.com (William Culber | Springfield IL | 05/14/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I saw the movie "Carrie" for the first time in January 1977, I was immediately impressed with the soundtrack. I bought the LP a couple of months later and 22 years later I just purchased the CD version. Since I have seen the movie about 30 times, I am very familiar with music and its relationship to the film. The liner sheet is very informative about the movie and music. The CD contains about 40 minutes of music and dialog clips from the film and the movie trailer when used with your computer. I have come across other movie soundtrack albums which the movie contained very little music that "filler" music was added to the CD. An interesting example of this is "The Rage: Carrie 2" which is a fine sequel which comes up short musically.The CD soundtrack to the movie "Carrie" is a top-notch recording which sets the standard. I would highly recommend it. It is awesome when you can relate the music to the events in the film."
What's there and what's not...
Stu Chisholm | Southeast Michigan | 04/02/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The producers of this soundtrack seemed to omit everything that wasn't done by Pino Donaggio. What IS there is excellent, especially the Theme from "Carrie" and "Mother At the Top of the Stairs," which is a brillant homage to those 200+ year old hymns found in church songbooks around the world. One song is only partially included; "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Soneone Like Me." In the movie, there's an instrumental break where Tommy and Carrie talk about why he asked her to the prom. The version on this soundtrack omits this break, making the song shorter and, to me, not as enjoyable.
As others have mentioned, there are several pieces that are outright missing. The most notable one is that great song that's playing when Carrie and friends enter the gym; a song called "Education Blues" by Vance Or Towers. It's a party rock tune that foreshadowed the New Wave revolution that would come in the '80s, and slightly different in the movie than on their obscure 1975 LP. BIG oversight.
Also as some have previously mentioned, the Moog-style music when the guys are shopping for tuxedos and the girls are in detention are gone, presumably because they weren't the classical string arrangements that Donaggio seems to prefer. So the comic relief is also missing.
Due to the high cost of music licensure, I can understand why Martha & The Vandella's "Heat Wave" is missing, yet it was the backdrop for one of the movie's most memorable scenes with Nancy Allen and John Travolta. Still, this song is widely available. What is NOT, and is missing from this soundtrack, is the song playing in the background of that "other" Travolta / Allen scene, the notorious parking scene. In the background is a song that might be called "Pretty Lady" or "Pretty Baby," and is uncredited on the DVD of the movie. I've been trying to figure out what it is for years. If you happen to know, your e-mail would answer a now 30 year-old question.
With the running time that today's CDs afford, the omissions of these tracks is inexcusable, and I would have preferred them to the added dialogue snippets that differentiate this CD from the original vinyl product. Still, what IS present has never sounded better. Donaggio's brilliant, complimentary score demonstrates why he is one of the all-time great film composers!"