Friday
Here is a website that I have come across about the late, very great John Barry, the composer best known for all those superb James Bond tunes, as well as films such as Out of Africa.
He was never nominated for an Oscar for any of his 007 tunes. As Mark Steyn has observed, a classic case of snobbery at work.
I remember being very struck by the music for A Lion In Winter (which is about Henry II and his unruly family) when I first heard it. I kept a particular eye out to see who'd done it when the credits came up. Hey, the James Bond guy.
Posted by Brian Micklethwait at October 14, 2011 01:41 PM
Bloody hell, he did the Lion in Winter too then Brian.
Probably O'Toole's best film. The dialogue and sparring between him and Hepburn is masterclass stuff!
There's no rhyme or reason to Knighthoods is there? They've only just got round to Bruce Forsyth, and Jaggers had one for yonks.
Posted by RAB at October 14, 2011 02:16 PM
I didn't realize I was a John Barry fan until I bought the entire James Bond DVD set and started listening to the commentaries. Between John Barry and Ken Adam, they not only created the entire James Bond aesthetic, the altered the course of 'real world' style and fashion. Without them, James Bond would have been Simon Templar with a big budget. The other person who belongs in their league is Henry Mancini. Without those three, I think our world would look and sound quite different today. So much we take for granted derives from their vision.
I look forward to exploring that site as time permits.
Posted by Midwesterner at October 14, 2011 04:06 PM
Thanks for nominating one of my hometown guys (the Mancini family is from Pittsburgh and friends of mine played at Mancini's on occasion when I was a college undergrad). However I would also add Burt Bacharach to that pantheon.
Posted by Dale Amon at October 14, 2011 05:05 PM
Dale read my mind:-) Barry's music is perfect for the Bond movies, but it's not something I'd put on my MP3...
Posted by Alisa at October 14, 2011 05:21 PM
I think his movie music was wonderful, but the album "The Beyondness of Things" is simply sublime.
(I saw the John Barry 7 in the early sixties backing Adam
Faith, they were not too shabby either).
Posted by PaulM at October 14, 2011 07:41 PM
Inspired by this article and thread I pulled out The Man With the Golden Gun and watched it again, this time paying special attention to the incidental music.
I disagree with you, Alisa. If you could strip away the dialogue and sound effects, you would find the body of a beautiful and quite developed symphony. The Orientalism in the piece is delightful and reminiscent of some of the romantic era composers forays into Orientalism. The incidental music from this movie is entirely capable of standing on its own without the movie.
If you find a copy to listen to, make sure and use a quality sound system. Also, you will find most of the doctrine of the IPCC/Greens defended and advocated by 'M' and Co. I didn't remember that part and found it mildly amusing - now that they've finally had the (hot) air taken out of their sails.
Posted by Midwesterner at October 18, 2011 11:58 PM
The opening bars to the theme from Zulu stir the blood and quicken the pulse every single time.
A genius.
Posted by Bowood at October 21, 2011 03:08 AM
