Two Weeks In Another
Town (Limited Edition CD
Soundtrack)
Sound: B-
Music: B
Vincente Minnelli is still underrated to this day and his
1962 melodrama Two Weeks In Another Town is due for some revisionist
thinking. The tale of Kirk Douglas as a
“former” alcoholic actor traveling abroad to get his film career back is a
story with all-new implications at this point in time. When we can get to Warner Bros. issuing a
DVD, we can look at the film, but the FSM CD label of Film Score Monthly
Magazine has issued another one of their terrific 3,000 copy limited edition
soundtracks and David Raksin’s score totally has the entire CD to itself.
The 21 tracks run over 56 minutes and capture his
remarkable work. Working in the
business since 1936 as a composer and the like, uncredited for a very long
time, he never totally got his due. The
1944 Film Noir classic Laura (reviewed both as a DVD film and FSM CD
score elsewhere on this site) helped him finally get the credit he
deserved. Two Weeks was among
his last feature film work, and it is lush without overdoing it. No matter how melodramatic the film may or
may not have been, this is exceptionally rich music for any film. As you read the terrific, illustrated and
text rich booklet that is included, you see how hard and deeply Raksin was
working to enhance the emotionally and psychologically complex narrative. It may even be politically incorrect at one
point, but it ads serious dimension to a film by a director who knew how to
really put it up on screen.
The PCM CD 16Bit/44.1 kHz sound is in stereo from the
original 35mm materials. Unfortunately,
there is a noticeable share of harmonic distortion throughout. The music sounds really good otherwise, but
the original magnetic masters did not survive as well as they should have. For purists, FSM transfers them the best
they can so they can hear what has survived.
When it is not distorted, you can really enjoy what Raksin pulled off,
making the listener want to see the film even more. However, if you want the CD, the limited copies make it a
priority for you to go to www.filmscoremonthly.com
for more information on the CD, how to order, listen to samples of the music
streamed to your PC and check into more of the great line of FSM
soundtracks. This is another winner.
- Nicholas Sheffo
