Home From The Hill (Limited
Edition CD Soundtrack)
Sound: B Music:
B-
Vincente Minelli made one of the most impressive
transitions into widescreen filmmaking in his long tenure at M-G-M. Home from the Hill (1960) followed
the triumph of Some Came Running the previous year. For the latter half of his career as a
filmmaker, Minelli shot exclusively in CinemaScope (or an equivalent
format). The film runs 150 minutes,
while this score runs over half of that length. As expertly composed as it is by Bronislau Kaper (who afterwards
did the gigantic 1962 version of M-G-M’s Mutiny on the Bounty with
Marlon Brando), it runs on too long.
The film is a gritty film, but is produced by the most
glamorous studio of the time, which the music tends to mirror. There are dramatic moments, then
melodramatic ones, and hen other odd ones to match the narrative. There is no doubt of the complex nature or
grasp Kaper has on composing, but it drags on here. The music where the most dramatic events of murder occur seem a
break from the rest of the work in some odd way, i.e. something is actually
happening that is not supposed character interaction that either succeeds or
fails.
Did this film really need all this music? Did it need to be this long? Minelli was one of the great Hollywood
directors, still at the height of his creative powers, but it will be
interesting to compare this film to the quality of its music when Warner Bros.
gets around to issuing the DVD. With a
great director and cast, there is reason to believe this could add up and
justify its length, but alone, this does not quite click.
The PCM CD stereo sound is good, which helps make it more
listenable. Most of the masters were in
35mm magnetic stereo, but some were 17.5mm monophonic sound. Some “wow” can be heard on the bonus tracks,
but this is otherwise a clean, clear presentation.
This CD is limited to only 3,000 copies, so Minelli,
Melodrama, and Kaper fans will want to get it now if they already have not at www.filmscoremonthly.com while
supplies last exclusively through Film Score Monthly’s FSM label.
- Nicholas Sheffo
