By Mark Sung Dec 8, 2004, 18:03 GMT
Varese Sarabande have released details of their forthcoming release of The Great Train Robbery: The Deluxe Edition Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
'Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. Release Date: 1/25/05
The Great Train Robbery is a Jerry Goldsmith classic. In the film directed by Michael Crichton (and based on his own book), Sean Connery played Edward Pierce, an ingenious and daring thief who moved between London’s richest and most prominent citizens and the dark corners of its criminal underworld with great ease. Donald Sutherland plays Robert Agar, a dexterous screwsman (a specialist in keys and safecracking) always awaiting the next big job. Lesley-Anne Down is Brigid Lawson, Pierce’s beautiful but nefarious girlfriend, prepared to aid and abet at any opportunity.
To score this grand and stylish adventure, Crichton sought his trusted friend Jerry Goldsmith. The Great Train Robbery proved to be a radical stylistic departure from the two other films occupying the composer in 1979. As it was, the tortured and gritty Alien could not have contrasted more with the romantic and heroic vision of the future that Goldsmith captured in his score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. But when you add The Great Train Robbery to the pair of science fiction opposites, it reemphasizes the extreme extents that the composer’s stylistic range encompasses. To this day, all three scores from 1979 remain among Goldsmith’s most loved and well-remembered offerings.
The Great Train Robbery, like most of the vast body of Goldsmith’s work, had aged exceptionally well and stands a well remembered and much loved opus. When it was discovered that a set of 24-track masters existed for almost the entire score, the opportunity of taking advantage of the latest technologies in sound reproduction proved irresistible. SACD is a glorious step forward in home audio reproduction with sample rates allowing for an unprecedented fidelity. To further take advantage of the multi-channel capabilities of the format, recording engineer Bruce Botnick undertook a remix of the entire score. The sound of the tapes was astounding and we can here share with you the glorious music we rediscovered on that day.'
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