VA - Crime Scene USA, Classic Film Noir Themes & Jazz Tracks [2006] (2 x CDs)

CRIME JAZZ

VA - Crime Scene USA, Classic Film Noir Themes & Jazz Tracks [2006] (2 x CDs)

In the beginning, they weren't called 'Film Noir'. That term didn't originate until 1946 when a Frenchman coined the phrase as a convenient catchall reference for American low budget hard-boiled crime and detective B-movies shot during the austere '40s and early '50s. It was the look of Film Noir movies as much as their down beat storylines, which made for compulsive viewing. Shot in black and white, these films were dark and claustrophobic and relied upon deep shadows, shards of light and surreal angle shots to establish the appropriate mood. Other much used devices included conspiratorial voiceover narrators and dream-like flashbacks.

Long before Quentin Tarantino's signature film, Hollywood had produced hard-boiled, pulp fiction movies based on the novels & stories of Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Mickey Spillane. The darker, more adult themes, and cinematic images influenced by German Expressionism of the aptly named "film noir", demanded a new, dramatic music to enhance the singular character of these movies. From the lush scores of "Golden Age" composers like Max Steiner and Franz Waxman, to the young, innovative composers, like Miklos Rozsa and Elmer Bernstein, this recording has tantalizing samples from thirty-one "film noir" classics, selected by an informed editorial staff. Many of the tracks are the "suites", which were originally played over the films' opening credits, and have been extracted directly from the films. The sound quality of the excerpts is surprisingly good, considering the sources.

If you are at all interested in "film noir", use this recording's playlist as a starting point for some of the best films with the best scores from this genre. (Amazon)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Alfred Newman - Street Scene 1931 5:38

02 Max Steiner - The Letter 1940 1:27

03 Adolph Deutsch - The Maltese Falcon 1941 2:29

04 Adolph Deutsch - High Sierra 1:54

05 Miklós Rózsa - Double Indemnity 1944 2:38

06 Max Steiner - Mildred Pierce 1945 1:39

07 Leo Erdody - Detour 1945 1:12

08 Miklós Rózsa - The Killers 1946 2:37

09 Max Steiner - The Big Sleep 1946 0:56

10 George Bassman - The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946 0:57

11 Miklós Rózsa - Brute Force 1947 4:27

12 Franz Waxman - Dark Passage 1947 0:54

13 Paul Sawtell - Born to Kill 1947 1:08

14 Max Steiner - Key Largo 1948 1:32

15 David Raksin - Force of Evil 1948 2:16

16 Max Steiner - White Heat 1949 1:00

17 Michel Michelet - Impact 1949 1:12

CD2

18 Miklós Rózsa - The Asphalt Jungle 1950 2:37

19 Dimitri Tiomkin - D.O.A. 1950 1:56

20 Franz Waxman - Sunset Boulevard 1950 1:23

21 Dimitri Tiomkin - Strangers on a Train 1951 1:05

22 Paul Sawtell - The Racket 1951 0:47

23 Anthony Collins - Macao 1952 1:18

24 Paul Sawtell - Kansas City Confidential 1952 2:00

25 Daniele Amfitheatrof - The Big Heat 1953 1:05

26 David Raksin - Suddenly 1954 1:12

27 Leith Stevens - Private Hell 36 1954 3:11

28 Elmer Bernstein - The Man With the Golden Arm 4:59

29 Frank De Vol - Kiss Me Deadly 2:54

30 Gerald Fried - The Killing 1:35

31 Elmer Bernstein - Sweet Smell of Success 3:32

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