Song of the Day #1905

Song of the Day: The Godfather Trilogy (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], with composing credits going both to Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola, takes musical highlights from Francis Ford Coppola‘s gangster epic: “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather, Part II” (1974), and “The Godfather, Part III” (1990). It’s hard to believe that the first film will mark its fiftieth anniversary on March 14, 2022. I saw it during its original theatrical run, but was also privileged to see it in September 2015, with the breathtakingly lush accompaniment of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Today, I begin my Eighteenth Annual Film Music February Festival. One of my all-time favorite film series still works best, in my humble opinion, when re-edited as a single chronological epic, with 50+ deleted and extended scenes added in. Just as I spotlighted medleys in my 2021 Summer Music Festival, so I will be spotlighting soundtrack suites for my 2022 film music series. And this soundtrack suite is a musical offering … you can’t refuse [YouTube link].