Notablog

Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2175

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 19, 2025

Song of the Day: Gorky Park (“Irina’s Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by James Horner, is one of the musical highlights to this 1983 mystery, starring William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Ian Bannen, Brian Dennehy, and Joanna Pacula as Irina. The film is based on the 1981 novel by Martin Cruz Smith.…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2175
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2174

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 18, 2025

Song of the Day: Rear Window (“Lisa”) [YouTube link], composed by Franz Waxman, is an original cue from the wide-ranging soundtrack to this voyeuristic, suspenseful 1954 thriller (one of my all-time Hitchcock favorites). The film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, and the always hilarious Thelma Ritter. The soundtrack…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2174
Film / TV / Theater Review, Remembrance

SNL 50th Blast

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 17, 2025

It ran three-and-a-half hours and for some, I’m sure, it might have been a bit much. But the 50th Anniversary Saturday Night Live Extravaganza, which aired last night on NBC, was, for this fan, a blast! Unlike the superb SNL 50 Years of Music documentary, which was broadcast on January…
Continue reading →: SNL 50th Blast
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2173

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 17, 2025

Song of the Day: Ben-Hur (“Balthasar”) [YouTube link], composed by the great Miklos Rozsa, has been praised for being the “gorgeous multi-thematic cue” that it is. Rozsa won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for a soundtrack that remains his crowning achievement and a cinematic milestone. The 1959 film…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2173
Culture, Film / TV / Theater Review, Politics (Theory, History, Now), Sexuality

The Trans Politician?

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 16, 2025

In the wake of my post, “Flooding the Zone with Trump,” I’ve had some discussions with folks who pointed out that the Trump administration’s move to delete the “T” and the “Q” in the LGBTQ acronym has directly impacted the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, which opened to…
Continue reading →: The Trans Politician?
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2172

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 16, 2025

Song of the Day: Foul Play (“Ready to Take a Chance Again”), music by Charles Fox, lyrics by Norman Gimbel, is sung by Barry Manilow in this 1978 rom-com thriller. The cast includes Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore, Burgess Meredith, and Brian Dennehy. This Oscar-nominated “Best Original Song” is…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2172
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2171

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 15, 2025

Song of the Day: Craving Greatness (“Write On”), composed by my friend Michael Gordon Shapiro, is a paean to the creative process. As Mike puts it, “the mood of the [2021] film is of reflective gratitude and joy”—and this piece, written for two pianos, captures that spirit eloquently.
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2171
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2170

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 14, 2025

Song of the Day: Blade Runner (“Love Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by Vangelis, features a haunting saxophone solo by British jazz musician Dick Morrissey. For many years, the influential electronic soundtrack to this trailblazing 1982 sci-fi noir film, directed by Ridley Scott, was unavailable except through bootleg recordings. It was…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2170
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music, Politics (Theory, History, Now)

Song of the Day #2169

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 13, 2025

Song of the Day: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (“Soundtrack Suite”), music by Carmen Dragon, includes those quintessential horror outbursts that punctuate so many of the tense scenes in this classic Don Siegel-directed 1956 film, starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. There have been other adaptations of this film, which…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2169
Film / TV / Theater Review, Music

Song of the Day #2168

Published by

cmsciabarra

on

February 12, 2025

Song of the Day: The Body Snatcher (“Main Title”) [YouTube link], composed by Roy Webb, opens this Val Lewton-produced, Robert Wise-directed 1945 movie. An adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson short story, the cast included both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the last time they would appear in the same…
Continue reading →: Song of the Day #2168