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Song of the Day: Far From Heaven (“Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Elmer Bernstein, was the final film and the final Oscar-nominated soundtrack of Bernstein’s illustrious career. This 2002 film, written and directed by Todd Haynes, is an homage to the 1950s films of Douglas Sirk, exploring themes of race,…

Song of the Day: The Great Escape (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Elmer Bernstein, is a terrific complement to the suspense and thrills of this 1963 epic POW film, directed by John Sturges. The all-star cast includes Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough. It is said that Bernstein…

Song of the Day: Lawrence of Arabia (“Soundtrack Suite”), composed by Maurice Jarre, highlights key themes from the 1962 Oscar-winning Best Picture, directed by David Lean, and starring Peter O’Toole as T. E. Lawrence, and a grand supporting cast featuring Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, and Omar Sharif. The…

Song of the Day: How the West Was Won (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Alfred Newman, provides the musical backdrop for this 1962 all-star epic Western, narrated by Spencer Tracy, directed in five chapters, variously by Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall. Now that we are at the…

Song of the Day: The Robe (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Alfred Newman, derives from the 1954 Cinemascope epic adaptation of the 1942 Lloyd C. Douglas novel. It starred Richard Burton as Tribune Marcellus Gallio, Jean Simmons as Diana, Victor Mature as Demetrius, Michael Rennie as the very reverent…

Song of the Day: King of Kings (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Miklos Rozsa, graces this 1961 Biblical epic about the life of Jesus, played by Jeffrey Hunter. Rozsa received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Score, one of three lifetime Golden Globe nominations. Up against himself for 1961’s…

Song of the Day: El Cid (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Miklos Rozsa, provides a powerful backdrop for this 1961 epic, starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Lauren. The soundtrack was among Rozsa’s 16 Oscar-nominated scores. Today, we begin a three-day mini-tribute to the great Hungarian-American composer.