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Music Conducted By
Jerry Goldsmith

Orchestrations By
Arthur Morton

Recorded By
Eric Tomlinson

Performed By
The National Philharmonic Orchestra

CD Produced By
Douglass Fake

Album Produced By
Jerry Goldsmith

Label
Intrada Special Collection Volume 75

Previous Release(s)
Masters Film Music SRS 2001
A&M LPs

Year Of CD/Film Release
2008/1978

Running Time
111:19

Availability
Limited Release



Cues & Timings
 

CD 1 - Complete Score

1. Main Title 1:32
2. The Killers Arrive 5:26
3. What Does He Want 3:57
4. Find It; Don’t Believe Me 4:55
5. Kill Him 1:33
6. Reuters News 0:34
7. Broken Bottles 1:56
8. We’re Home Again [Film Mix] 4:07
09. S29 1:44
10. Without Hope/Frau Doring 4:46
11. Do Yours 0:33
12. The Dam 1:41
13. Over The Top; Frieda Maloney 2:22
14. December 11th 1:23
15. The Hospital [Revised] 2:18
16. Jungle Holocaust 3:36
17. Old Photos 2:52
18. You! 1:12
19. The Right One 1:16
20. Print!; The Dark Room; End Title 6:48

     CD 1 Total Time 55:40

CD 2 - Original 1978 Album

1. Suite from “The Boys From Brazil” 19:49
02. We’re Home Again [Album Mix] 3:51
3. Frau Doring 8:14
4. The Dogs & Finale 6:57

Original Album Time 39:03

Bonus Tracks

5. Siegfried Idyll 4:24
     [Excerpt] (Richard Wagner)
6. The Blue Danube 2:27
     [Excerpt] (Johann Strauss II, Adapted by Arthur Morton)
7. Ismael’s Samba 2:00
     [Radio Source] (Arthur Morton)

Alternates

8. The Hospital 2:19
9. The Killers Arrive 5:04
     [Without Percussion Overlay]

 CD 2 Total Time 55:39


Soundtrack Ratings

Disappointing

Functional

Average

Good

Excellent

Outstanding



The Boys From Brazil
 

The Boys From Brazil was another major work for Goldsmith and his friend Franklin J Schaffner. Schaffner inspired Goldsmith to write at another level and The Boys From Brazil may have been the ultimate expression of their collaborations. As discussed in the informative notes by Jon Burlingame Goldsmith was given the idea to formulate a score around the grand German and Viennese waltzes of the 19th century by Schaffner. Whether Goldsmith would have arrived at this conclusion just by viewing the movie no one will know but Schaffner rammed the thought down Goldsmith's throat ("Think 3/4" Schaffner would say) to the point that if the score didn't feature a waltz then I'm sure Goldsmith may not have scored the film.

The soundtrack to The Boys From Brazil has been a firm favourite amongst Goldsmith's film music fans and the composer himself. As most know A&M Records took the unusual but inspired step of producing a major suite from key moments in the score, the first and only time a Jerry Goldsmith score has been presented in this way. And it may have helped Goldsmith garner another Oscar nomination. The album was pretty much perfect but apart from the omission of incorporating the stunning opening cue the one thing that has been a bone of contention is the sound quality. Back then it was merely adequate and the limited edition CD from the Master's Of Film Music label was just as weak. And let's not even talk of the mono isolated track from the old Laser Disc! So the question for me was did one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest scores sound the way it should? A sumptuous but powerhouse recording that classical music often retains. Thankfully Intrada's wondrous new CD set sounds incredible and just what I hoped and imagined.

Intrada's two disc set presents the film soundtrack as Goldsmith recorded it on disc one. While the second disc features Goldsmith's edited versions of the cues that made up the original album, along with the song "We're Home Again", a couple of classical source cues conducted by the composer, a source cue written by friend and orchestrator Arthur Morton and two alternates from the film soundtrack.

Goldsmith's score opens with one of his finest Main Titles, a grand waltz depicting both protagonists. Lieberman gets the Viennese element of the waltz while striking and ominous Tuba depicts the German element for the evil Mengele. Goldsmith's opening is a relatively short presentation before we are launched into the tense opening sequence.

For the lengthy opening highlight; The Killer's Arrive Goldsmith focuses on Tuba for creating repeating darkly ominous statements as we watch the young Jewish Nazi hunter Kohler follow and photograph leading Nazi war criminals gathering in Paraguay. As more criminals are snapped the cue builds intensity. The film version also includes the marching band drum overlay. Also of note along the way is a delightful South American guitar interlude as Kohlar befriends a young boy to help him bug the Nazi meeting. As leading Nazi Seibet is captured on film arriving at the Airport Goldsmith concludes with a crescendo and adds a modest snare drum to create a powerful statement. A genuine 'Goose Bump' Goldsmith moment.

What Does He Want in part appeared on the original album and features the brief
wry, bouncing rhythms 'south of the border' but is for the most part a tense and ominous piece for the actual meeting with Mengele and not used in the film. An earlier highlight is the arrival of Mengele in which he is given his own fanfare of sorts. A grand but somewhat downbeat statement of the Nazi theme.

Find It; Don't Believe Me is the thrilling chase as the bug is discovered and Kohler races back to his apartment to pass on the recording he has made of the meeting to Lieberman by phone. The ominous stabbing low end brass builds slowly as Mengele seeks to find the person who has bugged the room. Once the small boy is revealed as the culprit Goldsmith launches into a frenetic breathtaking passage of high virtuosity highlighting dancing strings. But with Mengele and the Nazi henchman in pursuit the ominous brass signals the inevitable outcome. This cue also reveals music written for the murder of Kohlar but wasn't used.

Kill Him is an unused cue as Mengele turns his attentions to the small boy who he coldly orders to be despatched. Noteworthy mention goes to an unused 'skewed' variation of Lieberman's theme that closes the cue. Goldsmith noted that Schaffner would rarely use all of his intended score in his films and The Boys From Brazil is a good example of where he made a number of cuts. Admittedly to pretty good effect, though it would be interesting to hear what these sequences sounded like with the full score restored.

Reuters News is a short unused cue that showcases the grandeur of the Viennese element of the waltz as the story moves to Vienna and we see Lieberman talking to his friend Benyon from the Reuter's News Agency.

The first assassination by the Nazis involves killing a minor Railway official. The Nazi agent using his car to crash through crates of Broken Bottles which his victim is standing behind. Again the cue opens ominously as the car trails his victim and builds to a brass exclamation as the car accelerates and orchestra is turned into a frenzy as the bottles smash and his victim is killed in spectacular fashion.

We're Home Again [Film Mix] is the source cue heard on a radio during a second murder in London. Goldsmith collaborated with his regular lyricist Hal Shaper and Elaine Page sung. The song is included here
with the vocal slightly off to the left while the album mix is centre. It's noted this cue has some slight damage.

S29 is the slate number and an un-named cue that no one has been able to work out where it was intended for. It appeared in the original album suite though. The notes say they have inserted it here as it follows the previous cue on the sheet. Goldsmith recalls the ominous strings and brass before launching into an ornamental variation on the Lieberman waltz.

Without Hope/Frau Doring focuses on the meeting between Lieberman and the widow of Doring. A solemn piece but at the end incorporating a lightly comedic moment hinting at Frau Doring's flirtatious overtones. The opening is another unused sequence in which Kohlar's friend Bennett meets with Lieberman and bullies him in to allowing him to help, which was unused in the film.

Do Yours is another unused cue and may have been intended for an unused sequence. The notes tell us it was intended for a scene showing Mengele's anger at Seibert for being so concerned at Lieberman's investigations. Goldsmith provides a harrowing statement of the Nazi theme to depict Mengele's rage.

The Dam sees another assassin (Mundt) on a mission to kill. This time meeting with an ex Nazi friend who turns out to be his next victim. Goldsmith's opens with a lavish but short version of Lieberman's waltz before the cue becomes superbly understated showing the spectacular Swedish Dam with tantalizing fragments of his Nazi theme punctuating the serene and peaceful setting.

Over The Top concludes the Dam sequence as Mundt pushes his friend over. The shocking moment and long fall is captured brilliantly in Goldsmith's score as the orchestra explodes into a cacophony. The second part of the cue deals with the meeting with the imprisoned ex Concentration Camp guard Freda Maloney. Interestingly Goldsmith does not focus on her musically, instead the cue focuses on the dialogue and the unravelling of the mystery. Goldsmith shows his lightness of touch with a fluid but delicate piece of underscore.

December 11th has grim sounding bass notes dominating Lieberman's waltz as Lieberman and his sister discuss the mounting evidence of Mengele's sinister plan.

The Hospital [Revised] is one of the highlights of the score and the original album suite. Here Mengele visits the now derelict Hospital in the South American jungle and recalls the days when he impregnated a group of Women with the cloned Hitler embryos. The darkness and eeriness of the moment are subtly conveyed in the scoring with stabbing brass revealing flashes from the past. When we're transported back to those earlier days  the sequence is punctuated with a full statement of the Nazi theme before returning to the dark derelict hospital. Incredibly Goldsmith manages to create a beautifully elegiac moment for Mengele.

Jungle Holocaust deals with Seibert's raid on Mengele's Jungle compound and its destruction after Nazi higher powers order the project terminated. Goldsmith unleashes a wild and relentless piece. Brass figures dominate but strings dance manically around them.

Old Photos is another one of the unreleased highlights and deals primarily with Mengele's arrival in Pennsylvania and the Wheelock Farm. Goldsmith's creeping cue is inspired painting Mengele as a snake slithering along. Again Goldsmith brilliantly builds tension but this time with focus on woodwinds and what could be described as a new motif for Mengele. The remainder of this cue then deals with Lieberman's theme which gets a more whimsical  arrangement as he also arrives in Pennsylvania.

You! is another unused cue meant for the brief struggle between Mengele and Lieberman at the Wheelock Farm. Goldsmith's swirling strings, punctuating snares and angry brass figures are as brutal as the fight that ensues, while the serene woodwinds were intended to show the Wheelock boy coming home on his bike.

The finale cue Print!; The Dark Room; End Titles covers the assault by the Dogs on Mengele and its aftermath. Goldsmith continues the brutal assault from the previous cue as Mengele is finally silenced. Swirling strings whip to a frenzy while the ever present brass focuses on the snarling biting dogs. Trombones in particular growling as Mengele is ripped apart. For the aftermath Goldsmith's music becomes reflective but still with an ominous under tone. This is properly realised as the finale scene shows the Wheelock boy developing photos of the assault and reveals he has kept the necklace that Mengele had at the Hospital. Goldsmith builds his Nazi theme to a crescendo then resolving the score with a lengthier end title rendition of his magnificent waltz.

As mentioned Disc two opens with the album presentation and features selections from the score discussed above. Along with the alternate version of the song. We also have the Goldsmith conducted source music heard at Mengele's Jungle Compound (
Siegfried Idyll by Wagner) and the Nazi 'party' (The Blue Danube by Strauss). Arthur Morton's South American instrumental used as a Radio source cue (Ismael's Samba) then follows.

The final two cues are slight variations on two earlier highlights. The Killer's Arrive [Without Percussion Overlay] is a superior listen compared to the film version. The marching band element is of course vital to the original scene but this alternate is very welcome. The Hospital is slightly different from the film version with brass in the centre of the cue subdued and noted as less powerful.

Intrada's latest "WOW" title is such a fantastic gift for Goldsmith fans. Like all of Intrada's releases the love that went into it shines through. But when it comes to Goldsmith-Intrada titles there is just that little bit more. Mr Fake is probably Goldsmith's biggest fan and he of course ensures that when they release something from the Goldsmith canon it gets extra special treatment. As a Goldsmith fan I am indebted to Mr Fake and the Intrada team for this beautiful release of such an important score.