Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(46 customer reviews) 39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Ben-Hur: Finally the Full Score in All Its Glory,
March 16, 2000 James D. Eret (San Diego) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ben-Hur - A Tale Of The Christ: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1959 Version) (Audio CD)
I can't remember when this film score was out of print. The LP sold well, and I still have mine. But after listening to the score, I was always left with a longing for more. This double CD set grants a wish I had many years ago: to have the entire score. It is certainly one of the greatest film scores ever written and after each new listening, I find more things I like about Ben-Hur. There are Yiddish themes, religous themes, brutal Roman march themes, choral themes. It is another film score, that if taken away from the movie, I couldn't imagine watching the movie, the way the themes are introduced, lost, only to reappear later on. I have many favorites but the Love Theme is gorgeous. Rozsa uses brass instruments to portray the colonial power of Rome. The chariot race music is rousing and perfect. It is tough writing themes for Christ but Rozsa comes through with truly inspiring work, and with this entire score you can relish the more subtle effects he gets. There are some...Read more
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Totally Unsurpassed Film-Score Music!,
December 3, 2005 William F. Flanigan Jr. (North Potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ben-Hur - A Tale Of The Christ: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1959 Version) (Audio CD)
This dual CD set unambiguously deserves many more stars than just a puny five! I have heard none finer. And only a few CDs of equal quality. The legendary Miklos Rozsa is the film's composer. This is the inaugural release of Rozsa's complete score for the 1959 film BEN HUR (BH). The CDs contain 88 tracks in the same order as in the composer's original score. By "complete," I mean there is more music here than there was actually in the film. This is because the CDs include unedited cues and music from film outtakes plus one alternative track. The vast majority of tracks were recorded on the M-G-M sound stage with sizable orchestras of up to 75 performers. The result is sound of intense richness, but not to the point where ensembles over whelmed individual instruments (of which there were quite a few "unusual" ones). Not surprisingly, Rozsa won an Academy Award for BH (his third). While you can debate which of Rozsa's score is his best (my personal favorite is his music for...Read more
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Finally on CD: The greatest film score ever composed!,
July 26, 1998 By A Customer
This review is from: Ben-Hur - A Tale Of The Christ: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1959 Version) (Audio CD)
Miklós Rózsa was, in my opinion, the finest film composer who ever lived. And his score for BEN-HUR is the finest film score ever written. This release is superb in every way: the recorded sound, the packaging, the liner notes. Until this Rhino release was issued, there existed no actual "original" soundtrack! There were only the volumes released by MGM well over 35 years ago, conducted by Carlo Savina and Erich Kloss, and a Rózsa-conducted performance on London (1977) which doesn't touch these original sessions in power and resonance. Every collector of film music should obtain this release before it's gone! The score represents Rózsa at the very peak of his illustrious career. It is filled with melody, majesty, drama, and the excitement of the "Golden Age of Hollywood" at its zenith.My everlasting thanks go to Marilee Bradford, who has since unfortunately left Rhino, for producing this wonderful recording, taken from the actual...Read more
