Lalo Schifrin - Dirty Harry Anthology

In 1983, Viva Records released the soundtrack to Sudden Impact, which also contained music from two other scores written by Lalo Schifrin for Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry series of detective thrillers, Magnum Force and The Enforcer. (There were five Dirty Harry films in all, and Schifrin wrote the music for four of them.) The Dirty Harry Anthology, issued on Schifrin's own label, presents his newly recorded versions of music from the first film, Dirty Harry (1971), as well as Magnum Force (1973), and Sudden Impact. The earlier scores contain typical elements from their time, including the plucked bass and wah wah guitar sounds typical of Shaft and other scores of the time. As action movies, of course, the soundtracks require a fair amount of music to support and complement tense action sequences, and Schifrin delivers, mixing jazz and rock elements with other styles. From the start, with Eastwood's famous "Do you feel lucky?" speech from the first movie, the series is effectively evoked, and the music holds up, maybe even better than the politically incorrect films do.

Lalo Schifrin - Cool Hand Luke O.S.T.

Following on from the extremely successful post for Bruce Lee’s “Enter The Dragon” O.S.T., What we’ve got here, is failure to communicate…

Of all the film scores Lalo Schifrin has composed -- good and bad, and yes, he's done some stinkers -- the score to Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, a star vehicle for Paul Newman, is among his greatest achievements. First, there is the score itself, pure cinema in scope, breadth, and architecture. Next is its attempted marriage to bluegrass music -- not entirely successful, but pretty great anyway -- and finally there is Schifrin's attempt to offer an actual view of the character through the score, not just provide a series of incidentals to accompany the movement of a plot. The complexities of Newman's Luke are borne out in a score that works futuristic themes (like the CNN-meets-Star Trek music for the "Tar Sequence," the most problematic in the film), gorgeous jazz elements (just check out "Lucille," a seductive love theme if there ever was one), and bluegrass concepts into a framework where they were needed but would be obtrusive no matter where they were placed -- like Luke himself. This shows through loud and clear on "Egg-Eating Contest," even if Schifrin's sensibilities run closer to Jobim than Bill Monroe. There is also the delightful, Stephen Foster-ish theme called "Plastic Jesus," with Tommy Tedesco playing a sweet banjo and guitar over a lush, melancholy string arrangement. It's here that the drama in the film turns into the only fate a character like Luke can have befall him. Immediately after this beautiful interlude comes a heavily reverbed psychedelic banjo that threatens to rip the insides out of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," but instead becomes a suspenseful meditation on clarity called "I Got My Mind Back." The knowledge of all that transpired previously is clearly in every wash of the strings over the harp. "Ballad of Cool Hand Luke" is heard as the beginning of the last third of the film comes into play. A harmonica carries its melody against a backdrop of horns, electric guitars, and percussion. It's almost like Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," as scored by Jobim during his Warner Bros. period. As "Dog Boy" begins to signal the beginning of the end, brass and a rumbling piano challenge one another momentarily as a wash of strings and a bongo find their place in the mix to carry its drama. The castanets spot-check the horns and winds, changing the dynamic from tense to unbearable, and escalating that sensation three times inside as many minutes. Here, though, the end title doesn't end the score: There are bonuses that weren't part of the original film. As the reverie of the end title played so simply by Tommy Tedesco becomes a poignant memory of the film's hero and his struggle -- as well as his laughter -- listeners will find themselves wanting more, as did viewers of the film. Here, after the soundtrack is over, Lalo and Donna Schifrin have provided listeners with two large bonuses: One is a gorgeous symphonic sketch -- almost seven minutes long -- of the various themes in Cool Hand Luke, and the other is a lost treasure, the original recording of "Down Here on the Ground," recorded by everybody from Wes Montgomery to Gerald Wilson to Oscar Peterson. It's a straight-up jazz melody, languid, wistful, and beautiful in its elegantly swinging whispers and sliding, dancing grace. What a bonus! This makes Cool Hand Luke, in stunning 16-bit remastered sound, an essential soundtrack in the library of any serious -- or casual for that matter -- film music collector.

Review by Thom Jurek

Lalo Schifrin - Enter the Dragon O.S.T.

“Enter The Dragon” is one of the best martial arts movies of all times and the last film before Bruce Lee’s death. The score for this movie has been very much a holy grail for many, and this year (1998) we finally got a proper release. Lalo Schifrin, the jazz man most known for his immortal Mission: Impossible theme wrote this score, and after 40 years we get to listen to the entire composition. This is another movie with sentimental value for me, because it’s one of the movies I have the earliest recollections about… I remember flashes and scenes from when I was very young. My parents were watching it and I must have been at an age where I couldn’t understand much when I first stumbled upon it. I did return to the movie and I remember almost every scene now.

The “Main Titles” tell you everything you need to know about this score… This is funky goodness, cool and baring the sign of the time when this score was written (1973). You will instantly feel like grooving when listening to this one, it’s one of those immortal themes that are still as good now as it was 40 years ago.

The blend of jazz, funk and Asian influences is simply brilliant. The funky cues are among the coolest you will ever hear. This is a true martial arts movie score, with swift and sharp hits, smooth moves and tough as iron. “Headset Jazz” or “Into The Night” make me so happy and excited when I listen to them… I just feel like putting on a black outfit and sneaking in somewhere. I will be untouchable and invisible, of course.

Just like the opening titles, the “End Titles” and the “Theme From Enter The Dragon”, with Bruce Lee’s sharp battle cries and a rhythm so smooth that you want to cover your skin with it, remain among the coolest ever written, and as legendary as Bruce Lee himself.  Do yourselves a favour and listen to this release.

Mihnea Manduteanu

Enter The Dragon

Oh MAAANN! You come right out of a comic book!!!