Ordeal By Innocence - Dave Brubeck's only real movie soundtrack

[may1620]

A project for the Brubeck family and archive - the Ordeal By Innocence soundtrack.  OK, granted it's contrived, incongruent, inexplicably mono, overlayed with sound effects and dialog and unreleased in any separate soundtrack form.  But also kind of interesting and worthy of a proper release.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordeal_by_Innocence_(film)

Edited June 16, 2022 by may1620

[Ken Dryden]

I loved the music for the film, particularly the slowed down opening number “Truth.” I heard that the film was briefly available on dvd.

[Teasing the Korean]

12 hours ago, may1620 said:

... inexplicably mono...

Mono would have been standard for the mix of a film score in 1984.  Who knows whether the multi-tracks still exist.

Also, one of the main criticisms of the film is Brubeck's music.  I've never seen it.

[Ken Dryden]

I think that I recorded the movie on a VHS, though I'm not sure where it is and if it would still play. My wife periodically purged VHS tapes without asking me.

[Teasing the Korean]

3 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:

My wife periodically purged VHS tapes without asking me.

We've all been there.

[medjuck]

3 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Mono would have been standard for the mix of a film score in 1984.  

I don't think so.  Last mono movie I worked on came out in '81.  

Edited June 17, 2022 by medjuck

[Teasing the Korean]

7 hours ago, medjuck said:

I don't think so.  Last mono movie I worked on came out in '81.  

Well I will defer to your expertise.  I knew that 1980s blockbusters may have had stereo scores, but not every film.

And there must have been films with stereo audio (dialog, effects, etc.) but mono scores, correct? 

[medjuck]

20 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Well I will defer to your expertise.  I knew that 1980s blockbusters may have had stereo scores, but not every film.

And there must have been films with stereo audio (dialog, effects, etc.) but mono scores, correct? 

Perhaps on release but IIRC most scores were at least recorded multi-track. 

[Teasing the Korean]

15 minutes ago, medjuck said:

Perhaps on release but IIRC most scores were at least recorded multi-track. 

Yes, of course.  I was referring to the mono mix for the film, which I believe is what the OP was referring to also.

[may1620]

So,

The (valid) criticism has been that the music does not fit the movie, not that the music isn't good.  It was a last minute rush job and Dave never saw the film he was working on, I believe.

And I'd suggest don't judge a soundtrack if you haven't heard it.

It was sort of my point that the music, separated from the actual movie, is worth hearing.  And I stand by that.

[Teasing the Korean]

16 hours ago, may1620 said:

So,

The (valid) criticism has been that the music does not fit the movie, not that the music isn't good.  It was a last minute rush job and Dave never saw the film he was working on, I believe.

And I'd suggest don't judge a soundtrack if you haven't heard it.

It was sort of my point that the music, separated from the actual movie, is worth hearing.  And I stand by that.

The criticisms that I read were about the use the of the music, not about the music itself.  I probably have more film scores than I do jazz albums (though many of the film scores I own contain jazz or jazzy elements to varying degrees).  I agree with you that film music away from the film should be assessed on its own terms rather than as the film score.  There are excellent film scores that do not work for me as isolated  listening experiences. (Carter Burwell's scores for Cohen Brothers films and Michael Nyman scores for Peter Greenaway films come to mind.) And there are scores that didn't work so well in the respective films, but that work as albums.  (Ellington's Anatomy of a Murder and Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront being two examples.)

Edited June 20, 2022 by Teasing the Korean