QOS soundtrack album review

Over the past week, I’ve been listening to — and enjoying the hell out of — the recently released Quantum of Solace soundtrack album. At first blush, my opinion was that this is David Arnold’s best Bond score to date. Half-a-dozen listens later, my opinion hasn’t changed.

The Barry-esque brass choirs are still there, combined in the trademark Arnold way with the rhythmically propulsive, atonal string meghillas, and the (now more muted) electronic percussion effects. The iconic “James Bond Theme” finds its piecemeal way into some of the compositions, but subtlely enough so that the listener isn’t beaten over the head with constant hey listen! this is James Bond music! Vic Flick homages. This is easily David Arnold’s most mature work as a composer, with a highly rewarding repeat-listen value.

(As a side note, I also have to give props to whoever designed the CD package. Previously, the Casino Royale soundtrack CD was a disappointingly bare-bones affair; one may as well have just purchased it from iTunes, for all its holding-in-your-hands-and-looking-at-it value. The QOS CD package, while not exactly of concept album standards, boasts an impressive graphic design which carries through to the disc itself. The booklet insert unfolds into a miniature version of the movie poster. At least somebody was paying a little attention!)

Anyway, I was going to write a full-blown review, but Randall Larson over at the Music from the Movies website said everything I wanted to say, only better. Check out his full review HERE. And then go out and buy the album. If you like James Bond music, I think you’re going to be really happy with this one!

— Paul

Chicago Tribune slideshow on James Bond cars

The Nov. 9 Chicago Tribune includes photos of cars (and other transportation) featured in James Bond movies. They’ve been restored and maintained by the Ian Fleming Foundation under one of its vice presidents, Doug Redenius.

Thanks to the Internets, you don’t have to go to Chicago to see them. Just click click HERE.

And you can read about Doug’s 007 collection in the current issue of HMSS by clicking HERE.

The inspiration for Moonraker?

It has been speculated that 1966’s “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die,” produced by veteran schlockmeister Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Henry Levin (who also helmed two Matt Helm movies), may have been the “inspiration” for 1979’s “Moonraker.” At the very least there are some similarities Among them:

–A rich industrialist decides the world is getting overpopulated.
–The rich industrialist’s plan involves space launches. (In the case of the 1966 movie, he’s going to launch a satellite into orbit that will make men sterile; meanwhile, he’s putting beautiful women in “suspended animation” so HE can repopulate the world at the proper time).
–A British agent and an American agent are initially in competition but later join forces. In the earlier movie, the man is an American (Mike Connors) and the woman British (Dorothy Provine).
–Both films are shot in Brazil and make use of some of the locations.

Anyway, here’s the trailer:

And here are the main titles: