MovieChat Forums > Family Plot (1976) Discussion > when will the soundtrack come out!

when will the soundtrack come out!

posted 17 years ago by spacecommander_travis
12 replies | jump to latest

Family Plot features a quite outstanding John Williams' score. But it's still unavailable. You can get the main theme on a John Williams anthology but the rest hasn't been released; or at least it's never had a cd release. It's bad enough that such fine music gets so completely ignored by "serious" orchestras - as close as the LSO come to John Williams is taking the cash for Star Wars in a recording studio. Yeah, actually we are a respectable orchestra so if you don't mind we'll keep those Mostly Mozart's coming. Ah, another Mahler cycle, excellent... Let's see, this Gergiev fellow looks bloody serious.... One day they'll have to wake up to how laughably irrelevant they've become.

[–] Stuart Gardner 17 years ago

I've been wanting this score on CD for years. I just love this music; for my money it's the best non-Herrmann Hitchcock score my a mile.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kennywolf 17 years ago

I watched Family Plot my first time. Something the score sounds familiar from Vertigo and Psycho. Is it possible that John Williams "borrowed" Herrmann's score? I do not see Herrmann in the credits or trivia.

[–] Stuart Gardner 17 years ago

I don't hear anything at all similar to Herrmann in the Family Plot score.

[–] kennywolf 16 years ago

That score reminded me when George & Blanche drove to meet Maloney at the restaurant.

"Eye of the Beholder"

[–] VinnieRattolle 16 years ago

Pssstttt.... You guys will doubtlessly be interested in this:

http://vinnierattolle.blogspot.com/2009/02/theres-no-body-in-family-pl ot.html

[–] cooperfbi 16 years ago

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

[–] VinnieRattolle 16 years ago

No prob, cooperfbi... though given the subject matter, I'm a little concerned by the last three letters of your nick.... ;-P

[–] cooperfbi 16 years ago

We won't bust you. Yet.

;)

[–] cmichaud 15 years ago

Actually, it bears MORE than a passing resemblance to Sir William Walton's Johannesburg Festival Overture. I heard it on the radio one time in the late 80s, and as the "Family Plot" soundtrack had always stayed with me, was astounded by the, shall we say, similarity.

[–] john-wheat 15 years ago

I emailed a soundtrack company about releasing the score to this film. They told me that Universal isn't releasing anything. I don't understand why since John Williams is considered to be the greatest film music composer with as many or more oscar nominations than the legendary Alfred Newman. That alone should be a good enough reason to release the score. I've also been wanting a release of William's score to "Black Sunday", made the same year as this.

Maybe if enough of us pressure the soundtrack companies Film Score Monthly or Screen Archives Entertainment, maybe they can do something about this injustice to film music.

[–] ecarle 15 years ago

Note in passing:

I went to a Q and A with John Williams himself around 1977, I think just BEFORE "Star Wars" came out, but certainly after "Jaws" and "Black Sunday" and "The Towering Inferno" and other famous Williams 70's scores were in play.

When I got a chance to ask him a question, I asked him about working with Hitchcock on "Family Plot."

He smiled, said it was very enjoyable even though Hitchcock was quite old. He offered one anecdote:

There's a scene where slimy Joe Maloney(Ed Lauter) is hiding in the office of Arthur Adamson(William Devane) just as the FBI comes to question Adamson about diamond ransoms in recent kidnappings. Adamson placates the FBI men, and they leave.

Adamson then re-enters his office, looks over and sees:

POV: An open window, a curtain blowing in the breeze. Joe Maloney has "flown the coop."

Williams said that Hitchcock gave him direction on the scoring here: play music as Adamson goes through the door and looks towards the window BUT...

cut the music on the shot of the open window and the curtain blowing.

Thus...the open window gets "silent punctuation" to underscore Maloney's exit. No Maloney...no music.