Shameless Retro 2
After the 60s revolution on aesthetic, cultural and behavioral issues, cultural industry of the 70s had unprecedented freedom in its production, from vanguard to popular. Good or bad, artistic or exploitative. And the erotic film that found its way in the late '60s films like Io Emmanuelle (1969) or Camille 2000 (1969), found wider release and commercial distribution. Pierre Bachelet caused sensation with his music for Emmanuelle (1974) and Historie D'O (The Story of O, 1975). Nico Fidenco composed for Black Emanuele series, comedies with Gloria Guida had enjoyable musical scores and so on. See Erotic Cinema.
Italian composer Piero Umiliani (Ma-Ma-Nah Nah) was one of the pop-kitsch masters of the period. It is difficult to mention one of his scores, that combined reference to the rock, to jazz and soul, not considering it classical or anthological work. For example, Baba Yaga, with its sharp sexy swings, is an example of the best of 70´s kitsch flamboyance. The film was based on comics by Guido Crepax (with its famous character Valentina) and Umiliani score bring all the surreal playboy fantasy needed to complete the show. For director Mario Bava, Umiliani composed for the thrillers 5 Bambole Per La Luna D'Agosto (1970) and La Morte Busse Due Volte (1969). Retro monuments, honorable sound icons of its time.
And the eroticism inserted in European cinema gave the tone to many productions then, spicing thrillers, inserted as essential element in the horror exercises by Jean Rollin, or simply exploiting taboo issues to wider box office participation. The erotic drama La Svergognata is one of many examples of the popular appealing cinema that had its golden years in the 70s. With its B casts, median scripts and unpretentious directions, the movies got their place in history by their remarkable soundtracks (or so it looks to this writer). It is questionable that many films circulating today as "cult classics" had rescue due the release of its soundtracks in CD. It is possible that films like mentioned La Svergognata, Il Corpo or La Gata in Calore have been remembered after the release of its scores more than for some nostalgic review of the period productions.
On the running of the 70s composers such as Henry Mancini adapted its known popular idiom, of jazz and romantic, to new music trends on scores such as 99.44/100% Dead (1974), Return of the Pink Panther (1976) and The Thief Who Came to Diner (1973). The romantic melodrama that was so effective in Love Story (1970) made way to consequences. Some were good as Summer of 42 (1972) whose famous theme by Michel Legrand worked as a symbolic finish to a cinema style that became increasingly anachronistic. In others times the consequences were not so effective, as The Other Side of Midnight (1977, music also by Legrand), Jeremy (1973, Lee Holdridge) or Ice Castles (1979, Marvin Hamlisch).
Stelvio Cipriani usual composer of thrillers and cop movies had respectable works in romantic dramas. Cipriani was one of the most productive in that period. Of special remark can be noted the beautiful scores of Anonymous Venetian (1970), Dedicato a Una Stella (1974) or the rhapsodic piano moves of Uccidere in Silenzio (1972).
Brazilian composer Tom Jobin, in one of his rare compositions for films, has the score for The Adventurers (1970) as a great representative period as kitsch score (especially within the film). Among the symphonic expression for action scenes (arrangements by Eumir Deodato) and a lot of bossa nova, two Jobim classic tunes would come out from The Adventurers: Olha Maria and Chovendo na Roseira. Piero Piccioni also did something like this (merging between incidental music and pop song) in Puppet on a Chain (1972) above average spy adventure displaying everything the playboy culture was allowed: "wise" swings for marginal definition and jazzy dynamism for moments of action.
Francis Lai wrote what may be the most unexpected works in his career: the two soul oriented scores for L'aventure C'est L'aventure (1972) and Le Corps De Mon Enemi (1976).
Always present and always active, Ennio Morricone has a so large amount of titles that would fit on an individual review. Le Photo Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene (Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, 1972) is exemplary of the sound ambitions of the period (exotism, insinuation, sensuality) and the musical variety of the score for the comedy Il Gatto (1975) is really enviable. The theme L'attico Iluminatto is one of the most romantic of his compositions, and with such emphasis on the sensual mood on trumpet lines that fits easily in this selection criterion. The score for the drama Cosi Comme Sei (1978) is also one of the most respected of Morricone´s works in the romantic vein.
In Germany, Peter Thomas is the great retro hero. His work is available in collections CD more than full soundtracks. Film Music and Peter Scores are two great samples of the work from the most prominent composer of the German pop market.
In the contemporary review taking place in the CD market, many record companies search on their vaults to release again a lot of cool stuff. The Cinevox label, for example, which loves thematic collections since the vinyl times, has in Bossa Galore and Beat at Cinevox, great titles to the pop cinema lovers. And the German label Diggler hits the exact point with the indispensables St. Pauli Affairs, Melodies in Love and Schwabing Affairs. Also check out the catalogs of labels Cinedelic, Crippled Dix Hot Wax, All Score Media, Bear Family, Chris Soundtrack Corner.
