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Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, presents LAND OF THE PHAROAHS/GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL/THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY/SEARCH FOR PARADISE, a powerful compilation of suites from four films composed by Dimitri Tiomkin (HIGH NOON, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, GIANT, THE ALAMO), in performances conducted by the great Elmer Bernstein, performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Soloists and Chorus.
Released in 1955, LAND OF THE PHAROAHS was directed by Howard Hawks, written by William Faulkner, Harry Kurnitz, Harold Jack Bloom, starring Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins, Dewey Martin, Alexis Minotis, James Robertson Justice, Luisella Boni, Sydney Chaplin, James Hayter and Kerima. LAND OF THE PHAROAHS follows the Pharoah Khufu (Hawkins), who is obsessed with acquiring gold and he plans to take it all with him into the next life. He enlists the aid of Vashtar (Justice), an architect, to build him a robbery-proof tomb. In exchange, Khufu will release Vashtar's people, who have been enslaved. Princess Nellifer (Collins) becomes Pharoah's second wife and she begins to plot to prevent Khufu from taking his treasure with him...
Released in 1957, GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL was directed by John Sturges (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE GREAT ESCAPE), written by Leon Uris and George Scullin, starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Lyle Bettger, Frank Faylen, Earl Holliman, Ted de Corsia, Dennis Hopper, Whit Bissell, George Matthews, John Hudson, DeForest Kelley, Martin Milner, Lee Van Cleef, Joan Camden and Kenneth Tobey. GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL is one of the more popular re-tellings of the classic story featuring Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday in legendary star-making performances, supported by an excellent ensemble cast.
Released in 1954, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY was directed by the great William Wellman (WINGS, BEAU GESTE, A STAR IS BORN), written by Ernest K. Gann, adapting his novel, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Laaraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, Robert Newton, David Brian, Paul Kelly, Sidney Blackmer, Julie Bishop and Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. Considered to be the granddaddy of air disaster films, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY follows a commercial airliner as it develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific flight. As the pilot loses his nerve, the troubled co-pilot must take over and bring the plane back safely... As he prepares for a crash landing, the passengers are forced to reasses their lives...
Released in 1957, SEARCH FOR PARADISE was a documentary film directed by Otto Lang, written by Prosper Buranelli, James S. Parker and Lowell Thomas, narrated by Thomas himself. SEARCH FOR PARADISE was one of the original three-panel Cinerama travelogue films, following Thomas as an explorer searching for paradise in the ancient cities, wild waters and lush gardens of the mountaintops around the world.
Dimitri Tiomkin was a Russian Jewish composer who emigrated to America and became one of the most distinguished and best-loved music writers in Hollywood. He won a hallowed place in the pantheon of the most successful and productive composers in American film history, earning himself four Oscars and sixteen Academy Awards nominations. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then to New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including DUEL IN THE SUN, RED RIVER, HIGH NOON, THE BIG SKY, 55 DAYS AT PEKING, GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, RIO BRAVO, and LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL.
From 1974 to 1979, composer Elmer Bernstein, a great believer in preserving the film music of the past, indulged an expensive whim: Re-recording excerpts from memorable scores by esteemed colleagues ranging from Alfred Newman and Miklos Rozsa to Alex North and Bernard Herrmann. This collection would span fourteen LPS and include many previously unreleased film scores, including the first recording of Herrmann's lost score to TORN CURTAIN. Later, these historic recordings were released on compact disc by Film Score Monthly in 2006 in a limited edition box set that has continued to become scarce over the years.
Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, is proud to bring these recordings back into the marketplace, under license from the composer's estate with the music newly remastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and retaining the original liner notes written by Christopher Palmer.
- BSX
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