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Citadel Records, a division of the BSX Group, presents THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, featuring music composed by the legendary Miklós Rózsa (BEN-HUR, KING OF KINGS, EL CID) for the 1940 fantasy adventure classic, conducted on this release by the great Elmer Bernstein (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) for the film directed by Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan, written by Miles Malleson and Lajos Biro, starring Conrad Veidt, Sabu, June Duprez, John Justin, Miles Malleson, Morton Selten, Mary Morris Hay Petrie, Allan Jeayes as the Story Teller and Rex Ingram as the Djinn.
Released in 1940, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD is a British fantasy film classic remake of the 1924 classic of the same name. The film remains a timeless cinema masterpiece with groundbreaking technical achievements and Oscar-winning special effects that still dazzle today. The fantastical elements of the film create spectacular visual splendor, enhanced by gorgeous Technicolor cinematography. Fans of the Disney versions of Aladdin can see many of its successful elements appearing here for the first time and for composer Miklós Rózsa, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD is one of the films that established his reputation both in Europe and America. And he was only 30 years old when he wrote it...
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1907, composer Miklós Rózsa studied the violin from the age of 5. While living in London in 1935, Rózsa was hired by legendary producer Alexander Korda to score his film, KNIGHT WITHOUT ARMOR. Later, while composing the music for another Korda production, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, Rózsa moved to California, where he remained for the rest of his life. Throughout his film career, he worked in many genres but distinguished himself writing music for the film noirs of the 1940's and the great costume epics of the 1950's and 1960's. A classically trained composer, Rózsa was well known for his dedication to researching the musical history of the time periods of the films he worked on. His filmography includes music composed for films such as THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, THE JUNGLE BOOK, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, SPELLBOUND, THE LOST WEEKEND, QUO VADIS, IVANHOE, JULIUS CAESAR, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE, BEN-HUR, KING OF KINGS, EL CID, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and TIME AFTER TIME, among others.
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 Miklós Rózsa 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 the BSX Group, 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. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD features Miklós Rózsa's music conducted by Elmer Bernstein, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Saltarello Choir.
- BSX
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