Title: I
tre volti della paura (Black sabbath)
Year: 1963
Composer: Roberto Nicolosi
This is the
film which gave the famous band its name. The American version had a score by
Les Baxter but luckily Digitmovies released the original score by Roberto Nicolosi
in 2009. The film is an anthology of 3 different episodes, one of which
features one of the great horror actors, Boris Karloff.
The score
like the film is devided into 3 parts each separate film having a distinct
musical style combined with a couple of unifying themes and motifs. The main
theme is first presented in a form of a fanfare which is soon moved to the
string section. It’s a menacing little melody that receives further variation
especially during the second episode.
The first
episode Il telefono is jazz-inspired
film noir music with emphasis on the drum set and walking bass with occasional accents
from the woodwinds and brass. The harmonies heard during the first few tracks
actually remind me of some of ones heard during the main theme but the actual theme
is absent during the first section. Nevertheless this section has a recurring,
possibly dodecaphonic melody that forms the basis of almost every track. Though
most of the jazz is very subtle and threatening, there are some more romantic
tracks in the mix as well such as tracks 4 ad 10. However most of the tracks
are just short stingers for jazzy brass instruments that are just there to amplify
the horrors seen on screen.
The second
episode I Wurdalak is a vampire story
and it has the most conventional orchestral horror scoring of the three
episodes. It begins with a wonderful
version of the main theme played on distant horns that introduce the rural scenery.
Track 16 is the only really romantic cue on the album but the darkness creeps
in during the final seconds when the man theme is reprised. It is followed by
some nighttime creeping around again featuring the main theme heavily in many disguises.
The music continues onward with several suspenseful short tracks, some
featuring the organ and reprising both the main theme and the melody from the
previous episode. The album’s longest track, number 28 nicely summarizes the
moods of the previous tracks and has creepy organ effects and main theme
versions. The closing track has abstract sounding strings that sound like they
would form a happy ending but they surprisingly turn back to the dark main
theme fanfare.
The last
episode La goccia d’acqua is the
shortest one and it has also the least amount of instruments. It’s dominated by
the organ with some unsettling percussion and harp playing. It also has its own
menacing little motif that was introduced shortly in the previous episode that
forms the basis for many of the tracks. It also hints to a rather beautiful
melody constantly that gets finally a full yet simple version on solo organ in
track 38 which is probably my favourite track on the album (it also ends the
entire album as track 56). The Finale
is a strange, cheerful cabaret piano piece which differs completely from the
overall mood of the album. The album concludes with stereo versions of the film’s
highlights. It’s probably a better listening experience than the film versions.
The only new track is Sangue Viennese
which is a gramophone version of a Viennese waltz composed by Johann Strauss
that skips some parts like a broken record and finally slows down which gives
it a distorted quality.
There’s a
lot of thought behind the score. For instance the interplay between the various
motifs between the episodes creates cohesion to a film that could otherwise
feel a bit disjointed. The stinger-like nature of the shorter tracks is a bit
troublesome for the listening experience except for the first episode where
they have a wonderful jazzy feel to them. It’s not a bad score but on the album
it doesn’t work that well without the visuals.
Rating: ***1/2
Tracklist:
1. I tre
volti della paura (Titoli) (01:58) *****
Episode #
1: Il telefono
2. I tre
volti della paura (M 2 VII) (01:20) *****
3. I tre volti
della paura (M 3 IV) (01:25) *****
4. I tre
volti della paura (M 4 III) (00:42) *****
5. I tre volti
della paura (M 5 VI) (00:17) ****
6. I tre
volti della paura (M 6 III) (00:26) ****
7. I tre volti
della paura (M 7 V) (00:38) ****
8. I tre
volti della paura (M 8 II) (00:20) ****
9. I tre volti
della paura (M 9 III) (00:23) ***
10. I tre
volti della paura (M 10 II) (01:38) *****
11. I tre volti
della paura (M 11 III) (01:20) *****
12. I tre
volti della paura (M 12 II) (00:49) ***
13. I tre volti
della paura (M 13 IX) (00:27) ****
Episode #
2: I Wurdalak
14. I tre
volti della paura (M 14 IV) (01:19) *****
15. I tre volti
della paura (M 15 III) (00:39) ***
16. I tre volti
della paura (M 16 VI) (02:05) *****
17. I tre volti
della paura (M 17 II) (00:55) *****
18. I tre
volti della paura (M 18 VI) (00:20) **
19. I tre volti
della paura (M 19 VI) (00:28) **
20. I tre
volti della paura (M 20 IV) (01:55) ****
21. I tre volti
della paura (M 21 II) (00:39) ***
22. I tre
volti della paura (M 22 IV) (00:34) *****
23. I tre volti
della paura (M 23 I) (01:40) ****
24. I tre
volti della paura (M 24 IV) (00:23) ***
25. I tre volti
della paura (M 25 IV) (00:43) ***
26. I tre
volti della paura (M 26 IV) (01:21) ****
27. I tre volti
della paura (M 26 bis) (01:49) ****
28. I tre
volti della paura (M 27 IV) (03:26) ****
29. I tre volti
della paura (M 28 IV) (02:26) *****
Episode #
3: La goccia d'acqua
30. I tre
volti della paura (M 30 II) (00:23) **
31. I tre volti
della paura (M 31 V) (00:28) ***
32. I tre volti
della paura (M 32 III) (00:17) ***
33. I tre volti
della paura (M 33 III) (00:30) ***
34. I tre
volti della paura (M 34 II) (00:30) ****
35. I tre volti
della paura (M 35 IV) (00:29) ****
36. I tre
volti della paura (M 36 IV) (00:55) *****
37. I tre volti
della paura (M 37 II) (01:44) *****
38. I tre
volti della paura (M 37 Bis II) (01:47) *****
39. I tre volti
della paura (M 38 V) (00:42) ***
40. I tre
volti della paura (Finale) (01:05) ***
Stereo
Versions:
41. Black sabbath
(01:56) *****
42. Il telefono
(01:21) *****
43. Rose e
Mary (01:39) *****
44. Frank
(01:20) *****
45. Wurdalak
(01:19) *****
46. Vladimiro
e Sdenka (02:05) *****
47. Inizia
la strage (00:56) *****
48. Il
vecchio Gorka (01:56) ****
49. Nessuno
si salverá (01:40) ****
50. Vampiro!
(01:21) ****
51. La maledizione
(01:49) ****
52. Il
volto della paura (03:27) ****
53. Wurdalak
(#2) (02:26) *****
54. La
gocchia d'acqua (Sangue Viennese) (02:18) ***
55. L'Infermiera
e l'anello (01:44) *****
56. Il cadavere
di Miss Perkins (01:48) *****
No comments:
Post a Comment