King of Kings

King of Kings

To call Hungarian-born film composer MiklÃ³s RÃ³zsa the musical king of historical epics would hardly be hyperbole; Ben-Hur alone might have earned him the title. Recorded just two years after Hur, RÃ³zsa's score to MGM's typically grand retelling of Christ's life was a worthy, sweeping orchestral bookend to the studio's previous Biblical-themed success. But its original soundtrack release was another matter: a vastly inferior European recording that crudely cut together but 40 minutes of RÃ³zsa's musical cues. This richly annotated Turner Classic Movies/Rhino Records double-disc corrects that shortcoming (and an early '90s abridged version of the original score) and then some, collecting together for the first time RÃ³zsa's complete MGM studio recordings for the film. Mastered from the studio's original multitracks, the sound is nothing short of spectacular, the sweeping scope of RÃ³zsa's cues a tribute to what often seems a dying art form. Indeed, the melodic themes and dramatic, orchestral thunder here could power a half-dozen contemporary CGI-fueled actioners. --Jerry McCulley
Country USA
Manufacturer RHINO RECORDS
Binding Audio CD
UnitCount 2
Format Classical
UPCs 081227834821
EANs 0081227834821
ReleaseDate 2002-03-05

You might also like...