Few composers nowadays manage to avoid being pigeonholed. Billion dollar brain alternate version richard rodney bennett. As funeral in berlin is from paramount, a bluray of it isnt exactly. Richard rodney bennett at pytheas contemporary, modern. The harry saltzman production is the third and last classic harry palmer spy epic made in quick succession starting in 1965, all for different. The kl studio classics bluray of billion dollar brain is a good encoding of this attractive superspy satire. Even ken russell has changed his original negative assessment of it. Richard rodney bennett roy budd, jerry and marc donahue. All of the main performers are charismatic and richard rodney bennett turns in an atmospheric score. Caine is perfect as usual, and the exaggerated, comic book attitude towards world politics actually looks a. Title sequence from billion dollar brain 1967, designed by maurice binder help me make more videos.
By the time of billion dollar brain the spy genre was slightly on the wane so the wane in brain stayed mainly on the plain. I reiterate that harry palmer is the name given to the character by the filmmakers of the three michael caine movies, though harry goes. How can you take it seriously when the spys mission is never made clear. The composer richard rodney bennett, who has died in new york aged 76, pursued multiple musical lives with extraordinary success. But as soon as i saw the movie, i ran out and bought the soundtrack lp. There is a panscan alternate encoding on the flip side. Billion dollar brain soundtrack details home explore movies explore composers resource directory forums contact us about us search on. Tv harry palmer, agente del servizio segreto britannico, accetta di portare a. Music from the 1967 film billion dollar brain starring michael caine and francoise dorleac.
His best known film scores include far from the madding crowd, secret ceremony, murder on the orient express, enchanted april and four weddings and a funeral. By the time he began work on his third palmer adventure, billion dollar brain 1967, caine was clearly unhappy with this binding arrangement due to more lucrative offers now that he was a box office draw. It also led to an even bigger success for caine the following year in alfie 1966 which garnered him best actor nominations from the bafta. Digital booklet pdf sir richard rodney bennett 19362012. From the early 1960s, when a certain character named james bond made his debut on the silver screen in dr. Richard rodney bennett, roy budd billion dollar brain and. Directed by ken russell, this film is the last in a trio of espionage thrillers based on the novels by len deighton it was preceded by the ipcress file and funeral in berlin starring michael caine as antihero harry palmer, who, having left the secret service, is now working as a private eye. For billion dollar brain, his composer was the esteemed richard rodney bennett.
Apr 07, 2016 watch billion dollar brain michael goldman on dailymotion. Billion dollar brain main theme richard rodney bennett. Billion dollar brain 1967 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Billion dollar brain is a 1966 cold war spy novel by len deighton. To create a relentless, harsh mood, he left out sweetsounding instruments like violins and flutes and relied mainly on. Richard rodney bennett lyrics, songs, and albums genius. This seems more lighthearted than the other films and is easily the most bondlike comparisons are inevitable. Billion dollar brain enjoys a much better reputation today and is often considered the liveliest and most stylish entry in the harry palmer series. But russell and saltzman were at loggerheads throughout the filming, billion dollar brain turned out to be a flop, and russell never made his nijinsky movie although saltzman did, in 1980. Web of stories life stories of remarkable people 291 views. Bolstered by a strong early score by richard rodney bennett and some terrific scope camerawork virtually every shot is a keeper, billion dollar brain somehow juggles all of its strange elements without dropping all balls along the way. Richard rodney bennett, roy budd billion dollar brain. Jan 08, 2012 billy williams shooting billion dollar brain at pinewood with ken russell 32172 duration. Billion dollar brain is a 1967 britishamerican technicolor espionage film directed by ken.
Wordandsound article o un torrent lp gatefold+cd on vietnam because music bec5156345. It helps that the movies it draws from get carter, alfie, billion dollar brain, the italian job and the ipcress file are all from caines heyday as a supercool swinging 60s icon, and these tunes were all written by some of the greatest composers of the time roy budd, quincy jones, burt bacharach, and the superlative john barry so its a. Billion dollar brain 1967 was the third film based on len deightons harry palmer secret agent novels, following the ipcress file 1965, with a score by john. As well as writing for the opera theatre and the concert hall, he also composes film music, and, a versatile pianist, plays jazz and performs songs from the shows in cabaret. In time, russells eclectic musical collaborations would extend from georges delerue to pop icons such as pete townshend, the who and rick wakeman, to craggy proponents of british and american concert music such as peter maxwell davies and john corigliano. He was one of the more distinguished soundtrack composers of his. Taken from the soundtrack to the billion dollar brain, released in 1967 on the united artists label. Billion dollar brain by ken russell ken russell, michael. The spookily evocative thereminlike sound is created using. The final option music composed and conducted by roy budd.
Hunt and exmajor general edwin walker though what begley brings to the role, especially when he is speechifying about communism, is likely very close to what he did as. Many people revile the scifi aspects of the plot and the billion dollar brain itself, but to be honest these are no less daft than the brainwashing in ipcress, its just that its done in such a way as to appear daft. Nov 17, 2009 billion dollar brain the final option soundtrack cd details and availability. The billion dollar brain 1967 opening titles youtube. Billion dollar brain main theme, a song by richard rodney bennett on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. The sequel is like its predecessor, completely braindead. Richard rodney bennett billion dollar brain full album. Tv harry palmer, agente del servizio segreto britannico, accetta di portare a helsinki una scatola ermeticamente chiusa, della quale ignora il contenuto. Richard rodney bennett music, videos, stats, and photos. Billion dollar brain original motion picture soundtrack by. Billion dollar brain and murder on the orient express to four weddings and a funeral, doctor. Billion dollar brain the final option soundtrack cd details and availability.
As a sixties spy thriller you expect a good dose of cold war espionage, but billion dollar brain combines that american insularism and naziesque, extreme right wingism to deliver a film which still has social relevance. The main buzz about billion dollar brain is a deleted scene, or part of a scene that until now has kept the film off home video. Nowadays this sort of score sounds very familiar, but probably. Nov 10, 2014 thriller 1967 111 minutes color harry palmer has left the british secret service and become a private detective. I have now finished the fourth and last harry palmer novel from len deighton, namely. Sonys release under the mgm label of billion dollar brain is a handsome enhanced transfer with solid mono tracks that no longer distort in the musical passages. I have never seen the second palmer film, funeral in berlin, but the third, billion dollar brain, is much closer to the bondtype spy movie than is the ipcress file. Billion dollar brain main theme, a song by richard.
The film was directed by ken russell before he became ken russell, the enfant terrible of cinema. It was the fourth to feature an unnamed secret agent working for the british woocp intelligence agency. When, through faulty scripting or editing, the characters greet people they arent supposed to. Billion dollar brain from 1967 could have been the start of a wealthy career for russell, his second film but this one commissioned by the james bond producer harry saltzman, story by novelist len deighton and with michael caine starring in his third harry palmer role. It is the only film in which ken russell worked as a mainstream directorforhire, and the last film of francoise dorleac. Billion dollar brain has its topical aspect the character of general midwinter ed begley sr. Billion dollar brain is now mostly remembered as ken russells second feature, although the late directors fans are more likely to worship his later less conventional and more kaleidoscopic films.
Richard rodney bennett billion dollar brain original. When, through faulty scripting or editing, the characters greet people they arent supposed to know. Ive loved richad rodney bennetts music from ken russells billion dollar brain ever since i first saw the movie even longer than that, as the main title theme was used in the television advertisements for the film weeks before it opened. Nowadays this sort of score sounds very familiar, but probably sounded.
Harry palmer michael caine is instructed by an electronic voice over the phone. Watch billion dollar brain michael goldman on dailymotion. The third of the 1960s film adaptations of len deightons espionage novels to star michael caine, billion dollar brain was also the most problematic of the three, mostly owing to john mcgraths script and ken russells direction. Sir richard rodney bennett 19362012 was one of englands finest musicians, with an accomplished career in film, the concert hall and jazz as a composer and pianist. He may also have wanted to avoid the sort of typecasting trap that his friend sean connery had experienced with the overwhelming popularity. Palmer travels to exotic foreign destinations finland and latvia and meets and beds a beautiful young woman who might just be a double agent. Billion dollar brain lp item 18119 united artists, 1967. Billion dollar brain music composed by richard rodney bennett. Get all the lyrics to songs by richard rodney bennett and join the genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics. Ive loved richad rodney bennett s music from ken russells billion dollar brain ever since i first saw the movie even longer than that, as the main title theme was used in the television advertisements for the film weeks before it opened. Billiondollar brain is a 1966 cold war spy novel by len deighton. Sir richard rodney bennett obituary music the guardian.
Movie music by composer richard rodney bennett, roy budd. One of russells most enjoyable movies, completely free of the pretentious bombast that has become his trademark, so that its meaning is. Wolfie the grunt takes 8mm movies of a combat assault in vietnam duration. Thriller 1967 111 minutes color harry palmer has left the british secret service and become a private detective.
One of his first assignments is to deliver an apparently innocent thermos flask to an old friend in helsinki, palmer is suspicious of the flask contents and begins to doubt the motives of his friend and those of his boss a texan billionaire. Billion dollar brain is the third of the harry palmer film series, preceded by the ipcress file 1965 and funeral in berlin 1966. This will ensure that you dont need to add this torrent later on. He was based in new york city from 1979 until his death there in 2012. Billion dollar brain doesnt know what it wants to be when it grows up a mostly disappointing end to the original harry palmer trilogy thats far too overthetop and selfconsciously wacky to make a decent followup to funeral in berlin, or the ipcress file, but also lacking in sufficient quantities of ken russells patented pixie dust of delirious perversion and frantically melodramatic. Harry palmer michael caine, the reluctant secret agent from the ipcress file 1965 and funeral in berlin 1966 both like the source for this movie based on novels by len deighton is back again in ken russells billion dollar brain. Billion dollar brain is a 1967 british espionage film directed by ken russell and based on the novel billiondollar brain by len deighton. Richard rodney bennett 1936 a remarkably prolific composer and versatile pianist, richard rodney bennett has divided his attention among three primary musical interests. Richard rodney bennett billion dollar brain full album soundtrack. Billy williams shooting billion dollar brain at pinewood with ken russell 32172 duration. The bbcs total immersion day included cabaret songs and an underrated symphony. Sir richard rodney bennett cbe 29 march 1936 24 december 2012 was an english composer of film, tv and concert music, and also a jazz pianist. The two previous movies, the ipcress file 1965 and funeral in berlin 1966, were fairly straightforward spy yarns that, for all of their inventiveness, followed.
Billion dollar brain plot takes too long to get moving, and when it does it is quite incredible and hard to follow. Dec 26, 2012 the composer richard rodney bennett, who has died in new york aged 76, pursued multiple musical lives with extraordinary success. Its a very entertaining yarn with a terrific cast and an absolutely stellar score by richard rodney bennett. It follows the ipcress file 1962, horse under water 1963, and funeral in berlin 1964. The music score is a quite atmospheric one by richard rodney bennett. Sir richard rodney bennett, cbe 29 march 1936 24 december 2012 was a british composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works. Having left britains espionage service, palmer is scraping out a living as a private investigator, but hes still willing to give his old boss colonel. Billion dollar brain doesnt know what it wants to be when it grows up a mostly disappointing end to the original harry palmer trilogy thats far too overthetop and selfconsciously wacky to make a decent followup to funeral in berlin, or the ipcress file, but also lacking in sufficient quantities of ken russells patented pixie dust of delirious perversion and frantically. The ipcress file 1965, the first in a series of espionage thrillers featuring british secret agent harry palmer and based on the popular len deighton novels, was the movie that launched michael caines career as a leading man.
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