Search - Various Artists :: Golden Door

Remembering a Movie Message

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 06/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most impressive and unique aspects of the film THE GOLDEN DOOR is the hauntingly sensitive use of silence through many of the more touching moments: for example, during the opening scene as Salvatore and Angelo Mancuso make their trek up the rocky cliffs of Sicily to discover a 'sign', there is no sound at all, a fact that makes the audience in the theater begin to question whether the soundtrack is off! But as the sound slowly enters, in the form of the wind over the sea, the magic of Antonio Castrignano's choices for his musical soundtrack begins.



Castriganano has written many subtle themes for many of the characters ('Into Luce', 'Luce', 'Vienna', etc) and he weaves these simple lines in to the fabric of folksongs of the people, some sung without accompaniment, others embellished with characteristic instruments of Sicily. And in keeping with the fantasy aspect of the film, that quality that blends the dream life of the characters with the storyline of reality, he uses songs well known to the audience. Nina Simone sings 'Sinnerman' at one point and at another point, on Ellis Island, when the screen is spread with the repeated stairways that represent the lines of confusion and control of the government at America's gate, he uses Nina Simone again, this time with the song 'Feeling Good' - a song with special impact when the conditions of the immigrants at that time is considered!



Until this theatrical release becomes more widely distributed instead of being relegated to the art houses, this very fine soundtrack offers a true sense of the magic of this fine motion picture. Grady Harp, June 07"