Search - Various Artists :: Legendary Film Noir Movies

Legendary bunch of SCHLOCK!!!

vmzfla | Orlando, Fl. | 11/26/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this thinking I was getting top quality digitally remastered or rerecorded excerpts from these great films. In fact what you get is poorly transfered snips of the original soundtracks. The sound is so poor that I couldn't stand listening to this disc on my high quality stereo, prefering to hear it on my small bookshelf system. Approximately 55 minutes of pure SCHLOCK! Do the math; 28 tracks in 55 mins. The selections are so short that the listener gets "zero" feel of the film and the music score that accompanies it. The only value is that the selections are arranged in chrono order according to the date of film release.

Skimpy liner notes are provided. If I were a professor instructing the art of film noir and used this disc, it would sure send any student running. I advise checking out other titles of the genre, theres' some good ones out there. Be careful of bootleg import junk like this!"

Not For Audiophiles, But Wonderful for the Rest of Us!

P. B. Reynolds | North Carolina | 01/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought that this disc was quite possibly the best attempt so far at cataloging some of the best themes of the film-noir genre. It leaves out the dialogue snippets that break up the feel and mood of the music, and some of the selections are, quite simply, marvelous. Also, the compilers here were brave enough to include some of the rarer and seldom-mentioned noirs for inclusion here. If you're an audiophile, you must realize that these recordings are SIXTY YEARS OLD, for goodness sakes. I'll never understand why some people put so much stake in stereo sound and crystal clear remastering. I happen to feel that the gritty mono (which really isn't nearly as bad as has been suggested) heightens the hardbitten feel of these works. So, if you're someone who enjoys authentic film music, give this a shot! If you're expecting something butchered, repackaged, and changed around for modern tastes, don't bother with this collection!"

Great soundtracks "from the original films!"

Ray Neslowe | Grays Harbor, WA | 08/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I feel compelled to respond to some of the negative criticism below. This is not a collection of restored and re-recorded scores by a modern orchestra. These are the original soundtracks from the films themselves. Given that they are in mono and suffer from age, they cannot possibly be judged by the same criteria as a modern recording. BUT, as a collection of noir soundtracks, they are superb. It's a huge list of title tracks from great films noir. And, as many of these are unavailable as restored and re-recorded scores, it is a wonderful disc to have in your collection. If the only scores you like are high-fidelity, however, then this is definitely not for you. But this disc also can't be judged by those sonic standards. For those of you who desire to listen to some of this more obscure film music--just as it would sound playing the video on your TV--then this is a great disc to have."