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A pair of action soundtracks from Georges Delerue – both mighty darn nice! Cent Mille Dollars Au Soleil is from a cool early 60s thriller with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Lino Ventura – done by Delerue with music as bold as the action in the story, but balanced out nicely with some leaner, more evocative passages that hint at the direction Georges would take in years to come. The main theme recurs often, creating a nice sense of elliptical energy in the music – and tracks include "Quartier Arabe", "Mitch Mitch", "L'Enlisement", "Une Nuit Marocaine", and "L'Appel Du Desert". Next is a film from 20 years later – Les Morfalous – but also starring Belmondo, and scored by Delerue with surprisingly subtle touches – far less of the schlocky electronic music that was often used in other 80s thrillers. A few tunes are a somewhat bold, but mostly the style is spare and tense – orchestrations held back to a minimum, and some nice accordion lines that step out gingerly to feel the space of the music. Titles include "Objectif GMC", "C'Est L'Aventure", "Helene", "Piege Au Cimetiere", and "Les Morfalous".

Nobody can write a modern soundtrack like Georges Delerue – and even for a so-so movie like this, he really knocks it out of the park! There's a sense of grace and poise to the music right from the start – not the staid sounds you'd normally find in a mainstream movie, but incredibly thoughtful orchestrations that really have a great sense of balance – never going too over the top, nor overstating their presence – yet really pulling us in because of that subtle action too. Most instrumentation is in the best moody Delerue mode – sometimes with a touch of jazz – and titles include "Alan Au Bar", "La Plage", "Alan", "Bonheur Trompe-L'Oeil", "La Mort De Kleber", and "Feu Dans La Nuit". CD features 6 more previously unreleased bonus tracks too!

The Horsemen is a fairly obscure film that was shot in Afghanistan, and Delerue evokes the landscape in his orchestrations, with subtlety for the most part. Haunting in spots, with bits of harp and dramatic voice arrangements with some grander string bits, too. Titles include "At The Bazaar", "Frustration", "Man Of Great Riches", "The Fair", "Savage Game For A King" and more.

A great later score from Georges Delerue – wonderfully dark, with a sense of tension that comes through right from the very first note! Delerue's sometimes got a great way with beauty – but this time around, he really shows his darker side – working slow strings with very sharp edges, sounds that are never too atonal, but really have an offbeat feel! Although the instrumentation is overall in the more traditional Delerue orchestral mode, there's almost a 70s Italian feel at times – thanks to Georges' great use of space between the notes. Titles include "Elevators", "21 Club", "Piano Practise", "Break In", "The Bath", "Hide & Seek", "The Bookstore", and "The Cemetary".

2 classic Truffaut soundtracks – both penned by Georges Delerue, and presented here on a single CD! First up is Delerue's beautiful score for Jules Et Jim – music that's probably best known for the vocal tune "Le Tourbillon", sung by Jeanne Moreau – but which also features some amazing scene-setting work from Georges – done in styles that move between evocative orchestrations and some tenser, more bracing moments. Jules Et Jim titles include "Rixe", "Brouillard", "Jim Et Catherine", "Retrouvailles A L'Auberge De La Becasse", "Jules Et Therese", "Le Tourbillon", and "Vacances". The second half of the CD features Delerue's haunting score for Les Deux Anglaises Et Le Continent – a slightly warmer, more sentimental score – but one that's carried off with all of the subtle touches we've come to expect from Delerue. There's a nice blend of light woodwinds and strings on some of the tracks – never used in a too-cliched way, and based around a dark theme that repeats itself nicely. Titles include "Muriel Et Claude", "Une Petite Ile", "Le Voyage En Perse", "La Rupture", "La Passion De Muriel", and "Anne Et Claude Au Musee".

A wonderful soundtrack from Georges Delerue – and proof that, no matter what the setting, his musical work is always top-shelf! The film's a less-remembered Catherine Deneuve vehicle from the early 80s, but Delerue handles the music with a really timeless feel – a beautifully balanced set of orchestrations that move slowly, and with great feeling – unfolding gently as the set moves on – with that almost flower-like style he brought to some of his best arrangements of this nature. Some tracks are short, and together the music works wonderfully as an evocative sound piece, even away from the film. Titles include "Face To Face", sung by Vivian Reed – plus instrumentals "Nostalgie De Victor", "Marche Militaire", "Le Bar De L'Hotel", "Voltige Aerienne", "A Bientot Charlotte", and "L'Espoir". CD also features a great bonus – a 17 minute "Suite Symphonie De Philippe Broca"!

Two great soundtracks by Georges Delerue – both penned for Jean-Paul Belmondo films of the mid 60s! Les Tribulations D'Un Chinois En Chine has a really great style that mixes fake "Chinese" themes with more playful orchestrations – all in a mood that really fits that lightly comedic action of the movie, and which has an extremely evocative feel, even away from the screen! Strings are often arranged in playful ways, and mixed with odd woodwinds – not really authentically Chinese, but that's the appeal! L'Homme De Rio has a stronger Brazilian feel, as you might expect – one that's got bits of batucada, elements of bossa orchestrations, and some of the bolder, more dramatic moments we've come to expect from Delerue! The whole package is great, with lots of images from the films, and notes in both English and French – and a total of 24 tracks that include "Bowling Bresilien", "Batucada/Rapt Au Trocadero", "A La Poursuite De Catalan", "Quelle Adventure", "Mister Goh", "Hong Kong", "Poursuite En Ballon", "Suzy Et Cornelius", and "Choinoiseries" – plus 2 bonus tracks, "Alexandrine Pour Alexandra" and "Amazone".

A pair of soundtracks from legendary composer Georges Delerue – beautiful work for Bernardo Bertolucci's Le Conformiste (Il Conformista) from 1970 – and the lesser-remembered, but again quite beautiful La Petite Fille En Velours Bleu from 1978! Le Conformiste has a few modes, ranging from sparely stirring winds and strings, to eerie bits of keyboards to old school waltzy backdrops and back. The mix of gentle sounds and tenser moments is very compelling! Titles include "Generique Debut", "Hotel Palais D'Orsay", "OK Bull", "Fiacre", "Il Conformista", "Anna, Ester Et Marcello","Valzer Del Conformista", "Gravita' Estrema", "Tango Di Rabbia" and many more. La Petite Fille En Velours Bleu has a smaller scale vibe, but it's ultimately nearly as great – with some lovely strings and breezy goodness to spare. Titles include "Theme De Laura", "La Deposition", "Danse Des Nostalgiques", "Mike", "L'Accident", "Le Bar Des Allies", "La Petite Fille En Velours Bleu" and more. 29 tracks in all.

A pair of soundtracks for films by Jean-Pierre Melville – back to back on a single CD! First up is L'Aine Des Ferchaux – scored by Georges Delerue with a strong sense of drama, maybe even more than you're used to expecting from a Melville film – although given the need for "American" tones in the music, the drama's perhaps well-placed! Delerue's already got that great ear for rich feeling with very subtle tones – and balances things out nicely with a more more restrained, more "adult" numbers. Titles include "Manhattan Deux Hommes", "A La Dimitri", "La Route", "Slow Du Desespoir", and "Maudet Et Ferchaux". Un Flic is more the Melville you might expect – an excellent crime film from the early 70s, scored by Michel Colombier with a great mix of jazz and moodier, mellower elements! The score begins with a sweet vocal track – "C'Est Ainsi Que Les Choses Arrivent", sung by Isabell Aubret – then moves through some beautifully blue tunes that are simply tremendous overall. Titles include "Un Monsieur Distingue", "Chez Luce", "Night Club Trois Heures Du Matin", "Chaussee D'Antin", and "Pre Hold-Up".

2 jazzy French soundtracks – both written for films directed by Bertrand Blier. First up is Les Valseuses, a 1973 score written by Stephane Grappelli, played by a small group featuring Grappelli, plus Maurice Vander on piano and organ, Philippe Catherine on guitar, Guy Pedersen on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. The second set is even groovier – Calmos, written by Georges Delerue in 1975, and featuring the sublime talents of Slam Stewart, who plays bass and sings along with his instrument, backed by a small combo that includes Vander and Humair. The sound of this combination is incredible – with a rumbling guttural quality that must have worked wonderfully with the film. The set's got a total of 17 tracks in all – with notes and photos – and title sinclude "Calmos", "Les Joies Du Maquis", "Poursuite", "Rolis", "Jeanne", "Ballade", "Debandade", and "Calmos Tranquilos".

The good pleasure here comes from George Delerue's sophisticated orchestrations – that wonderful way he has of setting up so much space and feeling with just a few deft turns of a musical phrase! There's a balance to the whole score that's wonderful – even when George is hitting a few more scene setting moments – and as with most Delerue in this period, the music often hits a sentimental quality, yet without ever sounding lachrymose or soppy! Titles include "Parti D'Echecs", "Le Complot", "Ballade Americaine", "Mort De Pierre", "Marche Funebre", "Pierre Et Herbert", and "La Bibliotheque De La Residence".

A wonderful overview of soundtrack work from some of Francois Truffaut's greatest films – all scored by Georges Delerue, a composer who Truffaut felt was his greatest collaborator! Delerue's genius with Truffaut is a little hard to sum up in words – because, like the films, the music has a kind of subtle magic that isn't exactly earth-shattering – but which somehow manages to find a space quietly close to the heart, and then work in beautiful and gentle ways. The recordings begin with early Truffaut classics like Tirez Sur Le Pianiste and Jules Et Jim, and work their way through 60s and 70s gems that include La Peau Douce, L'Amour A Vingt Ans, Un Belle Fille Comme Moi, and Les Deux Anglaises Et Le Continent. The set's capped off by music from some of Truffaut's early 80s standout films – including Le Dernier Metro and Vivement Dimanche – and as usual for this series, there's a great set of notes to accompany the huge amount of music on the disc!

A great collection of soundtrack work by Georges Delerue – featuring 6 tracks from Jean-Luc Godard's famous film Le Mepris (aka Contempt), plus tracks from the films Compte A Rebours, Heureux Qui Comme Ulysse, Cartouche, L'Insoumis, La Peau Douce, and L'Aine Des Ferchaux. Most of the work is in a strongly orchestral style – and even though the tracks are from diverse films, they're unified by a dark approach to the themes. Titles include "Lamento", "Capri", "Paul", "Camille", "Adultere", "Thomas Et Dominique", "Cartouche", "Final", and "Ulysse". 28 tracks in all – with notes in English and French!

Bernardo Bertolucci in music and pictures – presented here with a 32 page booklet filled with images from his films! The CD offers up a full range of themes from famous Bertolucci movies – and includes "Cha Cha Cha Cantato" by Piero Piccioni, "Vecchia Hollywood" by Ennio Morricone, "Chi Pi Felice Di Me" by Georges Delerue, "Il Conformista" by Augusto Martelli, "Splash" by Ennio Morricone, "Why Did She Choose You" by Gato Barbieri, "Tema Di Ada" by Ennio Morricone, "The Last Emperor" by John Williams, "Little Buddha" by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and "La Tragedia Di Un Nomo Ridiculo" by Ennio Morricone.

The music of the French New Wave – brought out beautifully in an overstuffed 3CD set! The late 50s shift in French cinema is arguably one of the most important film moments in the 20th century – and although the movies are best remembered for their directors, stars, and striking images – most of the films also had some pretty amazing music as well! In fact, we've always felt that the music was integral to the Nouvelle Vague – from famous jazz scores, to lovely lyrical passages, to bold orchestral arrangements that also ended up having a huge impact on wider European music as well. This package is the first we've ever seen to really dig deep into the New Wave – and it brings together 80 tracks from dozens of films – a really wide variety of music, provided by artists who include Michel Legrand, Georges Delerue, Paul Misraki, Pierre Jansen, Miles Davis, Maurice Jarre, Jean Constantin, Martial Solal, Michel Magne, Antoine Duhamel, Alain Romans, and others – from movies that include 400 Blows, Jules & Jim, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Les Bonnes Femmes, Une Femme Est Une Femme, Breathless, Weekend, Lola, Cleo De 5 A 7, Le Bonheur, Alphaville, and many others! Some films are represented by a few tracks, others by famous themes – and the package also features a booklet with notes in French and English too.

A sweet collection of music from the early films of Jean Luc Godard – mostly tracks that initially appeared on 45rpm EP releases in France – but brought together here in an overstuffed double LP set! The package features a fair bit of jazzy tracks from Godard's key films of the nouvelle vague, plus a few vocal moments from Chantal Goya too – and the set features music from A Bout De Souffle by Martial Solal, Une Femme Est Une Femme by Michel Legrand, Le Meprise by Georges Delerue, Alphaville by Paul Misraki, Pierre Le Fou by Antoine Duhamel, Masculin Feminin by Chantal Goya, Sauve Qui Peut by Gabriel Yared, Weekend by Antoine Duhamel, and Vivre Sa Vie by Michel Legrand. Comes with an insert too!

A tremendous collection of French film soundtracks – all penned to accompany the famous work of Jean-Pierre Melville, and all nearly as integral to the movies as the image itself! Melville is a very sound-conscious director, and the music for his films is a key force in guiding the actions of the camera – as much a narrative force as a scene-setting device, as you'll hear in the wonderful music on this set! The package features work from 10 different Melville films from the years 1959 to 1972 – and is presented with great notes in both English and France, with some key images from the movies too. Includes material from Bob Le Flambeur by Jo Boyer, Deux Hommes Dans Manhattan by Christian Chevallier, Leon Morin Pretre by Martial Solal, Le Doulos by Paul Misraki, L'Aine Des Ferchaux by Georges Delerue, Le Samourai by Francois De Roubaix, L'Armee Des Ombres by Eric Demarsan, Le Cercle Rouge by Eric Demarsan, Un Flic by Michel Colombier, and Musique Inedit Pour Le Cercle Rouge by Michel Legrand.