Were you thrilled, BK, by the Varese Club title announcements?
I was excited to see "The Tall Men" and "By Love Possessed."
That said, I'm going to post my true feelings about the latest batch of Club titles here in this forum, away from the slings and arrows at FSM. I'm delighted for any and all who are thrilled by all the releases, but I have to say I found this pre-Christmas slate disappointing.
It's sad to me that for the first time in Club history I've not wanted to buy all the releases. I'm not a big fan of Conti, and I thought "Neighbors" a terrible film.
"Magic Fire" was tempting...but not must-have in light of so many other wonderful things being released by other labels. This one is truly a "curiousity item" as it's Richard Wagner arranged and conducted by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. I may regret not ordering it. Time will tell.
Finally, I can't help feeling just the slightest bit...well...insulted...that a re-recording of a score already well-represented (and definitively, too, to my ears) is being offered as a club release. I am not buying any more versions of "North By Northwest" (or "Vertigo," for that matter), as I have several (of each), including the expanded soundtrack recording.
So, I've saved money, and I'm getting the Victor Young and Elmer Bernstein scores. But the joy of that is tempered by a general feeling of enormous "let-down" because I seem to have lost my enthusiasm over what was rather special and fun for such a long time.