I have paid attention, I have, to Bruce's comments in a past blog post.
I respectfully disagree with his thoughts on Alex North's "The Agony and the Ecstasy". It is hardly source music to my ears.
But I do agree about the Jerry Goldsmith prologue for "The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint". It is a fascinating listen. North does some remarkable score in some parts of the film, but the movie, itself, seems too under-thought out...too under-written...and way too self-conscious. It is visually sumptuous with gorgeous sets, costumes and cinematography. What should have been a highlight -- Michelangelo getting inspiration for painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling -- is rather cheesy and somewhat laughable.
But...that's all in the past. 20th-Fox had three roadshow films for 1965 and they were counting on those three films to significantly increase the studio's capital. The Michelangelo epic is the one they were sure would be their biggest hit. I don't know what they expected from "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and "The Sound of Music", the other two roadshows.
"Those Magnificent Men..." turned out to be the studio's best-reviewed film of that year, and it managed to turn a profit.
"The Sound of Music" was probably something they thought you be popular for a month or so. It turned out to be the monster hit of all time and made the studio a fortune.
"The Agony and the Ecstasy" MAY have broken even, but didn't enhance the studio's income in the slightest.
Odd, isn't it.
