LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

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Robert Israel Music
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LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

Post by Robert Israel Music » Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:59 am

For those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to view this lovely film, I have uploaded a clip from one of the very thrilling moments in the feature.

Laila is a very determined young lady wanting to say good bye to the man she loves. The shortest route possible to his home (she is being forced to leave with her family from their campground to the further reaches in the Norwegian Lapland, thus the urgency) is by boat via the rapids.

The music is by Edvard Grieg; I adapted and performed this on piano, embellishing the original (and with a bit of improvisation) to capture more of the violence of the sequence. Grieg's music is very passionate and exciting.

http://www.myspace.com/robertisraelmusic

Also found on this page are some music uploads of compositions from my score to Harold Lloyd's WELCOME DANGER (1929). As this title has not yet been released on DVD, perhaps with setting the ground for some vicarious interest may lead to something good in the future. (It is a completely different viewing experience from the "Talkie" version, in my opinion).

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Robert Israel

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Rollo Treadway
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Re: LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

Post by Rollo Treadway » Mon Aug 01, 2011 12:58 pm

Thanks for that clip, I think you did well by our Eddie!

Haven't seen Laila since it was shown on TV in the early 70's, and look forward to getting hold of the DVD. I feel confident that musically the film is in the best of hands.

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Jack Theakston
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Re: LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

Post by Jack Theakston » Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:45 pm

Excellent use of Grieg, and once again, shows how effective a solo piano score can be when properly thought out.

(Loved the WELCOME DANGER clips, too! Hope that sees a DVD release soon.)
J. Theakston
"You get more out of life when you go out to a movie!"

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Gagman 66
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Re: LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

Post by Gagman 66 » Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:03 pm

Robert,

:) Nice to see you back again on the boards. Thank you for the post. Yes, LAILA is an excellent film, maybe a little long, but a powerful story beautifully photographed. Interesting how you describe all the though behind the scoring of this impressive sequence in the picture.

That would be wonderful if we could get the Silent version of WELCOME DANGER released on DVD. I'm sure you score is excellent. The Main-title theme and the other pieces are terrific. Wonderful work as always. My friend Derek (Classic Movie Man), got to see the Silent version at a live even in England about 3 or 4 years ago. You may have even been conducting that night? I do not recall.

Have you heard that that fully restored WINGS with a new recording of it's original score is expected to be released on DVD and maybe Blu-ray before the end of the year. Exciting news. I wish we could get a similar announcement from Warner's concerning THE BIG PARADE.

Robert Israel Music
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Re: LAILA (1929) Rapids Sequence

Post by Robert Israel Music » Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:36 am

Thank you for the kind words, Rollo. Flicker Alley's DVD edition was produced with a great deal of care and integrity to the subject and materials. I plan to discuss this in more detail another time. Your "Eddie" is one of my favorite composers and should be regarded as being one of the greatest composers in the history of music.

Jack-I am pleased that you enjoyed the music clips from the Lloyd subject; thank you. A two disc set would be great, but we will have to see what the future holds on that one. I do believe that the silent version plays better than the sound version.

Gagman- Thanks for the greeting. It is always with some amazement that unreleased pre 1930s film makes it to DVD. So, when it does, I am grateful. We will have to see what is coming up next!

Robert Israel

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