Mark your calendars: the fully reinstated Vangelis soundtrack to Blade Runner is finally being released on December 18 with a full 3-disc deluxe edition of the soundtrack. You’ll recall that the original version, belatedly released in 1994, was retroactively tweaked garbage.
MTVs Kurt Loder recently explained the problem with original release rather well. “[The Blade Runner soundtrack] might have become at least a cult hit, too, on CD, were it not for the fact that its composer, the London-based Greek synthesizer virtuoso Vangelis, refused, for reasons known only to himself, to allow its release (Instead, Vangelis recorded a sort of half-assed gloss on the original score and put that out, to universal contempt).”
Well, evidently someone changed Mr. Vangelis mind. The 36 track opus is spread out over three discs. Disc 1 features Vangelis 1994 revisionism, disc 2 is all the remaining music from the original film that V didn’t want out for some reason and get this… disc 3? Dear god, it’s another album of newly composed Vangelis music to mark the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner which also includes strange and odd spoken word contributions from Ridley Scott, Roman Polanski, Oliver Stone and a host of distinguished actors, personalities and world dignitaries.
Jesus Christ, that sounds wretched. Some one’s got to put a bullet in Vangelis now, christ.
– December 18 is also a good day for people who like classically composed soundtracks. Osvaldo Golijov’s score to Francis Ford Coppola’s “Youth Without Youth” comes out on the 18, as does James Howard Newton’s score to “Charlie Wilson’s War” – the Mike Nichols/ Tom Hanks / Julia Roberts get-the-Afghan-war going ’80s-period film. A movie that if gets one Oscar nomination (aside from Phillip Seymour Hoffman) we vow to quit our blog forever (god, it looks like such a typical Hollywood turd).
– Last, but not least the artwork for the “Juno” soundtrack and the “My Blueberry Nights” soundtrack have been released as well. As previously reported, Juno: Music From The Motion Picture, comes out digitally December 11 and physically on 15. The soundtrack album features music from the Moldy Peaches and Kimya Dawson, plus tracks by Sonic Youth, Belle & Sebastian and Cat Power. Stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera perform the Peaches track “Anyone Else But You” on the album and as we wrote way back when, Page was instrumental with curating the soundtrack disc and hipped “Juno” director Jason Reitman to the Moldy Peaches in the first place.
The “My Blueberry Nights” soundtrack comes out February 5 and features music by Norah Jones (who also stars in the film), Cat Power and Ry Cooder’s score. The film, directed by the estimable Wong Kar-Wai (“In The Mood For Love“) is due February 15.
