Catch Me If You Can

[Shrdlu]

My daughter rented a tape of the recent Spielberg movie "Catch Me If You Can", mainly, I suspect, because she likes Leo. "You'll like this, Dad", she said, so I watched it.

It was a good workout for the new speakers in the Shrdlu living room - the sound is really good.

The music is fantastic, and most readers would enjoy it. The score is by Johnny T. Williams (as his name appears on the "Peter Gunn" album), but it isn't the usual tiresome blaring row with a symphony orchestra that is such a movie cliché. (Uggh, how many of those have I heard!) The style is reminiscent of early 20th century French music, no doubt because the main character's Mom is from that country. There are a lot of sections featuring some very tricky alto parts, which would be a brute to read. (The credits gave the alto player's name, but I didn't recognize it.) Recommended, and it ought to win one of those silly statuettes for its originality, which was a breath of fresh air.

The story (a true one) is pretty neat too: a young boy successfully impersonates an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. If you liked "Chameleon", you'll enjoy this one. But enough with the Siskel/Ebert thing!

[Alexander]

I saw it in the theater. It was quite good. A surprise, since the names DiCaprio, Spielberg and Hanks are guaranteed to keep me out of almost any movie. Yes, it is very well done, and the music is very evocative of the period. Some very good perfomances too.

[Rooster_Ties]

My wife and I saw this on in the theaters around the 1st of the year. We both loved the movie, and she commented on the soundtrack in particular, which I liked as well. It's on my list of movie soundtracks to keep my eyes out for in the 'used CD' bins.

One of the "most fun" movies I've seen in the past year.

[BruceH]

I saw this in the theater on Christmas day. Very entertaining movie, despite my not exactly being a member of the DiCaprio fan club. Very nice retro opening credits too. I'll keep an eye out for the soundtrack.

Alexander----I urge you to rent the Hanks-directed movie That Thing You Do. Not bad at all. A light, minor, unpretentious flick, yet completely enjoyable. The story of one of those American garage bands, who, inspired by the British Invasion of 1964, luck out with one flash-in-the-pan hit single. Also has a pretty good soundtrack.

[Late]

I can't remember the alto player's name on the soundtrack for Scratch Me If You Can at the moment either, and I just read an article about him not too long ago! He's a graduate from the University of North Texas (then it was North Texas State University), and is evidently one of the most in-demand studio artists in L.A..

UNT puts out a monthly (or is it bi-monthly?) magazine for alumni, and guess who's on the cover for this month's edition?

[Big Wheel]

Looks like the alto player's name is Dan Higgins.

According to his AMG page, he's been on a ton of records in the last decade.

Unfortunately most of them are total crapola.

[bertrand]

BruceH,

About that Tom Hanks - directed movie.

On the one-hand, I appreciated the names of some of my heroes (Dorham and others) being dropped.

On the other hand, I thought the character of the black bell boy near the end of the film was totally racist - a throwback to Minstrel shows. My wife and I had a very icky feeling when we saw this on the screen. Surprisingly, none of the reviewer's mentioned this at the time, so I did not expect it.

Bertrand.