The
3000 unit limited collectors edition 2 CD SET of the first official CD
release of the original soundtrack recording to the 1966 film
version of HAWAII.
This epic saga was based on James A. Michener's
(1907-1997) over 1,000-page novel of the same name. George Roy
Hill's lavish 189-minute production starred Julie Andrews (Victoria/Victoria),
Max Von Sydow (Judge Dredd), Richard Harris (Harry Potter) and
Gene Hackman (Superman-THE MOVIE) in the cinematic telling of
Michener's sprawling, multi-generational adventure. Von Sydow
played Abner Hale, a Yale student who, on the day after receiving
his diploma (in 1819), hears Hawaiian Keoki Kanakoa (Manu Tupau)
speak to a group of
fellow brothers who have been studying for their ministries at
the University. Kanakoa makes a plea for the group to supply missionaries
to bring Christianity to the islands and save the souls of his
people. When Abner and his friend John Whipple (Hackman) later
volunteer themselves for such service, Hale learns that he must
first find a wife before he can be accepted
To score his immense new production, Hill reteamed
with Elmer Bernstein, who had scored the director's film immediately
prior to Hawaii
(The World of Henry Orient, 1964) and would go on to score the
director's
following picture (Thoroughly Modern Millie, 1967), which would
earn the
composer an Academy Award. Bernstein's vast musical panorama for
Hawaii,
displays a near ecstatic degree of energy and enthusiasm. It's
a jubilant and
rapturous work which makes frequent visits to Bernstein's well
of melodic invention. The score is, without question, one of the
composer's most, magnificent opuses.
Presented here as a 2
CD Deluxe Edition, the release of Hawaii represents a triumphant
film music event. Disc One features almost the entire score, over
75:00 of music, in mono. Disc Two features the contents of the
original soundtrack album release, in stereo..
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