The Great Race Blu-ray via WAC - 9/9 (1 Viewer)

[bugsy-pal]

I LOVE Professor Fate. Lemmon's hyperactive over-the-topness is essential to that role, IMO. Lemmon and Falk make a 'formidable' pair of bad guys.

 

[Matt Hough]

Lemmon himself was on the record as not liking his work in the film, but I've always found his performance side-splitting, and he's hilarious as the Prince, too, and adopting the Scottish brogue when in disguise in the automobile board room.

 

[trajan]

I love it when Lemmon as the prince turns to the dog on the bed and says" I hate you" Let's not forget the great score by Henry Mancini.

 

[classicmovieguy]

From what I've read, the actual filming wasn't Natalie's best experience either. Not that you could ever tell from her performance onscreen, which is simply joyous.

 

[darkrock17]

If I was Warner Archive, I would included an episode or two of the Wacky Races, as the whole movie is basically the pilot of the 1968 Hanna-Barbera series. I was watching some clips earlier on YouTube and Professor Fate is Dick Dastardly, wouldn't it of been something if Paul Winchel was casted at Fate and not Lemmon.

 

[Matt Hough]

I love it when Lemmon as the prince turns to the dog on the bed and says" I hate you" Let's not forget the great score by Henry Mancini.

Absolutely. Henry Mancini's music resonates from one wonderful sequence to the next, and I played his album of themes from the movie constantly. I was sorry that Jackie Ward's vocal for "The Sweetheart Tree" (dubbing for Natalie) wasn't on that album. Dorothy Provine's song, of course, was (in a rerecorded version; the album was not from the soundtrack of the movie.)

 

[GlennF]

Yes, I am one of those people who does not love this film. Even as a kid I remember getting annoyed with Jack Lemmon yelling all the time. But the production values are good and the music score is excellent! (And can be downloaded from ITunes.)

 

[Randy Korstick]

I showed the film to a cousin of mine and his wife back in the mid 90's on Laserdisc. Both were surprised they had never seen the film and both were shocked that Jack Lemmon didn't win an Oscar for the role especially after they saw the second role in the film. It is a great performance, definitely my personal favorite of his. Hollywood rarely gives Oscars for comedic roles which is a shame.

Lemmon himself was on the record as not liking his work in the film, but I've always found his performance side-splitting, and he's hilarious as the Prince, too, and adopting the Scottish brogue when in disguise in the automobile board room.

 

[Alan Tully]

I love it when Lemmon as the prince turns to the dog on the bed and says" I hate you" Let's not forget the great score by Henry Mancini.

Ha, I thought I was the only one, I love that line (it helps that I don't like dogs), the film is chock full of great lines...& then there's Texas Jack!

I'd love it if the original soundtrack (as heard in the film) was released. I think it's one of Mancini's greatest. I wonder if the music tapes survived?

 

[Matt Hough]

Ha, I thought I was the only one, I love that line (it helps that I don't like dogs), the film is chock full of great lines...& then there's Texas Jack!

I'd love it if the original soundtrack (as heard in the film) was released. I think it's one of Mancini's greatest. I wonder if the music tapes survived?

Well, they've done real original soundtrack recording releases for Breakfast at Tiffany's and Charade (a dear friend made me aware of them by gifting them to me), so I don't see why it couldn't be done for The Great Race. I'd love to have them, too, especially to have Provine's complete song and the Jackie Ward version of the Oscar-nominated "The Sweetheart Tree."

 

[classicmovieguy]

Review (& screencaps) up on Blu-ray.com:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Great-Race-Blu-ray/56289/#Review

 

[classicmovieguy]

Well, they've done real original soundtrack recording releases for Breakfast at Tiffany's and Charade (a dear friend made me aware of them by gifting them to me), so I don't see why it couldn't be done for The Great Race. I'd love to have them, too, especially to have Provine's complete song and the Jackie Ward version of the Oscar-nominated "The Sweetheart Tree."

The soundtrack was reissued on CD but is OOP and commanding crazy prices:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Race-Music-Film-Score/dp/B00000JC1B/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1410076290&sr=1-1&keywords=great+race+soundtrack

 

[Matt Hough]

The soundtrack was reissued on CD but is OOP and commanding crazy prices:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Race-Music-Film-Score/dp/B00000JC1B/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1410076290&sr=1-1&keywords=great+race+soundtrack

Yeah, but that's not a soundtrack album. It's Henry Mancini's "Music from the Film Score" re-recording of themes from the movie. It's better than nothing, but it cuts out a verse or so of Dorothy Provine's song and doesn't feature the Jackie Ward vocal on "The Sweetheart Tree" that a REAL soundtrack album would have.

Mancini did that with most of his big film score albums in the 1960s. They weren't soundtracks but rather studio recordings that could be played as pop/jazz albums.

 

[GlennF]

You can buy the soundtrack on I-Tunes. It might not be exactly what you want, but it still gives you the themes and Dorothy Provine and is quite well done.

 

[Matt Hough]

For myself, I have the LP in stereo so I don't need another version of that. What I'd like to see is some enterprising label like Kritzerland try to get the soundtrack masters and make a TRUE soundtrack album as was done with Breakfast at Tiffany's and Charade, CDs I now play much more frequently than Mancini's RCA pop score albums of those films' themes.

 

[KPmusmag]

Legacy (Sony) is releasing a Henry Mancini box set. I am fairly certain that these are Mancini's "studio" versions, but it looks like there may be some interesting bonus tracks. (I, too, would love the actual movie soundtrack score of Great Race.)

In a career that spanned nearly half a century, Henry Mancini (1924-1994) became synonymous with catchy, jazzy, romantic music for film and television soundtracks. The Classic Soundtrack Collection, showcases all of Mancini s soundtrack albums for the RCA, Epic and Columbia labels, including several of his most iconic and beloved scores.

The collection features 18 original Mancini soundtrack albums on nine discs plus rare bonus tracks, including a never-before-heard version of Nothing To Lose from writer-director Blake Edwards 1968 comedy The Party performed by Julie Andrews. Taken together, the albums in this collection underline the enduring popularity of Henry Mancini and his unique ability to create movie music that pop audiences could also embrace.

ALBUMS LIST
1. THE PINK PANTHER (1964) / THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (1975)
2. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY S (1961) / CHARADE (1963)
3. HATARI! (1962) / OKLAHOMA CRUDE (1973)
4. WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, DADDY? (1966) / HIGH TIME (1960)
5. EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (1962) / DARLING LILI (1970)
6. GUNN (1967) / WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE? (1978)
7. TWO FOR THE ROAD (1967) / ARABESQUE (1966)
8. THE GREAT RACE (1965) / ME, NATALIE (1969)
9. THE PARTY (1968) / VISIONS OF EIGHT (1973)

 

[Matt Hough]

Two for the Road, another glorious film with a masterpiece score by Mancini. For me, it's unthinkable that neither the title song nor the score were Oscar nominated that year. I guess the film's lack of box-office clout spilled over when the composers began their nominating process.

Yes, those definitely look like the studio albums for most of the films named, but they do represent a lot of spectacular music.

 

[JPCinema]

Me Natalie...wow. It also has a song by Rod McKuen. Too bad the film has never been released on DVD. It features Al Pacino's first film.

 

[Conrad_SSS]

With RAH's rave last week and today's new review, The Great Race's arrival on Blu is certainly shaping up to be one of the top releases of the year. I can't wait for my copy to arrive.

 

[atfree]

With RAH's rave last week and today's new review, The Great Race's arrival on Blu is certainly shaping up to be one of the top releases of the year. I can't wait for my copy to arrive.

Definitely.... I am setting aside special quiet time to enjoy this one! Simply one of my all time favorites, finally on blu and evidently in superb condition.