Quintet - Tom Pierson

Something rather novel, this time - my first DVD rip!

QUINTET is the much maligned post apocalyptic science-fiction joint from Robert Altman. Released in 1979, it's understandable that it would get lost in the shuffle, being the 'year of ALIEN', also released by the same studio. Not having the usual trappings of sci-fi, and more in the line of Tarkovsky SF film like SOLARIS and STALKER (and being a good 15 years before appreciation of those films would be trendy in the USA), this was a commercial disaster at the time, and is still considered to be Altman's worst film.

I wouldn't go that far, but if you don't have any appreciation for foreign films with heavy psychological themes and a severe lack of physical action, you're not going to be a fan of this film - there are, however, some interesting things in it, despite a miscast Paul Newman... it's very strong visually, and good sound design.

Another asset is the score by Tom Pierson - if you're a fan of Leonard Rosenman or of Goldsmith's PLANET OF THE APES, you'll appreciate Pierson's work on QUINTET. People who like contemporary classical may also find this of interest.

There's about an hour of score here, ripped from the DVD. This is my first rip, so keep that in mind. There are some sound effects heard on some tracks.

This really deserves a legitimate release at some point - it could happen at some point, with all the limited editions being done... at best, it's an obscure score, but maybe it'll garner some fans.

Check it out.