"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" -- Main Title, composed by Alex North
Vložit
- čas přidán 16. 06. 2010
- My favorite play, written by Edward Albee.
My favorite movie, directed by Mike Nichols.
And also, my favorite soundtrack. Composed by Alex North.
Does it get any better than this?
No copyright infringement intended. This score was composed by Alex North, who also did the music for "Streetcar." I think he did an amazing job.
one of the great scores of all time.
"George, who is somewhere out there in the dark, who is good to me and whom I revile. Who does everything in his power to make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. Who can learn the games as quickly as I can invent them. Someday...I will push him too far. George and Martha...sad, sad, sad. Whom I will not forgive for having seen thus and saying 'Yes, this will do.'"
Read this in high school because I was a drama junkie and this along with the new British invasion, shaped my being
You know the full version
No es que no quiere, es que no puede 😔
Alex North achieved something great with this. A very difficult play to score, and he pulled it off magnificently.
This score was genuinely goosebump-inducing the first time I saw the movie. I'm not gonna say it prepares you for what's to come, but it's loaded to the brim with sadness and regret. And yet even with that much negative feeling riding on it, it still communicates a pragmatic glimmer of hope. A hope that is embodied in the film's final scene. They might be cruel to each other, they might bicker and snipe and rage and hate, but at least they each have someone else to do that poisonous waltz with as they enter old age. Because even with their relationship the way it is, it's better than being alone
This song is beautiful and so fitting for the film
Greatest film of all time
" I am afraid, George...."
Excellent soundtrack, strong and gentle
Soothing to the ear, and to the soul, intentionally evoking compassion and understanding for human misery This piece of music has been banging around in my head practically my entire life. Thank you for posting.
You're a complicated man. That's a lovely trait😘
this is SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! I had no idea!! Thank you so much for posting. What a lovely score.
Α marvellous score and a very great film. For you, me, us and ... for all times.
I just found myself singing this in the kitchen and had to remember what it was from. Also one of my favorite soundtracks that so few remember. Thank you for sharing.
Reminiscent of Vivaldi in many ways. Quietly it starts, then more strings enter and the notes shift from a melancholy tone, then angry, and all emotions become splayed to the listener. A masterpiece by a brilliant composer.
I don't have enough musical knowledge to really understand or compare the two, but this main title theme seems very inspired by / similar to a rendition of Bach's Violin Concerto no.2 in E Major BWV 1042 II. Adagio, specifically the one played by Xuefei Yang on classical guitar (at around the 1 minute 40 mark of the Bach, czcams.com/video/-CDpD3qwktc/video.html).
Sorry to shamelessly copy and paste my comment but sounded like you might know more?
what piece by Vivaldi does this remind you of? Afaik he's never used harps or guitars nor strings in this way.
Alex North was among the finest of film and stage composer's. Recently his incredible flute theme for DEATH OF A SALESMAN was re-used in Mike Nichol's new production.
It sounds like the best Haendel, Boccherini or Vivaldi. Amazing music. Amazing film. Thanks for sharing.
Excuse me.I'm a composer with good ears it does have a lutish sounding baroque feel but it's nothing like Handel.Closer to Vivaldi and Boccherini is a classical period composer .
@@MrInterestingthings I don't have enough musical knowledge to really understand or compare the two, but this main title theme seems very inspired by / similar to a rendition of Bach's Violin Concerto no.2 in E Major BWV 1042 II. Adagio, specifically the one played by Xuefei Yang on classical guitar (at around the 1 minute 40 mark of the Bach, czcams.com/video/-CDpD3qwktc/video.html).
Sorry to shamelessly copy and paste my comment but sounded like you might know more?
I'm a classical composer who's fan of all the composers you mentioned and none of their style is in this. It's more romantic inspired, not baroque at all. It does have a certain ambiguous softness to it that you could attribute to a Handel but I'd say it's closer to a Mahler in that sense. It cannot be confused with any other period than the one it was made in though, it's just such a wonderfully ambiguous piece that I could see people attribute other styles to it. I'll give you that.
just an absolutely devastating score to a fantastic film. Heartbreaking, raw and real. Movies are not the same anymore.
Well put!
MJT thank you
Nope they're not
Lee Lee@ you know nothing of beauty but what the hell 😠
@@steveprice448 no I meant movies are not the same anymore
The last ten minutes of this movie tear my heart out. And this music makes it something profound and beautiful.
What a remarkable play...flawless performances in the movie plus a moving theme tune. Is it possible to top this fantastic psychological drama ? Martha set the stakes very high. I hope they survive many more battles.
a masterpiece
Indeed.
a film that I hold similarly dear to my heart is Faces by John Casavettes or by the same actress: a cat on a hot thin roof.
Fall in love to Liz Taylor because of this movie
Thanks for letting me hear again, 44 years on, this beautiful theme of love in middle age. At 22, I hoped that one day I'd hum this tune, strolling next to an old wife as plain as I am and who loves me as much as I love her. North composed this music to express his belief that love is durable, surviving tumult, even violence. No joyride, but worth the effort.
did you find her at any point? the wife you wanted at 22
This movie should be required viewing for people who are contemplating marraige. it should be written into law.
Abba says:"Thanks for the music"
Me too.
Thanks from Perú
Martha's actual script line was....."the insulting mistake of loving me. I must be punished for it." Additionally, Alex North's best music is not the beginning or ending theme of this film. His best work is the music score played very softly underneath the most dramatic scenes....Martha's speech about their imaginary son, and her total emotional breakdown near the end. This was GOOD film music. It is subtle and supportive to the character's emotional expression. - Dennis Edwards
Yes, Diva, I found her 32 years ago. We listened to this song together yesterday.
great movie
Yes, I liked right away this composition when I saw the movie for the first time...
It is a fantastic film...!
Thank you DivaBehavior!
Oh Martha ! Oh George! Where is Sandy Dennis now? She helped make so many good movies !
That is one amazing film.
A love theme - peace under all the chaos - the essence of drama
Beautiful art in all departments.
Hands down my favorite Alex North score and he composed many greats..Unchained is second
Un filme maravilloso y cruel al mismo tiempo. La musica de North sigue viva en obras tan extraordinarias como A streetcar named desire y the misfits.
That sounds like Haendel. Very Beautifull theme!
One of the greatest movies ever, and sadly not as much appreciate today. Younger people don't have the paience or intelligence to sit through it- too dialogue driven and "complicated" for most of them.
I'm twenty-six and have been enjoying this movie for the last ten years - please don't write off whole groups. We're not all bad. If Who's Afraid teaches us anything, one of those things is that pretentiousness and the clash between youth and old age are both fickle and undesirable things.
Great art reaches all corners of humanity, but it rarely reaches much of humanity. I'm reminded of the ending of Alastair Reynold's short story Zima Blue.
"Those that come, like me, must still feel that the artist has something else in store… one last surprise. They've read my article now, most of them, so they know what that slowly swimming figure means… but they still don't come in droves. The stands are always a little echoey and sad, even on a good day. But I've never seen them completely empty, which I suppose is some kind of testament. Some people get it. Most people never will.
But that's art."
I'm glad you enjoy the film, it's one of my favourites. Edward Albee was a fantastic writer.
How insightful..and true.
Doing this play rn in Prescott Az!
Did you know that Alex North the composer studied at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia?
Úma canção para a alma!
One of the great Catholic movies - it centers on the terrible reality of the marriage vow, the child and the yearning for The Child is yearning for new life, the sacred, salvation (and it has more spoken Latin liturgy in it than most any modern movie I can think of!).
it's ok to be afraid....when we resist the groundlessness of life that is the real problem----life is raw, sad, tragic but ultimately beautiful if you accept suffering. don't pity martha and george. at least they aren't repressed zombies in suburbia
Demasiado hermosa !! Me recuerda mas a cannon en re mayor, no es que sea igual pero si el mismo sentimiento!!! ❤
R.I.P. dear Elizabeth and Richard. LS
Great movie! At the height of their careers. Still, I cannot watch this through, anymore.
Johnny and Amber
Such a sad song for a sad couple: George and Martha.
Thank you for posting this beautiful theme, DivaBehavior.
Is this music sad, appeased, loveful, desperate, nostalgic ? I cannot tell.
In many ways, it reflects the contradictory feelings of the characters.
Martha, about George : "Who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving me. And must be punished for it."
Greetings, as it happens, just today I felt the urge to remind myself a little of Virginia Woolf.
Needless to say I was glad to find your post :)
This film is the epitome of American cinema
I've contemplated a reply to this post for months. I didn't want to be accused of Hepburn bashing. But I firmly believe that "Sophie's Choice -Meryl Streep" and then Taylor in this are the best two acting performance of a century!!! But I still love Hepburn especially for The Philadelphia Story and On Golden Pond and the Lion Winter.....
agree
taylor is the best
sublime
TWD66 Greetings from Lima, Perú. I agree with you that this music contains many feelings, but also opens the doors to Hope. It sounds a little like the symphonies of Bach's cantatas. Of course I don't mean that Alex North is simply copying Bach. Bach's music spreads beams of hope in the midst of sadness, and so Alex North's music.
I've just found this movie today in the morning (on TV), & I ran to You Tube to hear again this magnificent music. Thanks.
What a soundtrack for an absolutely great movie, Burton and Taylor at it´s best, watch and learn about what real acting is about. But this music really touch the deepest of emotions and is actually really sad, both the movie and the soundtrack, oh my God!
Alex North my favorite Hollywood composer, yet thie theme lacks the beautiful melodies he composed for the 1960 film THE MISFITS starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable.
Thanks! A beautiful RELIGIOUS film about the sanctity of the marriage vows and the hunger for the miraculous innocence and renewal that is a child. In case you missed it George Segal and Sandy Dennis are the REALLY dysfunctional couple in this and this and when she says "I want to have a baby" there is hope for them. The North score is as sombre and exquisite as Gregorian chant.
Religious movie! It was hardly seen because that was not the American dream. Religion has nothing to do with this.
Take it from someone who knows.
@@lorettafazari6004 "... it was hardly seen because that was not the American dream." For a serious ensemble film it was WIDELY seen and quite profitable. I have no idea what you are talking about. Human relationships, childbearing, husbands and wives etc. are ALL extremely religious subjects unless one is a Marxist-Atheist which is fine but say so.
@@lorettafazari6004 Who knows WHAT? You seem to carry on mysterious one sided conversations in your head.
@@poetcomic1 Your religious! An you think this is a Religious film. Get help your my dear. I refuse to waste time to ignorance. A priest wouldnt have any idea about this. The couple in the movie had to work it out themselves. Do you see a church or a priest in this movie. NO
Did you even realize how much they loved each other? It was so much that they had to fight.
I personally prefer the hell rather than the nothingness represented by the other couple.
I don't have enough musical knowledge to really understand or compare the two, but this main title theme seems very inspired by / similar to a rendition of Bach's Violin Concerto no.2 in E Major BWV 1042 II. Adagio, specifically the one played by Xuefei Yang on classical guitar (at around the 1 minute 40 mark of the Bach, czcams.com/video/-CDpD3qwktc/video.html).
Anyone know?!
beutiful movie
El maldito alcohol qué tal todo lo tergiversa.❤
*"What a dump!"*
and this piece will ultimately precede my 1 month hospital stay.... I will miss everything but, maybe have my brain back. maybe I can walk, shoulder with George and Martha again......
poetcomic1 Hello, I know that your post is quite old, but I'm hoping you're still around for a conversation. I'm very curious about your suggestion that this movie is a Catholic one. Would you be willing to share what makes you think that way? Do you really consider it a Catholic film, or merely one which has a special appeal for Catholics?
Isn't there a slow movement in a Bach guitar concerto or sonata that is similar to this? Would love to know and which one.
I adore the theme. It's actually based on Bach's Cantata bwv 156 arioso, at the director's recommendation. As is often the case, temp music during the editing process guides many directors, including this time Mike Nichols. czcams.com/video/xueopsTHesw/video.htmlsi=BiEPURM3_7r0okIc
This is one of the great Catholic films of all time. The North scores captures the secret life of this compassionate work. Marriage and children are the two sacred 'touchstones' and mysteries of human our life. The Church loves no one so much as damaged hopeless sinners. Compared to this film 'The Passion of Christ' is an S&M cult film for the likes of Mel Gibson, a movie maker with a strange 'passion' for showing handsome young men hideously tortured naked in close up. Don't ask.
Please no priest could help them. They had to make it work for themselves. Geez I went through Martha went. No children after years. What does a priest know. They only want to hear about children and families not Barron women. I felt like nothing.
What's the point to write to someone who has no idea. Except for ignorance.
Liz finally outdoes Kate Hepburn sooooo very much, the former seems like a rank amateur!
great movie