Moderators: lazyben, static14, texasvinyl

#96040
If you're around my age (40) and you grew up in a household like mine than it's likely your family was also way into television mini series'. Whether it was Shogun, The Thorn Birds, V, Something Is Out There (and a lot of others) we Watched, and recorded many of them.

Appointment TV was a real thing. Now the closest we have to that is maybe Game Of Thrones, but even that isn't really the same. You don't have to plop down in front of the tv and watch, you can watch it on your computer, tablet, phone, hell even some refrigerators have screens now. The other big difference was that if you didn't watch it live or setup your vcr you were shit out of luck. You couldn't just pop online and stream it.

Enough preamble. :)

In May and June of 1982 NBC aired Marco Polo. A 6 episode mini series it co-produced with RAI in Italy. This was one mini series that was watched and rewatched a lot in my house. I can remember even as a kid being really taken by the show. As I got older and rewatched the series time and again my focus shifted more and more to the music. I can remember hooking a tape deck up to the vcr to record the main theme from the opening credits. Thinking back now actually this was most likely the first Morricone score I ever heard, and today it still remains one of my absolute favorites.

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For what was apparently a fairly small budget he managed to composer a score that feels far bigger and more complex than many film scores. The score (like many of his) is a mix of orchestral and choral , and has some truly beautiful moments. It's also one of the only Morricone works I can think of that has eastern influences, in both instrumentation and style peppered throughout.

In tone the score as a whole reminds me of The Mission or even Hamlet to a degree. It's much more emotional and serious than the scores he's most well known for composing.

Here's the main title. (apparently the full album got yanked)



The album is readily available online for super cheap. Most copies seem to hover around $8 or so. There was also an expanded 2 cd release that came out in 2004 that can be snagged for around $20.
#96045
@static - I am around the same age, and I understand the sentiment you are describing. Although I did not see Marco Polo, I do remember Roots, Masada, and V being big events in our family. I specifically remember being allowed to stay up late to watch some of them, which was probably before we had a VCR. I do not remember Shogun though. How is that one?

As for your deep cut itself, I have been spellbound listening to it for the first time over the last hour. Minimal mastery by Morricone, and it's really very pleasing to the ear. Thank you for posting this, as it finally got me to listen to the album. I will be picking up a copy soon for another listen.
#96047
Thanks for this @static - this one is a blank page in my Morricone knowledge, and I'm really enjoying filling it in. Just when you think you have the Maestro covered eh? Never fails to amaze and delight me, the breadth and range of his scoring.
#96048
I'm glad you guys are enjoying the score!

@deaf Shogun is really good. A British sailor becomes a Samurai in feudal Japan, falls in love, and gets stuck in the middle of a power struggle.

@scojo I questioned whether or not to use this score, but I figured being From an 80's miniseries might make it obscure enough that at least some folks would be able to hear it for the first time. I'm glad I wasn't wrong! :)