Classic Ross Amico

Category: Picture Perfect

A Cookie Platter of Christmas Television Specials on “Picture Perfect”

This week on “Picture Perfect,” slip into your jammies for an hour of music from classic Christmas television specials.

“The Snowman” (1982), based on the picture book by Raymond Briggs, is about a boy whose snowman comes to life and whisks him away on a journey to the North Pole. The show became enormously popular in the UK and through occasional showings on U.S. television. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Like the book, the film is wordless, using animation and music to tell its story, with the exception of an enchanting interlude, known as “Walking in the Air,” which employs a boy treble. “Walking in the Air” is easily the best-known music by Howard Blake.

The television film “The Homecoming” (1971) stars Patricia Neal and Richard Thomas in a heart-warming story about a rural family Christmas in 1933. Written by Earl Hamner, the film’s success spawned the television series “The Waltons.” Jerry Goldsmith wrote the music. He would return to work on “The Waltons” – though as of “The Homecoming,” he had yet to write the show’s indelible theme.

An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1954) was the subject of a special episode of the anthology series “Shower of Stars.” Fredric March plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and Basil Rathbone is Jacob Marley’s ghost. But it is Ray Middleton, who appears as both Scrooge’s nephew and the Spirit of Christmas Present, who is given arguably the show’s most memorable tune, “A Very Merry Christmas.” The teleplay and lyrics are by Maxwell Anderson, and the music is by Bernard Herrmann!

Finally, Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965). We’ll hear the Vince Guaraldi Trio perform selections from this most beloved of Christmas classics.

For once, the snow will have nothing to do with your reception. We’ll think inside the box on “Picture Perfect,” music from classic Christmas television specials, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu

December 19, 2025
Jane Austen at 250 on “Picture Perfect”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a radio host in possession of a weekly film music show must be in want of a good theme. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we eschew the usual fare of Vikings, pirates, and dinosaurs, to enter the world Jane Austen, in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of her birth (on December 16, 1775).

We’ll hear Rachel Portman’s Academy Award winning score for “Emma” (1996), Patrick Doyle’s music for “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), and selections from two versions of “Pride and Prejudice,” with music by Dario Marianelli (2005) and Carl Davis (1995).

Not only do Austen adaptations sport amazing casts, the scores attract some of classical music’s star performers. Listen in for contributions by soprano Jane Eaglen, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and fortepianist Melvyn Tan.

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of – at least according to “Mansfield Park.” The next best thing is a playlist assembled from Jane Austen movies. There’s an urgency for Regency this week on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

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If you’re an Austenite, feel free to let me know which novel or film adaptation is your favorite!

December 12, 2025
See You in the Funny Pages on “Picture Perfect”

Get out your Silly Putty! There will be plenty of vibrant colors for you to enjoy this week on “Picture Perfect,” when the focus will be on comic adventurers – as in heroes from the funnies.

We’ll have music from movies inspired by the two-dimensional cliffhangers of newspaper favorites Prince Valiant, The Phantom, and Dick Tracy, as well as the longer-form, Golden Age adventures of Tintin.

“Prince Valiant” (1954) brings to life Hal Foster’s enduring Sunday strip about the exploits of a Viking prince at the court of King Arthur. Robert Wagner dons the signature page-boy haircut at the head of a hodge podge cast that also includes Janet Leigh, James Mason, Sterling Hayden, and Victor McLaglen (as Val’s Viking pal Boltar). The film also happens to feature one of Franz Waxman’s most rousing scores, clearly a prototype for the kind of music that later made John Williams a household name.

Then Billy Zane is “The Ghost Who Walks,” in a big screen adaptation of Lee Falk’s “The Phantom” (1996). Like Batman, The Phantom harnesses personal tragedy – in his case, the murder of his father – to a thirst for justice. He also happens to be part of an ancient lineage of Phantoms, who don the purple suit and fight crime from a secluded skull cave in a remote African country. The memorable, though somewhat monothematic, score is by David Newman, one of the sons of legendary Hollywood composer Alfred Newman.

Warren Beatty directs an amusing adaptation of Chester Gould’s “Dick Tracy” (1990), replete with primary color production design and meticulously applied prosthetic makeup, transforming some of the most respected actors of the day (including Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and James Caan) into a live-action Rogue’s Gallery. Both design and makeup were recognized with Academy Awards, as was Stephen Sondheim, for his original song “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man),” sung in the film by Madonna. We won’t hear Sondheim’s song, but we will hear some of Danny Elfman’s underscore, which harkens back to Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Finally, we’ll turn from American newspaper strips to the comic albums of Belgian cartoonist Hergé, and his most famous creation, Tintin, an intrepid journalist whose stories seem always to embroil him in globetrotting adventures. Developed for the screen by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, “The Adventures of Tintin” (2011) was shot as 3-D motion capture animation.

After 50 years in the business, during which he wrote music for all manner of films, in virtually every genre, John Williams finally got a crack at scoring an animated feature. The result was a double Academy Award nomination, as Williams had also written the music that year for Spielberg’s “War Horse.” Not bad for a then 79-year-old composer.

Unfortunately, “Tintin” never gained the kind of traction with the public that the filmmakers had hoped for, otherwise the score would certainly be much better known, as it is cut from the same cloth – and is of the same high quality – as those for the “Star Wars,” Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter series.

We’ll see you in the funny pages, this week on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

December 5, 2025
Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After on “Picture Perfect”

This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll play on the inherent nostalgia of the holidays by recalling the magic of childhood, by way of our collective and personal interactions with the world of fairy tales.

George Pal’s “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (1962) was filmed in Cinerama and features the producer-director’s trademark stop motion effects. Among the all-star cast are Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Barbara Eden, Russ Tamblyn, and Buddy Hackett. The narrative incorporates a number of familiar Grimm tales, while relating the brothers’ “real-life” struggles.

The music is by Leigh Harline. Harline was an integral part of the Disney team that scored an earlier fairy tale adaptation, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” He would win two Academy Awards for his work on “Pinocchio,” including one for Best Original Song, for “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

“The Company of Wolves” (1984), one of Neil Jordan’s earlier films, explores the psychological underpinnings of the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood,” here presented as an allegory of adolescence and the loss of innocence. Angela Carter co-wrote the screenplay, based on a selection of her original short stories. The film features Angela Lansbury, any number of werewolves, and Terence Stamp as the Devil. The music is by George Fenton.

With the advent of computer animation, a snarkier, post-modern take on the fairy tale predominates, most notably with the “Shrek” series, beginning in 2001. The “Shrek” films were so successful, they led to a spin-off, centered on the character of “Puss in Boots” (2011).

Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss provides ample opportunity to vamp on the actor’s swashbuckler image, especially as portrayed in “The Mask of Zorro.” Likewise, the composer, Henry Jackman, chooses to rib James Horners’ “Zorro” score.

Finally, we’ll hear selections from perhaps the finest fairy tale ever committed to film, Jean Cocteau’s “La Belle et la Bête” – “Beauty and the Beast” (1946). Moody, atmospheric, dreamy, clever, hypnotic, funny, and romantic, and sporting production design that looks like something Gustav Doré might have dreamed up in a haze of Dutch Masters cigars, Cocteau’s masterpiece stars Jean Marais and Josette Day.

The alternately mysterious and majestic score is by Georges Auric. Cocteau, you’ll recall, was the one-man publicity machine that propelled Auric and his composer-colleagues, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, and Louis Durey, to fame in Paris, circa 1920, dubbing them “Les Six.”

I hope you’ll join me for an hour of once-upon-a-time and happily-ever-after, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

November 28, 2025
Korngold is King in “Kings Row”

Anyone familiar with the main title music from “Star Wars” – and who isn’t? – will recognize a spiritual kinship with “Kings Row” (1942). This week on “Picture Perfect, we’ll hear an extensive suite from one of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s most magnificent scores, one of John Williams’ acknowledged influences.

The settings of the two films couldn’t be more different – “Kings Row’s” struggle of decency against sinister impulses takes place in a small Midwestern town – but Korngold’s opulently orchestrated music brims with romance and heroism. Check out that opening fanfare!

Although he was one of the great musical prodigies – celebrated in Vienna in his teens and 20s, especially for his operas – Korngold’s name was kept alive for decades after his death largely because of his work on a number of classic Warner Bros. films of the 1930s and ’40s. His music for the Errol Flynn swashbucklers has been particularly well-loved.

He had already written music for “Captain Blood,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,” and “The Sea Hawk” by the time he was offered work on “Kings Row.” Without knowing anything more about the project than the title, he commenced writing the main theme, on the assumption that the film would be yet another historical adventure. In reality, it was a turn-of-the-century soap opera based in America’s heartland.

Korngold’s approach couldn’t have been more fortuitous, since it led him to compose one of his grandest motifs. It punctuates the action of the film as if it were a cinematic “Ein Heldenleben” – which should come as little surprise, since Korngold actually knew Richard Strauss.

“Kings Row” was based on the bestselling novel by Henry Bellamann. The book reveals a kind of dark underbelly to the civility of small-town American life. The subject matter was ahead of its time, laying the groundwork for the novel “Peyton Place,” the film “Blue Velvet,” and television series such as “Twin Peaks” and “Desperate Housewives.” Yet at its core is the fundamental decency of its protagonist, Parris Mitchell, and his circle of friends. It is Mitchell’s ambition to become a doctor, and he heads to Vienna to study a new branch of science known as psychology.

Mitchell was played in the film by Robert Cummings, his best friend Drake by Ronald Reagan, and Randy, a former tomboy from a family of railroad workers, by Ann Sheridan, who received top billing. The studio filled out the cast with a superb ensemble, including Claude Rains, Judith Anderson, Charles Coburn, Harry Davenport, and even Maria Ouspenskaya, best known as Maleva the gypsy woman from “The Wolf Man.”

It’s a grand piece of entertainment, if you can get into the spirit of it, depending on your tolerance for incest, sadism, involuntary amputation, wrongful commitment to an insane asylum and suicide. This is the film in which Reagan exclaims the immortal line, “Where’s the rest of me?”

Thanks to the Hays Code, the screen adaptation was considerably toned down from – and more upbeat than – the novel. The emphasis is on Mitchell’s idealism in the face of a cruel, and at times horrifying, world. Along the way, there are several amusing (from our perspective) explanations of that mysterious new discipline, the study of the mind.

I hope you’ll join me for an hour of music from “Kings Row,” by the King of Film Composers, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, on “Picture Perfect,” music from the movies, now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

November 21, 2025

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