Tag: 4th of July

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, “Picture Perfect” celebrates its 12th anniversary with an hour of cinematic fifes and drums.

We’ll begin with selections from “The Patriot” (2000), in which slow-burning pacifist Mel Gibson is pushed too far by ruthless British officer Jason Isaacs and reverts to his bloody French and Indian War ways. By the end of the film, he is literally waving the flag to John Williams’ triumphant score.

Then we’ll hear a suite from the Jack Benny-Ann Sheridan fixer-up comedy, “George Washington Slept Here” (1942), based on the play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman – not really about the Revolution, beyond the fact that the ramshackle Pennsylvania farm house purchased by a transplanted New York couple is alleged to have been one of the seemingly limitless resting places of the Continental Army’s commander in chief. The music is by Adolph Deutsch.

The film “Revolution” (1985) seemed to have everything going for it. Its director was Hugh Hudson, whose “Chariots of Fire” was the big winner at the 1981 Academy Awards; its star was Al Pacino; and its composer was John Corigliano, who would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Symphony No. 2 AND an Oscar for his score to “The Red Violin.” But “Revolution” bombed horribly – so horribly that Pacino gave up making movies for the next four years. James Galway plays the flute and pennywhistle on the film’s soundtrack.

Finally, we’ll hear music from the longest continuously-shown film in cinematic history, “Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot” (1957), created exclusively for the tourist attraction of Colonial Williamsburg. The 38-minute featurette stars future “Hawaii Five-O” icon Jack Lord, and the score is by none other than Bernard Herrmann.

Here’s a clip from “Williamsburg,” with some of Herrmann’s music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0VXfVhenXQ

We celebrate Independence Day this week, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies. Stick a feather in your cap and call it macaroni, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTO: George Washington wagers he can crack a walnut with his bare hand in “Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot”