Music from the Movies (1990-2008)
While I was still in film school, I had read via the long-defunct Soundtrack! magazine that a new British publication called From Silents to Satellites was available.
Much like the first Film Score Monthly and long-long defunct CinemaScore magazines, Silents was almost primordial in its design, but editor / founder John Williams (no, not the composer) kept an eye on building strong content, and my first contributions were really rough and clumsy CD reviews for the then-new Varese Sarabande CD Club.
Those pieces were followed by an interview with Joe Curiale (which I edited very, very badly), as well as a piece on William Friedkin’s Rampage, which was given an early sneak screening for Toronto media after a long period sitting on the shelf because DEG had gone bust. (The film was eventually given a contractual and perfunctory release in theatres for a week – literally – and then on VHS, after which it completely disappeared.)
Williams also tried a few offshoot publications, including a premiere (and ultimately singular) journal devoted to Bruce Broughton,for which I wrote a piece on the composer’s underrated (and still unreleased) score for Last Rites (1988) – a rare theatrical venture by veteran TV writer / director / producer Donald Bellisario (JAG, Magnum P.I.).
Eventually From Silents to Satellites became Music from the Movies, and I continued to write CD reviews, contributed soundtrack producer interviews, book reviews, composer interviews, and a DVD column which, at the time, covered a steady series of DVD releases with composer commentaries and isolated score tracks – features that have virtually been abandoned for a number of reasons (which I did cover in a lengthy column / rant).
The magazine was later headed by Paul Place, and under his stewardship an online version was developed and maintained by Mikael Carlsson (whom I later interviewed when after he established his own superb label, MovieScore Media), after which the site’s reins were assumed by Michael Beek.
When the print magazine ceased publication in 2006, I continued to contribute soundtrack reviews and the DVD column, but as my own site (KQEK.com) became a time-hog, I slowly stepped away from the magazine’s website, which apparently went into stasis back in March of 2009, before it was re-launched in the fall of 2009 and continues to prosper.
As a former Senior Contributor, I’ve chosen to integrate almost all of my MFTM material at KQEK.com, excepting those which for the time being only exist in print form.
Interviews transposed and integrated into KQEK.com can be found via the Exclusive Interviews link, as well as Book Reviews and CD Reviews, whereas the remaining pieces have been organized here into three main sections: Articles (print), Interviews (print), and DVD Column (print and online editions). Each piece can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinked text.
- MRH
