The Blue Max

One of Jerry Goldsmith's best scores of the 1960s, and one that has bounced between several labels on LP and CD, The Blue Max finally comes into its own on Sony's expanded compact disc reissue, which boasts not only superior sound but all of the little bits of background source music used in various scenes in the movie. The film is a war epic dealing with the lives and ambitions of German aviators during the First World War. Goldsmith works from military and flight motives, and provides enough rich and unexpected twists in his approach to delight even those listeners who aren't overly devoted to the film. The flight-inspired material, most notably "First Blood," comprise the best parts of the score, which, alas, isn't quite strong enough to stand on its own. The sound on the LPs and old CDs suffered the typical weaknesses of mid-'60s recording, but the new digital transfer makes up for most of these problems. ~ Bruce Eder