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Released by Special Arrangement with Turner Classic Movies Music
Green Mansions (1959) is one of the most unusual soundtracks created during Hollywood's Golden Age. Based on a novel by W.H. Hudson, the film stars Audrey Hepburn as Rima, the mysterious "bird girl" of the Venezuelan rain forest who romances a political refugee played by Anthony Perkins. The film was directed by Mel Ferrer (Hepburn's husband at the time) and shot with great expense in South America as well as at M-G-M's Culver City studios.
M-G-M had attempted to launch Green Mansions for several years, and one constant was their desire—which they eventually realized—to enlist for the soundtrack one of the greatest composers of the Americas: Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959). Villa-Lobos was known for his "jungle music" for the concert hall as well as his flamboyant personality, and M-G-M succeeded in bringing him on board in a rare film venture.
When the exigencies of film composition proved too much for Villa-Lobos, the studio relied upon their venerable Bronislau Kaper—who was already providing the love theme for the picture—to adapt Villa-Lobos' score to fit the nuances and timings of the screen action. The result was an unusual synthesis of Villa-Lobos' gorgeous, impressionistic writing with Kaper's sturdy film presence.
Villa-Lobos proceeded to adapt his Green Mansions score for a concert hall work, "Forest of the Amazons," which has been recorded on LP and CD. However, this CD marks the premiere release of the film's original soundtrack itself, featuring Villa-Lobos' music as adapted and expanded upon by Kaper. Some cues are pure Villa-Lobos, others pure Kaper; most fall somewhere in-between, for a fascinating listening experience.
This CD features the complete dramatic score as heard in the film, with selected source music and unused cues. Due to missing masters, the Anthony Perkins vocal source cue is not included. Liner notes by Bill Whitaker and Jeff Bond chronicle the behind-the-scenes odyssey of Villa-Lobos' involvement, and the precise use of his music in the finished film.
