Silva Screen Records release Georges Delerue’s score for the 1982 movie The Escape Artist in digital and CD formats. The film stars Griffin O'Neal and Raul Julia, and tells the tale of a young boy determined to follow in the footsteps of his father, "the greatest escape artist except for Houdini". The script was penned by E.T.'s own Melissa Mathison and based on a novel by David Wagoner...

The Escape Artist is one of the four reissues from Coppola's American Zoetrope catalogue, the first two being The Godfather Suite and The Conversation, followed by Hammett and, now, The Escape Artist. Long out of print, The Escape Artist is a reissue of a 2005 limited-edition CD. This new edition features new artwork, based on the original US poster, extensive notes by Michael Beek and a new interview with director Caleb Deschanel.

Back in 2018 we reviewed Varèse Sarabande's release of Georges Delerue's The Complete London Sessions. One of the highlights on that collection was 'The Escape Artist Suite', 7 min, 24 sec of beautifully presented music. The main theme, which is revisited in different guises throughout the 26 tracks (55 min, 39 sec), has a melancholic music box waltz at its core.

The first 17 tracks (35 min, 22 sec) are made up of the main score, with the last 9 tracks (20 min, 17 sec) comprised of bonus tracks. There's suspense and intrigue in tracks like 'Getting Ready for the Big Time' and 'Harry Masters' and upbeat action/adventure segments like the jazz-enfused 'Danny's Arrival' and 'The Burial Shop' (which reminded me of Ed Welch's score for The 39 Steps.

While a lot of the tracks are short and sweet, it doesn't detract from just how intricately composed and wonderfully presented they are. While I could give or take the majority of the bonus tracks, it was nice to see them added for completists.

Overall, this is a wonderful presentation of a remarkable score.

10

Darren Rea