Kritzerland is pleased to present a new world premiere limited edition soundtrack CD:
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS Music Composed and Conducted by Dana Kaproff
“HAVE YOU CHECKED THE CHILDREN?”
With that repeated line of dialogue, audiences seeing When a Stranger Calls in 1979 were put on the edge of their seats in one of the most nail-bitingly suspenseful opening scenes ever put on film. Between that film and Alien, it was a 1979 double whammy of suspense and chills. Oh, it’s easy from today’s perspective to sit in judgment and say, “Oh, it’s not so scary,” much the same way that kids today seeing Psycho don’t think that’s scary. Why? Because these films have been ripped off so many times, and the envelope they were pushing has now been pushed so much further, that the classic chillers of old look positively quaint today. The fact that most new movies look and sound exactly the same makes movies like When a Stranger Calls even more unique - a truly low-budget film ($700,000) that came out of nowhere and went on to be an audience and box-office sensation (grossing over $21 million when that actually meant something). And quaint it wasn’t in 1979.
When a Stranger Calls is sometimes called one of the first slasher films - only it’s not a slasher film at all and there were certainly many that came before - in fact, if you want to talk slashing, Psycho would probably be at the top of the list. When a Stranger Calls has no slashing - what it has is pure suspense - there is literally no gore, just some blood in a flashback, but you never see any violence committed. Gore is easy - suspense, pure suspense, is hard.
When a Stranger Calls began life as a short film called The Sitter, directed by Fred Walton. The Sitter was basically the first act of When a Stranger Calls. After the success of the 1978 John Carpenter film, Halloween, it was decided to expand the short film into a feature, starring Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Coleen Dewhurst, Rachel Roberts, and Tony Beckley. The film was instantly influential and many low-budget copycat films happened for quite some time thereafter, including the same director’s sequel, this one for TV, When a Stranger Calls Again. It was also remade in 2006, but the remake stretches out the original’s opening twenty minutes to feature length - and guess what? It doesn’t work.
When a Stranger Calls was Dana Kaproff’s second film score - his first was for Bert I. Gordon’s Empire of the Ants (released by Kritzerland) - and Kaproff deserves a good deal of the credit for the film’s suspense level. It is simply unthinkable to imagine this film without his score because his score is as much a leading player as any of its cast. It’s relentlessly suspenseful music - there are no pretty themes to lull you and give you security - just dread, pure dread, and then almost psychotic music for those moments when things, well, get out of hand. The score is written for strings, prepared piano, and percussion. It is a superb genre score and a classic.
This is the world premiere release of the soundtrack to When a Stranger Calls. The film, of course, was mono, as is this recording, taken from the original session tapes. We present every note of music Kaproff wrote, in film order, as that’s the way it plays best - like a symphony of dread and terror.
When a Stranger Calls is limited to 1000 copies only. ---レーベルより
トラックリスト
1. Main Title 2. The Ice Maker 3. Phone Calls in the Night 4. Have You Checked the Children? 5. Waiting/The Caller Confronts 6. He’s in the House 7. Curt and Tracy 8. Following Tracy/Curt on the Streets 9. Cat and Mouse 10. Be My Friend/Escape 11. The Mirror/Curt Remembers 12. The Flop House 13. Hide and Seek/ I’m Not Here, I Was Never Born 14. He’s Back/False Alarm 15. Sleepless Night/Closet 16. Disconnected/Strange Bedfellows 17. End Title
ベビーシッターを勤めるある若い女性が遭遇した幼児惨殺事件を発端に、大都会のひずみが生み出した孤独な人間の異常な行動を描くサスペンス映画。アボリアッツ・ファンタスティック映画祭で審査員特別賞を受賞。オリジナル・サウンドトラックが世界初リリース！音楽はダナ・カプロフで「巨大蟻の帝国」に続き、劇場作品２作目になる。限定1000枚。
トラックリスト夜のロサンゼルス。ジル(キャロル・ケイン)はベビー・シッターのアルバイトで、ある邸宅に赴いた。夫人が子供たちを寝つかせた後、彼女は留守中を預かり、夫婦は外出していった。広い邸の中で、1人夜を過ごしているジルのもとに電話のベルが鳴り響いた。はじめは何も応答がなかったが、それが2、3度続いたころ「子供の様子を見たか」という男の声がした。驚いたジルは、いたずら電話かと思ったが、一応警察に知らせた。逆探知の結果、なんとその電話は家の中からかかっていることが判明する。その時2階から忍びよる男の影が…。ちょうどその時、パトロール中の警官クリフォード(チャールズ・ダーニング)がドアを開け、男は捕えられ、ジルは無事に助けられる。しかし、子供たちは血まみれの死体となって発見された。犯人力ート・ダンカン(トニー・ベックリー)は精神異常者として死刑をまぬがれ精神病院に収容された。それから7年。ダンカンが脱走した。今は私立探偵となっていたクリフォードは、ダンカンがロサンゼルスに戻ってくるだろうと確信していた。イギリス人で船員としてやってきた彼が知っているたった1つの場所だからだ。案の定ダンカンはロスに戻っており、下町の酒場で会った中年女トレーシー(コリーン・デューハースト)につきまとっていた。トレーシーの協力で、ダンカンに近づくクリフォード。一方、ジルは、今では大企業の販売支配人を勤めるエリートの夫人におさまっており、彼女が近く共同募金の責任者になるという写真つきの記事が新聞にのった。そして、その写真を町中で見るダンカン。2人の子供を寝かせつけベビー・シッターに留守を預けて夫婦で食事に出かけたジルのもとに、電話が入った。受話器の向こうからは、あの7年前の声、「子供の様子を見たか」が聞こえてきた。悲鳴をあげ、家にかけつける彼女。子供は無事だったが、2、3日したある日、家に忍びこんで来たダンカンにジルが襲われる。が、そこに駆けつけたクリフォードが彼を撃ち殺すのだった。監督：フレッド・ウォルトン、出演：：キャロル・ケイン、チャールズ・ダーニング。1979年米。
Kritzerland is pleased to present a new world premiere limited edition soundtrack CD:
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
Music Composed and Conducted by Dana Kaproff
“HAVE YOU CHECKED THE CHILDREN?”
With that repeated line of dialogue, audiences seeing When a Stranger Calls in 1979 were put on the edge of their seats in one of the most nail-bitingly suspenseful opening scenes ever put on film. Between that film and Alien, it was a 1979 double whammy of suspense and chills. Oh, it’s easy from today’s perspective to sit in judgment and say, “Oh, it’s not so scary,” much the same way that kids today seeing Psycho don’t think that’s scary. Why? Because these films have been ripped off so many times, and the envelope they were pushing has now been pushed so much further, that the classic chillers of old look positively quaint today. The fact that most new movies look and sound exactly the same makes movies like When a Stranger Calls even more unique - a truly low-budget film ($700,000) that came out of nowhere and went on to be an audience and box-office sensation (grossing over $21 million when that actually meant something). And quaint it wasn’t in 1979.
When a Stranger Calls is sometimes called one of the first slasher films - only it’s not a slasher film at all and there were certainly many that came before - in fact, if you want to talk slashing, Psycho would probably be at the top of the list. When a Stranger Calls has no slashing - what it has is pure suspense - there is literally no gore, just some blood in a flashback, but you never see any violence committed. Gore is easy - suspense, pure suspense, is hard.
When a Stranger Calls began life as a short film called The Sitter, directed by Fred Walton. The Sitter was basically the first act of When a Stranger Calls. After the success of the 1978 John Carpenter film, Halloween, it was decided to expand the short film into a feature, starring Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Coleen Dewhurst, Rachel Roberts, and Tony Beckley. The film was instantly influential and many low-budget copycat films happened for quite some time thereafter, including the same director’s sequel, this one for TV, When a Stranger Calls Again. It was also remade in 2006, but the remake stretches out the original’s opening twenty minutes to feature length - and guess what? It doesn’t work.
When a Stranger Calls was Dana Kaproff’s second film score - his first was for Bert I. Gordon’s Empire of the Ants (released by Kritzerland) - and Kaproff deserves a good deal of the credit for the film’s suspense level. It is simply unthinkable to imagine this film without his score because his score is as much a leading player as any of its cast. It’s relentlessly suspenseful music - there are no pretty themes to lull you and give you security - just dread, pure dread, and then almost psychotic music for those moments when things, well, get out of hand. The score is written for strings, prepared piano, and percussion. It is a superb genre score and a classic.
This is the world premiere release of the soundtrack to When a Stranger Calls. The film, of course, was mono, as is this recording, taken from the original session tapes. We present every note of music Kaproff wrote, in film order, as that’s the way it plays best - like a symphony of dread and terror.
When a Stranger Calls is limited to 1000 copies only. ---レーベルより
1. Main Title
2. The Ice Maker
3. Phone Calls in the Night
4. Have You Checked the Children?
5. Waiting/The Caller Confronts
6. He’s in the House
7. Curt and Tracy
8. Following Tracy/Curt on the Streets
9. Cat and Mouse
10. Be My Friend/Escape
11. The Mirror/Curt Remembers
12. The Flop House
13. Hide and Seek/ I’m Not Here, I Was Never Born
14. He’s Back/False Alarm
15. Sleepless Night/Closet
16. Disconnected/Strange Bedfellows
17. End Title