Uomini e Lupi

Digitmovies presents the second volume of the de-luxe digipack series by releasing for the first time ever on a double CD set the complete OST by Mario Nascimbene from the movie “Uomini e lupi” (aka “Men and Wolves”) directed by Giuseppe De Santis in 1956 and starring Silvana Mangano, Yves Montand , Pedro Armendáriz, Irene Cefaro, Guido Celano, Giulio Cali, Euro Teodori, John Matta, Maria Zanoli, Maria Luisa Rolando, Renato Terra. In a town of Abruzzo all the best hunters meet for a race of wolf hunting. The winner’s prize is twenty thousand liras. Giovanni (Armendariz) arrives with his beautiful wife Teresa (Mangano) and hopes to capture a specimen alive which can then be sold to a zoo. Ricuccio (Montand) pretends to be a “luparo” (wolf hunter), but he’s a blowhard mostly interested in winning the girls. Giovanni’s death and the descent of a pack of wolves that threatens the village will change everything. It has been reported that the shooting occurred near the village of Scanno (there are also geographical references such as Lake Scanno and Vecchia Frattura which were used as locations). In several recent screenings of the film in the towns of Scanno, people remembered that the shooting had occurred on this site in 1956. It has also been reported by several reliable sources that the original length of the film was 3,300 meters, but the production insisted on a length which should not exceed 2,800 meters. De Santis refused each cut and left the work. Then editing, music and mixing were not controlled by the director anymore who - unsuccessfully - tried to remove his name from the movie credits. Mario Nascimbene had already collaborated with the filmmaker from Fondi before when writing the scorefor “Roma ore 11” (1952), “Giorni d’amore” (1954), and later on he worked with him on“La garçonnière” (1960). Mario Nascimbene (Milan, 1913 - Rome, 2002) is undoubtedly one of the greatest international names in film music, creator of experimental sounds with the invention of his prodigious “Mixerama”, the first Italian composer who was able to cross the golden gates of Hollywood in 1954 for the movie “La contessa scalza” (aka “The Barefoot Contessa”) which was followed by many more scores for American and British films, but he was also very active in Italy. In 1956 he wrote in Hollywood the score to “Alessandro il Grande (Alexander the Great) starring Richard Burton and here in Italy the music for “Uomini e lupi”, an extremely dramatic symphonic score which also includes popular instrumental themes for harmonica and guitar and with mixed choir. The author (as he wrote in his official biography “Malgrè moi, musicista”) wanted to create a “sound design” with the steps of wolves in the snow, like a savage, tribal tam- tam, of a rebellious nature which melds with a traditional symphonic orchestra beautifully conducted by Franco Ferrara. For this double CD set we have used the master tapes in mono of the recording sessions from 1956 well preserved until today which allowed us to use every note recorded, including alternate versions, choral pieces and pieces with solo male voice so that our double CD has a duration of 88:14. A proper rescue and preservation of the Italian Golden Age, the music art of Mario Nascimbene and a sincere tribute to the land of Abruzzo which with its natural beauty has been the backdrop for the film.