Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide

Digitmovies presents the fifth volume of the Italian Peplum series: Gino Marinuzzi Jr.’s original score for the 1961 movie “Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide” (aka Hercule à la conquête de l’Atlantide - Hercules and the Captive Women) directed by Vittorio Cottafavi and starring Reg Park (in the role of Ercole), Fay Spain, Ettore Manni, Laura Efrikian, Enrico Maria Salerno and Gian Maria Volontè. Symphonic composer and electronic music expert Gino Marinuzzi Jr. (son of the famous orchestra conductor Gino Marinuzzi) was the author of quite a few original movie scores like “Le voci bianche” (1964) by Pasquale Festa Campanile, “Terrore nello Spazio (1965) by Mario Bava (available on Digitmovies CDDM007), “La mandragola” (1965) by Alberto Lattuada and of the original television score “Jeckyll” (1969) directed by and starring Giorgio Albertazzi. This CD release was made possible once again thanks to the help of our friends at C.A.M. who authorized the project and in whose historic archives the original mono session elements had been preserved for 45 years. For the movie “Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide” Gino Marinuzzi Jr. provided an adventurous musical comment: “Titoli di testa” (Tr. 1) begins with an intro for percussions (heard during the tavern-ballet-scene) and reaches then its climax through an orchestral and choral development. The piece “Processione” (Tr.2) written for female voices with bell accompaniment gives a religious and mystical touch to the score. The main theme is reprised in a slower rendition (in calm pastoral mood) for flute, oboe and orchestra (Tr. 3). Powerful, rhythmic music (Tr. 5) accompanies the scene of potent Hercules blocking the ship occupied by his revolted crew. After the shipwreck, Hercules strands on a strange Island: the mysterious, a bit magical atmosphere music perfectly (Tr. 6) describes the scene. The battle between Hercules and demonic God Proteus is underscored by experimental electronic music (Tr. 7), the only electronic sequence that has survived. M°Marinuzzi Jr. had written quite a few electronic sequences recorded on tapes for his private archives that went lost, unfortunately. Another reprise of the epic main theme for orchestra and choir (Tr. 8) is heard during the scene in which the young woman saved by Hercules from Proteus shows the horizon of her native land, the marvellous Atlantis. A delicious love theme is presented after a dramatic intro in Tr. 9, reprised also in Tr. 14. The main theme is reprised again with different variations: as a rhythmic Ballet (Tr. 10), in suspense mood featuring tremolo violin, oboe and celesta (Tr. 11, Tr. 12) and in a dramatic version for percussion and wind used for the prisoners’ valley scene (Tr. 13). The score concludes with a heroic reprise of the main theme (Tr. 18). As a bonus, our CD contains 5 takes of the main themes: a version without choir of “Titoli” (Tr. 19) and of “Arrivo ad Atlantide” (Tr.21), a percussion only version of “Ercole contro Proteo” (Tr.22), a version without percussion of “Ercole trattiene la nave” (Tr. 22) and last the stereo version of “Ercole trattiene la nave”.