© 2000 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title	Film Composer Selection NIKKATSU
CD Label	Vap Inc. Japan
CD Number	VPCD-81189
Music by:	Akira Ifukube
Number of tracks	46
Running time	71:13
Number of discs	1
Year of release/manufacture	1997

REVIEW

March 12, 2000 This CD is a mixed bag of styles. Track #5 sounds like a marching band version of the Godzilla theme. Tracks #7 & #9 sound similar to the scene in the 1954 original where Godzilla is dying from the Oxygen Destroyer. Tracks #8 & #24 are female vocals. Track #10 is jazzy jungle music. Track #11 is a male singing "Nobody Knows My Sorrow" in English. Track #13 is another male vocal sung in Japanese. Track #38 is a male & female chorus number. There are a lot of short tracks on this CD clocking in at under 1 minute each. Overall this is a nice mix of slow pieces and rousing marches. A few of the tracks have a jazz feel to them and sound more like something Masaru Satoh would do instead of Akira Ifukube.

English Title: The Complete Collection of Unreleased Soundtracks by Akira Ifukube: The Nikkatsu Collection Japanese Title: Ifukube Akira Mihappyo Eiga Ongaku Zenshu - Nikkatsu Hen [The Maid's Child *1] 1. The Nikkatsu Logo 2. Writing Home 3. Running with the Puppy(ies) 4. Catching Sparrows 5. Field Day 6. Longing to Behold 7. The Snowstorm 8. Lullaby 9. The Day of Parting [Scoundrels of the Sea *2] 10. Main Title 11. Negro Spirituals 12. Coup d'etat! 13. Revolutionary Song: "Burn, Flame, Burn!" [Tear Down Those Walls *3] 14. Main Title 15. Off To See My Lover 16. Piano Solo 17. The Trial 18. Sakiko *4 19. Shadowed ? The Body of the Victim [The Imperial Bank - Death Row Prisoner *5] 20. Visitor of Death 21. Harrison, the Army Civilian Employee 22. Delays in the Investigation 23. Wounded Soldier(s) 24. The Hirasawa Family 25. Transporting the Suspect(s) under Escort 26. The Reporter's Dilemma 27. Under the Pretext of Flowers... *6 28. "Extra! Extra!" 29. The Judgment 30. The Interview Room [The Japanese Archipelago *7] 31. Akiyama's Duty 32. The Mystery of the Drowned Body(ies) 33. Harmonica Solo 34. Snowy Funeral *8 35. Dubinoska *9 36. Screams [The Burmese Harp] 37. Main Title 38. The Traveling Blues 39. The Scout(s) 40. Moonlight 41. The Journey Begins 42. News of Mizushima 43. A Meager Dwelling 44. Cinerarium 45. The Moon over Araki 46. Ending *1 The IMDb does not offer an English title for this film, the Japanese title of which is "Jochukko". *2 The IMDb does not offer an English title for this work, the Japanese title of which is "Umi No Yarodomo". *3 The IMDb does not offer an English title for this work, the Japanese title of which is "Sono Kabe Wo Kudake". *4 A girl's name. *5 The IMDb does not offer an English title for this work, the Japanese title of which is "Tegin Jiken Sikeishu". *6 Or possibly "Placing trust in the flowers". *7 The IMDb does not offer an English title for this work, the Japanese title of which is "Nihon Retto". *8 Or possibly, "Yuki's Funeral" (The word 'yuki' means 'snow', but it is also a popular girl's name in Japan) *9 This is a literal transliteration of the Japanese.