When you consider all the bonus features that are included in many DVD and bluray special editions, it’s pretty surprising how little attention film soundtracks and scores get. Occasionally, I’ve seen discs with the film score on an isolated audio track, but that’s rarely ideal. Usually, you get the music in the context of the film, but since it is also edited to match the visuals, it’s not always “complete.”
A better approach would be to include the score or soundtrack as a separate disc. Obviously, those discs are usually available separately at your favorite record stores, but many film fans would happily pay a few dollars more for a DVD special edition package that included the music disc as a bonus.
The DVD release of Inglourious Basterds was available in a special edition that included the soundtrack. When the “Untitled” bootleg cut version of Almost Famous was released as a special edition DVD, the package included a six track CD of songs by the film’s fictional band, Stillwater. Very nice touch!
As rare as it is to see a soundtrack CD included as bonus material, it makes it all the more noteworthy when a high profile classic film from a major studio tosses in a score CD from a legendary composer as part of a home video release. To the surprise and delight of fans everywhere, the upcoming 35th anniversary edition of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial will indeed include John Williams’ iconic score on CD as part of the deluxe package.
There’s a good chance the score will also be released separately on CD, but there’s no official announcement on that yet. I’ve also noticed that several recent film scores I’ve been interested in purchasing were released on digital and vinyl, but not CD, so who knows?
But it’s E.T.! Do you need an excuse to buy this? If you haven’t upgraded your copy to bluray yet, this is an easy purchase. If you have 4K (does anyone actually own a 4K bluray player?) this is an even easier upgrade. The soundtrack CD is just bonus.
A very nice bonus!
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 35th Anniversary Edition comes out on September 12.
