For nearly twenty years, scholar and critic Royal S. Brown contributed a regular column, "Film Musings," to Fanfare magazine. This single volume assembles the material from these columns and presents Brown's reviews of significant recordings of movie scores. Although many of the reviews are of "original soundtrack recordings" for films released during the column's run, a number of the reviews also cover reissues of earlier recordings, as well as newly recorded versions of "classic" scores. In certain instances, Brown was even able to include in his column interviews with composers such as David Raksin (Laura) and Howard Shore (The Silence of the Lambs) concerning new recordings of their music. An expert on film and film music, Brown frequently offers controversial perspectives not just on the music but also on the film for which the music was composed, and in many cases, he stresses the interactions between the cinematic action and the score, an aspect generally ignored by most film-music critics. His perceptions are presented in an accessible style that will lead even readers who are new to the subject to discover many of the treasures of what once was a neglected art. Not intended as a guide for collectors—although many of the recordings discussed are still available—but rather to open new horizons in a unique art form, this is a collection that will appeal to anyone who is interested in both film and film music.

"...Film Musings is an excellent reference..." - Music From The Movies

"Brown's 'musings' are informed and informative..." - Film Review

"Brown (European languages and literatures, Queens College), a former music editor of Fanfare magazine, provides a selective collection of many of his columns mostly published as "Film Musings" in the magazine. They consist of reviews of recordings of film music and a few interviews with composers, arranged chronologically from 1983-2001. The films are in boldface for easy browsing and catalog numbers and other information has been omitted. Some articles have been revised and are noted when revisions appear. Indexes are by name and film." - Reference and Research Book News

"Royal Brown has producted the most sustained, lively, and well-informed body of film music criticism in the history of the genre....It's important, and refreshing, that, he considers the music he's reviewing as inseparable from the film....Brown writes in an entertaining, eclectic, personal style that can range from startlingly concise wit to arcane, cryptic prose....His overall voice is that of someone with unbounded enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the field." - Cineaste