THE PASSAGE: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
BSXDG0185
Includes Digital Booklet
BSX DIGITAL presents the original soundtrack for THE PASSAGE, featuring music composed by Michael J. Lewis (JULIUS CAESAR, THEATRE OF BLOOD, SPHINX, FFOLKES), for the British action film directed by J. Lee Thompson (THE GUNS OF NAVARONE), written by Bruce Nicolaysen and Stephen Oliver, starring Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz, Paul Clemens, Christopher Lee, Michael Lonsdale and Marcel Bozzuffi.
Released in 1979, THE PASSAGE is set against the backdrop of World War II as a resilient Basque farmer (Quinn) is called upon by the French resistance to help facilitate the escape of John Bergson (Mason), a brilliant scientist, and his family across the treacherous Pyrenees mountains to the safety of neutral Spain. In pursuit is Captain Von Berkow (McDowell), a ruthless SS officer who perhaps enjoys his work a little too much...
THE PASSAGE is accompanied by a sweeping symphonic score that propels its narrative forward and heightens the palpable sense of danger throughout its key moments. Lewis’ compositions are expansive and lush, beautifully reflecting the breathtaking snowy landscapes where the film takes place. At the 70th Annual Academy Awards, the evocative ‘Apassionata’ from this score was used during the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, conducted by the great Jerry Goldsmith.
Michael J. Lewis is an Emmy award-winning composer of film, television, Broadway and choral works. Born in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, he studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After a brief teaching career in North London, he became a full-time composer at the age of 24.
Lewis was incredibly prolific in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His filmography includes THEATRE OF BLOOD, THE MEDUSA TOUCH, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, for which he earned an Emmy, JULIUS CAESAR, THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF, 11 HARROWHOUSE, THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT, NORTH SEA HIJACK also known as FFOLKES, THE ROSE AND THE JACKAL and YES, GIORGIO, a shared music credit with composer John Williams.
In addition, Lewis began writing music for British TV commercials for British Rail, Tesco, 7 Up, Ford, and Audi and after relocating to the United States, he scored national TV campaigns for IBM, Lipton, Kentucky Fried Chicken, 3M, and Connecticut National Bank.
Following the passing of his daughter in 1994, the composer shifted his interest from film to the writing and adapting of music and vocals, both sacred and secular, from his native homeland. Michael J. Lewis currently resides and composes amidst the pines of Mississippi, the birthplace of American music, and continues to record in New Orleans, home of the Blues.
BSX Digital presents THE PASSAGE, featuring music composed and conducted by Michael J. Lewis, meticulously remastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland, honoring the composer’s original vision by following the intended order of the music.
