An unusually eclectic compilation from Varese that tries to cover every film music base from Alex North to Ennio Morricone and John Williams to Richard Rodney Bennett. The Golden Age Revisited part of the title does rather suggest a selection from longer ago, but still includes such more recent entries as Raiders of the Lost Ark and perhaps most strangely Poltergeist. However, the inclusion of Poltergeist and Papillon is certainly a welcome addition for me. This is evidently extracted from Goldsmith's famous concert opus, the Motion Picture Suite. These two entries I have always enjoyed the most; they are not only gorgeous in their own right and two of Goldsmith's most memorable themes, but are combined quite superbly in the suite. I have always preferred (curiously enough) the Poltergeist theme without choir as it is presented here.
Raiders of the Lost Ark seems a strange choice for a single Williams entry, when perhaps something more romantic such as Leia's Theme or Han and Leia's Theme or Luke and Leia's Theme or... ok, there are no more combinations with Leia... but any of them would perhaps been more suitable given the general sweep of the album. Similarly curious is The Man with the Harmonica from Once Upon a Time in the West which is quite a wonderful piece, but would not Deborah's Theme from Once Upon a Time in America have fitted better? Whatever the case, some of the other (older) choices are a little more in keeping with the general tone they are keen to conjur. Gone with the Wind features one of the most sweeping love themes ever, as do Casablanca and Doctor Zhivago. Alex North does surprisingly well with the very syrupy love theme from Spartacus given an ultra gooey performance here and the rather lovely Unchainded Melody, annoyingly associated with Ghost. Annoying because it was written for the movie Unchained and also because Maurice Jarre's own theme Ghost is fabulous. However, the performance is rather lovely even if it doesn't quite match Jarre's instrumental reading on the original Ghost album. I am only familiar with Richard Rodney Bennett through Gormenghast, but after the far more traditional and romantic Murder on the Orient Express I would certainly be keen to hear more. On the other hand, High Noon's theme turned into the first pop song cash in and a hideous song to boot, Oh my Darlin' does little to convince me that I will ever like Dimitri Tiomkin. The suite of songs by Henry Mancini are pleasant, but only Moon River sticks in the mind, probably due to its already famous stature.
Most film music fans will own everything they would ever care to from this album, but it would certainly be a decent album to start with for the casual collector. The arrangements are passably authentic; in other words no desperate attempt to turn it into a pops album on the whole. The performances are technically proficient although the recording does tend to muddy the orchestral detail which is unfortunate. The liner notes are more general, but provide above the usual level of information for such general compilations.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 69:40