Press Release from Chris' Soundtrack Corner:
Chris' Soundtrack Corner proudly presents the CD soundtrack to José María Forqué's LA DONNA DELLA CALDA TERRA (aka LA MUJER DE LA TIERRA CALIENTE, or FURY, as it's sometimes known in the English market). This 1978 film was a product of the resurgence of erotic cinema that took place during the 1970s, spearheaded by Sylvia Kristel's EMMANUELLE (1974). Among that film's many imitators is LA DONNA DELLA CALDA TERRA, starring Laura Gemser. Best known for BLACK EMANUELLE, Gemser gets paired up here with Stuart Whitman, one of Hollywood's top leading men of the 1960's. The film tells the story of two unnamed characters, The Man and The Woman, who end up hiding in the bed of a truck together during a long journey. Despite their different social backgrounds and a considerable age difference, the couple eventually share an intimate relationship but then lose touch with one another. When The Man finally tracks down the truck they'd been travelling in, there doesn't seem to be any trace of The Woman. Only a bottle of beer they shared gives him hope that what he experienced wasn't just a fever dream and they have a chance at reuniting.
The musical score for LA DONNA DELLA CALDA TERRA was composed by Carlo Savina, whose filmography covers almost every genre Italian cinema had to offer from the 1950s through the 1980s. His music here has an unusual distinction in that the score was heavily rethought during the editing and eventually the first half hour is left without music, except for the opening titles. Thus, Savina's score begins when the film changes up the narrative structure and instead of telling the stories on two parallel storylines, they start to intercut them more frequently in order to draw stronger parallels between The Man and The Woman. While there is a stronger focus on Gemser's storyline, the switch to a hunting trip in the Man's storyline helps to reframe the girl's next romance. Though our hero manages to catch up with the truck, The Woman isn't there anymore – but one final reprise of the main theme in the "End Title" gives us a hope that the couple will eventually meet up again.
Chris' Soundtrack Corner is delighted to make this score available for essentially the first time. With literally half the score going unused in the beginning of the film, this soundtrack album offers the first opportunity to enjoy the composer's playful variations of catchy thematic material, sensual tropical exotica, and even some highly melodramatic masterpieces wrapped up in a colourful package. The album is produced by Christian Riedrich and mastered by Manmade Mastering. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet designed by Tobias Kohlhaas and featuring detailed, exclusive notes by Gergely Hubai, who explores the making of the film and its score in detail.
