Press Release from Music Box:
In collaboration with SND, Music Box Records proudly presents the remastered and expanded edition of Debbie Wiseman's score to the 2004 adventure crime film Arsène Lupin.
The film, based on the popular series of crime novels created by Maurice Leblanc, follows the adventures of Arsène Lupin, an aristocratic Belle Époque gentleman robber who preys on the rich and is kind to the poor. Fate teams him up with the beautiful and mysterious Countess of Cagliostro who is involved in a devious plot to recover the treasure of the Kings of France. The film is directed by Jean-Paul Salomé (Belphegor: Phantom of the Louvre) and stars Romain Duris, Kristin Scott Thomas, Pascal Greggory and Eva Green.
Celebrating the film's 20th anniversary, this new expanded edition finally allows listeners to fully appreciate the variety of Debbie Wiseman’s inspiration (with its delicious mix of action, romance, period drama and light comedy), from the evocation of the historical era the story is set in with waltzes, polkas and ragtime that she composed herself to the spectacular aspects of the plot with its multiple chases and twists and turns that are almost continuously accompanied with music. The magnificient and powerful score is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus, with special emphasis on an enlarged brass section, large-scale percussion, and solo performances of both a cimbalom and a glass harmonica. By its magnitude and thematic richness, Debbie Wiseman’s score for Arsène Lupin (Winner of Best Score for a Foreign Language Film and nominated for Score of the Year, Movie Music UK Awards, 2005) can retrospectively be considered as one of the last jewels of a symphonic tradition once prized by blockbusters.
Supervised by Debbie Wiseman, the program has been assembled and produced by musical supervisor Édouard Dubois. This present edition has been fully remastered from complete scoring session elements and features many previously unreleased tracks. The package includes a 16-page booklet featuring exclusive liner notes by writer Christian Lauliac and new comments by Debbie Wiseman, Jean-Paul Salomé, editor Marie-Pierre Renaud and Édouard Dubois. The release is limited to 500 units.