Based on the novel Waltz Into Darkness by William Irish, Mississippi Mermaid (La Sirène du Mississipi) is a 1969 stylish thriller written and directed by Francois Truffaut (The 400 Blows, Fahrenheit 451 and Day for Night). It tells the story of Louis Mahé, a French tobacco plantation owner (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who becomes engaged to Marion (Catherine Deneuve), a woman he never met yet corresponded with during his time at Reunion Island. She pretends to be another woman in order to steal his money.
Antoine Duhamel had scored a trio of Truffaut's films between 1968 and 1970 (Baisers Volés, L'Enfant sauvage, an adaptation of music by Vivaldi, and Domicile conjugal, with accents from a later period of Stravinsky). This edition presents the complete original score for Mississippi Mermaid with more than 50 minutes even though only 25 minutes were kept in the original film version. The film's music is superb for its orchestral-driven score that has some serene moments but also some eerie moments for the film's suspense. Antoine Duhamel also heightens the Hitcockian vibe with his Bernard Herrmann inspired score with its jagged and anxious strings, recalling a certain atmosphere from Psycho or North by Northwest.
In collaboration with MGM, Music Box Records presents the newly remastered reissue of the complete score for Mississippi Mermaid, featuring the same content previously issued by Milan Records in 1991. The CD comes with an 8-page booklet featuring liner notes by Gilles Loison who discusses the film and the score
Track listing
1. Louis Mahé attend la fiancée inconnue (02:46) 2. Le port (03:44) 3. Rencontre de l'énigmatique Julie / Est-ce le bonheur ? (04:21) 4. Qui est réellement Julie ? (01:59) 5. Julie la voleuse disparaît / L'enquête est lancée (01:59) 6. Louis quitte la Réunion à ses trousses / Cauchemar (04:16) 7. Julie-Marion retrouvée / Confession de Marion (06:33) 8. Le détective ne lâche pas la trace / Fugue amoureuse à Aix (02:57) 9. Refuge et meurtre dans la maison de Provence (04:53) 10. La planque à Lyon / Plus d'argent (02:47) 11. Querelle et angoissse (03:18) 12. La police les cerne / Fuite vers la neige (05:41) 13. La peau de chagrin / Le chalet des rats (03:48) 14. Souffrance et délivrance (02:39)
Total Disc Time 51:53 |
