Hugo Friedhofer "The Best Years of Our Lives" The Homecoming 2/7

This video pays tribute to the legendary film composer, Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer, who received a much-deserved Oscar in 1946 for his brilliant, much lauded score for the William Wyler directed film, "The Best Years of Our Lives".

Friedhofer's score, which was analysed in several serious musicological journals at the time, presently ranks sixth in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Film Scores of All Time.

The music for "Homecoming" is introduced half-way through the episode where the three ex-service personnel, Fred Derry [Dana Andrews], Al Stephenson [Frederic March] and Homer Parrish [Harold Russell], return home to Boone City aboard an Air Transport Command plane. As Fred and Al converse the music, with its pedal points and its mysterious ostinato figure, which is taken from the Main Title's second motif, suggests the limbo in which the returning serviceman find themselves.

After Homer wakes up, and is dazzled by the sky and cloud formations, a chorale motif reinforces the visual splendour of the expanses outside the plane. As the three men gather in the nose to witness the landing Friedhofer introduces a very Americana sounding series of parallel chords in the strings, introducing the jaunty "Boon City" motif for the ride through the city.

The warmly chordal "Neighbours" motif is introduced as the taxi arrives at Homer's residence. The "Octive" motif, which is introduced in the Main Title, mingles with the "Neighbours" motif as Homer is reunited with his family and his childhood sweetheart, Wilma [Cathy O'Donnell]. The sequence concludes with a distant, muted trumpet figure hinting at the "Neighbours" motif as the taxi pulls away.H

The recording, which was produced by John Steven Lasher for Entr'acte Recording Society, is (P) © 2000 Fifth Continent Australia Pty Ltd. t/a Fifth Continent Music Classics. All Rights Reserved.

The Label X CD [LXCD 14] is available on iTunes and Amazon.com. Another CD of our copyrighted material released by Membran GmbH in Germany is a pirated edition which has been removed due to copyright infringement.