The first thing that struck me about this recording was the small size of the orchestra and the very close-miked/dry sound quality. This sound quality does add to the character of the sinister cue "Nightmare at 20,000 feet," but for some of the warmer cues I feel it may have been more appropriate to have more resonance. I wouldn't call the recording bad, but it did take some time to get use to.

This score is broken up into 5 suites (length of 5-11min each) of Jerry's music, sandwiched between the Main and End titles from the Twilight Zone TV series. There is also a (bad) vocal song right in the middle. I believe that the Twilight Zone theme was composed by Marius Constant, but the liner notes fail to credit him. The only instances of the Twilight Zone theme are in the first and last tracks (about 45 seconds each). In other words, Jerry does not incorporate the Constant theme into his music.

My favorite piece, the 5 minute "Overture," introduces the themes from all segments of the movie. It sounds like something that would be used for the End Credits.

The third track on the disc is "Time Out," a piece that goes on for almost seven minutes. I guess the 'highlight' of this cue is the pouncing on the piano and timpani drums. Not really the most pleasant music to listen to, in my opinion.

"Kick the Can" (10 minutes) contains my favorite theme Jerry came up with for this score, which sounds like a Rudy-style 3/4 "waltz." The end of the cue has a strange, short vocal over it, which really scared the heck out of me the first time I heard it.

Most of the 11 minutes from "It's a Good Life" are pretty uneventful. It has a few rousing parts, and even contains some of the sound effects that Goldsmith used in Gremlins.

If you fell asleep during the last track, the bombarding 7 minutes of "Nightmare at 20,000 feet" should wake you up. The really fun stuff doesn't start until you've listened about 2.5 minutes into the cue. Sections of this track have string parts right out of "Gremlins" and great blasting brass and bass drum notes.

The vocal cue (track 5) ?Nights are Forever? --- no comment.

I know that some of my comments may be a bit harsh, but I really recommend that you get this one! I think this score really displays Jerry's ability to write a variety of musical styles all in one piece of work.

A note about the packaging: the absence of track numbers is a minor annoyance.

NP: Twilight Zone: The Movie

My SECOND FAVORITE MOMENT from this entire score is that sequence when the "Gremlin" wags his finger at Lithgow, and then swiftly flies away.

A man sits at his desk on the telephone. The desk is cluttered and the base of the telephone is not visible underneath piles of money. The man is STEVEN SPIELBERG. A knock is heard at the door.

STEVEN
Come in!

The doors opens revealing a middle-aged man with long, nicely cropped, gray hair. He is JERRY GOLDSMITH. JERRY enters and shuts the door behind him. STEVEN motions him over to sit down. JERRY sits and looks around the room.

STEVEN (to phone)
...well yeah I want him off the picture. I've had to tell him how to set up every shot for God's sake!.

STEVEN covers the receiver with one hand and looks over to JERRY.

STEVEN
Kick the Can?

JERRY
Um, yes...?

STEVEN
Do your best...and then take it
up to John William's level.

JERRY frowns. STEVEN takes his hand from covering the receiver and points to it like its urgent. JERRY gets up slowly and walks towards the door, glances back at STEVEN and then leaves the office.

Having said that, no matter how deficient the movie and how excellent Goldsmith’s music, the score to TWILIGHT ZONE-THE MOVIE, like almost all film scores, is best heard within the movie.