Academy prepares Miklós Rózsa salute

Jul 16, 2007 by Ian Evans

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be hosting a weekend-long centennial salute to 17-time Oscar®-nominated composer Miklós Rózsa beginning on Friday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Music critic and historian Jon Burlingame will host the opening evening, which will feature an overview of Rózsa’s film career, which spanned many genres. Clips showcasing Rózsa’s Oscar-nominated and winning film scores, including those for Jungle Book (1942), Spellbound (1945), The Naked City (1948) and Ben-Hur (1959), will be shown. The evening also will include a screening of Ivanhoe (1952), for which Rózsa received his 13th Oscar nomination, and a panel discussion with film historian Rudy Behlmer, Academy Music Branch Governor Bruce Broughton, and Juliet Rózsa, the composer’s daughter.

On Saturday, August 18, and Sunday, August 19, the salute continues at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood with screenings of three more films featuring Rózsa’s Oscar-nominated scores.

The complete schedule is as follows:

• Friday, August 17, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater 7:30 p.m.: __Ivanhoe__. A new 35mm print will be screened. * Saturday, August 18, at the Linwood Dunn Theater ** 7 p.m.: The Thief of Bagdad (1940). A 35mm Technicolor print will be screened.
  • 9 p.m.: "The Killers" (1946). A new 35mm print will be screened. * Sunday, August 19, at the Linwood Dunn Theater 7 p.m.: El Cid (1961). An original 35mm Technicolor print will be screened.

Rózsa was born in Budapest in 1907. He won Academy Awards® for his original scores for Spellbound, A Double Life (1947) and Ben-Hur, and was a three-time double nominee (in 1941, 1944, 1961) as well as a triple nominee in 1945. Rózsa received Oscar nominations for his original scores for The Thief of Bagdad; Lydia and Sundown in 1941; Jungle Book; Double Indemnity and Woman of the Town in 1944; The Lost Weekend, and A Song to Remember (with Morris Stoloff) in 1945; The Killers; Quo Vadis in 1951; Ivanhoe; Julius Caesar in 1953; and El Cid. Rózsa received one nomination for Original Song for Love Theme From El Cid (The Falcon and The Dove) (Music by Rózsa; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster).

Tickets to each evening of An Academy Centennial Salute to Miklós Rózsa are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They will be available beginning August 1 by mail or at the Academy box office during regular business hours. Tickets also may be purchased online at www.oscars.org/events. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street, Hollywood. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.