Instrumentation
2(II=picc).1(=ca).2(II=bcl).asax.1.cbsn - 3211 - timps- perc(3): 3 BD/3 tam-t/4 susp.cym/2 cyms/siz.cym/ch.cym/finger.cym/glsp/xyl/vib/bell plate/crot/t.bells/gong/2 anvil/deep unpitched bell/3 SD/BD+cym/field drum/2 tgl/factory hooter/guiro/cabassa/c.bell/tamb/2tpl.bl/whip/whistle/pno/3 vlc bow - accordion - harp -strings (min 8.6.4.4.2)
Availability
Full score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Starring: John Gilbert, Renee Adoree
Director: King Vidor
Production Company: MGM USA, 1925
Film Print: 35mm B&W print available from Photoplay Productions (Film Speed: 18-22 frames per second)
Recorded for video
Set in World War One, The Big Parade was the first film to portray the ordinary soldier with all his weaknesses and fears. The director, King Vidor, captured the anti-jingoistic mood of the American public at that time. John Gilbert's moving performance in the main role rocketed him to international stardom. He is one of three soldiers from different backgrounds who find themselves fighting side by side at the front. Their comradeship contrasts starkly with the normality of life back home, as does the vividness of a never-to-be-forgotten love. Carl Davis's score evokes the film's extreme variety of moods, ranging from expressionistic sounds used in the battlefield sequences to the rousing and sentimental popular songs of the day.