The Time Machine Remastered Score Review
Article by Kieran Burt
The Time Machine is a classic science fiction film, based upon the novel of the same name from H. G. Wells. It follows George, an inventor, who builds a working time machine and his adventure into the future. The score for the film, originally released in the 1960s, was composed by Russell Garcia, and was well praised for its romanticism and dramatic tones. Garcia recreated this score in 1987 with the Graunke Symphony Orchestra in Munich, Germany, which allowed the score to be rerecorded.
Earlier in 2022, 35 years after this landmark event, a remastered version of the soundtrack was released, including a bonus track titled Atlantis the Lost Continent, produced by Arnold Leibovit. This came in a CD format, where the CD came in a jewel case and a booklet with background information, along with an exclusive interview with Russell Garcia. Alternatively, the remastered soundtrack can be downloaded off Amazon.
To help promote the remaster, Leibovit also did an interview with Musique Fantastique. The full interview can be found here, as well as a link to purchase the CD copy of the remaster.
Getting into the remaster itself, it allows tracks to run for much longer than in the film, though as Leibovit says, this is much as restoration as well as a remaster. Tracks aren’t significantly altered, which means they are instantly recognisable when compared to their original. This helps the music retain its unique identity, with the added benefits of modern technology and techniques. With this approach, the sense of wonder resonating from the soundtrack is able to be brought to a generation that will have missed the original film.
The new bonus soundtrack that’s added, Atlantis The Lost Continent, fits excellently with the score of The Time Machine. It fits seamlessly into the remaster of The Time Machine’s score, so much so that it could easily be mistaken for a track from The Time Machine. When asked why he included this track, Leibovit explained that the film had struck a personal chord with him when he was nine, as a favour from Garcia.
This remaster is worth the purchase for fans of the old score, with its nostalgic sounds bringing pleasant memories of the sense of adventure that the original 1960 film brought, and with the added inclusion of a soundtrack of an equally adventurous film. It also comes at a time where a new generation is well-versed in new science fiction, whether that be new Star Wars, Marvel or other properties, encouraging them to watch a classic science fiction film based on the novel of one of the most important science fiction authors.
