Francis Lai

Spring 2016 will be the 50th anniversary of the music for A Man and a Woman, Francis Lai's birth-certificate as a film-music composer. To commemorate the event, Play-Time is proud to present this 7CD boxed set entitled Francis Lai Anthology, a collection whose simple aim is to present the (very) original soundtracks composed by the great Lai, now carefully restored for the occasion. Each album in the set has its own concept: Lelouch-Belmondo for example, with the music from Itinerary of a Spoiled Child and Love is a Funny Thing, or Lelouch-Hallyday, notably for the electrifying score from L'Aventure, c'est l'aventure (Money Money Money), a pop tsunami that was never published after the film's release… until now. The set also includes the CD Double polars (from the films Body of my Enemy and The Crook), the iconic original score of Bilitis, here for the first time in its splendid unabbreviated version, and also a CD devoted to the productive association between Francis Lai and René Clément (with the music from their films And Hope to Die and The Baby sitter). Along the way, the contents reveal previously unreleased music and other rarities: the complete signature-tunes that Lai composed for FR3 Television; pieces written for short films (notably works directed by Claude Pinoteau); and an iconoclastic reading of Les Etoiles du Cinéma, specially recorded by the brilliant pianist and composer Jean-Michel Bernard in tribute to his master.

Quartet Records, Paramount Pictures and Universal Music Group present the remastered, expanded release of the iconic score by the great Francis Lai (A Man and A Woman, Life for Life, House of Cards, Dark Eyes, Bilitis) for the unforgettable 1970 romantic classic Love Story, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Ryan O’Neal, Ali McGraw, Ray Milland and John Marley. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and O’Neal and McGraw’s performances, but won only in the Best Original Score category (the only Oscar ever won by the prolific French composer). The choice of Francis Lai was a personal obsession of producer Robert Evans, who pursued the composer until he accepted, despite Lai initially refusing to compose the score due to other commitments. But Evans’ intuition was spot-on. Today, Lai’s Love Story score remains one of the most memorable and richly lyrical works in the canon of romantic film scores. The main theme remains one of the most famous melodies in film history, covered countess times—including an especially memorable arrangement by Henry Mancini for RCA.

Du soleil plein les yeux is a sentimental comedy directed by Michel Boisrond in 1969.Best remembered for his Oscar-winning scores to A Man and a Woman and Love Story, composer Francis Lai was born April 26, 1932, in Nice, France.

Quartet Records and FGL Productions present the premiere complete edition of two western scores by classic French composer Francis Lai (A Man and a Woman, Love Story, The Bobo, Le Baby-sitter, Bilitis), one of the greatest creators of melodies in film music history.

Polydor France has released a soundtrack album for Claude Lelouch’s drama The Best Years of a Life (Les plus belles années d’une vie). The album features the film’s original music composed by Academy Award winner Francis Lai (Love Story, Bolero) and French singer/songwriter Calogero. The project marks the final film scoring project of Lai who passed away last November. Also included is the original title song by Calogero & Nicole Croisille.

Les Uns et les Autres is a 1981 French film by Claude Lelouch. The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work, along with Un Homme et une Femme. It won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.