The Magnificent Seven – Varese Sarabande

Elmer Bernstein's classic score to the 1960 western, perhaps the last hurrah of traditional, pre-graphic-violence heroism. The film tanked at first in the US before European plaudits prompted re-promotion, and the Oscar-nominated music wasn't officially released until as late as the '90s. The title theme's unmistakable, and the sleevenotes to this package reveal two cute ironies. That theme, licensed out, sold more cigarettes than any other tobacco ad. Second, Bernstein was outside a Barcelona café last year, sitting by one of those mechanical horses that kids ride. It played his tune.