Riz Ortolani

2CD, limited edition of 350. If the western showed one side of Ortolani, the poliziottesco and the gangster film showed several others. This collection brings together his music for three pictures that sit at different points along that spectrum: The Valachi Papers (1972), Banditi a Milano (1968) and Io ho paura (1977). Each reflects a distinct corner of Italian crime cinema, and each shows the same ability to fold dramatic weight into writing of real sophistication.

For The Valachi Papers, directed by Terence Young with Charles Bronson and Lino Ventura, Ortolani built a score that holds the brutality and the tragedy of organised crime in the same frame, sweeping orchestral passages giving way to darker, tension-filled material. Banditi a Milano, directed by Carlo Lizzani with Tomas Milian and Gian Maria Volonté, answers the film's documentary-styled portrait of urban violence with urgent rhythms and hard shake grooves, capped by Strange World, sung by Ortolani's wife Katyna Ranieri to a lyric by Norman Newell. For Damiano Damiani's politically charged Io ho paura, starring Volonté and Mario Adorf, the writing turns inward, balancing suspense, melancholy and psychological depth.

Heard side by side, the three confirm Ortolani as one of the most versatile voices in European film music, a composer who could lift genre cinema through melody and atmosphere rather than bombast. The set has been produced by Claudio Fuiano from the original elements, courtesy of the Ortolani estate and Errekappa Edizioni, restored and mastered by Chris Malone, with an essay by Miguel Ángel Ordóñez.

A long-overdue gathering of three scores that have circulated only in fragments until now. Limited to 350 copies. The crime-soundtrack crowd moves fast on these, so grab it while you can.

Music by Riz Ortolani. Comprising the scores for The Valachi Papers (1972), Banditi a Milano (1968) and Io ho paura (1977). Produced by Claudio Fuiano from the original elements, courtesy of the Ortolani estate and Errekappa Edizioni; restored and mastered by Chris Malone. Booklet essay by Miguel Ángel Ordóñez.