Nothing better...although Morricone's Lolita, Malena and Cinema Paradiso are up there on Mount Olympus with this. I love this so much...it brings tears to my eyes. Every time I play it...I have to go somewhere private to let it out.
I truly miss this era for its emotional scores of this caliber. They never shy'd away from being frank & open about emotions. We live in an era of disconnect now. So it's no surprise to me that I keep going back.. even to times before I was born.
John Barry is an amazing artist. I fell in love with this score the first time i saw walkabout when i was around 15. Nearly 30 years later it never fails to move me. Incredible, beautiful. Words can never do it justice. Play it at my funeral.
Combined with the visuals from the film, it can reduce the most macho of men to tears. Simply unforgettable. Stunning! I saw it at the drive-in would you believe, and I have not forgotten it to this day.
Into my heart an air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.
I love the film especially that last shot when Jenny is looking at camera. The moment of innocence that you left behind and cannot get back beautifully poetic.
What a film, beautiful scenery, amazing sound effects and this theme music: such a beautiful accompaniment to the the land of lost content, reminding me of my own lost loves, bringing tears to my eyes. Jenny Agutters look at the end says it all.
....you could go away from this music for years & years, & come back to it & all that time would have stood still. As if nothing had changed & you came back to your roots. It truly is a gifted piece of music.
'Agutter's face at the end of the film is heartbreaking' - Absolutely spot on - wonderful film, stunning score, we miss movie music like this, we miss Barry, simple...
Her face says it all. What an adventure this young girl and her brother had & what an amazing encounter with a young man earning his manhood by doing his required Walkabout. She'll never forget it, and she will never mention it either. Leaves you with an uncentered feeling about settler colonials' worlds.
John Barry at his finest composing. The film is a beautiful classic all the way through. The ending with this and the poem just hits such sadness and such a sense of loss - within me, never mind the film characters. God its just so sad.
To say this man was a genius is truly an understatement. His music is so moving. Every score he wrote suited the situation. I know it isn't manly but his music certainly brings a lump to my throat.
Ohh I so agree. This is one the saddest endings to a film I have ever felt. Even now just watching the very end, still has a lump in throat and tears in my eyes - its the combination with the reading of that poem. God its just sooo sooo sad. My heart cries
This almost rips my heart out.....spectacularly gorgeous, but heart wrenching. Since I viewed in 1971.....one of my all time favourite films and scores!
Beautiful choice, I chose James Taylor's "You can close your eyes" at my Mum's cremation 10 years ago. It's impossible to convey the power & emotional impact music has on every individual, but it soothes all our souls at times like these & like absent loved ones, is eternal. Best wishes.
John Barry last album is called Eternal Echoes. This is his lesser known Masterpiece, as is this Film , his music echoes in eternity. R.I.P Maestro.. The poem at the end of this film inspired a song I wrote many moons 🌙 ago... My soul forever restless.. My heart will always stray... To the times that never come again... Like love... One Summers Day
Saw a little snippet of this film tonight on the telly and it brought back so many memories of the film education i experienced back then, In those days the BBC played Fellini, Fassbinder, Nic Roeg, Bertolucci, Peter Weir, Antonioni, Sergio Leone...The list was endless. I was about ten or eleven when this was shown and its one of those films you never forget. Mind you, you ask most fifteen to twenty year olds today who those people are above and they do not have a clue...Sad really...G...
Nichalos Roeg died today. In 1971, I had my Mom drive me to the classic Art Deco Hackensack Fox theater to see "Walkabout" at age 11. My life was changed at that tender age by the beauty of the visually-rich drama. The film is full of gorgeous images, fascinating soundscapes, and quietly disturbing scenes that create an evocative and powerful piece of art and commentary. Walkabout is a rite of passage filled with upsetting series of events meant to comment on the contrasts between Western and traditional cultures, as well as the loss of innocence. I never looked at the world the same way again. Roeg, who mastered panoramic visuals that were somehow very intimate, filmic techniques that produced jarring contrasts through editing, sound recording, and narrative third person camera language that placed you in the center of the action. Certainly one of my all time favorite cinematic storytellers that has a film resume with some of the most revolutionary 70s movies ever made. "Dont Look Now", "Bad Timing" and of course possibly the greatest film of the 70s "The Man Who Fell To Earth".. A great loss. Gods Speed Mr. Roeg. Thank you for your art and masterful storytelling. We wont see your like again soon....
John barry could say more about life and the human condition in a glorious three minute melody than most so called classical composers ,fail to achieve in an hour long symphony . They say no one is irreplaceable in this world but john you certainly are . You were a truly life enhancing human being, your wonderful music will live on into eternity B
Never fails to move me to tears. The soundtrack transports me back to my childhood. Such an emotive film, beautifully filmed and an absolute stunning and haunting soundtrack by the late great John Barry.
If there's ever a song that so evocatively recalls your childhood and more innocent times, it's this one. Just wish it didn't make me feel so sad. He truly was a genius.
+Hashpotato What's so bad about feeling sad? You should treasure it! I love feeling sadness. I understand that it is the greatest of all emotions; it teaches us the value of all things priceless. You don't see animals crying with tears.. only humans can understand the overwhelming beauty that all things lost, gone or unattainable inflicts upon us. As the old poem goes.. "I Love & Hate. Why I do this perhaps you ask? I do not know. But I sense it happening & I am tortured".
+Caldera Records .Yes this piece is beautifully sad and you my friend Caldera are a Poet. J B wrote wonderful emotional music.Just wish the angry World would listen to more of this.
Steve Blanco You are too kind! I only wish I was! But I am only a mere peasant at best. Nothing last forever I'm sorry to confess. However, John's art has survived so far, & shall more than likely outlive all alive today. If you like sad music & want to hear something a little more modern, you may (or may not!) allow Ólafur Arnalds to grow on you. I recommend 3 titles: Fök, This Place Was A Shelter, & For Now I Am Winter. Trust me, he is mixing Classical & Clandestine Synthesizers as John did. ;)
I saw this film as a child, too many years to remember, but this music and the poem by A.E.Housman, it sends a shudder down my spine and a longing for events and people in the past, warm memories that will never come again!
What to add to the comments already made about this spectacularly heart wrenching piece of music? Everything you've all said. It still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear it.
Haunting, mesmerizing, beautiful... just some of the words to describe the power of this music. Alas, I lack the vocabulary to give full justice to John Barry's score.
Truly stunning piece....its all in this track...life, death, innocence, desire, beauty, ugliness and reality...makes me cry like a pansy when I hear it... watch the whole film to bring it in2 context.. very clever composition by the master of film scores R.I.P John Bary
I must buy this soundtrack. Emotive and reflective at the same time. John Barry composed some of the best themes ive heard and his signature on each is unmistaken.
i love this film and the song score, it makes me want to cry when i hear this music!!! I cannot believe that there is good like this when there is so much evil in the world!!! Jenny is faultless in this and hear face speaks loads without words.
This film, and music, often makes me cry. Here is the excerpt from Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad' which is quoted at the end of the film whilst the theme plays: Into my heart an air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.
I first saw Walkaout on tv at random. I had previously never heard of it, and I was just mesmerized... by the music, photography... the poem... by Jenny. I saw it a few more times on tv, and it just completely continued to mesmerize me, and then I saw the uncut version on the big screen at a revival house. I just love this movie.
Reminds me of the childhood I missed out on,, more times than I care to remember I was beaten by my father who I loved so much and admired, sadly I was unable to satisfy his want for success from all of his offspring. Many years later when he was suffering from Alzeimers I managed to find my real father, a kind, loving, gentle, intelligent man who I have now missed for 16 years. With tears streaming down my face,I would like to thank John Barry and if I may, dedicate this fantastic song to all you lovely people out there who have been misunderstood and to any child that is at present going through the traumas that I did. It does get better as time passes but I do wish I'd been hugged instead of beaten.
Loved the film didn't understand it but lt facinated me just discovered that yet again a piece of music l Loved was by Barry one of my special composers this as happened to me a few times Rip genius John
This film left such a lasting impression on me Nostalgia is so emotive, and Housemans poem to clinch it.The emotions this kicked in my life Just blue remembered hills that can never come again!!!!!!!!!!
This is making me glad to have the flu. I always get a bit emotional when my temperature is up and it's like I'm hearing this for the first time ever. It's so so beautiful. Floods of tears. All the best to everyone lucky enough to have known and loved JBs extraordinary gift.
