The Family Way -- the soundtrack lives!

You know how some movies stick with you over the years? And how the music, in particular, can bring back a lifetime of memories and associations? I'm going through that right now as I type this, because I am listening to the soundtrack for The Family Way (1966, composed by Paul McCartney with George Martin), which my sister discovered while working at the public library.

I've written about this film a bit here before -- back when Sir John Mills, who co-stars in the film with his daughter Hayley, died last year -- and one day I might get around to fleshing out all the various reasons why it ranks among my favorite films of all time. But for now, I will say just two things about this album.

One, I am surprised that this CD exists in the first place, because when I interviewed Carl Aubut for The Ubyssey (see page 9 of this PDF file) ten years ago -- on the occasion of the release of his arrangements of the music for classical guitar -- he said that the soundtrack's master tapes were missing. Then again, there is a fair bit of hiss and stuff here, so they may have used another source.

And two, this is the first time I have heard this music since getting married a year and a half ago, let alone becoming a parent, and it continues to move me in ways I don't know how to describe. The film concerns a newlywed couple coping with impotence, and the role that their relationships with their parents might play in their own marital woes, and it struck deep chords in me when I first saw it at the age of 12 -- chords that may be getting deeper with age.

Oh, BTW, I don't believe the film has ever been released on VHS or DVD in North America, but it is available on a Region 2 DVD.