Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean absolutely overwhelmed me with its beautiful sights and sounds. This exceptional DVD contains a special concert put together and conducted by three-time Oscar winner Maurice Jarre to honor his late friend and colleague, the legendary director David Lean. It also includes an in-depth, candid interview with Jarre about composing the film scores for Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, A Passage to India, and Ryan’s Daughter.

The relationship these two men established became one of filmdom’s most successful collaborations between a director and composer. Personally, I think “Somewhere My Love” ranks as one of the top five musical themes from a motion picture, ever. And what a thrill it is to hear this haunting background song played by London’s acclaimed  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra while dramatic scenes from Dr. Zhivago flash on a huge screen above the musicians!

Listening to Jarre explain how he came up with the unforgettable  “Lara’s Theme” gives viewers a glimpse into the way he and Lean worked together. According to Jarre, Lean was one of the few directors who thought about the music he would need early on in the filmmaking process and who knew what he wanted in every scene. In this case, the director hoped to use variations of a Russian song he had heard, but when he couldn’t find the songwriter(s) to obtain permission, he explained to Jarre what he was looking for -- and the composer had to write something original instead. “Forget about Russia,” said Lean -- who refused to use ethnic music in his films. He advised Jarre to compose something with universal appeal. After a few rejected attempts, Jarre succeeded, even beyond Lean’s expectations.

Jarre tells other behind-the-scenes anecdotes in his revealing interview with Christian Lauliac, including why producer Sam Spiegel refused to pay for the composer’s travel from Paris to the Academy Awards Ceremony when he was nominated for Lawrence of Arabia. I won’t give that away, because it would be a shame to spoil the fun of hearing Jarre’s version of events. Although the conversation is in French with English subtitles, even a Yank like me can see how much Jarre enjoys telling this story.

Perhaps the most spellbinding segment of Jarre's  concert performance involves his demonstration of the skill needed to coordinate background music with a film. Using a particular scene from A Passage to India, Jarre shows how it's done while conducting  a musical exercise that comes across as very suspenseful indeed.    

Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean is as much a tribute to its immensely talented composer as it is to the remarkable film director being honored. This DVD should be required viewing for movie buffs and for anyone who loves great music.             

(Released by Milan Entertainment; not rated by MPAA.)