2+5: Missione Hydra (Star Pilot) [Original Soundtrack] (1966)

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2+5: Missione Hydra (Star Pilot) [Original Soundtrack] (1966) Composed by Nico Fidenco (1933-2022) Tracklisting: 1. [00:00] Astronave Aliena (Prologo) 2. [00:50] 2+5 Missione Hydra (Titoli) 3. [02:29] Hydra Shake 4. [04:13] Space Bossa 5. [05:47] Swing A Go Go 6. [07:16] Space Bossa (Versione 2) 7. [08:32] Estasi Aliena 8. [11:05] Galassia Lontana 9. [12:53] Momento Nostalgico 10. [14:18] Ultraspazio 11. [17:16] Segnali 12. [19:30] Paura E Amore 13. [21:28] Space Bossa (Versione 3) 14. [23:05] Minaccia Aliena 15. [26:28] Antica Leggenda 16. [27:13] Strana Dimensione 17. [29:09] Pericolo 18. [30:17] Un Mondo Lontanissimo 19. [32:21] Lotta 20. [34:21] Estasi Aliena (Ripresa 2) 21. [35:56] Tensione Nello Spazio 22. [37:40] Bellezza Aliena 23. [39:40] Un Mondo Lontanissimo (Ripresa 2) 24. [41:30] Ultraspazio (Ripresa 2) 25. [43:02] Ultima Missione 26. [44:19] 2+5 Missione Hydra (Finale) Directed by Pietro Francisci (1906-1977) from a story written by Fernando Paolo Girolami, this low-budget Italian science fiction film stars actor and bodybuilder Kirk Morris (best known for his work in peplum films), Leontine Snell, Nando Angelini, actor, screenwriter, and film director Alfio Caltabiano (1932-2007), film and television actor Gianni Solaro (1926-2006), American actor and bodybuilder Gordon Mitchell (1923-2003), Leonora Ruffo (1935-2007), Mario Novelli (1940-2016), and French actor Roland Lesaffre (1927-2009). Director Francisci (who also appears briefly in the film) played a significant role in kickstarting the peplum epics of the late 1950's and early 1960's that featured bodybuilder actors as mythological heroes such as Hercules, Samson, and Goliath battling monsters, despots, and evil queens. One of several films to emulate Antonio Margheriti's outer space sagas (though done on a less than generous budget), the film benefits from two notable cinematographers: Giulio Albonico, who worked on several classics that included 'The Year of the Cannibals (1970), and Silvano Ippoliti (1923-1994), who collaborated with Tinto Brass for over twenty years. The American version, released eleven years later (due to the massive success of 'Star Wars), was re-edited and retitled as 'Star Pilot, adding in stock footage from the Japanese film 'Gorath (1962) and the cobbled-together independent film 'The Doomsday Machine (filmed in 1967 but completed without the original cast in 1972). A kitschy sci-fi extravaganza, the film is a wildly colourful adventure through the vastness of space. As always, the Italians demonstrated they could work wonders with a small budget and boundless imagination. Everything that makes the film enjoyable has something to do with its energy and sense of humour. The film features a truly fabulous score by legendary songwriter and composer Nico Fidenco, who started his career as a singer, often recording cover versions of various film songs whilst also performing on his own soundtracks. Fidenco was one of many great Italian composers who scored Spaghetti westerns back in the 1960's, starting with 'In a Colt's Shadow (1965), but he provided music for numerous genre films that included 'The Strange Law of Dr. Menga (1971), the cult film series 'Emmanuelle (1975-1980), the horror film 'Zombi Holocaust (1980) and the crossover 'Porno Holocaust (1981) among others. Fittingly, the sounds here are groovy, sophisticated, and melodically memorable, featuring pleasant Euro-pop themes with a swinging sixties vibe, further enhanced by the choir of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and orchestra conducted with gusto by Robby Poitevin (1926-2003), who has credits as a composer, conductor, and occasional actor (from 1966 to 1969), who was well-known for his western scores, but also composed several for the Euro-spy genre that included 'Operation White Shark (1966), 'Assassination (1967), and 'Hot Diamonds in Cold Blood (1967). This video is for promotional use only. I do not own the rights to the music. All rights belong to the artist / band.