Academy-Award nominated composer John Debney scores History Channel’s two-part mini-series Houdini premiering on September 1st. The mini-series marks Debney’s third collaboration with the A&E Network beginning with Hatfield and McCoys, for which he received an Emmy nomination for best score and Lifetime’s Emmy nominated Bonnie & Clyde.
Houdini is the story of Harry Houdini’s life from desperate poverty to his rise to international fame; his masterful stunts and illusions; and his relationships with his wife, family, and powerful acquaintances including Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and Grigori Rasputin.
Academy Award-winning actor Adrian Brody (The Pianist) portrays the famous illusionist, with Kristen Connolly costarring as Houdini’s wife, Bess. Houdini is directed by Golden Globe winner Uli Edel (Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny) and written by Academy-Award nominee Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country).
Houdini is the first collaboration between John Debney and Uli Edel. Debney praised Edel for his stylish and contemporary look of Houdini’s story, calling the director’s attention to detail “impeccable” and his creativity “infectious.”
According to Debney, early discussions between the two led the score to be “centered around the idea of giving Houdini a very edgy and contemporary sound while grounding the music with period splashes of style. I would describe the score as ‘industrial rock meets Gypsy music’. We incorporated electronic sounds combined with dulcimer, zither and other stringed instruments such as a solo gypsy violin and cello.”
HOUDINI – a special two-night event airing Monday, September 1 and Tuesday, September 2 at 9/8C.