The great acting by Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci, and Tony Shalhoub explains only some of the magic of Big Night, for the trio share the screen with shot after shot of mouthwatering food and a lively Italian-American score featuring Louis Prima, Rosemary Clooney, Claudio Villa, and Keely Smith. The appearance of Prima himself at a restaurant opening plays a crucial role in the film's plot, but his music included here tells a different, much more joyous and carefree, story. This is one of the few retro soundtracks that don't resort to kitsch or lounge clichés, and all the Italian-American tracks work together well. --Jason Verlinde

This 1996 film about two brothers struggling to keep their Italian restaurant open stars Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott, and Tony Shalhoub. The soundtrack album features a great line up of beloved `50s era Italian-American classics including several cuts by the one and only Louis Prima. Out of print and unavailable for several years.

I saw the movie, Big Night, when it came out in 1996. Love Stanley Tucci in this! I bought the soundtrack soonafter. I literally wore out the cassette. After learning that Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas is no longer available, I didn't want to eventually discover that this soundtrack would suffer a similar fate. I am purchasing the cd today. It is a lively soundtrack that is a classic and can get you moving, singing, and in a good mood every time.

Great Italian music. Makes you think of the movie as you listen to it.

The quality of the CD is excellent and I am completely satisfied with the transaction.

My husband is a second generation Italian-American and played this CD so much that it started growing on me. Actually, he played the movie from which this sound track was derived until I went nuts and got this CD for him. Although the movie is wonderful until you've seen it more than ten times, then it gets old, this soundtrack is timeless, and all the more so when my husband tells me what it was like growing up in his culture and listening to Louis Prima and other Italian and Italian-American music.

Everything on this CD by Louis Prima is excellent. My favorite track of his is Buona Sera, but I also love the rendition of O Sole Mio with Sam Butera's fantastic saxophone work. Rosemary Clooney's Mambo Italiano is the sort of song that stays in your head even when you wish it would leave. It's delightful, but a tad too catchy. A bit of history: this was a successful hit for her, but she didn't like it, nor did she understand why it became a hit.

Claudio Villa's "Strada del Bosco" (road through the woods) and "Tic-Ti Tic-Ta" are two of my favorite Italian tracks, with "Pescivendolo" (fish monger) a close third. Of course, if you saw the movie, the first track, "Stornelli Amorisi" by Claudio Villa will be immediately recognizable and will stick with you.

I was not keen about the instrumentals ("Art of Art", "Dinner", "Pascal's Waltz", or "Big Night Theme"), but that may be because those tracks were so integrated into the movie that they just didn't sound right on a CD. I was also not too keen about Keely Smith's "Don't Take Your Love from Me". It just didn't have the same energy as some of the recordings she made on other records with Louis Prima. They were made for each other, and this track without his strong (overpowering?) presence and style shows it.

All in all, this is a well put together set of tracks that capture the very essence of the Italian-American experience of my husband's generation, and that before him. It will also give you an aural reminder of how delightful the movie - The Big Night - was the first time you saw it. And if you haven't seen it, you should.

I loved the film and love the music on this CD even more. The Louis Prima / Rosemary Clooney cuts are great fun but check out Claudio Villa and Matteo Salvatore 's numbers. They are so wonderful! Real Italian music with soulful vocals and great musicianship.
Great music to play at a dinner party (to borrow from the film itself) but equally great to listen to seriously at anytime.