incoherent film score psuedo-fangirling
Sep. 11th, 2005 05:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theladyroseDue to time constraints as I haven't been working on my Heroine paper, I really haven't much commentary. Blegh, I'm getting lazy.
Responses of various directors answering the question: "In what way does music best enhance film?"
Nicholas Meyer:
It has been noted that sound always dominates picture. The happiest child, bounding through a field of daisies, accompanied by Chopin's 'Funeral March', is doomed. Drive anywhere and study the landscape as you listen to the CD or radio station of your choice and you will see how the music colours the scenery. This fact was known well before films when plays employed incidental music to influence the audience's perception of the scene. In this sense Mendelssohn, Bizet and Grieg, writing music of A Midsummer Night's Dream, L'Arlesienne and Peer Gynt respectively, were composing the first soundtracks. Since music has the ability to drench any scene or sequence in ambience, the primary function of movie music is to aid the director and his team in evoking the desired atmosphere at any given moment - fear, love, rage, curiosity, suspense, doom... what you will. But there is a second perhaps equally important function music can play and that is to provide each film with its own, unique voice, to become the musical embodiment of the movie, so closely associated with it that mere themes (or instrumentation), are sufficient to bring the whole movie flooding back through the mind's ear. Who, for example, can ever forget The Third Man (1949) when listening to Anton Karas' haunting score, played entirely on a zither? Even though Scott Joplin's music for The Sting (1973) is an anachronism, George Roy Hill's use of it ensures that everyone who saw the film will always associate Joplin's rags with the movie and vice versa.
Ronald Neame:
Used correctly, music will enhance a film. It is a fourth dimension. It can add to the drama, the comedy, the story and the characters, but used badly it can be destructive. There is nothing worse than the wall to wall music, popular at one time in almost all Hollywood movies. If over used music becomes dull and ineffective. And let us not forget sometimes, just one instrument is more exciting than a large symphony orchestra. The perfect example, the zither in Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949). There are times when a film is remembered by a song, 'Raindrops keep falling on my head', from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), comes to mind, or 'Mrs Robinson' , from The Graduate (1967), and from a film I very much admire, Midnight Cowboy (1969), 'Every body's Talking At Me'.
Sally Potter:
Music can 'enhance' a film in many ways, but for me it is at its most interesting when it argues with the image rather than underlining it, and therefore demands to be heard in its own right. The argument can be between contradictory atmospheres; softness where the scene is hard, spaciousness where the scene is claustrophobic, or lyricism where the scene is emotionally or physically violent. Alternatively, the argument can lead to cross-referencing, where the music brings surprising meanings, jokes, or associations to the image. In this way a sort of meaning-mosaic can be built up and connections made that otherwise would not be evident or possible. The least interesting and most traditional use of music on film tends to be emotionally descriptive of the scene we are watching, an is specifically designed not to be heard at a conscious level. But emotionally descriptive music can be wonderfully interesting when pushed to an extreme, for example in The Cranes Are Flying (1957),directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.
Interestingly enough, the most common citations of "good" film music are Anton Karas's the Third Man and Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver. For the director who best uses, the vote seems to go to Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and "We'll Meet Again" at the end of Dr. Strangelove (not Laurie Johnson's jazzy "Ants are Marching" music).
Yes yes yes!
But what shocks me is that the lack of mention of the Herrmann-Hitchcock partnership or even Spielberg-Williams.
What is the most effective sequence of music in your own films?
Norman Jewison:
The most effective sequence of music in my own films has to do with Michel Le Grand's [sic] score for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), a film I made starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. The song, 'Windmills of Your Mind' with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman was used for the glider sequence and titles. It won the Academy Award for best song. This was Michel's first American film score, and I think the chess scene he scored, catching every cut and every body move was sensuous and it built to a fantastic climax. Of all my films, this is by far my favourite score. Totally original, an exciting mixture of jazz and vocalisation. Michel sings on the score and it really soars.
What is your favourite film soundtrack music and why do you like it so much?
Roy Andersson:
My favourite film soundtrack is 'The Harry Lime Theme' in the movie The Third Man (1949) with Orson Welles. It is unique music and absolutely not predictable. It is of its own as the movie is. And that meeting, the movie and the music, creates a very special atmosphere: nice, beautiful but at the same time a little frightening and a little sad. This music was not planned, it was found. It existed already and maybe that is the reason behind its quality.
Francis Ford Coppola:
The Thief of Baghdad (1940), also, Spellbound (1945)- - the same composer, actually. They are just memorable, seemed to catch the essence of the film. But there are many great ones. I thought the recent work of John Williams on Catch Me If You Can (2002), was a great score, wonderful orchestration...really helped the film work very well.
(I definitely agree with the latter two, not having heard Roszà's The Thief of Baghdad.)
Joe Dante:
So as to "favourites"--one is impossible to isolate, because there are so many. Offhand I'd list most of Herrmann, lots of Bernstein, especially To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), although I'm also fond of Robot Monster (1953), [Ennio] Morricone, [Max] Steiner, [Franz] Waxman, John Barry (especially his underrated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972), Walter Schumann's Night of the Hunter (1955), and of course Jerry Goldsmith, who I have been lucky enough to collaborate with on all but three of my feature films. And let's not overlook the great Carl Stalling, much of whose music I've pirated over the years in one way or another.
Anyone who loves Herrmann, To Kill a Mockingbird, AND John Barry (first mention of him at all in the series), especially the obscure Alice's Adventures, which I'm lucky enough to have, is my hero.
Guy Hamilton:
The Third Man (1949). Carol Reed having discovered the zither had to fight a long and thank goodness battle to resist a bog standard orchestral accompaniment. With a single instrument, Anton Karas supplies the feel of Vienna, tension, suspense and a sense of grandeur.
For the record, Hamilton served as an assistant director on the Third Man, which might explain his affinity for this score.
Norman Jewison:
My favourite film soundtrack has to be Bernard Herrmann's score for Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). It literally creates the suspense and heightens the terror. Herrmann influenced so many composers, including John Williams. When you see Spielberg's Jaws (1975), you realise the influence of Bernard Herrmann. His score for another Hitchcock film, The Birds (1963), was also memorable. Every film he scored represents the power and contribution that a musical score makes to every film.
Did I mention that I worship Jewison even more now? Unfortunately he's made a slight mistake in his commentary. Technically Herrmann didn't score the Birds-he merely served as a sound consultant. This score is most famous for its use of sound effects combined with electronic music. Most might think of Psycho when it comes to Herrmann, but he was acutally an early pioneer of electronic film music, especially with his works involving the theremin.
Jonathan Kaplan:
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) for three reasons: melody, melody, melody.
Squee! To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the two scores that made me fall madly in love with film music.
Nelly Kaplan:
The Cotton Club (1984), by Francis Ford Coppola, for the perfect symbiosis between sight and sound.
Score another one for John Barry; the general lack of recognition among modern directors is starting to depress me...
Bruce La Bruce:
I have so many favourite movie soundtracks it's difficult to narrow it down to one, or even to a single composer. At the top I would have to include George Duning's seasonal music for Bell Book and Candle (1958), Jerry Goldsmith's church bell-infused suite for The Trouble With Angels, Bernard Herrmann's groundbreaking Psycho (1960) soundtrack, John Barry's spooky music for Boom! (1968)...I like movie music that interprets the mood or tone of a movie but which also stands on its own as a musical composition. I collect vinyl soundtracks, so I'm in the habit of playing my favourite albums over and over again until the neighbours complain. I've also been known to steal obscure soundtrack music for my low-budget movies.
I can't believe I haven't actually heard of Boom! being as much of a Barry fangirl as I am. I can probably coerce/charm my way into getting a few samples from some friends.
Plus, the whole "let's steal obscure cues" is hardly anything new; just look at David Holmes's Ocean's Twelve...
Ronald Neame:
After seventy-five years in film, it is difficult for me to narrow my favourite musical soundtrack down to one production. But since this is mandatory my choice is Peter Shafer's Amadeus (1984), directed by Milos Forman. It is a perfect combination, and the magical music from Mozart.
One of the best examples of classical music in film, for sure.
Sally Potter:
Probably The Third Man (1949) because of its consistent and memorable sound and identity. The choice of a single instrument (the zither) and a predominant, repetitive theme which expresses tension, irony, playfulness, and also evokes a fractured political and personal world, makes for a brilliantly simple, effective piece of scoring.
I'm starting to get a sense that the Third Man in the scoring world is a bit like saying Citizen Kane is your favorite film of all time; it's the sort of name you say to sound intellectually impressive. I'll turn off the cynicism now.
Martin Scorsese:
I suppose that if I were hard-pressed to answer this question – and I suppose I am – I'd have to say Bernard Herrmann's score for Vertigo (1958). Hitchcock's film is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again. Which is probably why there are so many spirals and circles in the imagery – Stewart following Novak in the car, the staircase at the tower, the way Novak's hair is styled, the camera movement that circles around Stewart and Novak after she's completed her transformation in the hotel room, not to mention Saul Bass' brilliant opening credits, or that amazing animated dream sequence. And the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfilment and despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for – he wanted to penetrate to the heart of obsession.
I don't think anyone really could have said that in fewer words. Then again, Scorsese has always been a great admirer of Herrmann, especially after the latter wrote his very last score ever for Taxi Driver, generally considered to be one of the best (Herrmann) scores of all time. I'm rather embarassed to say that I haven't quite warmed up to it yet.
George Sluizer:
One of my favourite soundtracks is Bernard Herrmann's music for Psycho, (1960, also for Vertigo, 1958). I think the score of Psycho is very successful because I feel that Herrmann catches in his music the psyche of Hitchcock, his fears and longings. And storywise, the music is attacking one's nervous system in a brilliant way, heightening the suspense but also highlighting the darkness of the human soul. The instrumentation (cello and violins) vibrates and screams beautifully throughout the film.
This is a how to guide to explicating one of the most famous scores of all time into a jumble of pretentious verbal mush.
Penelope Spheeris:
The soundtrack from O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) is not the kind of music that I would usually listen to, but, because it is so perfect for the movie and so uplifting, I listen to it all the time. It always puts me in a good mood.
Surprisingly this also happens to be one of my favorite soundtracks (song-based, mind you); I'm glad to see it mentioned.
Ron Underwood:
It is difficult to narrow my favourite film score to only one choice. I love motion picture music. It is half of the movie experience in many films. Favourites include Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965) by Maurice Jarre, Psycho (1960) and North By Northwest (1959) by Bernard Herrmann, The Mission (1986) and Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) by Ennio Morricone, The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Great Escape (1963) by Elmer Bernstein, The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini, Jaws (1975) and Schindler's List (1993) by John Williams, American Beauty (1999) by Thomas Newman. There are also so many musicals from Singin' In The Rain (1951) to Moulin Rouge (2001) which I love. Then there are movies that use previously recorded music such as A Clockwork Orange (1971) and American Graffiti (1973) that are very effective in their use of the soundtrack. And, I would say that movies using pop songs owe a debt to The Graduate (1967) by Simon and Garfunkel with Dave Grusin for its highly unusual use of contemporary music at the time. I should stop this before filling many pages with favourites. Because the music is so integral to the film that it accompanies, I almost cannot separate the music from the rest of the film going experience. Therefore, I would choose Lawrence of Arabia as my very favourite.
Finally, some mention of Henry Mancini and North by Northwest!
Responses of various directors answering the question: "In what way does music best enhance film?"
Nicholas Meyer:
It has been noted that sound always dominates picture. The happiest child, bounding through a field of daisies, accompanied by Chopin's 'Funeral March', is doomed. Drive anywhere and study the landscape as you listen to the CD or radio station of your choice and you will see how the music colours the scenery. This fact was known well before films when plays employed incidental music to influence the audience's perception of the scene. In this sense Mendelssohn, Bizet and Grieg, writing music of A Midsummer Night's Dream, L'Arlesienne and Peer Gynt respectively, were composing the first soundtracks. Since music has the ability to drench any scene or sequence in ambience, the primary function of movie music is to aid the director and his team in evoking the desired atmosphere at any given moment - fear, love, rage, curiosity, suspense, doom... what you will. But there is a second perhaps equally important function music can play and that is to provide each film with its own, unique voice, to become the musical embodiment of the movie, so closely associated with it that mere themes (or instrumentation), are sufficient to bring the whole movie flooding back through the mind's ear. Who, for example, can ever forget The Third Man (1949) when listening to Anton Karas' haunting score, played entirely on a zither? Even though Scott Joplin's music for The Sting (1973) is an anachronism, George Roy Hill's use of it ensures that everyone who saw the film will always associate Joplin's rags with the movie and vice versa.
Ronald Neame:
Used correctly, music will enhance a film. It is a fourth dimension. It can add to the drama, the comedy, the story and the characters, but used badly it can be destructive. There is nothing worse than the wall to wall music, popular at one time in almost all Hollywood movies. If over used music becomes dull and ineffective. And let us not forget sometimes, just one instrument is more exciting than a large symphony orchestra. The perfect example, the zither in Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949). There are times when a film is remembered by a song, 'Raindrops keep falling on my head', from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), comes to mind, or 'Mrs Robinson' , from The Graduate (1967), and from a film I very much admire, Midnight Cowboy (1969), 'Every body's Talking At Me'.
Sally Potter:
Music can 'enhance' a film in many ways, but for me it is at its most interesting when it argues with the image rather than underlining it, and therefore demands to be heard in its own right. The argument can be between contradictory atmospheres; softness where the scene is hard, spaciousness where the scene is claustrophobic, or lyricism where the scene is emotionally or physically violent. Alternatively, the argument can lead to cross-referencing, where the music brings surprising meanings, jokes, or associations to the image. In this way a sort of meaning-mosaic can be built up and connections made that otherwise would not be evident or possible. The least interesting and most traditional use of music on film tends to be emotionally descriptive of the scene we are watching, an is specifically designed not to be heard at a conscious level. But emotionally descriptive music can be wonderfully interesting when pushed to an extreme, for example in The Cranes Are Flying (1957),directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.
Interestingly enough, the most common citations of "good" film music are Anton Karas's the Third Man and Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver. For the director who best uses, the vote seems to go to Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and "We'll Meet Again" at the end of Dr. Strangelove (not Laurie Johnson's jazzy "Ants are Marching" music).
Yes yes yes!
But what shocks me is that the lack of mention of the Herrmann-Hitchcock partnership or even Spielberg-Williams.
What is the most effective sequence of music in your own films?
Norman Jewison:
The most effective sequence of music in my own films has to do with Michel Le Grand's [sic] score for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), a film I made starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. The song, 'Windmills of Your Mind' with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman was used for the glider sequence and titles. It won the Academy Award for best song. This was Michel's first American film score, and I think the chess scene he scored, catching every cut and every body move was sensuous and it built to a fantastic climax. Of all my films, this is by far my favourite score. Totally original, an exciting mixture of jazz and vocalisation. Michel sings on the score and it really soars.
What is your favourite film soundtrack music and why do you like it so much?
Roy Andersson:
My favourite film soundtrack is 'The Harry Lime Theme' in the movie The Third Man (1949) with Orson Welles. It is unique music and absolutely not predictable. It is of its own as the movie is. And that meeting, the movie and the music, creates a very special atmosphere: nice, beautiful but at the same time a little frightening and a little sad. This music was not planned, it was found. It existed already and maybe that is the reason behind its quality.
Francis Ford Coppola:
The Thief of Baghdad (1940), also, Spellbound (1945)- - the same composer, actually. They are just memorable, seemed to catch the essence of the film. But there are many great ones. I thought the recent work of John Williams on Catch Me If You Can (2002), was a great score, wonderful orchestration...really helped the film work very well.
(I definitely agree with the latter two, not having heard Roszà's The Thief of Baghdad.)
Joe Dante:
So as to "favourites"--one is impossible to isolate, because there are so many. Offhand I'd list most of Herrmann, lots of Bernstein, especially To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), although I'm also fond of Robot Monster (1953), [Ennio] Morricone, [Max] Steiner, [Franz] Waxman, John Barry (especially his underrated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972), Walter Schumann's Night of the Hunter (1955), and of course Jerry Goldsmith, who I have been lucky enough to collaborate with on all but three of my feature films. And let's not overlook the great Carl Stalling, much of whose music I've pirated over the years in one way or another.
Anyone who loves Herrmann, To Kill a Mockingbird, AND John Barry (first mention of him at all in the series), especially the obscure Alice's Adventures, which I'm lucky enough to have, is my hero.
Guy Hamilton:
The Third Man (1949). Carol Reed having discovered the zither had to fight a long and thank goodness battle to resist a bog standard orchestral accompaniment. With a single instrument, Anton Karas supplies the feel of Vienna, tension, suspense and a sense of grandeur.
For the record, Hamilton served as an assistant director on the Third Man, which might explain his affinity for this score.
Norman Jewison:
My favourite film soundtrack has to be Bernard Herrmann's score for Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). It literally creates the suspense and heightens the terror. Herrmann influenced so many composers, including John Williams. When you see Spielberg's Jaws (1975), you realise the influence of Bernard Herrmann. His score for another Hitchcock film, The Birds (1963), was also memorable. Every film he scored represents the power and contribution that a musical score makes to every film.
Did I mention that I worship Jewison even more now? Unfortunately he's made a slight mistake in his commentary. Technically Herrmann didn't score the Birds-he merely served as a sound consultant. This score is most famous for its use of sound effects combined with electronic music. Most might think of Psycho when it comes to Herrmann, but he was acutally an early pioneer of electronic film music, especially with his works involving the theremin.
Jonathan Kaplan:
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) for three reasons: melody, melody, melody.
Squee! To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the two scores that made me fall madly in love with film music.
Nelly Kaplan:
The Cotton Club (1984), by Francis Ford Coppola, for the perfect symbiosis between sight and sound.
Score another one for John Barry; the general lack of recognition among modern directors is starting to depress me...
Bruce La Bruce:
I have so many favourite movie soundtracks it's difficult to narrow it down to one, or even to a single composer. At the top I would have to include George Duning's seasonal music for Bell Book and Candle (1958), Jerry Goldsmith's church bell-infused suite for The Trouble With Angels, Bernard Herrmann's groundbreaking Psycho (1960) soundtrack, John Barry's spooky music for Boom! (1968)...I like movie music that interprets the mood or tone of a movie but which also stands on its own as a musical composition. I collect vinyl soundtracks, so I'm in the habit of playing my favourite albums over and over again until the neighbours complain. I've also been known to steal obscure soundtrack music for my low-budget movies.
I can't believe I haven't actually heard of Boom! being as much of a Barry fangirl as I am. I can probably coerce/charm my way into getting a few samples from some friends.
Plus, the whole "let's steal obscure cues" is hardly anything new; just look at David Holmes's Ocean's Twelve...
Ronald Neame:
After seventy-five years in film, it is difficult for me to narrow my favourite musical soundtrack down to one production. But since this is mandatory my choice is Peter Shafer's Amadeus (1984), directed by Milos Forman. It is a perfect combination, and the magical music from Mozart.
One of the best examples of classical music in film, for sure.
Sally Potter:
Probably The Third Man (1949) because of its consistent and memorable sound and identity. The choice of a single instrument (the zither) and a predominant, repetitive theme which expresses tension, irony, playfulness, and also evokes a fractured political and personal world, makes for a brilliantly simple, effective piece of scoring.
I'm starting to get a sense that the Third Man in the scoring world is a bit like saying Citizen Kane is your favorite film of all time; it's the sort of name you say to sound intellectually impressive. I'll turn off the cynicism now.
Martin Scorsese:
I suppose that if I were hard-pressed to answer this question – and I suppose I am – I'd have to say Bernard Herrmann's score for Vertigo (1958). Hitchcock's film is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again. Which is probably why there are so many spirals and circles in the imagery – Stewart following Novak in the car, the staircase at the tower, the way Novak's hair is styled, the camera movement that circles around Stewart and Novak after she's completed her transformation in the hotel room, not to mention Saul Bass' brilliant opening credits, or that amazing animated dream sequence. And the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfilment and despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for – he wanted to penetrate to the heart of obsession.
I don't think anyone really could have said that in fewer words. Then again, Scorsese has always been a great admirer of Herrmann, especially after the latter wrote his very last score ever for Taxi Driver, generally considered to be one of the best (Herrmann) scores of all time. I'm rather embarassed to say that I haven't quite warmed up to it yet.
George Sluizer:
One of my favourite soundtracks is Bernard Herrmann's music for Psycho, (1960, also for Vertigo, 1958). I think the score of Psycho is very successful because I feel that Herrmann catches in his music the psyche of Hitchcock, his fears and longings. And storywise, the music is attacking one's nervous system in a brilliant way, heightening the suspense but also highlighting the darkness of the human soul. The instrumentation (cello and violins) vibrates and screams beautifully throughout the film.
This is a how to guide to explicating one of the most famous scores of all time into a jumble of pretentious verbal mush.
Penelope Spheeris:
The soundtrack from O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) is not the kind of music that I would usually listen to, but, because it is so perfect for the movie and so uplifting, I listen to it all the time. It always puts me in a good mood.
Surprisingly this also happens to be one of my favorite soundtracks (song-based, mind you); I'm glad to see it mentioned.
Ron Underwood:
It is difficult to narrow my favourite film score to only one choice. I love motion picture music. It is half of the movie experience in many films. Favourites include Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965) by Maurice Jarre, Psycho (1960) and North By Northwest (1959) by Bernard Herrmann, The Mission (1986) and Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) by Ennio Morricone, The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Great Escape (1963) by Elmer Bernstein, The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini, Jaws (1975) and Schindler's List (1993) by John Williams, American Beauty (1999) by Thomas Newman. There are also so many musicals from Singin' In The Rain (1951) to Moulin Rouge (2001) which I love. Then there are movies that use previously recorded music such as A Clockwork Orange (1971) and American Graffiti (1973) that are very effective in their use of the soundtrack. And, I would say that movies using pop songs owe a debt to The Graduate (1967) by Simon and Garfunkel with Dave Grusin for its highly unusual use of contemporary music at the time. I should stop this before filling many pages with favourites. Because the music is so integral to the film that it accompanies, I almost cannot separate the music from the rest of the film going experience. Therefore, I would choose Lawrence of Arabia as my very favourite.
Finally, some mention of Henry Mancini and North by Northwest!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-12 06:22 am (UTC)I have to thank you for this post - at the very least it gives me the material that I should probably familiarize myself with. It also points to the shortcomings of a common perception of a soundtrack and the way it works in/for the picture.
I liked what Sally Potter had to say on the subject. (I will not pretend to know who she is - but will make sure to look her up).
Also, reading on this topic in your LJ made me aware of "incorrectness" of my personal approach to soundtracks. Now I am looking forward to re-visiting some movies - first two that come to mind are "Blade Runner" and "Talk to her".
You're welcome :D
Date: 2005-09-14 05:00 am (UTC)I must say I also like Potter's comments as well although I have absolutely no idea who she is either!
Vangelis's score for Bladerunner is easily his lifetime masterpiece; I'm normally not a great fan of electronic instruments in film music, but this score really helped me to hear how electronica can be used appropriately within certain contexts. Sadly his later music becomes extremely dependent on the synthesizer which tends to date his 80's sound pretty badly, and you can really tell that he doesn't actually know how to read music at all! Sadly I haven't seen Talk to Her yet, but I've been meaning to see it for some time.
I must say that my biggest gripes about modern soundtracks is the prevalence of popular songs to appeal to a mass audience that displace instrumental cues that actually make the film memorable. Then there's a tendency for film music to either veer into the "electronic wall of sound" approach which usually involves a synthesizer, a "screaming" electric guitar/bass, and a couple of drum loops to come up with some sort of techno mishmash. The other is a phenomenon which I dub sappy strings syndrome in which a composer mostly relies on strings and occasionaly a piano to overexaggerate the emotion of the scene. There are usually some very dull melody lines with lots of simple thirds and fifths for harmony that tend to resolve quite nicely with the strings overly relying on vibrato to "heighten" the emotion.
But I'm getting off topic here. If you want any soundtrack recommendations I'd be happy to make them.
Re: You're welcome :D
Date: 2005-09-14 06:50 am (UTC)I was swept away by the "Moonlight". Despite being Sting's fan, I didn't realize he could sing like that. And then, of course, I was intrigued by the song itself - a very exquisite melody, with elegant turns, kind of bossa-novish. Composed by, let's see, some John Williams. Some?! Internet search turned up that we're looking at one of the most prominent score composers of all times. Of course I knew his work (without realizing it's his.)
But I would never think the creator of the Starwars theme, Jurassic and other monumental scores has it in him to create a jewel like "Moonlight".
Thank you for your kind offer. I'm sure I'll have questions as I go deeper into the matter.
:)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-12 11:38 am (UTC)It was Kubrick who first got me noticing music in films, and noticing just how much music can add to a movie.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-14 04:47 am (UTC)