What's your favorite movie score? The question just reminds me of the days (the 60's) when my mother would see a movie, then go out a buy the record (Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia) and we'd listen to those lush symphonic arrangements while images of the movie danced in our heads.
Hollywood types used to say that they'd want you to be whistling the score as you're walking out through the lobby of the movie theatre. And, I must admit, this happens to me when I watch a Marx Brothers movie; they just hammer the same tune dozens of different ways throughout the film, and always end with it.
When Mike asked me the question (or I asked him - I forget which) I tried to sharpen it to: Which films use music most successfully? And I thought of "A Clockwork Orange" right away because the classical music (played with synthesizers, Mike reminded me) gives a retro feel to it's dystopian view of the future. And Beethoven, after all, is part of the plot.
But "8-1/2" is really a film where it's impossible to separate the music from the images. Marcello Mastrianni actually hums the soundtrack music as he goes about his business.
And "Psycho", once again, is pretty amazing. Three or four notes on a violin can still make people recall the movie.
For 60's minimalism, I have to mention "The Birds." There's no music whatsoever on the soundtrack (really- even when the credits roll at the end) and the only motivated music is from the radios people use when they're trying to get the latest news on the bird attacks.
My personal favorite is "Mean Streets." I don't think there is a single note written for the movie. The soundtrack is a collection of hits from the 50's and 60's, so the music tells you something: this is what these guys listen to.
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Favorite movie score... where do I start. As a film composer this is definitely a difficult question to answer. When under the gun (no pun!), I would say Ennio Morricone's score for 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly'. Listen to the first minute of that film, how he presents the motif that you will never forget. Best example of film music used successfully? Morricone again, the final sequence of 'For a Few Dollars More'. The pocket watch music is nothing short of perfect. As prolific as the Italian Morricone is (over 500 scores!), he never worked with Fellini. This first sounds crazy, but then you hear Rota's scores and don't ask so many questions (Godfather, anyone?).
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll even give a shout out to some directors that shun composers. Tarentino obviously does a great job. Woody Allen, a jazz fanatic (and great clarinetist!), chooses Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' as the sound of 'Manhattan'. Kubrick is another great at this...
Well, with the advent of the synthesizer, the orchestra was losing popularity. Leave it to John Williams with Star Wars to change that. Although Saint John rips off themes from the romantic/classical periods, you cannot deny how well his music works.
Which brings us to modern film composition! Samples can create that big sound without paying union wages. Hans Zimmer tries his best to rip off The Rite of Spring, and people love it. I think he's a hack and his scores are annoying! Not to mention they all sound the same.
I once was trying to get a gig for a production company; I was intimidated by the producer/director, who said he was a trained classical composer. He kept saying things like, 'We're looking for the next Hans Zimmer'. I told my Professor how intimidated I was, to which he responded, 'Sean, He likes Hans Zimmer. How much can he know!?'
That sums up film music for now!
Sean
p.s. Best current score - Nico Muhly 'The Reader'