Film Music

[doversoul1]

I'd argue that a piece of classical music stands on its own merits.

I would argue, for the sake of argument, that film music that stands on its own merits is a failure.

As I said, you can’t compare a brick and a balloon: they exist for completely different reasons.

[Ferretfancy]

On the whole I don't think that film music works on record, but of course there are notable exceptions, Walton's music for Hamlet and Henry V for example, Copland's The Red Pony or Rota's music for Visconti and Fellini. All these scores exist as orchestral suites, and are thus akin to incidental music. A complete film score heard without seeing what's on the screen is an odd experience for me, so much of it is intended only to be heard as underscoring, instantly forgettable but atmospheric as an accompaniment to the drama.
I'm quite sure that any composer of film music would understand the different requirements, and there are certainly some geniuses among them, Bernard Herrman, Danny Elfman and the late Enzio Morricone, it's a long list

[Russ]

Nice to see Bernard Hermann mentioned: here's the theme to Taxi Driver:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPVeFefbojk

And on the noir avenue, here's Jerry Goldsmith's lush 'love' theme from Chinatown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM-7o9zwJ_M

Like Ferretfancy, I can't imagine the above films without those bits of music, and I can't imagine the music without their films.

Russ

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Film music is often composed in rather a hurry, and orchestrated by others (sometimes a team), also in a hurry and while the ink is still wet. There isn't much opportunity for thoughtful revision for either party, so it's amazing just how good much film music is.

[Chris Newman]

Film music is often composed in rather a hurry, and orchestrated by others (sometimes a team), also in a hurry and while the ink is still wet. There isn't much opportunity for thoughtful revision for either party, so it's amazing just how good much film music is.

Oh, I agree, Eine Alpensinfonie. I have several recordings of West Side Story. The music of the film version was arranged by a team of people. Yet the urgency and acidity of the old Saga recording under Lawrence Leonard beat it hands down. It might have been recorded under Joyce Hatto's rip-off husband but it was Bernstein's score and the cast including George Chakiris are superb: I might be biased as I regularly played rugby with Bruce Trent's son and Lucille Graham went to school with my mum. In fact, it was at a Christmas party with Lucille that I first met Vilem Tausky, a neighbough of her's, and later sang under him in a chorus.

[Eudaimonia]

I think that Doversoul's point about art vs. craft is right on the money. Besides, it's not all the same: there are some great film music composers and tons of dreadful ones. Even Harrison Birtwistle was a film music composer, which proves there's no pigeonholing them. Hear for yourself!

HARRISON BIRTWISTLE: THE OFFENCE (1972)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKnIKI5rlYk&feature=player_detailpage

If you want to learn more about different film music composers, have a listen to the Youtube video series put together by benydebney. He gives you a ten minute sampler of each composer's most well-known works...a real ear-opener that makes you hear them in an entirely new way. Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Hermann, Jerry Goldsmith, Dimitri Tiomkin, Hans Zimmer, Max Steiner, Miklós Rózsa and dozens more.

Benydebney's Film Music Composers Series (full list)

http://www.youtube.com/user/benydebney#g/u

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's some very fine film music around, but it proves too much for most film producers to have to present what is basically classical music to a worldwide audience. So they follow it by dumbing down with a pop song during the final credits, often completely destroying the atmosphere created by the work of the scriptwriter, director, composer and actors. The rot seemed to begin with "Born Free" and it just got worse from there onwards. I was watching "Miss Potter" this evening on BBC1HD. What a beautiful film, but what a nausiating "song" to follow.

Occasionally, just occasionally, the statutory (but unnecessary) song lives up to the standard of the music of the rest of the film. Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" is such a film, where Placido Domingo is the singer of a moving song by Patrick Doyle, the soundtrack composer.

These hideous songs are even given Oscars.

[Ian Thumwood]

I think that is there is one film soundtrack that stands out it is Zbigniew Preiesner's score for the Kieslowski film "Three colours: Blue." The amazing thing about this film is that the music is actually a character in the film. The film concerns Juliette Binoche's character mourning her classical composer husband who is killed in a car crash during the opening sequence and her emotions as she endeavours to come to terms with this whilst ensuring that a final composition is prepared for it's premiere performance. Effectively the plot is limited to the fact that she learns that her husband was having an affair after hearing a blind street musician performing the main theme from this classical work on his flute outside a hotel. It is a slow film but the music is absolutely central to it.

This trilogy of films are iconic although I think that "Red" concluded unsatisfactory. The best in the series is "White" which is a biting black comedy , largely situated in post-Communist Poland but laden with very dark humour. I suppose you could also say it is a revenge film although you don't actually twig what has been going on until the last ten minutes.

In all three films Preisner's music is an essential element but for music buffs, "Blue" is fantastic and I would advise anyone to check this out if they have never heard it. Probably deserves to be up there with the Korngold score for "Robin Hood."

There are thousands of other films with great scores and most jazz fans would have to single out the Sonny Rollin's music for the original "Alfie" which is an absolute classic. Dave Douglas ~"Spark of being" music for an independent "Frankenstein" film is also tremendous.

Finally, I would also have to put a thumbs up for Gottfried Huppertz score for Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" which again is an essential ingredient to a classic film - in this case a celebrated silent film from the 1920s.

Cheers

Ian

[Norfolk Born]

It's difficult to imagine 'The Dam Busters' without the march. Or the opening sequence of 'Manhattan' without the Gershwin.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The most interesting film to study musically is probably "The Battle of Britain", originally scored by Sir William Walton, rejected by the producer and replaced with a new score by Ron Goodwin. Ron Goodwin was aghast that Walton's score was rejected (as was Sir Laurence Olivier). What is so remarkable is just how good the Goodwin score is, for it must have been composed at breakneck speed.
Now we have the luxury of being able to compare the two at the click of a button on DVD.

[gamba]

The music of Georges Auric for films by Jean Cocteau.

Robert Flaherty's film 'Louisiana Story' with music track by Virgil Thomson, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

[salymap]

Having loved the war film 'The Way to the Stars' right from the beginning in about1945, it wouldn't be the same to me without the opening music, which right at the end morphes into the RAF March Past as the scene of the airmen running to their planes is shown.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The Ben Hur score became one of my musical favourites when I first saw the film. What I did not realise then was just how similar the love theme and Judea music was to Vaughan Williams' London Symphony.

[Thomas Roth]

There is a lot of really good film music, of course. Don´t forget Joe Hisaishi who composed music to all the films by Hayao Miyazaki and most of the ones by Takeshi Kitano, and many more. A lot of gorgeous music.

[kernelbogey]

I have found hearing film music on the Radio mostly unsatisfying: without its partner of images, most music composed for film sounds rather lame - with a few exceptions, some of which have been named.

Ian's M23 reminded me of my recent experience of seeing Katyn, the Andrej Wajda film about the wartime massacre of Polish officers by the Russians, and the prolonged taboo in Poland about being able even to refer to this event. This very good film ends with a horrifying depiction of the executions, then moves into a blank screen accompanied by a part of a mass by Penderecki, followed by the credits rolling in complete silence. An absolute coup de theatre. The audience at the Film Society showing was also silent for many minutes.

Another memorable ending is that of the film Japon, where a tracking shot is accompanied by the whole (I believe) of Paart's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. The combination is stunning: I see the image in my mind's eye when I now hear that piece (although there's an argument to be had about that aspect of 'lifting' an already composed piece in that way).