Music as communication

[Colleen Thomas]

I'ecided to indulge myself and I am watching NBC's Victory at Sea series. Some facts are incorrect and the take is very 1950's good vs. evil.

Despite this, I am struck by how powerfully the score underscores the narration and footage. I don't believe i have ever noticed it before, but it's been a forceful thought on this snowy cold morning.

Anyone ever notice a score that really just made the words and images subserviant to it, rather than vice versa?

 

[impressive]

2001 : A Space Odyssey

 

[crazycatt]

ahhh! and so we discover the real reason porn blows

 

[Colleen Thomas]

2001 : A Space Odyssey

true true

i think Star Wars does in places. theimperial marchsets the mood even when the scene dosen't correspond neccissarily.

 

[CharleyH]

I'ecided to indulge myself and I am watching NBC's Victory at Sea series. Some facts are incorrect and the take is very 1950's good vs. evil.

Despite this, I am struck by how powerfully the score underscores the narration and footage. I don't believe i have ever noticed it before, but it's been a forceful thought on this snowy cold morning.

Anyone ever notice a score that really just made the words and images subserviant to it, rather than vice versa?

The funny thing is that many people tell one not to bring music into a story, and yet, music is a powerful motivator in the emotion of a narrative. In this world of free downloads and iPods, we can get to a song expediently to help with a narrative. (just an aside).

There is one score that makes me cry instantly and it's from "Meet Joe Black" and because they use it in every scene almost. Although, come my period I am weepy on telephone commercial scores, too. lol And yes, the score is subserviant to the narrative in this case, but perhaps I have just seen the movie too many times?

Edit to add in answering your question: "Pump Up the Volume" - great soundtrack and forgettable movie, as was "Times Square".

 

[Kev H]

For me, "The Last of the Mohicans" is a powerful example of this. The movie without the music would be an empty shell in comparison.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Take it from an old-timer, Richard Roger's score for Victory at Sea was more famous than the series ever was. As a kid, I remember my dad cranking it on the old Hi Fi. Everyone knew it. It's just brilliant music.

Some of the themes even made it to the top ten of the time. One theme-- "Under the Southern Cross"--had lyrics set to it as "No Greater Love Have I" and was a hit.

You're not old enough, but I remember what Henry Mancini's music for the TV show "Peter Gunn" did to pop music at the time. It just exploded on the scene and was all you heard for like 2-3 years. It introduced mainstream America to jazz. The music is still brilliant, and Mancini himself was a genius of the first order.

 

[RogueLurker]

The soundtrack for The Mission. The story, the scenery, the music ... all of it combined made an a lasting impression on me.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

A lot of Japanese artists understand how score can make a work. So much so that many of the most celebrated modern composers are famous for their work on video games and animation. Yoko Kanno for instance is famed for making his jazz and experimental pieces evoke the emotion of any scene while at the same time raising the bar for what music can do and fitting in with the general theme or style of the show in general.

Another master composer as far as music making the work is the man who composed the music for an old video game called Shivers. The work on mute is crap, a puzzle game with 2D sprites that occassionally jump out, but with the music, it is the single most scary game I and many of my friends have ever played. A true master of music.

Most horror movies realize that music is what will scare the audience the most as well, utilizing score movements to build suspense or to suddenly make a loud noise so as to make the audience jump regardless of the actual scariness of the image in question.

In many cases, music unlocks the emotions that the words alone can't. Music was likely a big reason that Spielberg movies and Star Wars are ultra-popular versus well-liked. This knowledge is why Tim Burton has stuck reliably to Danny Elfman and why Lord of the Rings feels so epic. Music definitely adds a lot and can manipulate emotions better than mere words.

 

[Liar]

Although it's a great story and movie, the only reason I watch Fargo on a regular basis these days is the score, and the fact that I lost the soundtrack CD.

 

[BlackShanglan]

ahhh! and so we discover the real reason porn blows

For me, it's "The Ride of the Valkyrie." I see the most wonderful things to that music.

ETA: "Star Wars" them and "Last of the Mohicans" are brilliant as well. I also very much like the soundtrack to "Aliens."

 

[Liar]

The funny thing is that many people tell one not to bring music into a story, and yet, music is a powerful motivator in the emotion of a narrative. In this world of free downloads and iPods, we can get to a song expediently to help with a narrative. (just an aside).

I've played with the idea of writing a story and publishing it online in segments on separate pages, so that each scene could get a soundtrack of it's own. I thought mainly of using athmosphere sounds - city streets, waves on a beach, that kind of thing - mood music might be a neat idea.

 

[CharleyH]

I've played with the idea of writing a story and publishing it online in segments on separate pages, so that each scene could get a soundtrack of it's own. I thought mainly of using athmosphere sounds - city streets, waves on a beach, that kind of thing - mood music might be a neat idea.

I did a thing - I know what you mean.

 

[rgraham666]

The soundtrack for The Mission. The story, the scenery, the music ... all of it combined made an a lasting impression on me.

This was the movie that popped into my mind on Colleen's first post.

I can't hear even a snippet of the soundtrack without all the emotions I felt watching this movie rising up in me.

Along with the original All Quiet On the Western Front and Paths Of Glory, it's one of the good movies I'll never watch again. Way too hard for a soft hearted individual such as myself.

 

[Guest]

The movie Platoon - the haunting melody throughout is Samuel Barber's 'Adagio For Strings' - it is so achingly beautiful it fits the movie in a completely horrific way.

As to quantity? The biggies right now are James Horner:

* Wolfen
* 48 hours 1, 2
* Star Trek 2, 3
* Something Wicked this Way Comes
* The Dresser
* Gorky Park
* Commando
* Cocoon 1, 2 -
* Aliens
* Clear and Present Danger
* An American Tail 1,2
* Red Heat
* The Land before Time
* Willow -
* Legends of the Fall
* Field of Dreams
* Glory
* Honey, I shrunk the Kids
* The Rocketeer
* The Man without a Face
* Patriot Games
* Clear and Present Danger
* The Pelican Brief
* Jumanji
* Pagemaster
* Casper -
* Class Action
* Ransom
* Courage under Fire
* Braveheart
* Apollo 13
* The Titanic
* Deep Impact
* Sneakers
* The Mask of Zorro
* A Perfect Storm
* Bicentennial Man
* A Beautiful Mind
* Iris
* Windtalkers - war movie where the Navaho language is used as a code
* House of Sand and Fog
* How the Grinch stole Christmas
* Troy
* Radio


And John Williams.

* Lost in Space
* Time Tunnel
* Gilligan's Island
* Land of the Giants
* NBC News "Mission Theme"
* The Cowboys
* Dracula
* Fiddler on the Roof - though Jerry Bock did the songs
* The Poseidon Adventure
* The Long Goodbye
* Earthquake
* Seven Years in Tibet
* Jane Eyre - made for TV in 1971
* The Fury
* Sugarland Express
* Black Sunday
* The Towering Inferno
* The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
* The Eiger Sanction
* Jaws 1, 2, 3D, 4
* Battle of Midway
* Close Encounters of the third Kind - with its integral 5-note theme
* Superman 1, 2, 3, 4 - absolutely perfect for the comic book hero
* 1941
* Raiders of the Lost Ark 1, 2 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), 3 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) - another rousing march, adventure, excitement and some nods to ethnic styles
* Star Wars 4 (A New Hope), 5 (The Empire Strikes Back), 6 (Return of the Jedi) [the Original Trilogy], and 1 (The Phantom Menace), 2 (Attack of the Clones) and 3 (Revenge of the Sith) [the later prequels] - fanfares and themes to denote characters now familiar the world over
* ET, The Extra-Terrestrial
* Yes, Giorgio
* The Big Chill
* The River
* SpaceCamp
* Empire of the Sun
* The Witches of Eastwick - devilish
* The Accidental Tourist
* Always
* Born on the Fourth of July
* Home Alone 1 and 2 (Lost in New York)
* Presumed Innocent
* J.F.K.
* Nixon
* Hook
* Schindler's List
* Jurassic Park 1, 2
* Far and Away
* Sleepers
* Amistad
* Saving Private Ryan
* Sabrina
* Stepmom
* Seven Years in Tibet
* Angela's Ashes
* A.I. Artificial Intelligence
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (and sequels "Chamber of Secrets" and "Prisoner of Azkaban")
* The Patriot
* Minority Report
* Catch Me if You Can
* The Terminal
* War of the Worlds
* Memoirs of a Geisha
* Munich



Some of these film scores are so powerful I cannot imagine the movie without them. And I think many people know the music so well they are able to recall the movie fairly accurately by just listening to the soundtrack.

(Guilty.)

 

[crazycatt]

For me, it's "The Ride of the Valkyrie." I see the most wonderful things to that music.

ETA: "Star Wars" them and "Last of the Mohicans" are brilliant as well. I also very much like the soundtrack to "Aliens."

Aliens I don't recall, but I remember Alien well.. possibly due to the various *ahem* influences I was under at the time... and that chilling theme (I don't even know if it can be called a song) completely underlined that movie in my memory. And scared the pants off of me!

Most recent movie I saw in the theatre was the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and I thought it had a brilliant score, the intro scene (nothing but the credits, the music and the train in the countryside) really elated me.. the battle and the scene when alsan was killed were amazing, too. The dude isn't known for being a particularly brilliant composer, either, but I thought he did a great job.

 

[Weird Harold]

Anyone ever notice a score that really just made the words and images subserviant to it, rather than vice versa?

The Exorcist --aka Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. I don't recll any of the other music from the movie; if there was any, but My son-in-law has that as his ring tone for when my daughter calls.

The best movie music isn't "memorable" though. Thebest movi music is like the music for The Heavy Metal Movie -- an outstanding soundtrack, but you never actually notice it during the movie.

 

[TheEarl]

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Lord Of The Rings yet. That's got some superb music that doesn't take over a scene, but helps it along and builds the tension.

Another one which I love is the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's season, especially the second half, is basically character torture in a box. The score is superb, especially in the penultimate scene where everything twists and the score suddenly changes with it.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

"Friday Night Lights".

The guitar piece at the end of the championship game in particular. It is one of the most moving pieces of music I have heard in a long time and fit perfectly with the that scene.

I'm still trying to determine the name of the piece and the artist so I can find a recording of it. If anyone knows I'd appreciate the info.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Lord Of The Rings yet. That's got some superb music that doesn't take over a scene, but helps it along and builds the tension.

Another one which I love is the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's season, especially the second half, is basically character torture in a box. The score is superb, especially in the penultimate scene where everything twists and the score suddenly changes with it.

The Earl

In particular, with LOTR i think of the Minas Tirth arangement for the lighting of the beacons. Good calll Earl