Film Music, anyone?

[djdave]

Would anybody be interested in a thread/forum on film music?

The genre is big enough that it encompasses all of the different styles of music represented on the site. Plus, it would llink to the movie review thread.

Just a thought.

[ambernector]

Is this the thread?

My favourite has to be 'Last of the Mohicans' music.

[djdave]

That's a good one, with an interestting backstory. There were two composers for the film....Treveor Jones and Randy Edelman. Apparantly, there was some sort of falling out between the original composer - don't know which one of the two it was - and the producers.

I reckon the best soundtrack is Morricone's The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I'd recommend it for two cues alone: The Ecstasy of Gold and The Trio. They play when the characters have reached the cemetary at the end.

[ambernector]

good choice. Can't forget the 'Imperial March' in 'Star Wars'

[djdave]

Another good choice. Dark and menacing: just right for representing a malevolent empire. That's what's so good about film music....the way it can emphasis a point or create a mood or a feel within a film.

The Throne Room/End Titles from Star Wars is a rip-roaring example of John Williams' stuff.

Incidentally, Williams got the gig for Star Wars because he'd done two films for Steven Spileberg: Sugarland Express and Jaws. Spielberg was great mates with George Lucas - they both came from the late 60s/early 70s New Hollywood boom - and recommened the composer to him.

[ambernector]

The best film music for setting the mood appropriately has to be war films. I am thinking of 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'Platoon'.

[djdave]

The Great Escape, 633 Squadron, Where Eagles Dare....three corkers.

To that list, I'd add Roy Budd's score for The Wild Geese. It's not a war film, per se, but it's about hired mercenaries and - according to reveiws I've read - has some realistic training scenes.

Budd shot to fame doing the music for Michael Caine's Get Carter, but he lots of other good stuff - much of it jazz-based - before he passed away.

I would imagine that some genres of film may lend themselves more easily to writing music and war films is probably one.

[JonG]

It's not a film score, but Angelo Badalamenti's score for Twin Peaks really does it for me. Especially the title Twin Peaks Theme and Laura Palmer's Theme.

[djdave]

Been off-line for a while, with work committments and my Mum's modem going screwy.

Anyway, I'm back. Angelo Badalamenti works a lot with David Lynch. When composers and directors can form long-lasting partnerships like that - instead of the composer being dragged in at the last moment - then it leads to better film music.

An example of the latter is Quincy Jones' score for McKenna's Gold. The producers realised that they had a dud on their hands and thought that a poppy-sounding score might bring in more younger people. Jones was brought in as a sort of musical band aid.

[Tiggi]

I can only recall a couple of soundtracks in my collection:

Lady Sings The Blues was my entry point into jazz with Diana Ross singing the part of Billie Holiday.

Sweet Dreams was a similar biopic of Patsy Cline, and the album takes the original Cline vocals and uses rerecorded backing music.

On the subject of Angelo Badalamenti, there are a couple of good collaborations I've heard:

The record he made with Julee Cruise is a spin-off from the Twin Peaks stuff and is a gorgeous hazy laid-back affair.

He also made an album with Tim Booth from James under the name Booth & The Bad Angel. This is very different, from the Twin Peaks/Julee Cruise material, but is also very good.