posted
After watching Wall Street and Secret Admirer bringing up David Byrnes contributing to the score....it got me thinking of a topic.....
How important and how much do you notice the score?
I know alot of movies have scores released.....along with the soundtrack as albums. Do all movies have scores? I really want to know? I guess to some extent right?
When I looked up Wall Street it listed Stewart Copeland of the Police as 'Original Music by'......I also know Byrnes did the score for Something Wild...well it lists him in the opening credits?? but not on IMDB? I could be looking in the wrong place?
Wall Street's score was a little dodgy in parts and not super memorable.....I loved when 'Naive Melody' played but I consider that the soundtrack right? not the score?
and what's with all the musicians becoming big time film composers?
Byrnes,Copeland, Danny Elfman??? Now there's a guy who does an awesome very memorable score....Beetlejuice anyone?
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posted
I guess for me the score is most obvious in John Carpenter films. Thats what comes to mind anyway.
I think that it can make the movie seem alot better, but if the movie is ****, the score is not going to save it.
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quote:How important and how much do you notice the score?
Depends how prominent / good it is. I usually notice it. I actually prefer scores to song-based soundtracks (usually).
quote:I know alot of movies have scores released.....along with the soundtrack as albums. Do all movies have scores? I really want to know? I guess to some extent right?
Most do, but not all. Some films only have the songs you hear playing throughout ('Easy Rider'). Some films have a mix ('Pretty in Pink', 'Some Kind of Wonderful', 'Goonies'). And some are entirely scored ('Superman', 'E.T.'). 'Soundtrack' is the term used to describe whatever music is used in the film, so they may release a soundtrack that is entirely songs, or one that is entirely score, or a mix of both.
Case in point; the original soundtrack release of 'Goonies' was made up of songs and only two pieces of the score ('Fratelli Chase' and 'End Theme'). But there is quite a bit of Dave Grusin's score throughout the film (like the descending piece of music you hear whenever Mikey is thinking about One Eyed Willy). Last year a full soundtrack of the score was released with none of the songs (limited, sadly).
'Back to the Future' has a similar story.
'Pretty in Pink' and 'Some Kind of Wonderful' only ever had songs released, and the handful of short pieces of incidental music scored for those movies has never been released officially.
quote:When I looked up Wall Street it listed Stewart Copeland of the Police as 'Original Music by'......I also know Byrnes did the score for Something Wild...well it lists him in the opening credits?? but not on IMDB? I could be looking in the wrong place?
Byrnes did some of the songs on the soundtrack, which I think was made up of some of his stuff with Brian Eno. The score was by Stewart Copeland.
quote:I loved when 'Naive Melody' played but I consider that the soundtrack right? not the score?
'Soundtrack' is the umbrella term for all the music, so it is soundtrack. But you're right, it's not the score. The score is music composed for the film to work with whatever's onscreen, and usually refers to instrumental music.
quote:and what's with all the musicians becoming big time film composers? Byrnes,Copeland, Danny Elfman???
That's not very many when you think of all the musicians out there. I think some of them do it because it's a challenge creatively. Others do it because it pays fairly well, and it can give them a life after their 'popular' music career has started to fade.
quote:Now there's a guy who does an awesome very memorable score....Beetlejuice anyone?
I like Elfman's scores, but I find him repetitious sometimes. 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Black Beauty' are great.
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posted
Well...for the most part I think scores can be overlooked and can only slightly hinder a film..But there are those certain films that would pretty much be nothing without the brilliant score that accompanies them..a couple examples:
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Come on Now...seriously, What would this movie be without the brilliant Ennio score? I swear the score to this film is almost more infamous than the film itself.
Conan The Barbarian/Destroyer: Again, Can you imagine how weak these films would be without the Classic Basil Poledouris Score Thundering in the Backround?
Batman: Still Danny Elfman's Finest work to this day IMO. And one of the best as far as film scores go.
...So yeah, I think great film scores can either Make or Break certain movies. Just really depends what kinda movies you're talking about.
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posted
Some music scores make the movie I think. Think of the original "Halloween" movie and what it would be like if it didn't have that awesome John Carpenter piano score. Would it even still be scary?
I also love the scores for "Risky Business" and "Lucas."
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Valley Dated Julie From 'Valley Girl' (allegedly!)
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The original "Halloween" still remains my fav horror flick and you are right about the score being of major importance.
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quote:Originally posted by Veronica Sawyer: Some music scores make the movie I think. Think of the original "Halloween" movie and what it would be like if it didn't have that awesome John Carpenter piano score. Would it even still be scary?
I also love the scores for "Risky Business" and "Lucas."
Aye...excellent points and examples there too Veronica. You're Right, The Halloween movies would have been nothing without that classic Halloween Theme. And also "Ricky Business" indeed...the TD score certainly added to the erotic elements of that film. The same thing can be said for the score to "Body Double" as well.
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posted
Scores are important, though sometimes the score is a paradox. If the movie is really good, the score should enhance the experience. But if I'm enjoying the score too much, then there usually is something wrong with the film. (My case in point is "Dragonslayer." Alex North's score is so terrific, that I started listening to it and ignoring the movie.) Some scores and scenes mate so brilliantly that you can't ever hear the music without seeing the scene in your mind. (Bernie, a bunch of film critics voted "Tuco runs through the graveyard" by Morricone as the greatest soundtrack cue of all time. It is.) "Halloween" is justly considered Carpenter's most famous score with the repetitive Alan Howarth keyboard track. You can't imagine the film without it. (That said, Harry Mandredini's famous "Chi-chi-chi...ah...ah..ah" score for "Friday the 13th" is equally as good.) Yet some movies need no score at all. Tarantino's movies all have "found" soundtracks of songs and cues. And no matter what you think of the film, the original "I Spit on Your Grave" is more unsettlingly simply because it has no score, only one scene of incidental music.
When it comes to songs in movies, Veronica and Pyromantic mention one of the best examples: "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collions as used in "Risky Business." It's perfectly placed in the film. Again, you can't hear it without seeing DeMornay and Cruise on the el-train in your mind. The Tangerine Dream score for that film is brilliant too.
That said, my favorite "modern" (I'll leave fantastic old timers like Steiner, Herrmann, Rosa, and Korngold for another forum) soundtrack composers are Morricone (greatest ever--some of his obscure Italian thriller stuff such as "What Have You Done to Solange?" and "Lizard in a Woman's Skin" is just fantastic), Pino Donaggio (many DePalma films; "Blow Out" is one of the most moving scores ever), John Williams (of course!), Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, Tangerine Dream (every score a masterpiece or near masterpiece), Danny Elfman (ditto), Vangelis (I like "Blade Runner" so much more than "Chariots of Fire," for which he is noted), Goblin (and its various permutations such as Claudio Simonetti, et al.), Angelo Badalamenti, Stewart Copeland, John Barry ("Body Heat" is a superb 80's score), and John Carpenter.
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posted
"Blow Out" is one of my favorite DePalma films, Logan5. I do not have it on DVD so the Criterion is a must. "Carrie" is another great Donaggio score.
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kevdugp73
He's eating after dark again....
Member # 5978
posted
The film score for Chariots Of Fire was obviously uber important. I think scores in general are very useful in illiciting emotion in a film, and if done well, can make a significant improvement in the movie watching experience. Whenever I watch any special features on a DVD and they provide extra footage, typically comes with no score...it is very very noticeable when the score is abscent and really highlights the point well I think.
* The scores in romantic scenes have become so important, I now have an mp3 player and a small speaker on hand....every time I kiss my wife, I play a nice score from the Notebook...if I forget to play a song, she usually says something like...."ehhhh...something's missing"! Posts: 2148 | From: Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Aug 2007 | Site Updates: 0
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Kash
Kash : Aha! He'll save every one of us...
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posted
Great thread Muffy. As pointed out above, good scores enhance the intensity and emotional resonance of a sequence or scene and becomes synonymous with that moment in the movie.
Alan Silvestri usually gets it just right, and his scores for Predator, The Abyss and Back To The Future are some of the best out there IMO.
A Criterion edition of Blow Out is about the best movie news I’ve heard all month. Just hope they don't make it a Blu-Ray only release, in which case I'm out.
[ 17. January 2011, 18:40: Message edited by: Kash ]
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