Music at the Movies

Happy 2013! Wishing you all the best in the new year. I hope it will be a happy, safe, and peaceful one.

I'm still in a state of disbelief when I think about my three weeks of holiday vacation and where it went. I expected plenty of down time to watch movies, but everyday brought with it ten more things to do. Getting things ready for having company over, baking Christmas treats for friends, catching up with old friends in between family gatherings, and preparing for a return to work left very little extra time. While I don't miss the stress of the holidays, I do miss practically everything else about them. One thing I especially miss is the Christmas music. Sadly, it looks like I won't be hearing any more Bing renditions of Mele Kalikimaka or tracks of Sinatra's Christmas Waltz or Nat King Cole's Christmas Song until next year.

I honestly think if people had to pick a few elements that make Christmas and the holidays a special time of year, many would mention the music. So that got me thinking, it's a similar situation for movies...

Music often makes a movie. Musicals would be the most obvious incarnation of this, but musical arrangement is just as important for other genres. It adds an element of emotion that can't be drawn out by images alone. Think about it: What would Lawrence of Arabia be without its epic theme? Would The Odd Couple seem just as funny without the repetitious jazz track played throughout? How would removing the easy going sound of Anton Karas' zither playing throughout The Third Man alter the tone of the film? Considering just these few examples, it seems to me that a simple change of music can completely alter the perception of a dramatic scene, of any genre. In fact, I saw a youtube video that made an alternate trailer for Mary Poppins, and just by cutting a few scenes and substituting an eerie melody for the well known tunes like "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Let's go fly a kite" cast it as a horror flick. Of course, that isn't the best example, because I always thought there were scenes of the actual Mary Poppins film that were quite scary. But, you get the point.

Lawrence of Arabia Overture (Maurice Jarre)

 

The Third Man Theme (Anton Karas)

 

Or think of silent movies, even. Of course, the music serves as a cue to hint at the emotional state of a character or the consequences of actions or discussions in a specific scene. Here is a link to the entire Battle of the Sexes 1928 silent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK2d5g4p8v0 Try muting the sound and see if you perceive the scene as it is meant to be received by the audience. You'll probably guess the correct emotions for most scenes, but I'm sure you'll realize how the interactive quality of music is crucial for getting you to buy into the story and feel some investment in the characters and their future than without it.



Two composers and musical collaborators involved in film that I especially respect are Henry Mancini and John Williams. Both have turned out loads of influential melodies imbued with the ability to affect the interpretation of the drama and heighten the individual's reaction to the film's visual message.

 

Henry Mancini

John Williams

Mancini's genius was responsible for the Pink Panther theme, Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Baby Elephant Walk from Hatari!. Williams has had similar success with the creation of epic scores for equally epic films like: Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Schindler's List, Star Wars, and the Indiana Jones films.

The Pink Panther Theme (Mancini)

If you've "watched" some of the videos above, I've purposely tried to find clips (except for the Pink Panther clip) that include the music arrangement, but exclude visual input from the respective movies. In doing so, I hope to have emphasized the descriptive qualities of these scores that allow the listener to imagine a context for the music to fit into. Of course, it is always the hope of the directors of a film that this context will closely parallel the dynamics of their visual creation.

To finish off, below are two music clip videos that demonstrate the creativity of a few other individuals involved in composing original musical accompaniment for the movies, and the proportions of their contributions to the motion picture industry.

The Great Escape Theme (Elmer Bernstein)

 

Ben-Hur Overture (Miklos Rozsa)