On Score And Cinema
- Aug 2, 2017
- 3 min read
There is a part of modern cinema that is almost inescapable. It isn't digital effects, poorly written scripts or a near constant barrage of exposition. It's something far better, something that can elevate a movie to new levels, the soundtrack.
The first film score that I ever really noticed, and I'm certain many of you readers will feel the same, was that of Star Wars. The melancholic strings of Binary Sunset (more commonly known as The Force Theme) and the rousing brass section of The Imperial March through to the choral notes of Duel Of The Fates and Battle Of The Heroes. Of course this was quickly followed by the adventurous beats of Indiana Jones, yet another of John Williams' pieces, a thread that would carry on through Jaws and Jurassic Park. Then there was Howard Shore's work on Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy, most notably The Caverns Of Isengard and the beautiful Breaking Of The Fellowship.
But it wasn't until I went backed and re-watched a number of films from my youth that I came to a realisation, even some of the less than good ones had great scores. The first Transformers film sports what is possibly my favourite soundtrack to date. It's the perfect example of how music can bring a film up, make it better. Steve Jablonsky's compositions capture the thousands of years of Cybertronian conflict wonderfully, even if the film itself fails to represent it. Arrival To Earth is easily my personal highlight of the film, and all of cinema, closely followed by Optimus Prime's theme.
Then there's the main theme to Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, a film I enjoy despite it's flaws. And much of that enjoyment stems Michael Kamen's main theme, a piece of music that captures everything that Robin Hood should be, more so than the film it features in. It's up there with Hans Zimmer's Amazing Spiderman 2 theme, a score that encapsulates the essence of the character and is far more enjoyable to listen too than the film is too watch.
But you don't have too watch bad movies to get great scores. Michael Giacchino works magic in War For The Planet Of The Apes (unfortunately the same cannot be said for his other recent work on Spiderman: Homecoming and Rogue One), Hans Zimmer does great in Gladiator, Dunkirk, The Last Samurai and The Da Vinci Code. Basil Poledouris crafted a memorable score for Robocop and a beautiful one for Conan The Barbarian as well as the militarised themes of Starship Troopers.
There's Jerry Goldsmith who redefined cinema music with Planet Of The Apes, Alien, the Rambo films and The Ghost And The Darkness. Randy Edelman and his work on Dragonheart and The Last Of The Mohicans. Of course one cannot forget the late, great James Horner who brought us Aliens, The Wrath Of Khan, Avatar and more before his untimely passing. Naturally there's the western whistles of Ennio Morricone and his work with Sergio Leone, much of which is instantly recognisable.
If there's one thing that comes through all these scores, it's that they can be listened to end to end without one growing bored. Even without the visuals to accompany them they can bring forth feeling and emotion. While the likes of Tchaikovsky and Wagner have long since gone, it is through film that great orchestral works will live on, now and forever more.
There's too many quality tracks to list them all but by clicking the HERE, you can check out a playlist I've created just for you. Enjoy...
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