Last year about this time I posted a blog before the final season of LOST began and how integral the music was to the show. The same is no less true for film. Some film scores go mostly unnoticed, delicately complimenting the story, while others boldly secure the epic backdrop of a celluloid tale. While some may argue that mood music is used to create a false emotional depth, I think everyone would agree that the score to a film shouldn't be a distraction. Maurice Andre's score to Doctor Zhivago was one of the best-selling movie soundtracks of its time, but repetitive balalaika music at loud volume (whether because of the soundtrack mix, or the projection volume?) will quickly pull the viewer out of the film (sorry Josh and Rick).
From Wikipedia: In editing Zhivago, Lean and producer Carlo Ponti reduced or outright deleted many of the themes composed by Jarre; Jarre was angry because he felt that an over-reliance on "Lara's Theme" would ruin the soundtrack.
So a film score needs to support the story and develop the atmosphere without drawing too much attention to itself. That doesn't mean it needs to shirk away into the background either. John Williams is probably the best known film composer of the last 35 years precisely because his best known scores are big and brash, but they enhance the excitement of those films. It all depends on the mood the director wants to set.
Now, following my stream of consciousness...an Afghani musician going by the name birdfeeder decided to slow down John Williams' classic orchestral theme to Jurassic Park (amazing by itself) and slow it down so that it stretches out to nearly an hour of ambient music. It becomes something more appropriate for (depending on the section) Inception (slowed brass), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, or Sunshine.
The effect is really quite incredible. I recommend downloading it and listening to the entire thing. Right around the 9:45 mark the discord is so tense and drawn-out it feels like the chord will never resolve.
The real reason I started this entry, though, was an observation I had during the previews for upcoming films before True Grit started. It's no secret that at least the first trailer is edited before the final music for the film is complete, so it's fairly common to hear a familiar tune played over images from the upcoming movie. I remember for awhile a piece from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves seemed like it was in every other movie trailer. Anyway, I recognized a couple of unique pieces of music that each give a very specific tone. Water for Elephants is set at the circus and used the playful music-box theme Song for Jesse from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
The other seems to be getting even more play, though I'm not sure I can remember every place I've heard it lately. John Murphy wrote the synth-based score to Sunshine (underrated, or at least "under-seen"). The most recognizable track is Adagio in D Minor, used in the trailer for a film I'm pretty excited about, The Adjustment Bureau (Philip K Dick + Emily Blunt + Matt Damon). I heard the same track used in an episode of The Walking Dead, which was especially interesting to me, since Bear McCreary's score for the TV series seems influenced by the scores from both Sunshine and 28 Days Later...written by John Murphy.
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