By Isaac Sigmund-Broka
Staff Writer
The visual aspects of movies have always been over-emphasized. Seeing a film as “visual art” ignores one of the fundamental and definitive aspects of a movie: the score.
Without Nino Rota’s haunting musical themes in “the Godfather,” the film would lose some of its ominous mystique. “Star Wars” would have less heroic grandiosity without John Williams’ iconic overture. The scraping violins of “Psycho” defined the sound of fear, and the two-note “Jaws” theme defined it again.
While these film score classics are excellent, one of the best scores of all time is that of “Dirty Harry.” The score’s erie spattering of drum and flute interludes with well-placed synth adds to the suspense more than the film’s direction.
With the rare exception of a few other ambient scores, the large majority of film scores, especially ones that are universally-praised, are standard orchestral works.
Only now have experimental scores begun to attain similar popular acclaim. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won an academy award for the frigid and grating ambiance in their score of “The Social Network.” And Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood has recently received high praise for his lonely soundscapes in Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film, “The Master.”
These composers recognize the futility of pumping melodies into films. They understand that it would seem out of place in creating an atmosphere that helps the film’s action.
As the viewer is brought into a world visually, a group of sounds brings him or her into it aurally. In other words, the score and picture stop feeling like separate aspects of the film and begin to become one.
An ambient score is not indicative of a lazy composer, but rather one who places the mood of his or her contribution over anything else. These scores, provided they are executed well, deserve the same respect as the cherished melodies of our favorite scores.
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