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Soundtracks and composers, which really WORK September 12, 2010

Posted by Elena in Other Articles.
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There is no denying that a bad soundtrack can turn a promising film into an annoying disaster, just like a good one can translate an average film into billions of dollars (as is the case with “Mamma Mia”). No wonder then that a huge percent of all major productions’ budget goes to hiring composers , orchestras, studios and so on, all to make sure that their film does not follow the first path. And of course, a good OST is a serious cash-bringer in itself, if offered as an album or on iTunes.

So how does it work? Is it the film that makes the soundtrack legendary, or is it the other way around? I can’t say, but here’s what is true: not everybody has seen “Requiem of a Dream”, but hardly anyone will have trouble recognizing the following music:

The name of this piece is Lux Aeterna, by English composer Clint Mansell. After “Requiem of a Dream” it has been used in commercials and has become one of the industry’s favourite melodies to use in trailers (“The Da Vinci Code”, “Sunshine”, “Lost”, “I Am Legend”, “Babylon A.D.”, and” Zathura”. A version of it was also used for the trailer of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).

Here’s another classic:

The man behind this piece is John Williams. He is one of Hollywood’s biggest composers, responsible for the soundtracks/theme songs of most of their biggest productions. Just check out the list. And those are only the most famous titles!

“Jaws”

“Jaws 2”

“Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace”

”Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones”

“Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith”

“Star Wars IV: A New Hope”

“Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back”

“Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi”

“Superman” (1978)

“Dracula”

“E.T.”

“The Witches of Eastwick”

“Home Alone”

“Home Alone 2”

“Hook”

“Jurassic Park”

“Schindler’s List”

“Seven Years in Tibet”

“Saving Private Ryan”

“A.I.:Artificial Intelligence”

“Harry Potter  and the Philosopher’s Stone”

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”

“Catch me if you can”

“Minority Report”

“War of the Worlds”

“Memoirs of a Geisha”

Yes. Yes that was also his doing.

Moving on, here’s another unmistakable tune:

James Horner is to blame. Another big name from the realm of Hollywood’s favourite composers, whose other works include “Jumanji”, “Casper”, “The Mask of Zoro”, “The Perfect Storm”, “Enemy at the Gates”, “Troy”, “Apocalipto” and the most recent ones “Avatar” and “The Karate Kid”.

He is also the composer of my personal all-time-favourite theme song. I have seen the film only twice, many years apart and many years ago. But I can honestly say that until this moment, the second I hear the first tones of this music, my hearts starts beating faster and I get butterflies in my stomach! Here it goes again:

Next on my list (which is not composed in order of importance) is the titan Ennio Morricone.  If you’ve never heard of him, grab the “noob” hat and go sit in the corner. OK, OK, come back, and I’ll explain what you’ve been missing. To quote Wikipedia, “He is considered one of the most prolific and influential film composers of his era.”. (I never quote Wikipedia, but this time I just couldn’t say it better myself).

I couldn’t post a list of the productions he’s worked on even if I wanted to, as there are more than 500 of them. Among his most famous works are those with director Sergio Leonne and his so-called Spagetti Westerns – A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).

Here’s the theme song of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”, called “The Ecstasy of Gold”.  It has become a symbol of an entire era in popular film history (that of the “Spagetti Western”). In fact, Metallica have done their rendition of it and have developed a tradition to start their concerts with it (and trust me, the crowd goes MENTAL).

Moving on with the list, we find another Italian composer – Nino Rotha. Worldwide, he is most famous for his soundtracks of “The Godfather” trilogy. Here’s what plays in the background, while Marlon Brando and Al Pacino make us “an offer we can’t refuse”.

Now here’s a score which makes me shiver! You might not have seen the film “1492: The Conquest of Paradise”, as it didn’t do that well in the box office back in 1992, but it’s music became a worldwide hit. It is the baby of Greek composer Vangelis, regarded by critics as one of the greatest composers of electronic music of all time.

Next comes one score I simply can’t miss. UK television has made sure of that, featuring it as a soundtrack of Big Brother and numerous commercials through the years. Here’s Rob Dougan’s “Clubbed to Death” or “The Matrix” theme song.

Finally, I’m going to post a piece, which has in the latest years become so used in film trailers, that is has become a cliché to an extent. But I’d still rather regard it as a classic. English composer John Murphy is responsible for it and you have to admit – when it comes to raising tension, that music does it spot on! Originally, it’s the main theme of the film “28 Days Later”. (To give you a little visual, this plays in the background at the opening of the film where at a point  a guy is running in an empty field, being chased by zombies and with nowhere to go. Enjoy!   )

Oh, and just to make one last point before I finish this way-too-long-anyway post. “The Lord of the Rings” is one of the biggest cinema hits of all time. Did you know the theme song for the first film is called “May it be”? Can you remember the melody? Did you know Enya is the artist behind it?

Didn’t think so.