Melodic Milestones - The Score

Film music! Fitting given that Cannes has past, Tribeca is not far off and I am in the mood for film score discussion. Project Hail Mary’s compositions by Daniel Pemberton were exceptional - my favorite this year so far. Of course we are only at the halfway point but composers are a key part of cinema, capturing a magic that even the weakest scripts can’t dent and create the one thing you can’t get out of a book. I have to stick to personalized playlists for that!

Melodic milestones that shaped my taste for film music specifically - composers will be named but I will be focusing on specific soundtracks that appealed to me specifically. And soundtracks in full rather than just iconic themes. Those tend to be the parts people remember the most about film scores with good reason but a score all the way through that manages to be amazing all the way through? Here are just a few I can think of:

1. John Williams is the Godfather of film composition, countless masterpieces to his name. It would be criminal to try and choose just one but I thought I would avoid the classics that immediately come to your head. Schindler’s List is an all time top 10 and War Horse is criminally underrated but I am going to go with my personal favorite: Star Wars, more specifically: Revenge of the Sith. The music of this space opera is packed to the brim with classics but ROTS is memorable from beginning to end. From Battle of the Heroes to Ruminations to Immolation. You could follow the sweeping tragedy without even looking at the screen, that is sheer power.

Highlights - Anakin vs Obi Wan [Revenge of the Sith]

Pirates of the Caribbean. Iconic theme yes but iconic all the way through. This swashbuckler remains top tier with the music all over the franchise. From the instant transportation of Jack Sparrow’s theme to the tone setting Hoist the Colours, you know where each piece goes and what kind of scene is playing. So many moods are used within this score and where many adventure movies have one or two memorable themes, this series has at least a dozen. It's Hans Zimmer at his best.

Highlight - Davy Jones Theme

The Red Violin. underrated. Underrated. UNDERRATED. If you haven’t seen this movie, you should. It is an eerie, beautifully shot, fable that wouldn’t be out of place in an Edgar Allan Poe story. Most of all the score is gorgeous, Joshua Bell features as the violinist you hear when the red instrument of death plays and the orchestra combined with his talents is absolutely stunning from beginning to end. with every stunning piece, you can always feel an underlying dread that nails the whole tale in a nutshell.

Highlight - I Cremona: The Birth of the Red Violin

Van Helsing. This movie’s score is easily in the top 5 of all time. Personally I think this is a film that deserved a lot better than it got but in addition Alan Silvestri loaded an already atmospheric movie with the perfect track for every moment. Once you have heard Transylvania 1887, it is as recognizable as the theme from Jurassic Park. It should be at the top of every macabre study playlist, I really have to bat for this score. It is a gothic masterpiece.

Highlight - All Hallow’s Eve Ball

Stardust. Ilan Eshkeri created a journey through music. A perfect theme for every moment from Septimus to The Star Shines, you know where each piece fits and the sweeping orchestra creates an epic score. there is more to this movie than just the Take That song. A magnificent adaptation of a magnificent book that deserves a magnificent score.

Highlight - Tristan & Yvaine

Pan’s Labyrinth. It is the 20th anniversary of this masterpiece. You can already hear the Lullaby the moment you think of this movie. Javier Navarrete managed to create something almost exactly the same in tone but manages to shift through every emotion through the grim surroundings into a fantasy world wrought with imagination and terror all with those same notes of the Lullaby wafting in and out. yet another of the many reasons this is Del Toro's magnum opus.

Highlight - A Book of Blood

Hacksaw Ridge. This wasn’t even nominated for Best Score…HOW?! Rupert Gregson Williams was robbed. ROBBED. An insanely good biopic about a real life hero. The phrase “help me get one more” had me in tears and the music did NOT help. The whole score sweeps you into the triumph and desperation of Desmond Doss, capturing every heart wrenching and beautiful moment of this true story that needs to be told on such an epic level.

Highlight - One Man At A Time

Stay. This is a haunting score for a haunting film. Criminally underseen. And all the way through there is a light in the pitch black of this tale. The composers Asche and Spencer use sound to tease you about the story, just what is going on and whether you put it together before the end. Pairs perfectly with the imagery as well. This is a movie where all I can say is you just have to see it but make sure to keep track of what drifts in and out of the background.

Highlight - I’m Never Gonna Sleep Tonight

Imaginaerum. I love Nightwish. My all time favorite band. And the movie based around their seventh album is actually very good and worth checking out in its own right. I find Fantasy movie scores to be key to the success of a fantasy flick and Imaginaerum is perfect, achieving that scene to song match. Nightwish's music features and of course you should check out their entire catalogue but the score is just as memorable. From Orphanage Airlines [Mr. White is terrifying] to From G to E Minor [the Arabesque! oh my god the Arabesque] Imaginaerum is on par with Ladyhawke and Mirrormask as undersung fantasy greats with the added bonus of a better soundtrack.

Highlight - Sundown

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Greta Gerwig better have chosen an amazing composer for her upcoming Narnia series because the bar is high to clear. it feels like the book come to life. there's a childlike innocence that darkens with a glimmer of hope [Father Christmas personifies this] followed by a sense of urgency and threat complete with triumph [the Battle is insane] it is not nostalgia talking. This is a classic.

Highlight - The Stone Table

so that is it. Film compositions that had the biggest impact on me. [My Honorable mentions list is far too long] just a handful of examples of music demonstrating power through all kinds of media, or at least most of it. Of course, if you introduced specially made soundtracks to go with books, that would create an odyssey for the mind that would top even the greatest visual spectacle.