MUS 108: Exam #3, Ch. 21-27 Except 24
what famous quote was made in 1972 by famed director William Wyler?
"IF A DIRECTOR ALLOWS A VIOLIN ON TODAY'S SOUNDTRACK, HE IS CONSIDERED SOMETHING OF A SENILE RELIC."
what was American Beauty?
-1999 Best Picture -score by Thomas Newman -through the lives of three members of a dysfunctional family, a cynical view of the superficial values and insecurities of fin-de-siècle America is presented
what was Star Trek?
-BASED ON 60S TV SERIES -TWO PRINCIPLE COMPOSERS WORKED ON INITIAL FILMS OF THE SERIES -JERRY GOLDSMITH: STAR TREK AND FOUR ADDITIONAL FILMS IN THE SERIES FROM 1989 TO 2002 -KLINGON BATTLE MUSIC FROM FIRST FILM USED THROUGHOUT SERIES AND ON TV SHOW IN 90S -ALEXANDER COURAGE: TV THEME: INTERVIEW -JAMES HORNER STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN -STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (BRAVEHEART, TITANIC, AVATAR, ALIENS)
Fantasies
-Batman (1989): -Tim Burton and Danny Elfman
who was John Williams?
-Birthdate: 1932 -ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS HOLLYWOOD'S PREMIER COMPOSER FOR DISASTER FILMS, BEGINNING WITH THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) AND THEN THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) -UNDERSCORING THE ROMANCE, HUMOR, AND TERROR SHOWN ON THE SCREEN -WILLIAMS BEGAN TO RESURRECT THE TRADITIONS OF THE CLASSICAL FILM SCORE WITH A SERIES OF FILMS THAT ALSO MARKED THE RETURN OF THE BOX-OFFICE BLOCKBUSTER
what was the music in Star Wars?
-COMPOSER: JOHN WILLIAMS (BORN 1932) -WILLIAMS WAS JULLIARD TRAINED -WILLIAMS WORKED AS A STUDIO PIANIST -WILLIAMS BEGAN SCORING TELEVISION IN THE 1950S -GROUNDED IN TRADITIONS OF MAX STEINER AND ERICH KORNGOLD -ALSO ASSIMILATED TWENTIETH CENTURY CONCERT MUSIC -AMERICAN NATIONALIST STYLE: COPLAND -"MARS": THE PLANETS: GUSTAV HOLST -RITE OF SPRING: STRAVINSKY -MUSIC UNDERLIES AND SUPPORTS DRAMA -PHYSICAL GESTURES ARE OFTEN MIRRORED -MANY LETIMOTIFS -KINGS ROW VS. STAR WARS; MANY DIFFERENCES
what historical events occurred in the the 1990s?
-Cold war ends with the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 -Unification of Germany in 1990 -Fall of Soviet Union in 1991
what was Jaws (1975)?
-DIRECTOR: SPIELBERG -COMPOSER: JOHN WILLIAMS -LEITMOTIF: SHARK -MOST CELEBRATED WILLIAMS'S SCORE PRIOR TO 1977 -LESS MUSIC THAN STAR WARS -AUDIENCE'S EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE ORCHESTRAL CUES WAS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE MOVIE'S SUCCESS -THE HEART OF THE SCORE IS TWO NOTE LEITMOTIF: LOW REGISTER SUGGESTS THE OMINOUS NATURE OF THE SHARK AND THE DEPTHS FROM WHICH IT COMES -MUSIC ALWAYS PREPARES ATTACKS UNTIL 1:21:10. AFTER THAT THE AUDIENCE IS ON IT'S OWN: NO MUSICAL WARNING!
what were the new themes in Empire Strikes Back?
-Darth Vader -Hans and Leia -Yoda
who was Goldsmith and Williams?
-GOLDSMITH CONTINUED TO EXPAND THE ROLE OF MUSIC FOR THE WIND AND THE LION (1975) AND THE PLANET OF THE APES SEQUELS -GOLDSMITH PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE REEMERGENCE OF THE CLASSIC SCORE, HOWEVER, HE IS OVERSHADOWED BY A NEWCOMER AT THE TIME: JOHN WILLIAMS
what are some examples of films having more rock in them?
-MTV influence: -videos influential -MTV cops: Miami Vice -Top Gun (1985): -best of MTV movies -composer: Faltermeyer -Rain Man: Best Picture winner in 1988 -Composer: Hans Zimmer -sensation with popular synthesized score
what was the Star Wars Trilogy?
-PRODUCER: GEORGE LUCAS -COMPOSER: JOHN WILLIAMS -TRILOGY: STAR WARS (1977), EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), AND THE RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) -RETURN TO MIXTURE OF FILM GENRES AND CLASSICAL SCORE FEATURING NUMEROUS LEITMOTIFS -ADOPTS CLICHÉS FROM WESTERNS, MEDIEVAL ACTION/ROMANCE, MARTIAL ARTS FILMS, AND ROMANTIC COMEDIES
what were the themes of Beauty and the Beast?
-Prince (Beast) -The Rose/Love ("Beauty and the Beast") -Belle a -Belle b -Belle c -Enchanted Spell
what were the traditional features of E.T.'s classic score?
-WALL-TO-WALL MUSIC -SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA -WIDE RANGE OF EMOTIONS REFLECTED IN MUSIC -MANY LEITMOTIFS -2 DOMINANT THEMES (WITH SEVERAL VARIATIONS)
what was Schindler's List (1993)?
-about the recent past -based on a true story from World War II Poland -the personal transformation of the German businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is seen against a backdrop of the various stages of the Holocaust -scored by John Williams -no brass fanfares, multiple leitmotifs, or lush melodies -Introspective score -suggests Jewish tradition -solo violin played by Itzhak Perlman
what was Rocky (1976)?
-best picture winner -music: Bill Conti -one principal theme in popular style -music is sparse
all four winners of the award for music were non-symphonic. what were the four movies?
-between the Oscars given to John Williams for Star Wars (1977) and E.T. (1982), all four winners of the award for music were non-symphonic 1) Midnight Express (1978) 2) A Little Romance (1979) 3) Fame (1980) 4) Chariots of Fire (1981)
what was Out of Africa (1985)?
-composed by John Barry -directed by Sydney Pollack -7 academy awards -source music represents both African and Western cultures -Mozart is highlighted as a favorite music of one of the main characters
what was Taxi Driver (1976)?
-director: Martin Scorsese -composer: Bernard Herman: his last score -Bernard Herman died one day after finishing the film, on christmas eve -dissonant, but also extensive sax solo (jazz) -noir characteristics: frequent night scenes, wet streets, and interior monologues
who was Alan Menken?
-he has won a remarkable number of Oscars in a brief period of time -he was born in NYC and studied both violin and piano -became interested in musical theater and was first known as a songwriter -he wrote the music to Little Shop of Horrors and when it was made into a movie (1986), he began to score films -he has a close association to Disney Studios -his music for animated films got his 8 Oscars
who was Thomas Newman?
-the son of film music's great Alfred Newman -raised in Los Angeles along with his older brother and fellow film composer David -attended the School of Music at the USC -emerged as successful film composer in the mid 1980s -in the 1990s, Newman became one of the most prolific composers in Hollywood -recognized today as one of the most original and influential composers currently working in Hollywood
Animations, Comedies, Romances, Fantasies, Chapter 27
Animations, Comedies, Romances, Fantasies, Chapter 27
Historical Films, Chapter 25
Historical Films, Chapter 25
what movies gave us insight into the distant American past?
-Glory (1989), Dances with Wolves (1990), and The Last of the Mohicans (1992) 1) Glory (1989) -true story of the first African-American regiment to fight in the civil war 2) Dances With Wolves (1990) -directed by Kevin Costner -post Civil War -Costner painstakingly researched and re-created Native American rituals; he even used Lakota dialogue with subtitles, lending a strong air of authenticity to the story -Score by John Barry: brings lush sound of Out of Africa to the west -shows Native Americans as civilized and caucasians as savages 3): The Last of the Mohicans (1992) -set during the French and Indian War -The Last of the Mohicans is based on James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel, which centers on a real incident: the massacre of more than two hundred people after they had surrendered to the French -Trevor Jones composed much of the score, and there are some additional cues provided by Randy Edelman: -title theme pervades the film -music in climactic scene is repetitive -remains detached from the drama -repeating bass line -mixture of Baroque, Scottish, and Native American elements -contrast of nature's beauty to man's cruelty -mood of music runs counter to the action -title theme: America -dance-tunes
what occurred to Hollywood in 1971?
-HOLLYWOOD HIT AN ALL-TIME ECONOMIC LOW -THE TRADITIONAL SYMPHONIC SCORE SEEMED BOTH TOO EXPENSIVE AND TOO OLD-FASHIONED FOR AMERICAN CINEMA -RETURN OF THE CLASSICAL SCORE
what other movies did Williams score?
-JAWS -CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND -SUPERMAN -RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK -E.T. -MINORITY REPORT -SCHINDLER'S LIST -ALL STAR WARS FILMS -HARRY POTTER -BECAUSE OF THE SUCCESS OF THESE FILMS, THE VIRTUOSO STUDIO ORCHESTRAL SOUND RETURNED TO HOLLYWOOD
what occurred during Williams and Goldsmith's career, involving symphonic scores?
-John Williams continued: Star Wars sequels, Indiana Jones sequels -Jerry Goldsmith/James Horner: Star Trek sequels
what were the themes in Star Wars?
-Luke Skywalker -Obi Won Kenobi/The Force -Princess Leia
what was Pulp Fiction (1994)?
-Quentin Tarantino: Palm d'Or winner (Cannes Film festival highest prize) -three separate plot lines are intertwined and linked by two hit men, played by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta -abrupt jumps in time create a jigsaw plot, in which the viewer can finally fit the various pieces into a proper chronological order only near the end of the film -the soundtrack is limited to classic rock -Tarantino primarily chose the upbeat sound of surf music -moreover, all the music in this film can clearly be heard as source music
what were films from the 80s that had sequels also made in the 80s?
-RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK -FIRST BLOOD -THE KARATE KID -GHOSTBUSTERS -BACK TO THE FUTURE -POLICE ACADEMY
what was the movie E.T., The Extraterrestrial?
-SPIELBERG/WILLIAMS COLLABORATION (1982) -AFI 25, 2ND HIGHEST OF THE 80S -NARRATIVE WITH TWO PARALLEL PLOTS: -E.T. IS ABANDONED ON EARTH -ELLIOT IS ABANDONED BY HIS FAMILY -E.T. AND ELLIOT WILL DEVELOP A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
what were films from the 70s that had sequels made in the 80s?
-STAR WARS -ROCKY -MAD MAX -STAR TREK -HALLOWEEN
what was The Shining (1980)?
-Stanley Kubrick -score mixes borrowed excerpts with original synthesized music by Wendy Carlos -all borrowed music is from the 20th century: -Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936) - György Ligeti's Lontano (1967) -six works by the Polish avant-garde composer Krzysztof Penderecki -musical styles of Penderecki and Ligetiare are similar; they both employ sweeping gestures and sliding pitches -climax: music by Penderecki
the increased role of music in films in the 1970's can be detected in which films from mid-decade?
-THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974) IS MORE FULLY SCORED THAN THE GODFATHER (1972) -THE EXORCIST (1973) USES A PASTICHE SCORE COMPRISED OF A HANDFUL OF AVANT-GARDE COMPOSITIONS
Romances
-Titanic won Best Picture in 1997, between two Best Picture winners that were also set in the past: The English Patient (1996) and Shakespeare in Love (1998) -all three have passionate love affairs that end sadly, and all won Oscars for Best Score as well -but unlike the 1997 blockbuster, the other two films are less monumental, they use history only as a backdrop, and contain lighter musical scores -Shakespeare in Love: -scored by Stephen Warbeck's which is consistently light and warm (predominantly strings) -the incorporation of Renaissance instruments contributes to the fresh sound of this period film
what was Braveheart (1995)?
-about distant European Past -about Scottish hero William Wallace -music by James Horner (Titanic, Avatar) -uses bagpipes, folkharp, tin whistle, kena (a wooden flute) -combines sustained modern dissonances, bagpipes and field drums for fight scenes
what was the Shawshank Redemption?
-adapted from Steven King Novella -scored by Thomas Newman -exhibits a number of the characteristics of films of the 1990s: -dark tones -realism in its depiction of prison life -twisting plotline -Thomas Newman rarely reflects details of the drama, but rather establishes background moods with melodic fragments and sustained pitches -minimalist approach
what is a synthesizer?
-an electronic instrument typically incorporating a keyboard -it is capable of imitating the sound of traditional acoustic musical instruments and of creating new sounds -Robert Moog developed the synthesizer in 1964 that was intended for the composition of electronic music -In 1970, Moog developed a portable model, and rock musicians soon began using the instrument in live performances -used as an aid for composers and directors
what was Beauty and the Beast?
-based on a French fairy tale -the film mixes serious adult themes with standard features of Disney animation, making this one of the studio's high points -it received six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, the first such nomination for an animated feature -Menken won the only two Oscars awarded to the film, for Best Original Score and Best Song -in several of the musical numbers, Menken, as in The Little Mermaid, incorporated musical characteristics reflecting the locale (France) -in addition to French folk instruments, one of the principal singers, Lumière, mimics the voice of Maurice Chevalier: a French actor and cabaret singer (1888-1972)
what was Life in America like in the 1990s?
-creating suitable subjects for Hollywood films became more difficult in the 90s -the country's archrival, the Soviet Union, had collapsed -a much needed sensitivity to racial and ethnic stereotyping eliminated many of our typical villains -audiences, raised on television, had tired of standard movie clichés -creative Hollywood minds turned to history (see Chapter 25), fantasy, and animation, and developed dramas based on life in America, including crime, the African-American experience, the Vietnam War years, and suburban lifestyles -musically, the innovative use of popular music provided a fresh sound for many of these dramas -traditional symphonic music continued to have a place -the emerging sounds of minimalism occurred
what was GoodFellas (1990)?
-directed by Martin Scorsese -based on an actual case -plot follows crime career of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) -the story is told in relatively brief segments that often shift time (forward and occasionally backward) -lending cohesiveness to these abrupt cuts is the narration of the main character
what was The Matrix?
-directed by Wachoski Brothers -blending science fiction and martial arts, The Matrix is a slick, highly polished view of the future -ironically, while we observe a disturbing scenario about machines taking over the world, we also marvel at the incredible technology that went into the making of the film -scored by Don Davis -mixing the modern concert hall sounds of minimalism with the popular sounds of techno and heavy metal -among the recurring musical ideas are fast, repetitive scale fragments (usually three or six notes) that accompany the rapidly moving numbers of the matrix, and ominous dark and unrelated chords that accompany Agents, the humanized forms of the machines
what was Empire of the Sun?
-eighth collaboration of Steven Spielberg and John Williams -film portrays a Japanese internment camp for British prisoners as seen through the eyes of a young boy named Jim (Christian Bale, a future Batman) -British culture in a non-Western region from the perspective of the British -Welsh lullaby: "Suo Gan" -Chopin, Japanese Flute all used
what was Jurassic Park?
-escapist action films continued to enjoy great box-office appeal in the 1990s -four of the decade's top ten films mix elements of action and disaster: Jurassic Park (1993), Independence Day (1996), Twister (1996), and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) -all these films have substantial symphonic scores, fully exploiting the remarkable virtuosity of the contemporary studio orchestra -the most memorable music among these films is John Williams's score for Jurassic Park -this Spielberg film has several parallels to the 1933 King Kong (see Chapter 9), including a setting of an exotic island, visions of a variety of dinosaurs, a gate separating the beasts from the humans
what was Amadeus (1984)?
-filmed in Prague by Czech director Milos Forman -best picture -all music in film by Mozart -film was cut to music in some places: opening section and burial scene -based on play about life of Mozart
for the remainder of the 1970s, all of the 1980s, and most of the 1990s, what occurred/changed?
-for the remainder of the 1970s, all of the 1980s, and most of the 1990s, no winner of the Best Picture award finished in the top ten financial successes of their respective decade -exceptions: Forrest Gump (1994) and Titanic (1997) -disparity is largely due to the dependence of blockbuster films upon repeated viewing by young teens, whose tastes generally run counter to those of adult critics
what occurred with animations in the 1980s?
-in the 1980s, animated movies were infrequent, musicals were out of fashion -the resurgence of the animated musical is the most significant development in film music during the early 1990s -financially successful -artistic success
what are the three principal styles of synthesizer music heard in film?
-modern: in keeping with its original association with electronic music, the synthesizer can be used to create an electronic score with new colors (Ex: Forbidden Planet) -traditional: using its ability to imitate acoustic instruments, the synthesizer can replace the sound of an orchestra, create the sounds of individual instruments within an orchestra (piano, harp, drums, etc.), or augment the sounds of an instrument family in a recording, such as the violins. in these roles, the musical style imitates the traditional sounds of Romanticism -popular: largely through its association with rock musicians, the synthesizer has become an important element of the popular-music film score -used as an aid for composers and directors
what was the music in Titanic (1997)?
-music by James Horner -large symphonic score with a reliance on leitmotifs -synthesizers used frequently -melodies are loosely applied to the drama and in general remain intact
who was Danny Elfman?
-one of the several new film composers from the late 20th century that did not receive formal training in music -career began because Tim Burton was a fan of his rock group, and the two established an extended collaboration -for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Elfman composed the music and sang the role of Jack -a gifted melody writer -Elfman scored Spider-man and Chicago -received 3 Oscar nominations -scored theme of the Simpsons
what was Gladiator (2000)?
-scored by Hans Zimmer -score contains a great variety of colors, including non-Western instruments, vocals, guitar, and a drum set -Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance collaborated -Zimmer's abundant melodic ideas are predominantly in lower registers and frequently in minor keys
what was Beverly Hills Cop (1984)?
-soundtrack by Harold Faltermeyer -rock: credits, montage, leitmotif, source
symphonic scores have often assimilated qualities of which types of music?
-symphonic scores have often assimilated qualities of both modern and popular music -in the scores of John Williams, for example, Romanticism, jazz, American nationalism, expressionism, and the avant-garde all coexist
what new wave of music occurred between the late 1980s and the present?
-the period between the late 1980s and the present is characterized by diffusion -the blending of diverse musical types has created an atmosphere in which older and newer methodologies can be mixed, thereby blurring the line between formerly distinct styles -analysis of film music by film genre rather than musical style
what was the principal force behind the revival of animations?
-the principal force behind the revival of animation features has been the Disney Studios -with The Little Mermaid, Disney returned to several characteristics of past classics: -the re-creation of a fairy story with a strong female role-comic sidekicks for both the antagonist and protagonist -the casting of well-known entertainment figures as voices -the incorporation of a number of engaging songs
what were the Spike Lee films?
-these films deal realistically with grim aspects of urban life, including racial and ethnic prejudice and drugs -primary focus is on African Americans, however Lee's visions also encompass Italians and other New York ethnic groups -his stories generally deal with problems faced by all of society -music by African-American jazz and rock performers, such as Stevie Wonder and Spike's father Bill Lee, form a significant portion of the soundtracks -Spike Lee also allowed for a number of traditional symphonic cues that effectively touch the full range of emotions, from humor to tragedy -He Got Game (1998), uses music by Arron Copland (American Nationalism) along with rap and spirituals
Romantic Comedies
-with an eye on appealing to the public and on selling soundtrack recordings, numerous comedies were created that featured standards of popular music -When Harry Met Sally (1985), Pretty Woman (1990), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993) -all three employ a wide range of songs, often from diverse eras, with lyrics appropriate to the plot and season -When Harry Met Sally includes "Love Is Here to Stay" (Gershwin: 1938) and several versions of "It Had to Be You" (Isham Jones and Gus Kahn: 1924) -Pretty Woman takes its title from the 1964 Roy Orbison hit "Oh, Pretty Woman" -Pretty Woman (1990): Julia Roberts -Home Alone (1990): scored by John Willimas, uses celeste and bells, would later use these in Harry Potter -Hook (1991): Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, scored by John Williams. four main themes: 1) Two for Peter 2) Boyhood and adventure 3) Captain Hook 4) Tinker Bell
what was Titanic (1997)?
-won 11 Oscars -directed by James Cameron -most profitable film of the 90s -invites comparison to earlier epics Ben-Hur (11 Oscars) and Gone with the Wind (8 Oscars) -all three are extravagant historic epics that reflect their era -Gone with the Wind is a Golden Age production with messages for pre-World War II America; the story of Ben-Hur provided inspiration for Cold War audiences; and Titanic typifies the 1990s trend of portraying, in graphic detail, tragic events in the recent past
what are some examples of synthesized scores?
1) Midnight Express (1978) -created by Gorgio Moroder (pop composer) -Oscar for best score -Escape 2) Chariots of Fire (1981) -music by Greek composer Vangelis -Oscars: Best Picture, Best Score 3) Blade Runner (1982) -composed by Vangelis -conclusion 4) Halloween (1978) -first of extended series... -music by the director, John Carpenter
what are some examples of popular music scores?
1) Saturday Night Fever (1977) -other great musical sensation of 1977 -sold over 30 million albums -made disco popular 2) Grease (1978) 3) Fame (1980) 4) Flashdance (1983)
what films dominated the box office in 1984 and 1985?
1) in 1984, Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters were bigger hits than Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock -this signaled the end of the reign of fantasy/adventure films 2) Ghostbusters (1984): -composer: Elmer Bernstein -mixes symphonic and popular (eclectic) 3) Back to the Future (1985) -Alan Silvestri (Avenger's Composer)
Alternatives to the Symphonic Score, Chapter 22
Alternatives to the Symphonic Score, Chapter 22
Box Office Vs. Critics, Chapter 23
Box Office Vs. Critics, Chapter 23
Life in America, Chapter 26
Life in America, Chapter 26
Return of the Classical Score, Chapter 21
Return of the Classical Score, Chapter 21
what movie in 1976 exploited the full power of orchestral music in horror?
THE OMEN (1976) BY JERRY GOLDSMITH
what occurred/changed as late as 1972 and 1973?
as late as 1972 and 1973, the winners of the Best Picture award, The Godfather and The Sting, were also among the top ten box-office successes of the decade
prior to the 1970s...
the public and the critics were generally in agreement
not all filmmakers felt the need to do what?
use a symphonic score