By now it’s no secret that I believe that the composer-director relationship is one of the most important in film. I’ve studied it, actively and passively, for as long as I’ve been aware of film music.
Film music is as much about collaboration and relationships as any other part of the art. And that goes beyond the work a composer and filmmaker do together. So today, I’ll be looking at one particular relationship that spanned only two films, but cast a wide shadow.
Aaaand we’re back.
A few days ago Watertower Music (the soundtrack arm of Warner Bros.) posted a cue from Daniel Pemberton’s new score, for Guy Ritchie’s take on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. I was already pretty keen to see the film, as I’m a sucker for old-fashioned spy-fi, and listening to “His Name Is Napoleon Solo” pretty much sealed the deal for me:
(Side note: I’m really digging the embed code Soundcloud uses. Doesn’t it just look cool?)
I go through a fair share of film music in any given week. Classic scores by the great composers. New works from the modern masters. And some unexpected gems. I’ll listen to scores from my favorite films, and scores from films I haven’t seen.
Of course, one of the things I love about this blog is that I get to go on about all this wonderful music. And maybe some reader out there will stumble upon a post and get turned on to film music too. At least I can hope for that.
With that in mind, it seemed a good idea to share some of the favorites I’ve been listening to lately.
Let’s begin… Continue reading
Hi again,
I’m trying something new with this post. Much in the vein of my occasional Favorite “Forgotten” Films entries, I’m using today’s musings to launch a new series (to say nothing of further motivation to update this blog more regularly).
The title more or less speaks for itself; Film Music Friday will be my opportunity to share some of the scores I’ve collected and enjoyed over the years, along with some fun facts about their composition and recording. Not so much reviews, these posts are really just fun you-gotta-hear-this stories. Hope you enjoy them…
Dear Penny,
It was great hanging out with you all this Christmas – I hope you had fun too.
One of the best parts of the holiday (even better than getting to introduce you to Doctor Who) was seeing the look on your face when you opened your present. When you’re trying to find a gift for someone, you always hope you know them well enough to make sure it’s something they’ll really like, but you never really know until you see their reaction. And knowing some of the conversations we’ve had about film music in the past, I was hoping this one would go over well. I’m glad it did. 🙂
Continue reading
There are film scores I like. There are scores I really, really like. There are scores I love. There are scores I consider absolutely essential.
And then, there is THE score… Continue reading
Even in my younger days, as I remember them, my favorite Westerns were always the films that dealt with the passing of the West. I’ve always been drawn to stories of cowboys who struggle to come to terms with a time and place that no longer seem to have time or place for them or their values. John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and – more subtly – The Searchers are classic examples of this kind of tale.
The one that has really stuck with me, though, is a film that distills that theme to its essence. Its star still cites it as one of his favorite performances. It helped launch the career of one of film’s greatest composers. And it might just be my favorite Western. Continue reading
Lee Hurtado, Writer 