Movies and music go hand in hand. For as long as we’ve been looking at moving pictures on a screen, we’ve been using music to enhance them. Even in the “silent” days, it was music that built suspense, sparked levity or swept you away with romance. We might have added more traditional sound since then, and even added some extra tools of the trade in the form of photorealistic computer generated imagery and in your face 3D effects (there’s even 4D for the sadomasochists out there), but it’s still music that does so much of the emotional heavy lifting. Heck, even severely flawed movies like Batman v Superman or Man of Steel is massively enhanced through the magic of its music. And documentarian Matt Schrader wants to reveal exactly how the powerhouses of the medium pull it off.
Starting its life as an IndieGoGo fundraiser two years ago, Score: A Film Music Documentary takes a look behind the curtain for movie music, featuring extensive interviews with master composers like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Bear McCreary, Howard Shore, Quincy Jones, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Thomas Newman and more. Also featured are chats with filmmakers like James Cameron, Garry Marshall and Steven Spielberg, whose films have given us some of the most iconic music of all time. Schrader, along with these men and women, examine the science behind how movie music can give us such a swift kick in the chest or raise us up to the heavens.
Check out the trailer below to get a sneak peek at Score: A Film Music Documentary.
We’re massive fans of movie scores around here (naturally), with Darryn and I regularly going back on forth on which recent films have the best scores. Whether it be traditional orchestral efforts like Michael Giacchino’s sweeping retro goodness on John Carter, or the electro synth genius of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack, we love it all. So you can be sure that I will definitely be making a plan to watch this when it gets released. The documentary will be released in the US on July 16, and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to see it on our shores in some form.
Last Updated: May 5, 2017
Original Heretic
May 5, 2017 at 09:08
Well this is a must watch for me.
I find it a tad confusing, though, that it started out as a “IndieGoGO Fundraiser” project. This sounds like a documentary that should have been made years ago.
Kromas Ryder
May 5, 2017 at 09:50
John Williams deserves his own damn documentary!
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 11:33
As does Hans Zimmer.
And, to some degree, Ennio Morricone as well.
These guys are all very talented. watched, on TV and DVD’s for all of them doing full symphony work, they are very talented.
As most here know, my wife and I love classical music, opera and the like and I love the modern twists that especially Zimmer and Williams bring to writing a full orchestra symphone, be it for a movie or not.
Kromas Ryder
May 5, 2017 at 12:17
True but Williams has been making great stuff since the 60s and is still on top of his game. Zimmer is good but will never be JW good.
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 12:26
Oh yes, I agree. see my top comment
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 11:38
John Williams – I will post a small snippet from this interview in 2002 (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/feb/04/artsfeatures)
“”When he showed me Schindler’s List,” says Williams, “I was so moved I could barely speak. I remember saying to him, ‘Steven, you need a better composer than I am to do this film.’ And he said, ‘I know, but they’re all dead.’ ” That’s a joke. Probably.”
He is Steven Spielberg.