Being a cinephile (huge film fan and buff), I knew this was exactly my kind of documentary film, probably a subject long overdue to be talked about, and an integral component of cinema. When motion pictures were first introduced in 1895 by the Lumière brothers, their short films, and all that followed after, were completely silent. But in screenings, there was often an organ, piano of custom-built instrument, including ones with sound effects, played during films. It was only in the 1900s that a film was produced with a totally original film score composed and added to the soundtrack. Since then, film scores have changed and evolved over the years, from films using simple instrument scores, to those with an orchestra, those with electronic and technological innovations, and those created by famous pop/rock musicians and producers. This film also examines the many techniques and components that go into producing a film score, from the arrangement of notes, the instruments used (percussion, strings, winds etc), the motif (a recognisable sequences of bars) and much more. There is a lot of mention of how music from these many films has been used in popular culture, and the Academy Award success these scores have had. Of course, this film also celebrates the works of some of the most recognised composers in Hollywood, and the films that stand out in their career. Composers that are mentioned, and that contribute during the film (that are living), include: David Arnold (Stargate, Independence Day, Casino Royale), John Barry (James Bond films, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves), Tyler Bates (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Halloween, Watchmen, John Wick), Christophe Beck (Cheaper by the Dozen, The Muppets, Frozen), Marco Beltrami (Scream, 3:10 to Yuma, The Hurt Locker, Logan, The Gunman), Bill Conti (Rocky, For Your Eyes Only, The Right Stuff), Mychael Danna (The Ice Storm, Capote, Little Miss Sunshine), John Debney (Liar Liar, The Emperor's New Groove, The Princess Diaries, Sin City), Alexandre Desplat (The Queen, The King's Speech, Zero Dark Thirty, The Shape of Water), Patrick Doyle (Gosford Park, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Thor), Danny Elfman (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Men in Black), Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Up), Elliot Goldenthal (Batman Forever, Frida, Public Enemies), Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of the Apes, The Omen, Alien, Total Recall, Basic Instinct), Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Phone Booth, The Equalizer), Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Psycho, Taxi Driver), James Horner (Aliens, Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Titanic) (Horner sadly passed away during the making of this documentary), Steve Jablonsky (The Island, Transformers, Lone Survivor), Henry Jackman (Monsters vs. Aliens, Kick-Ass, Captain Phillips), Quincy Jones (In the Heat of the Night, The Italian Job, The Color Purple), Junkie XL (300: Rise of an Empire, Mad Max: Fury Road), Dario Marianelli (Pride & Prejudice, V for Vendetta, Atonement, The Boxtrolls), Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Untouchables, The Hateful Eight), Mark Mothersbaugh (Rugrats, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie), David Newman (The Nutty Professor, Anastasia, Ice Age), Randy Newman (Parenthood, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc.), Thomas Newman (The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Finding Nemo, Skyfall), Alex North (A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Heitor Pereira (Despicable Me, The Smurfs), Rachel Portman (Emma, The Cider House Rules, Chocolat), John Powell (Face/Off, The Bourne Identity, Happy Feet, How to Train Your Dragon), Trevor Rabin (Con Air, Armageddon, Deep Blue Sea), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails musician - The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl), Atticus Ross (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl), Howard Shore (The Silence of the Lambs, The Lord of the Rings, The Aviator), Max Steiner (King Kong, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca), Brian Tyler (Eagle Eye, The Expendables, Thor: The Dark World), John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park), Christopher Young (Species, The Hurricane, The Grudge, Drag Me to Hell), and Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Dark Knight, Inception). With contributions from Jon Burlingame (film historian), James Cameron, George Lucas, Leonard Maltin (film historian), Garry Marshall, Moby, Christopher Nolan, and Steven Spielberg. It was interesting to see everything that goes into this part of filmmaking, the opinions of those with experiences and experts of film, and of course hearing all the great music is most enjoyable, a worthwhile documentary. Very good!
Review of Score
