Saturday, February 6: Mississippi Mud
STRIKE UP THE BAND
by John M. Floyd
I’ve always loved music. My mother says when I was a little squirt I used to go around humming or singing or whistling all the time, and even now — unless I’m writing, at which time I like it quiet — I usually have some kind of music going in the background or I’m playing it myself on the piano or guitar. I wouldn’t say I’m a musician (I never even learned to read notes) but I’ve always been able to hear a song on the radio and then go play it. Self-entertainment, I guess you’d call it.
No tunes like show tunes
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, it probably won’t surprise you that a lot of what I picked out as a kid on our piano was movie music. That, and TV themes. I was big on Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, Mannix, Perry Mason, Zorro, etc. Recently our daughter, a music major and an excellent pianist, heard me playing “Etta’s Theme” from Butch Cassidy and asked, “Can you show me that?” I played it for her a couple more times, and finally she said, “Wait a second.” She fetched her electronic keyboard, plugged it into her computer, asked me to play the song on the keyboard, and then printed out sheet music based on what I’d just played — which she could then use, and play herself. (My biggest surprise, though, wasn’t that such a thing could be done; my surprise was that the music she printed out looked pretty damn difficult. I had managed to impress myself.)
But enough reminiscing. What I want to do today is talk about film scores, and their composers.
I’m one of those folks who enjoy soundtracks almost as much as they enjoy the movies themselves. And since I always watch to see who wrote the music, I find it interesting that certain film directors and composers teamed up again and again, like Blake Edwards/Henry Mancini, Steven Spielberg/John Williams, Tim Burton/Danny Elfman, Alfred Hitchcock/Bernard Herrmann, David Lean/Maurice Jarre, Robert Zemekis/Alan Silvestri, and Sergio Leone/Ennio Morricone. (I once heard that Leone always had Morricone write the score first, then Leone tailored the movie to fit the music, rather than doing it the other way around.) I’ve also noticed that composers like Morricone and John Williams often attach certain pieces of music to certain characters in the film, and play those “themes” while those characters are onscreen.
The score board
For the record (pun intended), here are ten of my favorite film composers, and what I consider to be some of their best work:
John Barry:
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Somewhere in Time (1980)
Body Heat (1981)
Out of Africa (1985)
Dances With Wolves (1990)Ennio Morricone:
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
Duck, You Sucker (1971)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
The Mission (1986)
The Untouchables (1987)John Williams:
Jaws (1975)
Star Wars (1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Superman (1978)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
E.T. (1982)
Far and Away (1992)
Jurassic Park (1993)Jerry Goldsmith:
Our Man Flint (1966)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Patton (1970)
Poltergeist (1982)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Medicine Man (1991)
Rudy (1993)
L.A. Confidential (1997)James Horner:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Glory (1989)
The Rocketeer (1991)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Braveheart (1995)
Titanic (1997)
The Perfect Storm (2000)Dmitri Tiomkin:
Duel in the Sun (1947)
High Noon (1952)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
Giant (1956)
Rio Bravo (1959)
The Sundowners (1960)
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Last Sunset (1961)Henry Mancini:
Hatari! (1962)
The Pink Panther (1963)
Charade (1963)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
The Great Race (1965)
The Molly Maguires (1970)
Oklahoma Crude (1973)
The Thorn Birds (1983)Elmer Bernstein:
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Kings of the Sun (1963)
The Great Escape (1963)
The Carpetbaggers (1964)
Hawaii (1966)
The Gypsy Moths (1969)
The Magnificent Seven (1970)
From Noon Till Three (1976)Bernard Herrmann:
Citizen Kane (1941)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1948)
Vertigo (1957)
North by Northwest (1959)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Cape Fear (1962)Maurice Jarre:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
The Professionals (1966)
Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
Witness (1985)
Dead Poet’s Society (1989)
Ghost (1990)
There are many other composers whose soundtracks I love as well — Bill Conti, Michele LeGrand, Alan Silvestri, Randy Newman, Han Zimmer, Aaron Copland, Trevor Jones, Harold Faltermeyer, Max Steiner, etc. — but I wanted to keep the list at ten. I also didn’t list any TV themes, which would certainly have included those by Mancini, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin, and others. You gotta stop somewhere, right?
Now, the big question: Who are your favorites?
One thing’s certain. Movies wouldn’t be the same without them . . .
I love film music. My record collection, until I was about 17, was made up of half a dozen Bachs and Beethovens, and several boxes full of soundtrack albums. When I was a kid, I often used to turn down the volume on the TV and make up my own accompaniment on the piano. Favourites: Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Jerry Goldsmith, and lately Graeme Revell. I see any of these names in the credits, and I’m immediately happy. Thank you for reminding me John! I’m going to go and listen to my copy of Cape Fear.
YOu left out Nino Rota: The Godfather 1 and 2, Romeo and Juliet, and most of Fellini.
Yes, I also left out Rozsa, Revell, Shore, Korngold, Waxman, and others I’m crazy about. (I probably should have done my top 25 rather than top 10.) And, as you might imagine, the list changed many times before I finalized it.
I’m often surprised and pleased when I discover that actors like Clint Eastwood and Anthony Hopkins occasionally compose scores for their own films. And some of them I really like.
I swear I’d rather listen to film scores than almost any other kind of music, probably because of the instant memories they bring forth.
The very first movie song that I memorized the lyrics of was High Noon. “Oh don’t foresake me oh my darlin’ . . . I was about six years old.
Time flew by. In 1970, I was a proper married lady and I fell in love with The Magnificent Seven theme. I still think it is the perfect music to clean by as it is very energetic and makes me feel I can do anything.
Thanks for these reminders.
Terrie
John — Concerning Horner’s score for STAR TREK II, William Shatner had nice things to say about it in one of his books, which is not normally Shatner’s M.O.
By the way, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN dates from 1960 and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL from 1951.
Thanks so much for the corrections, Mike! I actually knew the correct date for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, and typed it wrong before I organized the items by date–I went to see it while in high school in the mid-60s.
I must mention this: Terrie, I found the opening from HIGH NOON the other day on YouTube, and I bet I’ve watched it a dozen times since. I love Tex Ritter’s theme song.
John,
I am heading to You Tube right now.
Terrie
While reading this I realized several things.
1) I don’t know the composers who did movies;
2) but I know the music beause of the movie;
3) as I scanned your list, I had visuals of each movie and the music was in my head;
4) I still don’t really know the composers, but I do.
Thanks!
Aside from the ones you mentioned, these John Williams scores are mind-blowingly good. If you don’t own them already, get them now (although some are very hard to find)–I know, I own them all. So now you have your Top 25 John Williams scores, and these are just the crème de la crème. As to the other composers’ works, thanks a lot for the list–I will try to get a hold of at least some of them!
The Empire Strikes Back)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Most frantically fun and busy Indiana Jones score, although it probably doesn’t top the original.)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Jaws 2 (The movie is far inferior to Spielberg’s original, but the music . . . oh wow. I tell you, watching Jaws 2 is like attending a JW concert. JW builds on his famous Main Theme and does things with (or to!) the orchestra, you won’t believe your ears. Some tracks will jolt you right out of your seat! Unfortunately, the album has long been out of print, but if you spot it on ebay, don’t hesitate to get it. I shelled out 60 bucks or so for it many years ago and never regretted it.)
Born on the Fourth Of July (Heart-aching and nostalgic. Brings back childhood memories. Rent the movie some time and just watch the opening scene–fireworks, first kiss, baseball, etc. I have only one word: WOW!)
Home Alone (JW pays tribute to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Also, wonderful music for Christmas.)
Schindler’s List (Can’t believe you left this one off your list. Arguably JW’s most famous dramatic score. But not just JW, the solo violinist Itzhak Perlman outdoes himself. Both hauntingly beautiful and indescribably sad at the same time.)
Seven Years in Tibet (First collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma. This album is worth getting just for the gorgeous main title–which is actually heard at the very end of the movie, as the end credits roll. Conjures up images of the snow-capped Himalaya mountains.)
Saving Private Ryan (With “Hymn to the Fallen,” JW pays tribute to the fallen soldiers of WWII.)
Star Wars and the Phantom Menace (Best of the Star Wars prequel scores. “Duel of the Fates” is Carl Orff on steroids.)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Simply magical.)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Magical and enchanting!)
A.I. – Artificial Intelligence (If “The Reunion” doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you might not be human . . . unlike David in the movie.)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Second collaboration with both Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. JW dabbles in ethnic Japanese music–and again succeeds masterfully.)
Also, Jerry Goldsmith’s Basic Instinct should not be forgotten (kind of reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann as is the whole movie).
Thanks to all for the comments. Yoshinori, I appreciate the detail on the JW scores I left out–I own some of those but not all. You’ve given me some soundtracks to look for.
Actually, you can watch the opening sequence of BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY here. Pay special attention to the score (which is interrupted halfway through by the song ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK)–JW does a spectacularly brilliant job. It gives me pleasurable shivers every time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJK9KnL_94s
From Tom Cruise to Julee Cruse, John, I’d add:
Hmm… except for the last, most of those seem dark and brooding.
Actually, Leigh, JLW and I were discussing Barry’s THE IPCRESS FILE the other day. I loved that score. And yes, I’ve heard the PETER GUNN music used in a bunch of different movies, including (believe it or not) WATERWORLD. (!?!?!)
You can’t keep a good theme down.
I think that in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, John Williams sneaks a bit of background music from the ’60’s t.v. show The Time Tunnel (for which he wrote the theme.) It’s in the scene where Harry and Hermionie are running back to the infirmary with the hour striking as we see a coseup of the clock’s gears. (Yes, I audiotaped reruns of Time Tunnel when I was a kid in the ’70’s and I did listen to them that much!
Oh, and we have to mention Danny Elfman…
Jeff:
Yes, I agree. Also, the name of this particular track “Forward to Time Past” is clearly a reference to BACK TO THE FUTURE, the score of which might have been one inspiration for JW in writing for this scene. BTTF is Alan Silvestri’s best score, IMO.
Now I’ve gotta rent HARRY POTTER AND THE POA and watch it again, guys. I do know I love BTTF — wonderful music. I also really enjoyed Silvestri’s CONTACT, THE ABYSS, and FORREST GUMP.
Thanks, Josh! And thanks for reminding me of BTTF, I saw it when it first came out. I think I wore out my cassete tape of the soundtrack!