Midterm Two Essays
1) The basic types of modern style music seen throughout the 1940’s to the 1970’s were American Nationalism, Expressionism, and Avant-garde. Many films reflected that of American Nationalism in the late 1940’s. One of those was The Best Years of Our Lives, which won Best Picture in 1946. The music in this film was composed by Hugo Friedhofer. The music in this film consisted of non-traditional harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and warm musical orchestrations. This style in which he chose to base his music off of presented a positive tone to this very serious movie. The initial theme, “Coming Home,” also shows the American Nationalist style of modern music. In the film Rebel without a Cause, which came out in 1956, composer
…show more content…
In the film Planet of the Apes, created in 1968, Jerry Goldsmith uses the Avant-garde style to represent the upside-down world. This music shows the nightmare-like experiences the hero is having in the film. He is very creative in using different types of objects to create the music. For example, the sounds included tuned aluminum mixing bowls, and brass instruments blown with inverted mouthpieces.
In 1974, the film Chinatown was created. Jerry Goldsmith was the composer for this film, and he used a modern musical style, mixing jazz and the avant-garde. He wanted to avoid using musical clichés because he felt the story was timeless. His music contained multiple instruments put together in an unusual combination. Altogether, the mix of the 1930’s jazz and the avant-garde style was the perfect combination to foreshadow what was going to happen in the film.
2) Popular music was expanded in the 1940’s, as well as jazz. This can be seen in the film Laura, made in 1944. The theme song in this film quickly became extremely popular, and it helped set the mood for future popular music. Popular music in the 1950’s included jazz, country western, and rock n roll. Hollywood began to realize that the more they used popular music, the more money that came
Rebel Without a Cause is an unconventional story with a conventional, classical approach to storytelling. The film follows the seven traits of Classical Hollywood Cinema and is adapted to the hybridization of film noir, which was primarily a style of B movies, and teen drama films, which was newly emerging in the 50s.
Tim Burton for his movie charlie and the chocolate factory also uses a lot of the same techniques like for the music and sound they use creepy Oompa loompa music.and they use digitized sounds in the parts like form the waterfall that made it so there's more sounds, than the kids and the part where the UFO with the chocolate makes the beam
Dazed and Confused is a film that follows a plethora of characters on the last day of school before summer vacation. Although lacking in tangible plot, it makes a bold attempt to encompass and present the zeitgeist of the 1970s. In my opinion it is as if Dazed and Confused was produced in hopes of making those viewers who lived through the 1970s feel a sense of nostalgia. The film’s trajectory, harnessing of zeitgeist, and soundtrack are all very similar to George Lucas’s American Graffiti—a film that also successfully rooted in nostalgia. Dazed and Confused was released in 1993 and, like American Graffiti, was able to look over its shoulder to determine what music stood the test of time. The film attempts to epitomize what it meant for someone to grow up in the 1970s. Its success depends on its ability to recreate the spirit present in that era. In this paper I will talk about how the use of the popular soundtrack functions with the overall narrative, show ways in which characters actually interact with the music, how the soundtrack functions in a specific scene, explain my personal relationship to the soundtrack, and touch briefly on how the meaning of the film has changed over the course of time.
In Style Wars, one sees how social marginalization affected graffiti writers in 1970s and 1980s New York. Firstly, Style Wars chronicles how the city government employed racist policing and propaganda to criminalize writers of color. Secondly, the documentary shows that newspapers and TV networks unequally privileged writers of higher socioeconomic status through front-page and prime-time coverage. Thirdly, the film depicts graffiti writers who conformed to masculine norms as disproportionately visible throughout the city. Although many writers featured in Style Wars minimized barriers against making art, legal racism, classist media coverage, and interpersonal masculinity limited recognition for certain writers.
Kaplan, Jon. "Dumped!: Famous and Not-So-Famous Rejected Film Music." Film Score Monthly 8.9 (2003): 24-31. IIMP. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
...usic in film has an intensified power to affect the viewer and can cause us to engage with meaning and responses without knowing it. I looked at three films that Hans Zimmer has scored each film being made years apart and based on different story lines. Although the genres of all three films where different each film score was used to achieve the same thing. Each film score was the reason the films had an emotional impact. The motifs in all three films where identifiers for the viewers and allowed them to understand the meaning of the films. Zimmer understands the score needs to pull the viewer towards responses as the image on screen is not always able to do this. Zimmer is an amazing composer and can write film scores for any film and use the score to suggest the central meaning of the film. Zimmer’s versatility can also be seen as he can score films of any genre.
The Jazz Singer, released in 1927, is a black and white film that centers on a young man who wishes to conquer his dreams in becoming a professional jazz singer. This film, directed by Alan Crosland, demonstrates new developments from the decade of the 1920’s. During the decade, many new advances; such as the introduction of musicals and other technological advancements, were created. The Jazz Singer utilized these new advances of the decade and incorporated them into each scene. This is evident due to the elements of being the first talkie film, the introduction of the new musical genre and the introduction of the Hollywood stars system. By utilizing the new advances of the decade, Crosland’s film, changed the way cinema would be seen forever.
...ath to dominate their field and branch off into other dominating sub-genres. Those genres, especially in the 1920’s, created the foundation of what we see today in the 21st century. The genres and the creativity produced in these decades were accompanied by entertaining dance and shows that provided the people with a comfortable diversion from their outward life. In addition, music remained a way of spiritual and fun release of the mind and energy. With the radio acting as a distribution center for music, it became a national pastime in which it still ranks number one today for it’s easy access and reaching fields. In conclusion, although the 1920’s saw the birthplace of what is generally known today as the foundation of modern music, the 1970’s matched innovation and creation in the industry which is why music is still a staple in the lives of many people today.
Rebel Without a Cause calls attention to society’s obsession over hyper masculinity, fears of overly dominant women, homosexuality, and juvenile “delinquency” during the 1950s. Popularity of suburban life arose – along with the necessity to fit in. Accompanying the pressures of gender roles were also the rise of alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and rage. Moreover, the film explores the conflicts that lied within teenagers because of the social standards that were forced upon them.
with and have heard Symphony No. five by Beethoven. Whether it was a theme in movie
Director Nicholas Ray was lucky to have a talented composer create an original score for Rebel Without A Cause. Leonard Rosenman was born in 1924 and studied music in New York and Europe. His work as a film composer and arranger is very traditional, and has been regarded by some music critics as "insignificant." However, Rosenman received Academy Awards and Oscar nominations for his work. Along with film scores, Rosenman wrote theme music and scores for numerous television shows. The score in Rebel Without A Cause is much like another film starring James Dean, East of Eden.
Jazz and “boogie-woogie” of the Thirties moved popular music away from the light entertainment of the publishing houses toward a more exciting and dance oriented style that made the swing era a golden age. As the bigger bands died out and the star singers again grabbed the spot light the songwriters again found their services in demand. Without jazz driving it and Americans rebuilding their lives and starting baby booms people were too busy to waste time dancing. Popular music turned back to light sentimental songs and cute novelty music song by polished voices and backed by sweetly generic instrumentals.
“The Mission” is based on a true story that occurred around the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the years 1750’s according to the film and history. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 with the Spanish and Portuguese caused both havoc and death for the people of the Guarini and the members of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, members of the church, tried to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives while keeping at peace with Spain and Portugal. The Jesuits were the teachers for the natives; Teaching them not only the Christian religion but also civilization. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit, is first introduced in the film when he is showing his respects to a former Jesuit priest killed by the natives. He walks through the South American
The introduction of sound to film started in the 1920’s. By the 1930’s a vast majority of films were now talkies. ‘If you put a sound consistent to visual image and specifically human voice you make a “talkie”’ (Braun 1985 pg. 97). In 1926 Warner Brothers introduced sound to film but, other competing studios such as FOX, didn’t find it necessary to incorporate sound to their motion pictures production, as they were making enough money through their silent movies. Warner Brothers decided to take what was considered a risky move by adding sound to their motion picture, a risk taken, as they weren’t as successful in the silent movie department. But this risk paid off with the hit release of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in 1927. Though sound in films was then acceptable and successful it wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became feasible to the public as sound was introduced to cinema by the invention of Cinerama by Fred Waller. The Cinerama used 35mm film strip and seven channels of audio.
There are thousands of movie composers in the music industry, a few who triumph and whose work is well known to almost half of the world. One example of that can be the famous Maestro John Williams. John Williams is the musician for Jaws, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, E.T and lots more. But there is a piece which everyone recognizes, and that is the theme from the movie Jaws. Imagine Jaws without the music. People would not feel scared; they would laugh at the plastic shark. And that is why music is one of the most important elements in cinema. John Williams in a late interview said this: “The music is part of a whole, which if I try as a composer to take that part of the whole, like in a concerto. I would not succeed, because the attention would go only for the music and not for the picture” (John Williams Interview). In Jaws, the music blends with the picture and acting; there are no imbalances. The picture and the music need to be in perfect harmony. Therefore, in Jaws, every time the daring melody comes out; the audience knows something bad is going to happen, and the music may anticipate a particular situation, but without the music overpowering the actors and sound effects.