In Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, the musical score had a huge impact on the success of the film. The composer of the film, Leonard Bernstein, was known more in the world, rather than in the film industry, yet he offered his own unique twist that introduced new techniques in into the scene of musical scores. Bernstein sought to incorporate various techniques into the musical score that would define his signature style, American nationalism, while supporting the major themes of the film as well.
The musical score incorporated an American Nationalism style into the film. Bernstein wanted to bring into reference the current situation of that time, which “incorporates aspects of Copland’s style, including disjunct melodies and an emphasis on small, colorful musical ensembles” (Hickman 214). Yet, what made Bernstein’s musical
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score his own was that as the film progressed; the musical score became more dissonant, which shifted the atmosphere to being somewhat disturbing, and realistic. He also incorporated strong jazz elements, which included “syncopated rhythms and the prominent use of drums and saxophone” (214). Bernstein had a talent of incorporating both the elements of jazz, and “serious music”, which influenced the musical score in a way that generated the right appeal for the film. The role of music in the film also sought to describe the themes in the film. One of the major themes in the musical score is the noble theme, which involved the use of only a small ensemble. During the beginning of the movie credits, there is a single French horn being played, which represents the heroic theme of the film. The French horn is then accompanied by “a solo flute and a trombone [that] repeated the theme, and finally muted trumpets and woodwinds play fragments of the theme’s cadential phrase” (214). This in turn foreshadows Terry Malloy’s journey in going through a character transformation process that shifts him from being a coward into a hero. The next theme in the film is the violence that is portrayed in the film.
The music is introduced as the music shifts from the start of the gentle sounds to the pounding of the drums, which then after the drums come to a mute, the saxophone solo comes in, which is describe when “A saxophone blares out a theme associated with Joey and violence”, (215). The tune of the saxophone represents the foreshadowing of death in the film, as when Joey was killed, which clearly portrayed the violence aspect of the characters, which included Johnny Friendly, a local union mob boss, and even a close family friend of the Malloy’s. The violence theme also emphasizes the highlight of the musical score which occurred during the climax of the film, when Terry gets beaten up by Friendly’s mob members, as it “[combined] the dissonances of modern music and the syncopated rhythms of popular music” (215). The reference to theme is mentioned when “Terry says ‘Put me on my feet’, the Waterfront theme is stated heroically a solo horn”, as this represents Bernstein style of American Nationalism, while using various tunes that highlights the use of dissonance
(215). The third theme in the film is the love theme between Terry Malloy and Edie Doyle. The tune of their love theme is played for the first quarter of the film during their interaction with one another. Even though, their relationship starts out relatively innocent, and shy, Edie seemed somewhat interested about the Terry’s mysterious allure. As the film progresses, the love theme is played again, when Bernstein incorporates “disjunct melody is often heard gently scored for individual instruments and it can even be heard as a source music when they dance” (215). Overall, this display of romance between the two characters develops and their relationship is strengthened by their interest and concern for one another. In Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, the role of music had a huge influence on the film. The film itself was a success to the American public at the time of its release, and much of that success was also due to the musical score. Even though, there were some conflicting views between Kazan, and Bernstein, the composer for the musical score, that had a great influence on the direction of the musical; however, the film well exceeded the audience’s expectations. Bernstein succeeded in his first and only musical score with which he was able to incorporate his signature style, American nationalism, while supporting the major themes of nobleness, violence, and love into the film, without completely compromising his techniques.
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
The film starts out with orchestral music, and shows James Dean's character, Jim, drunk on the ground of a sidewalk. The sound of a police siren is heard and used as a transition into the next scene that takes place, understandably, in a police station. While in the police station, Jim is yelling along with the sound of the siren, and humming loudly to give the impression that he is drunk. At one point in the scene he is brought into another room with an officer, and begins to punch a desk. The sound effects are loud, and the he pauses, and music begins again when he begins to hurt. Again, a siren is played at the transition to the next scene. However, for the most part, score music is played during all transitions.
According to Albert Murray, the African-American musical tradition is “fundamentally stoical yet affirmative in spirit” (Star 3). Through the medium of the blues, African-Americans expressed a resilience of spirit which refused to be crippled by either poverty or racism. It is through music that the energies and dexterities of black American life are sounded and expressed (39). For the black culture in this country, the music of Basie or Ellington expressed a “wideawake, forward-tending” rhythm that one can not only dance to but live by (Star 39).
The period between early 1940s to mid-1960s or so, alternatively, the period between when the musical Oklahoma! (1943) was produced till the time when Hair (1968) was produced, is usually referred to as the Golden Age of the American musical (Kantor, 2010). It is during this period, that most of the noted titles such as “Carousel”, “South Pacific” etc. were produced. 1940s and early 1950s were dominated thoroughly by MGM musicals, while the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to Broadway. Initially, the musicals of this era had simple plots, unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing. But towards the end of it, the plots were sophisticated, serious with singing, dancing as well as dialogue. In this paper, I choose to elaborate more on the musical – Arthur Laurents’s West Side Story. In the first part of this paper, I discuss the plot, songs and other aspects of the musical such as the awards etc. Later on, I explain how this musical revolutionized the theatre and the cultural effects it had on Americans. Finally, I conclude in the end the historical importance of this musical piece.
Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.
believe the film is saying, and what effect music has had on projecting the films overall message.
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
The musicals that were produced around that time period were meant to be strictly for entertainment, for the most part. It was a very brave move for the creative team of this musical to tackle themes like racism, violence, and death. The risk definitely paid off, because even today West Side Story still remains a very popular musical. The main message that this show is trying to convey to the audience is that it shouldn’t take a horrible tragedy to finally unite people. Just because someone may not look the same way you do, or act the same way, or share your same belief system, that doesn’t mean you have to be fearful of them. Instead we should try our hardest to embrace the fact that this world would be a very boring place without a little diversity, and it’s ok to celebrate the things that make us
Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories company owned by the corporation Gap Inc. As holiday season approaches, retail stores such as Old Navy hire thousands of seasonal workers to keep speed with the millions of shoppers who are expected to hit the stores during the holiday season. Nearly two days after applying, I got called for an interview then hired for the seasonal position, this not only made me realize that this opening will lead me to gain some experience in retail, but also made me realize that in a way I will be joining a new community and will be part of a team that strives to create an environment that is functional enough
Hammerstein established the “book music”, and Lerner being one of the first to observe this and put his own spin on creating work. They both have earned a place in history and now there works like open inspire the next generation of
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Sound is an extremely important element to a film. Music, the sound chosen in this scene, is categorized as non-diegetic, which means that the music is not in the story world. The directors use deep, dramatic, intense music when Nick is interrogating Judy about her speech. The music in the scene helps the audience feel the anxiousness that Judy is feeling towards predators, particularly Nick. As the music plays in the background, the intensity of the scene grows immensely. The directors use the music to help heighten the emotion during this encounter and reveal Judy’s inner fear of predators that gets the best of her in this
As it mentioned above, the title itself, draws attention to the world-renowned music created by African Americans in the 1920s’ as well as to the book’s jazz-like narrative structure and themes. Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues
This leitmotif is used throughout the musical and is even seen in ‘America’ which is the Puerto Rican’s comical song. This recurrent use of the same leitmotif keeps the audience focused on the conflict between the gangs through to the last note. The use of bitonality is another technique Bernstein uses to demonstrate the ongoing rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. In the opening of ‘Tonight (Ensemble)’, which is sung by both Americans and Puerto Ricans, the lower part of the orchestra are providing a steady bass line in E major, with the high...
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.