A short History of Film Music文档.ppt

A short History of Film Music a view of film music through the century The start….. There has always been musical or sound accompaniment to visual entertainment; Whether this is through Greek dramas, Opera or musical pagents. * The music can provide: Background to enhance the emotional reaction An intrinsic part of the entertainment * “The Talkies” The first talkie movie was the original Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson which created a stir on its release in 1927 with its soundtrack consisting of songs and some fragments of speech. * Borrowed music… An example of the more effective use of borrowed material is Max Steiners score for Casablanca from 1942 * Hack or composer? Gone with the Wind, again from Max Steiner showed that serious composers were involved in the film music business * The Thriller…. The thriller demanded its own unique style of music to assist with the tension building,. Key in this genre must be the man who so ably supported Alfred Hitchcock in many films, Bernard Hermann * Bernard Hermann Amongst the many films by Hermann are: Citizen Kane (1941) * Bernard Hermann North by Northwest (1959) Psycho (1960) * And Taxi Driver (1975) * The western… A whole series of western movies… * Films of the 70’s Films from this decade used more jazz: THE PINK PANTHER Popular classical music: THE GREAT ESCAPE Folk tunes from different countries: ZORBA THE GREEK * John Williams A very prolific composer for films: his scores include Jaws * Star Wars * Raiders of the Lost Ark Jurassic Park * Schindler’s List * Use of synthesisers Many composers have used electronic instruments in their scores Examples include Chariots of Fire * and Terminator * It is interesting to note that many scores are currently using orchestral music Such as Lord of the Rings *