Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King seemed to have a lot of Classical Hollywood traits, while still seeming to fit into the modern movie era. To start off with, the movie had basically wall to wall music, a trait of classical Hollywood film scores, and also used a full orchestra. It also sounded like more modern instruments, like a synthesizer was used. In one scene, when the hobbits in the beginning are fighting over the ring, the eerie wailing sound sounds exactly like a theremin (it might have been a synthesizer but could have also be a theremin). The sound is used several times in the movie when the "ring" is present almost like a motif. The instruments used also seemed to represent the "emotions," just like in the Classical Hollywood film scores. In the herioc scenes, the music played ususally included brass and horn intruments to represent the bravery. For exmaple, when there is a speech about bravery given before the war, the instruments used in the music is brass and horns. These instruments are also used when they attack/war happens because the men are showing bravery, even though they know that there chances of winning, and even living, are slim to none. The romantic scenes are also represented by the steroetypical intruements: the violin, and sometimes the harp.

One difference is that the their were not leitmotifs like in most classical Hollywood film scores. While there seemed to be a few leitmotifs, like the "lady singing to represent the "good" such as when the white night scares away the evil birds, they were not as pronounced, or as frequent as, Classical Hollywood film scores. Another difference was that the music wasn't as "melodious." The music seemed to fit the mood of the scene more than trying to be harmonious. For example. a lot of the music was harsher, darker, and more dijunct to match the scenes like during the war scenes, or when the scenes were focused on the "evil/dark" side.

The music was also noticeable and dramatic in many of the scenes to match the drama of the scene and add more suspsense to the movie. For example, when Frodo reaches the "dead city" the music is loud and dark with low drum beats to add intensity and suspense to the scene...these drum beats then go on to match the marching of the evil army.

All-in-all the movie seems to carry some of the classical Hollywood film score traits while still having a current, modern feel.

Big Fish

The music in Big Fish does a good job of emphasizing the feelings of the scenes. The music throughout the movie usually fits into what is happening in the movie. Most of the music is mystical, representing the "stories" told by Edward. This mystical/fantasy music is first heard in the opening credits. Then the mystical music is heard when the stories are "narrated." However, there is more than just the fantasy music, there is also much music that fits the mood of the scenes. For example, when we learn that the son isn't talking to Edward, the music is sad. When Edward goes home to finally visit his dad, the music becomes reminiscent and slightly happy as he is walking up the stairs and sees picture of his childhood/family. Also, romantic music is played whenever there is a romantic scene (going back to a classical hollywood film trait).

The music is only used in the beginning whenever the "stories" are told and/or as a transition from the present to the narrated story. However, when the son starts finding more about his dad, and how these incident have happened, the music starts being used in the "present" and not just during flashbacks.

Another important element of the music, is the use of pre-existing music. Towards the end of the movie, a couple of pre-existing songs are used, including "All Shock-up" and "Five O'clock World." Some of the music in the movie, including the pre-existing music, also helps emphasis the time and place. For example, "All Shock-Up" is played when Ed is going to war. This song helps put into place when the scene was taking place. Also, when Ed was at the circus, the music played was circus music, representing the "circus" setting.

Malcolm X

The music in Malcolm X was essential to the movie. The music did a good job of setting up the time and place of the scenes. For example, in the first scene the music has a jazzy feel. It sounds like the jazz music that one would hear during this time period. The thing about the music that is different than alot of music heard in movies thus far is that the music is song by African American singers for the most part. In this first scene, an African American singer is singing. This helps fit with the movie as a whole, since it revolved around Malcolm X and African American struggles at the time. Towards the end of the movie, during Malcolm journy to Mecca sounds exotic and Middle Eastern, also setting the place of the scene. As he write letters to his wife during his journey, the music has a pipe instrument playing, which again represents the exotic feeling of Malcolm being in Mecca.

One important element was the use of diagetic music, which was usually jazz music. The first time the diagetic music showed up was during the barbershop scene. the music in the background comes from a radio in the shop. The radio music also sets up the time and place of the scene, since it is music one would expect to hear in a barbershop at the time. Whoever, I struggled determining the diagetic from the underscoring in the movie. While most of the music sounded like it was coming from the radio (usually jazz music), it was hard to tell if it was truely coming from a radio or not. For example, when Malcolm first tried cocaine, it is hard to tell if them music is underscoring, or if the music is coming from a radio in the house.

The music also adds to the mood/feeling of a scene. For example, when Malcolm X narrates about his family and the story about the KKK, the music is sad, eerie wailing, fighting the scary, sad emotions of the story. Also, the music played at the dance club is soft, romantic jazz when Malcolm dances with Sophia for the first time.

An important shift in the music takes place once Malcolm is arrested and sent to jail. The music changes from typically diagetic jazz, to more mature music. This change in music represents Malcolm's change in character, to more mature and "spiritual." For example, when Brother Baines starts to talk to Malcolm about Mohammad, the music becomes soft, inspirational, and hopeful underscoring. In a sence, the music has a power to it that represents the "power/feeling" Malcolm feels about Allah and Mohammad. And when Malcolm and his followers go to visit Brother Johnson in the hopsital, the music has a powerful feeling to it to match the power that Malcolm and the crowd have. This powerful feeling is created by instruments like the horn and repetitive drums beats. As the groupd of Brother and Malcolm march to the hospital, the music increases in pace and excitement as more people join the crowd and become interested in it.

The shift is very intrugal to the change in Malcolm and is important to propelling the movie forward!

The Mission

The Mission has music that represents both the "natives" and the missions. To start off, the first scene has "pipe/flute" music that has a native theme to it. The instrument sound is heard many times throughout the movie, especially around the natives. For example, during the last scene, the "pipe" instrument is heard when the young natives travel down the stream. The pipes are also present during some of the scenes when the mission is being attacked. During one of the forest fight scenes, it is heard, and also heard when the mission church is on fire and they are still carrying on mass. The "pipe" is not used with the same song. The underscoring still fights the mood of the scenes, but the "pipe" instrument is heard over/in conjunction with the music to give it a more native feel. There are a few leitmotifs however, used. There are two leitmotifs that i specifically could recognize. One seemed to have a hopeful, religious feel to it. For example, the theme is heard when Father Gabriel is successful in climbing the falls to get to the natives. It is inspirational and powerful and represents the "presence" of God. The theme is also heard when his Eminence visits the mission of San Miguel and sees the natives. The theme helps represent the powerful feeling his Eminence gets when he sees the beauty and power of the mission and the natives. The other leitmotif is also has a spiritual feel. For example, it is used when Father Gabriel tells his Eminence that he is going to stay with the natives.

Diagetic music is also used throughout the movie. The diagetic music is usually the natives singing. They sing "Ave Maria" several times. They sing it when his eminence comes to visit San Carlos missionary. They also sing "Ave Maria" when they are still preforming Mass during the fight. The natives are also heard singing many songs in their native lanugage a few times in the movie. For example, the little native boys sings in his native lanuage in front of his eminence and the court.

Star Wars IV

The music from Star Wars IV seems to resort back to the classic Hollywood film score traits. The first thing noticed is the use of full orchestra again. The opening/Title scene begins with the "typical/well known" Star Wars theme. It uses a full orchestra, and much unlike the music from film noir films, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the music very loud, harmonious, euphonious, and colorful. Throughout the movie, much like classical Hollywood film scores, there is basically wall to wall music and the music is typically very noticeable. The scenes without underscoring seem to stand out, such as when Darth Vader and Obi-wan Kenobi are fighting, or when the Jetti's first go in to destroy the Death Star. The music in the movie also seems to fit the mood of the scene. If there is a dramatic scene, the music helps build intensity with sequences or with repetition. And when there are "evil" characters, like Darth Vader, the music becomes dark and scary, portraying the characters as villains.

Many of the classic Hollywood techniques are used. Mickey mouse-ing for example, is used to match the Storm Troopers steps in one scene on the Death Star, and used to match Princess Lei running in another. And the use of leitmotif, or a repetitive theme used throughout the movie, is also used. There seem to be two major themes that stick out to me...the Star Wars theme and the "Jetti/the Force" theme. The Star Wars theme is usually heard in heroic or dramatic situation. For example, when princess Lei is rescued, the Star Wars theme is played, and when Luke is about to blow up the Death Star. The other theme is used whenever the force, or the idea of the Jetti's are used. When Ben's voice tells Luke to use the force when he is attacking the Death Star, the force leitmotif can be heard. When Ben first appears the theme is heard, and when Ben is talking to Luke about his father and the idea of the Force, it is also heard. These are just a few examples of the theme being used as a leitmofic for the Force. There was also very little use of diagetic music. The only time it is heard is during the "bar" scene in the begining when the band of weird creatures are playing exotic sounding music.

The movie's music takes a step back from where music has been heading, back to more classic Hollywood traits.

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Space Odyssey has very different music than any other film we have seen thus far. The music and almost more importantly the lack of music create a completely different feel for the movie. To start of with, the movie opening title/credits start off with a musical cue that is now used in many other movies/shows. It is what I will call the Space theme. It uses drum beats and horns specifically for parts of the theme, but also uses a full orchestra. It is a grand sounding, adventurous, and slightly eerie theme. However, there is no underscoring in the Dawn of Man section (only background sounds and noise, like the wind are present) until the monolith from the earth arises. However, it is not like any other music we have heard before. He really has no melody or harmony, but is more of a howling, eerie sound. When this "music" is played, all the other sounds from the scene disappear and only the music can be heard. For example, the viewer does not hear the apes screeching anymore. When the scene changes, there is abrupt silence.

The theme from the opening title is heard again when the ape starts playing with the animal skeleton and learns to make a weapon/tool out of it. Could it possibly be a leitmotif to represent progressiveness/advancement or destruction? Or is it just underscoring to represent a significant moment in the movie?

Music is prevalent again when they show the earth/space, and space craft traveling in space. This time the music is pre-existing music. It is a famous classical piece (however, I cannot think of the name of it at the moment). The music is very harmonious and melodious, and is played with a full orchestra. It does not seem to really match what is going on in the movie, but seems to be there as filler for the lack of action happening. In the movie, music seems to adds some excitement, or movement, to the movie when there is really no action prepelling the movie forward. The classical piece is heard again, also where their are unimportant scenes showing space travel. The scene is long, and the music fills up the whole scenic view. Again, there is no talking or no other noice while the music is played. The music stops where ever people need to talk.

When another spacecraft flys over the planet, a new eerie hum is heard; it sounds like it could be from a therimin. The music then stops once the camera shows the inside of the craft and when people start talking. The eerie music helps create the mood of space and the emptiness, eeriness, and loniness of space. And unlike music we have heard in other movies, the music is more like an eerie wail; it is not "pretty" sounding, but more annoying and haunting. However, in a later scene, when the monolith appears, the same eerie howling theme from the apes saw the monolith is present.

Another theme is heard when the "Jupiter Mission" is shown. This theme is more melodious than the eerie howling, but is still dark, eerie, and creates the feeling of outer space.
Another theme is really not music but heaving breathing and an constant, unchanging noice. It is used whenever the man leaves the space station to fix the radio. However, when the computer "revolts" and sends the man drifiting into space, there is just eerie silence, and no noice at all. However, the breathing theme reappears when the other man takes the computer apart. At this time, we also heard diagetic music; the computer singing "Daisy".

During the "Jupiter" section of the movie, when there is the weird, crazy colored, crazy visual scenes, there is another theme. This theme is also eerie and echo-ishy with a lack of harmony, just like most of the other themes.

The movie ends with the "Space" theme from the beginging, and the ending credits plays the same classical piece from the movie.

Vertigo

The movie Vertigo has significant underscoring in the movie. There seems to be several musical themes that are used throughout the movie. For example, there is a repetitive leitmotif with a romantic but eerie theme between John and Madeleine. Also, there seems to be a leitmotif whenever John "spies" on Madeleine during the first part of the movie. It is a creepy, eerie theme that adds to the mystery and spookiness of the idea that Madeleine is possessed. After the stalking scenes the theme is prevelant it seemes whenever the "possessed" idea is present. So while the theme orginally seemed like a leitmotif for John spying, it was more a theme for the eerie idea of the possession.

The underscoring for all the musical themes in the movie seems minimalistic, at least in a sense. The music is very repetitive and while there is a motion of notes, the music does not "go anywhere" just like in "The Day the Earth Stood Still." The music is repetitive and helps increase the intensity of a scene and also builds suspense. Also, the music is not very harmonious (it is more sharp, disjunct, and short in some instances). Another device used in both films is the burst of loud music at the moment of a suspenseful or important scene and then the music typically stops. For example, in Vertigo, there is a sharp blast of music when a close up of the tombstone is showed to the viewer. And when Madeleine jumps into the river, there is also the loud burst. This idea helps add to the intensity of the scene and "startles" the viewer forcing them to notice and pay attention to the drastic and important ideas in the movie.

While there was a lot of underscoring, diagetic music was also present. For example, their was organ music in the Church while John was spying on Madeleine, and diagetic music from the record player when Midge play music in the begining and when she visits John at the mental institution. There is also diagetic music, the church bells, at the end when Judy falls from the church bell tower. There seemed to be only one scene where the lack of music created an effect, in the court room during the trail. It added to the seriousness of the situation and also acted as a form of respect, much like in that of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington where there is no music in senate and during court scenes.