How would you go about this?

[Night Elf]

Ds18 is taking an Art and Music Appreciation class. For the final project in music, he is doing a music soundtrack analysis. He is supposed to choose a scene from a movie and analyze the soundtrack being played. We thought about a couple of exciting scenes in different movies and watched you tube clips of them. Neither have much music at all. It's mostly dialogue or environmental sounds. Short of watching movie after movie, how would we find a scene that fits his assignment? The alternative is to watch Star Wars since we know it has dynamic music, but frankly neither he nor I are interested in watching any of the films again. What would you do for this? How would you approach this assignment?

[chocolatechip]

Have you seen October Sky? That is a great movie with an awesome soundtrack.

[MiMi 4under3]

Older, black and white films tend to have more music (right?).

[J-rap]

Have you seen Master and Commander?  It's a great movie and I think any 18-year-old boy would like it.  It has absolutely beautiful music in it, throughout.

 

Other than that, you could probably google "movies with music soundtracks."

 

 

 

[Tammi K]

My son is a Hans Zimmer nut and loves to watch movie he scores just to listen to the score. I would suggest anything y him would be a good starting point.

[Danestress]

I love the music from "the Mission." I not sure how I would do the project, but I might pick that particular movie.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I love the music from "the Mission." I not airs how I would do the project, but I might pick that particular movie.

That music is so beautiful it brings me to tears.  

[zoobie]

What about watching a few movies that won Oscars for their soundtracks?

[purpleowl]

I'd probably go with something from one of the Lord of the Rings movies. Okay, I'd specifically go with the "but it is not this day!" scene: 

[Chris in VA]

I know what I'd do--I'd pick music that shows something about the character, the plot, or the theme of the movie and is integral to the scene. My best example is this scene from Night of the Hunter--it'd be perfect.

 

First, I'd write about the basic plot and then what is happening in the scene. Then I'd talk about the part the music plays in it--how it enlightens the viewer in some way. For Night of the Hunter, use of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms is brilliant. The predatory man is a counterfeit of Good, and uses the music to lure and engender trust where there should be none. The old woman is truly leaning on God and represents goodness.

It's a stunning scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxSm91eun4

 

Here's a good overview of the movie and commentary about the meaning and stuff.

[Wheres Toto]

The ending scene of The Breakfast Club.   :closedeyes:

[Alessandra]

My son is a Hans Zimmer nut and loves to watch movie he scores just to listen to the score. I would suggest anything y him would be a good starting point.

Dd loves Zimmer too. Ladder 49 has Irish inspired music.

 

Lord of the Rings has sumptuous, luxuriant music. Last of the Mohicans is wonderful too.

 

2001 has an introduction of Strauss's Thus Spake Zarathustra, followed by a Johann Strauss waltz. Both conveniently located at the start of the film.

 

Don't forget Jaws and Gone with the Wind....

 

ETA Harry Potter. Ds even played some HP music in orchestra.

[Seasider]

Ferris Beuller's Day Off!

[Night Elf]

I'll look at some of these with him. At least watching a new movie would be a new experience. Of course, we'd have to be careful to listen to the music instead of getting so wrapped up in the plot. He is supposed to talk about how the music works with the scene. In fact, he has a whole list of things he's supposed to write about. He can do a brochure, a Powerpoint, or research paper. As always, he's choosing the paper.

 

I suggested watching Hopscotch with Walter Matthau which is a hilarious movie and plays a lot of Mozart. At least he would be able to mention the composer even if we don't know the names of the various scores. But he said he doesn't want to use it.

 

I told him he was not allowed to drag his feet just choosing a movie. I need him to make a decision within the next few days so I can make sure we can find the movie. Being on Netflix streaming would be beautiful, but I also have the DVD plan.

[hornblower]

I ditto finding the movies which were nominated or won Academy Awards for the score.
Often during the actual ceremonies they'll play a clip of a film with the music & without and you really get a sense of how much the music adds. Any of those movies probably have music playing during pivotal scenes.

Right off the top of my head I'd say The English Patient and Room with a View.

[wendy not in HI]

At Academy Award time, NPR interviews experts about movie scores.  I might try to listen to one of those reviews to get an idea of how the "experts" analyze the score/movie.

 

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/oscars/scores.html

 

Sounds like a fun assignment!

[I talk to the trees]

Oh! I was going to mention 2001, but Alessandra beat me to it! If you use that one, be sure to check out the story behind Alex North's unused soundtrack to the film.

 

E.T. also comes to mind. That way, he could listen to John Williams without having to rewatch Star Wars for the gazillionth time.

[*Inna*]

How about Clint Eastwood's westerns?

 

A few of them have Ennio M0rricone's music.

[Garga]

Older, black and white films tend to have more music (right?).

 

 

Not necessarily.  My dh is a rabid Doctor Who fan.  He's seen every episode from 1964 until now at least 3 times.  He watches the older ones nonstop.  

 

He often comments that the older Doctor Who episodes don't have nearly as much music as the newer ones.  I've listened to what he's saying and he's right.  The older episodes have very little music, but the new ones are constantly drenched in music.  A lot of music!  Emotionally, get you to tears over nothing music!

 

It could just be a Doctor Who thing, or it could be a difference in how things are done today as compared to the past.  Music and movies have come a long way since black and white days.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

The first two that pop into my head are...

 

1) Apocalypse Now- especially when the helicopters play Ride of the Valkries

 

2) Scent of a Woman- that movie had a great soundtrack

[unsinkable]

One of my favorite matches of a movie scene and a song is Jerry Maguire, when Jerry thinks he has successfully jump started his solo business. He is driving and flipping thru the channels, trying to find something that matches his excited mood but is having a difficult time. He finally settles on Tom Petty "Free Fallin'" and he sings the lyrics so enthusiastically. It is a foreshadowing bc the deal Jerry thinks he made falls thru.

 

Jerry is in free fall, but at that moment, he doesn't know it yet.

[Cinder]

I love the music from "the Mission." I not airs how I would do the project, but I might pick that particular movie.

That music is so beautiful it brings me to tears.  

 

I cried too!

[Cinder]

Does it have to be a movie? Firefly has some good music to it--and it's on Netflix. Here's a link to the wikipedia article (click down to the music section).

[Slartibartfast]

Jaws

 

Magnificent Seven

 

Pink Panther

 

Laura

 

The Godfather

 

Vertigo

[Tap]

Does it have to be a movie?

 

The soundtrack to Stargate Universe is wonderful.

 

It includes songs like The Worst Day Since Yesterday by Flogging Molly

and Breath by Alexi Murdoch.  There are a lot of excellent songs to choose from. 

[FriedClams]

Henry V - Battle of Agincourt speech

 

[FriedClams]

Last of the Mohicans also had a brilliant soundtrack.

[Mrs Mungo]

Rear Window has interesting music. It comes from record players, radios and even a composer in the other apartments. It not only reflects the scenes, but influences the action in one scene.

[LibraryLover]

The Ten Commandments.

[Night Elf]

The assignment specifically said movie/film, so we're assuming tv shows are not included. I'll have to reread the assignment to see if we can pull off choosing a single scene without knowing about the whole movie. It's only an analysis of one scene, so I don't see why he would need to watch an entire movie if we can find the movie clip on you tube. Well, he's supposed to describe the scene in detail, including "the action, dialogue, scenery, mood, etc." He's also supposed to identify the music, if applicable. I'm interpreting that to mean if he can recognize it to identify it.

 

He has to identify the time period the music was written in or the time period it's supposed to sound like. I think that may be difficult if we can't identify the music at all. I'd rather choose a scene where we can identify the music. That's worth 25 pts. alone. He has to describe the historical time period of the movie scene, and they suggest further research about the specific piece of music playing. We're not entirely certain we understand that part. For example, I know a movie that is set in modern times but plays a lot of Mozart pieces. From what I understand, the main actor agreed to do the movie if Mozart was played. There is no significance to the chosen music. It has no relevance to the story. Mozart is used when he's writing (a main part of the movie plot), and when he's running from the bad guys. Who thinks of Mozart as chase music? :)

[Chris in VA]

The assignment specifically said movie/film, so we're assuming tv shows are not included. I'll have to reread the assignment to see if we can pull off choosing a single scene without knowing about the whole movie. It's only an analysis of one scene, so I don't see why he would need to watch an entire movie if we can find the movie clip on you tube. Well, he's supposed to describe the scene in detail, including "the action, dialogue, scenery, mood, etc." He's also supposed to identify the music, if applicable. I'm interpreting that to mean if he can recognize it to identify it.

 

He has to identify the time period the music was written in or the time period it's supposed to sound like. I think that may be difficult if we can't identify the music at all. I'd rather choose a scene where we can identify the music. That's worth 25 pts. alone. He has to describe the historical time period of the movie scene, and they suggest further research about the specific piece of music playing. We're not entirely certain we understand that part. For example, I know a movie that is set in modern times but plays a lot of Mozart pieces. From what I understand, the main actor agreed to do the movie if Mozart was played. There is no significance to the chosen music. It has no relevance to the story. Mozart is used when he's writing (a main part of the movie plot), and when he's running from the bad guys. Who thinks of Mozart as chase music? :)

 

I would recommend watching the whole movie.

 

I think the time period question would be fairly simple. If you pick a scene that uses music NOT composed for the movie, like a certain song, then it will be listed in the credits at the end of the movie. If your music was composed specifically for the movie, then it's just the setting of the movie (the time period it takes place in) that you need.

So, for instance, Ride of the Valkyries in Apocalypse Now would be a great choice!

So would Free Falling from Jerry Maquire--so would my suggestion of Night of the Hunter. All those would be easy to identify. Something from 2001 would depend on which scene you pick, because there are multiple time periods in the film.

 

You might want to rent the dvd of whichever movie you pick and watch it, then rewatch the scene with the director's commentary (or whomever did the commentary). This will give insights you may miss just by watching.

 

I love film, and because ds is a film grad, I've watched a lot with him and it's fascinating to me, how everything, EVERYthing, is a choice in the film--nothing is by accident, from what the actors wear to what books they are shown reading to what is on the tv, to what music is playing!

 

[Stacia]

Agreeing with The Godfather &/or Apocalypse Now.

 

The Painted Veil had great music, but I'm not sure it would be a movie that would appeal to a teen guy.

 

The Great Gatsby (the one from a year or two ago w/ Leonardo DiCaprio) had different music in that they had a lot of modern music rather than 1920s music.

 

Also, Hanna had really different & interesting music for scenes. Much of the music was done by The Chemical Brothers. Music alternates between very techno & an almost fairy-tale/childish type music. I think it could be an interesting choice to analyze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TechWife]

Henry V w/Kenneth Branagh - the final scene where he learns of the outcome and takes care of his fallen friend. I remember the music in the film being very good, and the last scene is touching. Look up the English translation to the song - it's "Non Nobis."