Music in Film

I'll often write about the score of a movie in a review or express my frustrations about the scoring of a film with someone. The response is usually a blank expression. Nobody seems to think film scoring is a very important aspect of film. I don't do a great job of trying to explain it myself, either. So, I've decided this is a subject that needs examples and discussion.

I'm going to shock you by saying that a film's musical score is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect to the piece. Yes. More than editing, more than photography, more than acting; where a director chooses to place music, along with the actual dynamic of the score, will wildly alter the finished product. Music is the driving force behind any scene.

This first example is from 'Psycho.' Alfred Hitchcock originally wanted the famous shower sequence to have no score. The composer, Bernard Hermann, wrote music for it anyway and surprised Alfred Hitchcock by showing him the reel with the music. Hitchcock immediately changed his mind, and the rest is history. As you can see, in the video below, Bernard Hermann knew exactly how to drive the impact of the scene even further with music. He took the scene into another realm. He was very careful to choose only string instruments and to stress short, high notes. The shrillness mimics the audience's inner scream, dying to come out. The scene without music lacks this emotional connection between the audience and the actress and becomes simply a series of shots. Even though Janet Leigh's performance is exactly the same in each version, she seems more helpless and frantic in the version with music.

The following video has the scene with and without the music. 

In this example, from 'Beauty and the Beast,' the composer Alan Menken rewrote the score for this particular scene. In the earlier version, the voice-over performances seem flat and sappy. The Beast's death has no impact, and Belle's line, "I love you," falls short of special. In the re-scored version, which is the version you will be familiar with, the acting is more urgent and believable, even though it is the same voice track as before. The brass interlude makes the Beast's words seem more noble rather than sappy, and his death itself has a big emotional punch. Belle's words, "I love you," are genuine and powerful. Again, same voice track, different score. The score always overpowers and often guides the performances. That is why it is so important to get the score just right.

This clip has Menken's original, lackluster score. 

This clip has the reworked score as seen in the movie. Go to the 3:00 minute mark.

While music can make a scene more powerful, it can also strain the essence of a scene out completely. In another Hitchcock movie, North by Northwest, Hitchcock did the reverse of his music choice in 'Psycho.' The cropduster sequence originally had music, written by the incomparable Bernard Hermann. After watching the scene again and again, Hitchcock decided to cut the music, and that decision made the scene the famous action sequence it is. The music overpowers the sequence, over-bloats it. Without music, Hitchcock stresses the isolation of our hero and the absence of shelter or safety.

This video is the scene with the music. 

This is the version seen in the film, without a score at all.

Nowadays, movies are cluttered with an endless array of noise. At the Academy Awards, people often overlook the sound editing and sound mixing awards, and for good reason. With music in nearly every scene of a movie these days, it's hard to tell anything about the sound of a film at all. It didn't used to be like that. '2001: A Space Odyssey' is famous for its music, but it also restrains itself in favor of building tension through silence and placing the audience in certain environments through sound. In the first sequence, notice the change in ambiance from shots within Dave's pod, to shots within the space shuttle, to shots in Space. Through this technique, Kubrick highlights the technological gadgetry of the pod, the terrifying power of HAL 9000 within the shuttle, and the empty vacuum of Space.

In the second sequence, notice how the sound effects build and become louder until Dave explodes into the airlock. The sound effects in the beginning of the scene build tension and the stark shift to silence is unsettling, as the tension never came to a conclusion.

In this scene from 'The Empire Strikes Back,' Luke and Vader have a lightsaber duel in a freezing chamber. Notice the ambiance of the chamber, the tense buzz of the sabers, and the haunting breathing of Vader. As the battle builds, notice the building sound effects: Beeps, smoke, etc. The sound is used to drive the scene. Notice how much more this lightsaber battle has to offer on an emotional level than the second scene, from the newer 'Star Wars' films. The second battle is cluttered with score and bloated sword fighting and carries no emotional impact whatsoever. 

The scoreless and emotionally charged lightsaber battle of 'The Empire Strikes Back.'

The over scored, flashy, brain-dead lightsaber battle from 'Phantom Menace.'

Sometimes, directors and composers mistakenly believe that an emotional performance from an actor requires an emotional score to accompany it. In almost all cases, the score over powers the scene and the raw quality of the performance is lost completely. In this scene, from the 'Godfather: Part II,' tension is built entirely from the performances and nothing else. Notice how Diane Keaton and Al Pacino play off one another's performances, and the raw emotionality each displays. Music would have killed this scene.

Now, maybe you'll see what I mean when I talk about and complain over the music in a film. It really is the most important part of the filmmaking process. It will make or break the film.