Music+and+Film

back to film making techniques

** Music and Film **

** So... **

Posted by Oscar on Monday, November 15, 2010 · 4 Comments Search Here community. Like Abrams and Giacchino, these two are near the top of their professions for this generation and they continue to amaze. Though Aronofsky’s films aren’t box office hits, they are all incredibly unique and special. Same goes with Mansell’s music to accompany the films, which is why they’re on the list. These two are totally in sync. I’m eagerly awaiting Black Swan and what Mansell does with it. Before Aronofsky/Mansell were considered the most unique and out-there team, there was Burton/Elfman. Aside from the few guys ahead on the list, you really can’t find two people more in sync and more synonymous with each other. Burton has only two films without Elfman: Ed Wood, and Sweeney Todd (though, that’s because it was a musical). These two have defined each other’s careers. Honestly, I don’t believe either would have jobs without the other. All Elfman’s work is wonderfully recognizable and some of it, legendary. Such as his work on Batman and Batman Returns. Surely, we’ll have many more collaborations in the future. They will go down as two legends of film and music. You all knew it was coming. Of course it would be these guys. Predictable? Sure, but that’s because it’s so right. This is the only collaboration on this list I would say goes beyond opinion. It is just a fact that their work together is the longest running, most important, influential, and greatest overall achievement in the long history of the marriage between film and music. Spielberg only did one film without Williams, and that was The Color Purple. There will never be another duo that will be more legendary or synonymous than these two. Just look at the list. You know most of those movies. You love most of those movies. And you remember the music oh so well. That says WAY more than any of my words here. So, I’ll stop there. (no particular order) Christopher Nolan and David Julyan Robert Zemeckis and Alan Silvestri Ridley Scott and Hans Zimmer James Cameron and James Horner Danny Boyle and John Murphy John Carpenter and Himself The Coen Brothers and Carter Burwell Peter Jackson and Howard Shore John Lasseter and Randy Newman Orson Welles and Bernard Herrmann
 * The 10 Greatest Director/Composer Teams**
 * 10. J.J. Abrams and Michael Giacchino** – For: //Star Trek, Mission: Impossible-III, Lost, Alias, Fringe// These two are just getting started. Abrams has been called the next Spielberg. Well, Giacchino may very well be the next John Williams. There are stylistic similarities in both Abrams and Giacchino’s work with their counterparts, and both have been rising to the top of their professions. Abrams has his name on nearly everything these days, and Giacchino just won an Oscar for Up. Keep an eye on these two. We’re gonna have them around for a long time.
 * 9. Darren Aronofsky and Clint Mansell** - For: //Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan// Neither may be household names unfortunately, but they have both made huge waves in the filmmaking
 * 8. Frank Darabont and Thomas Newman** – For: //The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile// Darabont hasn’t directed many films, but his first two films are a couple of the finest motion pictures in history. Newman’s music is some of the most recognizable of any composer out there. His work on The Shawshank Redemption has been much emulated and used for temp tracks on films. Darabont’s two films with Newman are both incredibly inspiring, and beautiful, and a huge part of that is Newman’s work.
 * 7. Sam Mendes and Thomas Newman** – For: //American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road// Newman has been nominated for 10 Oscars, and it’s one of the Academy’s great failures that they haven’t properly awarded him. His work is clearly always outstanding as here he is for the second time on the list. This time with Sam Mendes, another one of the finest filmmakers of this generation. His work with Mendes is quite different than with Darabont. The films and their music have been much darker overall. American Beauty and Road to Perdition are two of my favorite films, and their music are two of my favorite scores. Out of all these composers, I think Newman’s music is the most consistently beautiful.
 * 6. Christopher Nolan and Hans Zimmer** – For: //Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception// Three movies together. All of them Oscar worthy for both men. Zimmer and Nolan – along with fellow brilliant composer, James Newton Howard – reinvented Batman and Batman’s music. A far cry from the delightful Burton/Elfman collaboration, Nolan’s words and images along with Zimmer/Howard’s music created a Batman universe that was grounded in realism, darkness, and closer to what the fans wanted. Zimmer is a legend, and Nolan will one day be remembered as one of the great auteurs. Together, they create pure magic. Inception was Nolan’s most out-of-the box work yet, and that gave Zimmer a chance to flex his creative muscles big time. We’ll see if they’re finally properly rewarded at the Oscars.
 * 5. George Lucas and John Williams** – For: //The Star Wars Saga// One collaboration. But a HUGE one, and over nearly 30 years and 6 films. Overall, legend John Williams work on the Star Wars films may be the greatest music ever put to film. Even though the prequels were incredibly disappointing, Williams work was still absolutely stellar. Together, Lucas and Williams created some of the most influential and important work in cinematic history. Their legacies will surely continue on forever. I mean, what is there to say? It’s fucking Star Wars and it’s the most recognizable music ever made. ‘Nuff said.
 * 4. Tim Burton and Danny Elfman** – For: //Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetle Juice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Alice in Wonderland//
 * 3. Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone** – For: //A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker, Once Upon a Time in America// Talk about two collaborators being in sync, Ennio Morricone composed the music for Once Upon a Time in the West to the SCRIPT. And Leone later directed the movie to the music on set. They trusted one another on unimaginable levels. And the work they produced together is some of cinema’s finest. Leone’s films are not only considered some of the greatest western films ever made, but some of the greatest films ever made period. Same goes for Morricone’s music. And once again, one would not be a legend without the other. There’s nothing more to say than that.
 * 2. Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann** – For: //The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Wrong Man, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie// AND before Burton/Elfman were considered the most unique and out-there team, there was Hitchcock/Herrmann. They have practically invented their own genres. Often you’ll hear people refer to a film or its music as “Hitchcockian”. That’s quite a testament to the influence and power of their work together. Herrmann’s music has its own language, and Hitchcock spoke that language fluently. Hitchcock’s use of Herrmann’s scores are so much of what made the films frightening or disturbing. Even though The Birds didn’t have a score per se, Herrmann worked as a sound consultant on the film. The sound in The Birds, or lack thereof, is 100% the reason the movie works on so many levels. These two are gods in the eyes of filmmakers.
 * 1. Steven Spielberg and John WIlliams** – For: //The Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1941, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Empire of the Sun, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Always, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Amistad, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Artificial Intelligence: AI, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Munich, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull//
 * Honorable Mentions:**
 * Written By Vito Selvaggi**