Film Music - 2010 [Archive]

Barty

01-19-2011, 06:22 AM

Let's discuss your favorite film scores of 2010.

I made a simple little video (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=489036678786) of my favorite moments from the year. Take a gander if you dare.

MadMan

01-19-2011, 06:28 AM

I loved the scores for Inception and The Social Network. And if it counts, I'd throw in the one for Tron: Legacy, too. That said most of the movies I've seen this year either didn't feature original scores, or they weren't ones I thought were even worthy of recalling or anything special, or I wasn't focused on them at all. Sometimes when viewing a movie I don't even focus in on the music, as I'm often distracted by pretty visuals, dialogue, acting and direction.

Oh and bitching video, btw. Barty your film scores threads always rule. You need to do more of those.

TGM

01-19-2011, 12:44 PM

It's definitely between Inception and Tron: Legacy as far as the best score of the year goes. Inception's played such a huge role in the film, and both managed to stick in my head for weeks after I had seen the movies. I can't even think of another time I've been so fascinated by a film's score, and it happened twice this year.

The Ghost Writer and Black Swan also stood out to me while I was watching. And everyone brings up The Social Network, but I found that I never really even noticed the music all that much at all throughout the movie.

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 05:40 PM

And everyone brings up The Social Network, but I found that I never really even noticed the music all that much at all throughout the movie.

Job done. A movie score is kind of like an umpire in sport; the only time you should really notice it is when it is really bad.

endingcredits

01-19-2011, 05:43 PM

Job done. A movie score is kind of like an umpire in sport; the only time you should really notice it is when it is really bad.

Um, no.

D_Davis

01-19-2011, 05:47 PM

Didn't hear a lot of film music this year. But from what I did hear, my favorite was The Social Network.

My biggest disappointment was Daft Punk's for Tron. What a huge waste. Wendy Carlos's score for the original sounds more futuristic and computer-themed than Daft Punk's does; why they chose to use so much typical instrumentation and orchestration really baffles me. They could have really pushed the boundaries of electronic film music, but instead they churned out another ho-hum example.

My favorite modern composers, tomandandy, only scored two films in 2010: Resident Evil: Afterlife, and And Soon the Darkness. I haven't seen either, nor have I heard the music for these, so I can't say anything about them except that I wish they'd pick better looking movies to work on.

D_Davis

01-19-2011, 05:50 PM

Job done. A movie score is kind of like an umpire in sport; the only time you should really notice it is when it is really bad.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West strongly disagree.

Often times, a good director and composer will treat the music like another character or facet of the narrative. Good music can be used to help tell the story and to help build characters.

endingcredits

01-19-2011, 05:51 PM

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West strongly disagree.

I would put 2001 in there too.

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 05:52 PM

Um, no.

For me, very much yes. If a film has done its job. I appreciate that others may not agree.

Too many directors use a score as a crutch to indicate [FEEL EMOTION HERE]. The very best films could lose their score and not lose any impact whatsoever.

The best use of score is David Lynch, who almost uses it as a secondary character in the building of at atmosphere, rather than as an external projection of either narrative or character beats.

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 05:54 PM

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West strongly disagree.
.

And yet by far the best part of the latter is the opening scene, right?

D_Davis

01-19-2011, 05:55 PM

I would put 2001 in there too.

Oh yeah. I could think of dozens of examples.

Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Pi, Nausicaa, Solaris, Halloween, Mind Game...

Hmmm....lots of anime comes to mind. Strange.

D_Davis

01-19-2011, 05:57 PM

And yet by far the best part of the latter is the silent opening, right?

It's not silent at all. The soundtrack is composed of environmental, found sounds: the creek of the windmill, the buzz of the fly, etc. It was meticulously composed by Morricone to help create the mood and atmosphere..

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 06:02 PM

It's not silent at all. The soundtrack is composed of environmental, found sounds: the creek of the windmill, the buzz of the fly, etc. It was meticulously composed by Morricone to help create the mood and atmosphere..

I was referring to the score, obviously. Everything you list above is the reason why it is awesome.

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 06:05 PM

endingcredits

01-19-2011, 06:07 PM

The soundtrack is composed of environmental, found sounds: the creek of the windmill, the buzz of the fly, etc. It was meticulously composed by Morricone to help create the mood and atmosphere..
Indeed. The word soundtrack is too often used in reference to just the music in a film, but it's much more than that.

D_Davis

01-19-2011, 06:09 PM

I'm also interested in the number of times people go back to older films and complain that the score is so dated (e.g early Michael Mann!). This is such a common criticism, and I think it is because of everything in a film, the score is the most artificial.

I do agree with this - about the score being the most artificial. Non-diagetic music really doesn't make much sense in the world of the film. Where the hell is it coming from?

However, I don't complain about the scores of older films being dated. I recently defended Tangerine Dream's score for The Keep. Of course this could be because I spend a great deal of time listening to and studying electronic music from the '60s and '70s, so perhaps my perspective is different.

transmogrifier

01-19-2011, 06:13 PM

Indeed. The word soundtrack is too often used in reference to just the music in a film, but it's much more than that.

Yep, which is why I have used the word "score" right from the start of this little debate :)

endingcredits

01-19-2011, 06:29 PM

Yep, which is why I have used the word "score" right from the start of this little debate :)

Good, because bad sound effects can act the shitty umpire too. And while
I agree with you that often a score is abused to idiotically cue people that it's time to emote in a particular way, I disagree that great movies with excellent scores would be just as great without them.

ledfloyd

01-19-2011, 08:24 PM

My biggest disappointment was Daft Punk's for Tron. What a huge waste. Wendy Carlos's score for the original sounds more futuristic and computer-themed than Daft Punk's does; why they chose to use so much typical instrumentation and orchestration really baffles me. They could have really pushed the boundaries of electronic film music, but instead they churned out another ho-hum example.
i couldn't agree more. it's still a pretty good score but it could be so much more.

Stay Puft

01-19-2011, 08:35 PM

I'd like to watch your video, Barty, but I'm not signing up for Facebook.

endingcredits

01-19-2011, 08:38 PM

I'd like to watch your video, Barty, but I'm not signing up for Facebook.

ditto.

Morris Schæffer

01-19-2011, 08:39 PM

The Ghost Writer had a terrific score, some tracks of The Social Network are deceptively simple, yet utterly wonderful. And I guess I'll throw in Inception also as well as Shutter Island.

Ezee E

01-19-2011, 08:43 PM

Watashi

01-20-2011, 12:16 AM

I'd like to watch your video, Barty, but I'm not signing up for Facebook.
It wouldn't let Barty upload it to YouTube due to copyright or some bullshit reason like that.

D_Davis

01-20-2011, 01:42 AM

Holy crap, how did I forget about Valhalla Rising?

Best score of the year, one of the best scores of all time. Absolutely haunting, dark, beautiful, and dense.

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This is how score a modern fucking film.

Barty

01-20-2011, 06:21 AM

This is such a common criticism, and I think it is because of everything in a film, the score is the most artificial.

A simple cut would be the most artificial thing in a film, since there is literally no random jumps from one moment in time to another in nearly everyone's perception of time, while music is a huge part of nearly everyones lives.

transmogrifier

01-20-2011, 06:50 AM

A simple cut would be the most artificial thing in a film, since there is literally no random jumps from one moment in time to another in nearly everyone's perception of time, while music is a huge part of nearly everyones lives.

(a) memory - nothing but random jumps in time
(b) sleep

Rowland

01-20-2011, 08:56 AM

My favorite modern composers, tomandandy, only scored two films in 2010: Resident Evil: AfterlifeTheir score is pretty cool. Here's a sample (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7cVjoz8wSM&feature=related) of several pieces from the film stitched together.

D_Davis

01-20-2011, 02:36 PM

(a) memory - nothing but random jumps in time
(b) sleep

(c) blacking out from too many drugs/drinks

Fezzik

01-20-2011, 02:54 PM

Yeah, Inception, The Social Network and Tron: Legacy were easily three of the best scores of the year (I haven't seen your video yet, Barty. Facebook is blocked here at work)...

but I really really liked John Powell's score for How to Train Your Dragon. It's got the bombast and soaring emotional cues that I've missed from cinema for a while.

Dukefrukem

01-20-2011, 03:12 PM

Fezzik

01-20-2011, 03:28 PM

Just listened to it (on the phone).

Mad props for the inclusion of HTTYD, but...can I possibly get a cheat sheet? There's a lotta music in it I didn't recognize and I'd like to know what I was listening to because there's a ton of good stuff there I may need to seek out.

Spinal

01-20-2011, 05:20 PM

Score is the one area where I can say that The Social Network is unquestionably better than Inception. It's really that film's stand-out quality.

Watashi

01-20-2011, 05:21 PM

Tron Legacy is easily my favorite score from this year.

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Stay Puft

01-20-2011, 07:29 PM

It wouldn't let Barty upload it to YouTube due to copyright or some bullshit reason like that.

There are other places he could upload the video besides YouTube. But anyways.

Ivan Drago

01-21-2011, 06:14 AM

Tron Legacy is easily my favorite score from this year.

Mine too, with The Social Network's a close second.

Mad props for the inclusion of HTTYD, but...can I possibly get a cheat sheet? There's a lotta music in it I didn't recognize and I'd like to know what I was listening to because there's a ton of good stuff there I may need to seek out.

Yeah, there were some I didn't recognize too.

Barty

01-21-2011, 06:26 AM

There are other places he could upload the video besides YouTube. But anyways.

I tried a few but they all have time limits. Any suggestions?

Barty

01-21-2011, 06:38 AM

Score is the one area where I can say that The Social Network is unquestionably better than Inception. It's really that film's stand-out quality.

YOU ARE WRONG.

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Barty

01-21-2011, 06:38 AM

Order of video:

1. Inception - Opening Sequence (Half Remembered Dream)
2. Social Network - Opening Credits (Hand Covers Bruise)
3. Kick-Ass - Opening Scene - (The Armenian Superhero)
4. Black Swan - Opening Dream Sequence (Nina's Dream)
5. Social Network - Sequence of Zuckerberg making Facemash (In Motion)
6. Tron - Light Cycle Battle (The Game Has Changed)
7. How To Drain Your Dragon - First Flight on the Dragon (Test Flight)
8. Inception - Driving in the Rain During First Level (Mombasa)
9. 127 Hours - Cutting Himself Lose (Liberation)
10. Black Swan - Awesome Lesbian Scene (Opposites Attract)
11. Inception - The Kick through all Levels (Waiting for a Train)
12. Shutter Island - Numerous Scenes (On the Nature of Daylight)
13. Tangled - Fucking Lanterns (I See the Light)
14. True Grit - Opening Voiceover (The Wicked Flee)
15. Tron - Battling CLU (Disc Wars)
16. Black Swan - Final Ballet (Perfection)
17. Inception - Final Scene (Time)
18. The Town - Final Scene (The Letter)

Obviously I repeated some films, because frankly their scores are the best.

chrisnu

01-21-2011, 08:11 AM

I'm quite out of the loop when it comes to films scores for the past year, so thank you for putting that together, Barty.

The most memorable film music, for me, wasn't original music:

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Krzysztof Penderecki - symphony no.3 (IV. Passacaglia. Allegro Moderato) [Shutter Island]

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Chemical Brothers - Don't Think [Black Swan]

Yxklyx

01-21-2011, 10:22 AM

Holy crap, how did I forget about Valhalla Rising?

Best score of the year, one of the best scores of all time. Absolutely haunting, dark, beautiful, and dense.

Yeah, I'd agree with that - didn't care much for the movie though.

Regarding scores from the late 70s - early 80s. Those can be some of the most dated ones. For instance, Apocalypse Now has an awful score - looks like it was done by Coppola himself.