Lecture 10 and 11: The 1970s

Question 1

The 1970s

Answer 1

• increasing influence of American composers
• increasing importance of popular music and modernism
• conglomeration continues
• cost to make a film increases
• 72 - 77 = 178%
• 77 - 79 = 200%
• this reduces the number of films that are being made
• 1970s = 160 films per year
• 1937 = 538 films are produced
• genre/formula films

Question 2

The 1970s and pop scores

Answer 2

• pop scores = The Graduate (1967), Easy Rider (1969), The Last Picture (1971), American Graffiti (1973)
• it is possible to use pop songs in an artistically significant way
• however, they are generally used for promotion
• “old school” (orchestras) seen as irrelevant

Question 3

John William - Facts

Answer 3

• born in 1932 to musical parents
• trained as a concert pianist at Juilliard
• studied film music at UCLA
• orchestrator for Tiomkin
• Williams is part of the 2nd generation of film composers

Question 4

John Williams - Early work

Answer 4

• television (late 1950s) = Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, Gilligan’s Island
• late 1960s, film work
  associated with two genres in particular = urban comedies, disaster films
• The Poseidon Adventure = John Williams starts getting noticed
• The Sugarland Express (1974) = with Goldie Hawn, one of the most important films in John William’s career
• film is directed by Steven Spielberg

Question 5

Jaws - Facts

Answer 5

• 1975
• launched Steven Spielberg, and subsequently John Williams into fame
• wide-release strategy
• shift towards orchestra music in film
• transition score
• mechanical sharks did not work for the start of the film

Question 6

Star Wars

Answer 6

• 1977
• Williams becomes the best-known film composer of all time with the success of Star Wars
• bringing back operatic structure that has been falling out of fashion
• overture structure, tonal themes, foreshadowing

Question 7

Jaws - Theme

Answer 7

• unbelievably simple
• two notes going back and forth in the lower register
• size, focus, relentlessness
• because you’re not worried about the arc of the melody, you can focus on what the theme is doing
• play slowly, speed up, get quiet, get louder
• becomes a representation of the shark

Question 8

Jaws - Scene 1

Answer 8

• two fishermen on a dock
• at the end of the scene, the music has stopped
• when you hear the music, the shark is nearby

Question 9

Jaws - Scene 2

Answer 9

• shark attacks and kills the small boy
• one foot in operatic, one foot in modernism
• reaction shot of the sheriff to the attack = extremely atonal music
• source music from a band on the beach
  reinforces the lack of the shark theme

Question 10

Jaws - Scene 3

Answer 10

• audience is lulled into a sense of security due to the presence of music
• now, the shark can show up at any time
• after first appearance of the shark = quiet, tense, fairly dissonant
• then, the shark theme starts up
• the theme stops = we don’t need it because we can see the shark
• gives us music for spectacle = sweeping, dissonant sound continues
• action theme = fugue, more structure
• then, a more tonal theme
• when the harpoon fires, the music comes out for a second
• music becomes triumphant, tonality
• then, the shark drags the barrel underwater = pacing of the music drops down

Question 11

Postmodernism

Answer 11

• embraces all historical and popular arts without value judgement
• what makes the most sense given the specifics of the scene, and the goals of the director
• emphasis on emotional appeal
• less focus on change and originality

Question 12

The Rite of Spring

Answer 12

• ballad that was staged in the 20th century
• Igor Stravinsky
• during the performance, there were reports of fights - one of the first important pieces of modernism performed
• one of John William’s favourite pieces
• part of the piece is similar to what he wrote for Jaws
• even within the score for Star Wars, there are some more modernist sounds

Question 13

Style of Williams

Answer 13

• 19th century orchestral tradition
• aware of the newer modernist/atonal techniques
• little popular/jazz influence (no popular songs)
• starts with a basic orchestra and then adds what is necessary
• use of themes = developed throughout the film

Question 14

John Williams - Later Work

Answer 14

• he is the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
• his film work is reworked into orchestral works
• music takes on a life outside the film world
• becomes the best known film composer in the history of film composers