Week 7 Flashcards
Planet of the apes, and Chaper 17&18
How does the music in the “flight” scene in Psycho play out?
play her fear at being caught
as she changes, music seems to play her fall to the “dark” side
agitated
What kind of music is playing in the theft scene in Psycho? What is the significance of this?
short, repetitive
quiet, unsettled - discomfort with theft
music becomes intense as she decides to take the money
how are themes different in Pyscho than in Laura or Robin Hood?
it’s a lot more dissonant, agitated, not hummable
darker tones
What kind of music is playing in the Norman theme in Psycho?
two semitones (notes side by side on a piano) played in variety of ranges - extremes of range speaks to the character of Norman. semitones are unsettling & creepy "white tone" as Norman spies on Marion so show no emotion - this is from a violin. cold, devoid of feeling, harmonics in strings
What year did Psycho release?
1960
Who is the director of Psycho? Composer?
Hitchcock / Bernard Herrman
What is the significance of the shower scene music? when does music come in? whose theme as the murderer flees the scene?
no music until the attack
no tonality - strings “shriek” - aggressive bowing downwards of violin
Norman’s theme plays as the murderer flees the scene
when did Bernard Herrman and Alfred Hitchcock part ways?
during filming of Torn Curtain
Where did B Herrman go after splitting with Hitchcock? What was his last movie?
Europe, to Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Last movie - Taxi Driver (1975)
What are the emphases in the 1970s for film music?
young people - baby boomers
youth culture
Elmer Bernstein was a student of which composer?
Aaron Copland
What was the style of melodies that Copland did in his youth vs as he ages?
in his youth: dissonance, atonality
as he grows up: clear melodies - folk song influence. strong rhythms, syncopation / incorporates sound of American west/ American Nationalism
T/F Copland was a concert hall musician
True
Magnificent Seven year of release?
1960
Composer of Magnificent Seven?
Elmer Bernstein
What does versatility have to do with the 1960s/1970s?
new generation of composers capable of working in a number of styles
end of studio system leads to freelancing
What is the difference at the end of the studio system?
freelancing begins
production companies still exist but all they do is make movies, they dont have anything to do with distribution of movies and they dont own movie theathres
T/F the 1960s is a peaceful period in American history. elaborate
false
- civil rights
- Vietnam
- generational gap
explain the relationship between generational and vietnam war?
baby boomers didnt just want an authority figure to tell them “yes do this”, baby boomers needed concrete explanations as to why the government did things.
US was trying to send of baby boomers to war, and most baby boomers didnt even want to go to war
US found itself in a place where it had not been before - a large group of people questioned if the government was doing what was best for the people
Vietnam war was a war that no one really understood why the US was there because they weren’t a communist country and the US was losing………bad
what are some facets of the transition of 50s to 60s. address production code change.
by mid 60s, production code is abandoned
films become more explicity in subjects, visuals, and dialog
cultural revolutions of the late 60s results in films with a strong sense of irony and cynicism
how were costs associated with independent production? how did change in costs affect music?
costs escalatted, and these cost factors lead to many smaller ensembles or popular music scores (versus orchestral scores)
Which big composers “ended” their careers in the 60s ? Which began their careers?
Steiner, Newman, Tiompkin ended
Berstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini began career
Who is in the second wave of European composers? French versus English versus Italian?
French - Maurice Jarre
English - John Barry, John Addison
Italian: Ennio Morricone
where and when was Ennio Morricone born?
1928
Rome, Italy
which director is Ennio Morricone associated with?
Italian Director Sergio Leone
which composer is the “spaghetti western” associated with?
Ennio Morricone
what is a “spaghetti western”? where were they filmed?
re-evaluation of culture; cynical view of the world
production companies & others who work on them are Italian (spaghetti)
filmed in Spain
how to identify spaghetti western?
- people in spaghetti westerns are “ugly” - realistic actors
- lips don’t line up with dialogue - this is because cast members said lines in italian or spanish (sometimes English), and then all the lines were over-dubbed in after with English
name a famous spaghetti western & identify its composer
The good, the bad & the ugly
composed by ennio morricone
what year was the good, the bad, the ugly released?
1966
what was unique about the score of the good, the bad, the ugly
sound effects, voices, electric guitars
T/F Ennio Morricone did over 400 film credits with a small range of styles
False
he did over 400 film credits with a wide range of styles
What was John Barry training in when he was young? As he aged?
youth: concert hall music - classical pianist/trumpet player
in his 20s: pop music
well known British pop musician by his 30s
who is Monty Norman?
he was given credit for a theme that John Barry composed - Dr. No (the first James Bond movie)
What notable films did John Barry compose?
11 James Bond films
Born Free, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves
what is John Barry’s musical style?
clear, tonal melodies with pop influence
grand use of strings and brass to create unique sounds
big moments, he uses block orchestrations
creates “spacious” sound
what are block orchestrations? who was famous for using them?
all of the strings do one thing (e.g melody), all of brass does one thing (e.g harmony). each section is unified in terms of what its doing
John Barry
When was Out of Africa released?
1986
how is music changing in the 1960s?
increasing impact of popular music, atonality, and avant-garde styles
traditional orchestral score is diminished in importance
what is modernism
rejection of past in favour of the new
moving from realism to abstract
what is piano burning
avant garde style where you burn a piano and just listen to the sound it makes
what is piece 433? who is the composer?
John Cage
musician sets up on stage and for four minutes and thirty three seconds, they just stand up on stage. he was trying to put a frame around the sounds of life and have people question why we consider some things valuable art, and some things just noise
What year did A Space Odyssey release?
1981
T/F A Space Odyssey is a compiled score
True
compiled from classical music - late 19th century Vienna
what movie was seen as a new approach to the relationship between music and film?
2001: Space Odyssey
Where was the music of Space Odyssey sourced from?
tonal music from late 19th centruy (Johann Strauss II) and atonal music from the 20th century (Gyorgy Ligeti)
how did the score of Space Odyssey separate humans and aliens?
humans - tonal, old-fashioned, quaint
aliens = modern but not popular modern, dense, independent lines moving, tons of information of knowledge & scope of knowledge but you have no idea what you’re actually listening to. uses voices rather than instruments because it gives the idea that there is something recognisable, a presence & life in it
how does A Space Odyssey reverse the role of film and music?
music plays, narrative stops
film built around the music (which is all sourced, pre-composed) and none of the music is altered
