Cord Strike

Because we are getting into movies that are beginning to use music as an integral part of the whole film and less as filler, or a ruse to dampen solely visual stimuli, I feel the need to express my great appreciation of the appropriate and exact art of using and creating music for film. I have believed for a long time that music is the life blood, the ever beating heart of a movie. It can make or break a film. It makes a good film great, and an okay film good. I see music almost visually. The sound waves ripple off the screen, and fuse with our body’s chemistry, affecting our mood to the drama, action, or comedy. The music manipulates our senses. I believe all movies try for realism, the good ones, and mostly dramatic ones, aim for this achievement. A filmmaker strives to recreate a feeling in a scene by use of angles, lighting, color, sound, etc., but especially music. It twangs for everyone, and can help recreate the atmosphere of a scene it is trying evoke. Music tells us about a character as much or more than watching this person. It gets us into their head, their mood, their personality comes through. To use a few examples of effective use of music, music created for the film, original score, two obvious films come to mind, There Will Be Blood, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The first few minutes of There Will Be Blood, has no dialogue, we only see the main character working hard, and a few of his workers. The only real clue to this type of character is the music. It is orchestrated beautifully by Jonny Greenwood, and leaves an eerie unpredictable quality that rattles of Daniel Plainview, the main character portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis. Musicians usually create themes for the main characters, something that is uniquely theirs, just like a personality. And Greenwood created this with a loud, constant, note, one that tells me of Plainview’s stubbornness, and unpredictable quirkiness. This note forces goose bumps, and hair to stand on end; all this from just a note. In the Assassination of Jesse James, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis use a similar technique for Jesse James. Another thing these composers do effectively to help transport us is the type of instruments, and the way they use them. How they arrange the music resembles the time. There Will Be Blood and The Assassination of Jesse James are both period films. And I feel like I am there because of the arrangement of music. But this doesn’t mean that a film’s music can only be good if it is original, and created for the film. Tarantino has only used one original song for his films, every other song has been created for some other reason, or for another film. He uses Ennio Morricone, who wrote the score for the dollars trilogy and several other westerns, for the Kill Bill volumes, and Inglourious Basterds. And his effect is great. But also, in all the films mentioned, is the importance, and underrated use of silence. Knowing when to not use music.