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Post by richard on Feb 14, 2020 18:31:27 GMT
The hype surrounding young Billie Eilish's song, written with her brother, for the latest James Bond film, got me thinking about a thread on this subject.
What are some of your favourite film themes/songs/incidental music? I'm a sucker for great melodies, so John Barry and Ennio Morricone are probably my two biggest favourites, but there have been so many great composers for film over the decades.
This one by John Barry is so beautiful and sad reflecting the subject of the film, the beautiful actress Frances Farmer and her tragic life. I think John Barry is unsurpassed for his melodic themes.
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Post by josef on Feb 14, 2020 22:27:50 GMT
I always liked the music from Blade Runner. Also the theme from Midnight Express. The songs from The Graduate still resonate with me, too.
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Post by angela on Feb 15, 2020 2:26:56 GMT
I like the theme to Chariots of fire.
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Post by shoshin on Feb 17, 2020 1:05:46 GMT
Spoiled for choice with John Barry of course. How about Midnight Cowboy?
Can we extend the thread to TV themes too? If so, another John Barry gem that was a soundtrack to my early teens: The Persuaders
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Post by richard on Feb 17, 2020 11:43:55 GMT
Yes, Midnight Cowboy is a great theme. And what an amazing little instrument the harmonica can be: does any other musical instrument convey 'haunting' and 'poignant' better, I wonder? I'd forgotten about tv songs/themes. Wouldn't have imagined that music from a cartoon show for kids would give me an excuse to play a jazz piano trio  : |
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Post by josef on Feb 17, 2020 22:31:12 GMT
The Elephant Man makes great use of Adagio for Strings.
The film itself is extremely moving, too.
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Post by richard on Feb 18, 2020 11:49:11 GMT
Love that Samuel Barber piece, Josef, and I can well imagine how moving it must be in the context of The Elephant Man film, which I only saw clips from.
This classical piece, also featuring strings, is the Adagietto from Mahler's 5th Symphony, and used Death In Venice, starring Dirk Bogarde. Incredibly beautiful piece of music.
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Post by chron on Feb 18, 2020 16:07:23 GMT
Great thread. Love both of the Vangelis soundtracks referred to above. The soundtracks he did for the documentary films L'Apocalypse des animaux and Opera Sauvage I like even more - despite having seen neither film (I love Vangelis full stop. A lot of his music that hasn't been used on soundtracks would work well in the right cinematic context - the albums China and Soil Festivities make for some visually evocative listening). Onto stuff from films I have seen. Joe Hisaishi's pieces for Takeshi Kitano's Hana-Bi are wonderful, particularly Sea Of Blue and Ever Love. That abrupt, step-descending strings glissando thing, about a minute into Ever Love, is a shivers moment (the gob-iron playing on it is lovely as well). This vaporous little piano piece from the great Korean coming-of-age film Take Care Of My Cat that has always affected me. Here it is as it features in the film: The same film also features this smashing little synthy pop track at the end (haven't a clue what the guy's singing about, but it doesn't affect my enjoyment one iota). There's a similarly ethereal and even briefer little piece of music that crops up in the Swedish horror noir (is that a genre?!) film Svart Lucia. Lasts but a few seconds, but has always stayed with me. The whole thing is currently up on Youtube in one piece: here's a vid link time-linked to the bit I mean: I'd recommend watching the entire film if you haven't seen it. I'm a sucker for a bit of restrained, reflective-cum-melancholy mood music. |
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Post by richard on Feb 20, 2020 20:36:44 GMT
For me, one of the greatest film themes of them all: the chordal intro with the basses and chimes, sounding very Italian to my ears, then that longing, melancholic melody carried by the the female operatic voice, and the beautiful orchestration. Gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes.
Morricone is a genius
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Post by Michal on Feb 21, 2020 19:59:11 GMT
then that longing, melancholic melody carried by the the female operatic voice Check out this video: It may not be a voice at all... |
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Post by Michal on Feb 21, 2020 20:04:02 GMT
I've always liked this one:
Oh, and should not forget the majestic theme from The Last Of The Mohicans:
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Post by richard on Feb 21, 2020 20:55:45 GMT
I'm glad it's the voice of Edda Dell'Orso on the film's soundtrack of the Morricone theme - though nowadays it would probably just as likely be a theremin!
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Post by richard on Jul 8, 2020 12:47:26 GMT
With the death of Ennio Morricone, here is another of his wonderful melodies. That descending bass line, so beautiful.
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Post by Liebezeit on Jul 10, 2020 12:35:05 GMT
Benny and Björn owes a lot to Michel Legrand (and his collaboration with director Jacques Demy if you want to go far.) Pure grandeur and sophistication while being conventional. Americana meets French is way too little to describe his music. I dig his works:
And a bit of a neat crossover between Miles and Michel, the first time I've heard of Legrand's film music through diving myself into Miles Davis' biography some years ago
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