The background music on a film can make or break the audience experience. Imagine the shower scene in Psycho without the shrieking violins or Jaws without the ominous notes that portend the shark’s attack! Musical accompaniment helps create atmosphere for the viewer, from subtle undertones to compositions that heighten the drama.
In 100 Greatest Film Scores, authors Matt Lawson and Laurence E. MacDonald consider the finest music produced for cinema since the development of motion picture sound. Each entry includes background details about the film, biographical information about the composer, a concise analysis of the score, and a summary of the score’s impact both within the film and on cinematic history. Among the many films cited here are iconic scores for The Adventures of Robin Hood, A Beautiful Mind, The Big Country, Chariots of Fire, Citizen Kane, Edward Scissorhands, Fargo, Gonewith the Wind, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park, King Kong, Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion in Winter, North by Northwest, On the Waterfront, Out of Africa, The Pink Panther, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Vertigo, and Up.
Arranged alphabetically and featuring a photo of each movies, the entries in this volume give the reader insight into how music functions across a wide spectrum of film genres. Representing some of the greatest composers in the history of cinema including Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer, 100 Greatest Film Scores will be of interest to fans of movie music everywhere.
Author(s): Matt Lawson, Laurence MacDonald
Edition: 1
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 336
Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 12
The Adventures of Robin Hood......Page 14
Alexander Nevsky......Page 17
Around the World in 80 Days......Page 19
Avalon......Page 23
Back to the Future......Page 27
Batman......Page 29
A Beautiful Mind......Page 32
Becket......Page 34
Ben-Hur......Page 37
The Best Years of Our Lives......Page 40
The Big Country......Page 43
Blade Runner......Page 46
Born Free......Page 48
Braveheart......Page 51
Breakfast at Tiffany’s......Page 53
The Bride of Frankenstein......Page 56
The Bridge on the River Kwai......Page 59
Casablanca......Page 62
Chariots of Fire......Page 65
Chinatown......Page 67
Cinema Paradiso......Page 70
Citizen Kane......Page 73
City Lights......Page 76
Close Encounters of the Third Kind......Page 78
Conan the Barbarian......Page 81
Dances with Wolves......Page 85
The Day the Earth Stood Still......Page 88
Doctor Zhivago......Page 90
East of Eden......Page 94
Edward Scissorhands......Page 97
Empire of the Sun......Page 100
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial......Page 103
Fargo......Page 106
Forrest Gump......Page 109
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir......Page 112
Giant......Page 115
Gladiator......Page 117
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II......Page 120
Gone with the Wind......Page 123
The Great Escape......Page 126
The Green Mile......Page 129
Henry V......Page 132
High Noon......Page 135
How the West Was Won......Page 138
Interstellar......Page 141
Jaws......Page 144
Jurassic Park......Page 147
King Kong......Page 150
King of Kings......Page 153
Kings Row......Page 156
The Last of the Mohicans......Page 159
Laura......Page 162
Lawrence of Arabia......Page 165
The Lion in Winter......Page 167
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring......Page 170
Lost Horizon......Page 173
The Magnificent Seven......Page 176
The Man with the Golden Arm......Page 179
The Mission......Page 182
The Natural......Page 185
North by Northwest......Page 188
Now, Voyager......Page 190
The Omen......Page 194
On Golden Pond......Page 197
On the Waterfront......Page 200
Once Upon a Time in the West......Page 202
Out of Africa......Page 205
The Piano......Page 208
The Pink Panther......Page 211
Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl......Page 214
Planet of the Apes......Page 216
The Prisoner of Zenda......Page 219
Psycho......Page 222
Quo Vadis......Page 225
Raiders of the Lost Ark......Page 229
The Red Pony......Page 232
The Red Violin......Page 234
The Robe......Page 238
Schindler’s List......Page 241
Scott of the Antarctic......Page 244
The Sea Hawk......Page 247
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad......Page 249
The Shawshank Redemption......Page 252
Somewhere in Time......Page 255
The Song of Bernadette......Page 258
Spartacus......Page 261
Spellbound......Page 264
The Spirit of St. Louis......Page 267
Star Trek—The Motion Picture......Page 270
Star Wars......Page 273
A Streetcar Named Desire......Page 275
Sunset Boulevard......Page 278
Superman......Page 281
The Third Man......Page 284
Titanic......Page 287
To Kill a Mockingbird......Page 289
Tom Jones......Page 292
Unbreakable......Page 296
Up......Page 299
Vertigo......Page 302
100 Additional Film Scores......Page 306
Composer Biographies......Page 310
Glossary of
Film and Music Terms......Page 324
Select Bibliography......Page 328
Index......Page 332
About the Authors......Page 336
