What makes a movie so amazing? If your answer is “Whether or not is was originally a Nicholas Sparks book”, then you are dead to me.
No, you first think of Actors, of course. They are what you see. Then you probably think of directors. Then, who knows what? Well, what I would love to try and get everyone to do is go out and buy a soundtrack by the time you finish reading this blog. You hear the music going on whether you realize it or not.
Think of Jurassic Park, in the scene where they are looking at the island as they are approaching by helicopter. You see all of the lush green land as it lands on the pad. Imagine Dr. Grant as he looks out of the Jeep and runs out excitedly towards the Brontosaurus. Now I can gurantee you that John Williams’ score is stuck in your head by just the memory. It shapes your feeling of awe inspiring as they tour the island watching dinosaurs walk about without any of the actors saying a word. Think of the opening credits of Star Wars, can’t you hear the music just by imagining the blue font?
Star Wars brings me to a story I was not able to reinforce with a citation. Someone told me that Williams’ score wasn’t ready when they first screened the movie to critics. All of the voices and effects were fine, but there was simply no music. After the movie was over, the critics scolded George Lucas to his face, telling him the movie was unacceptable, and that it will go nowhere.
Then, as you know Star Wars ended up being a huge hit! Was it all thanks to John Williams? Or was it just a cruel batch of critics? Who knows, but I think that the answer is obvious.
So if you want to start listening to a soundtrack, let me paint a guide for you.
1. Find your favorite movie, and buy the score to it. Dont get the soundtrack with all of the bands on it, make sure its the score that goes with it. Relive the movie with the sounds as it takes you up and down.
2. If you’re looking for something to get your heart racing; Grab the 300 soundtrack. Tyler Bates sets out tracks that capture the gritty, adrenaline flowing music that gets you going. Another good one is The Man on fire Soundtrack. Its pretty dynamic, going back and forth from strings to rave music.
3. If you’re looking for a great all around soundtrack, go for Pirates of the Caribbean (any or all of the three). Listen to Gladiator or Avatar and experience a wide range of music that you can enjoy whether you have seen the, or not.
4. If you want to really get in the Christmas spirit, try listening to the Holiday Soundtrack. Without a word, it gives you a feeling of wonder and joy. Zimmer gives you that chill up your spine that forces a smile on your face and really puts you in the holiday spirit.
5. After you have discovered a few Composers that you love, try searching for more! Heres a few I really like; Hans Zimmer. Harry Gregson Williams, John Williams, James Newton Howard, Steve Jablonsky, James Horner, Clint Mansell, and Tyler Bates.
Go out and expand our horizons today.
Dude I’ve been collecting a list of my favorite movie scores for awhile now and your blog has encouraged me to expedite sharing that list with other people on this here internets. I shall share my blog soon. In the mean time, I will leave you with this one. I recently discovered this and it rocks! It is the score to the Mass Effect 2 Launch trailer. Video games have good scored too!
Dude this is awesome! I saw its from Mass Effect 2, is that right?
ok I jumped the gun and started listening before I read that its the launch trailer. Nevertheless this is really cool.
I love this list. The 300 and Man on Fire scores are a couple of my iPhone staples.
Might I also recommend the score from Crimson Tide. I’ve always felt it was super.
Not a Howard Shore fan? Lord of the Rings was enough to get him on my list by itself, but I also like what he did with History of Violence and The Departed. Although, he did do one of the Twilight movies…