The Kite Runner

The music in this film is almost as beautiful as the story itself. Starting the movie with music that fit into the culture let you become a part of the character's lives. From the joyous music during the flying of the kites to the more serious music that can be heard as Amir and his father escape the Russians and flee, the music stayed true to the culture. The music gave the appearance of sounding more like what we would hear in classic Hollywood films. The music seemed to symbolize the journey that Amir had made, and the two cultures that he now represents.

Lord of the Rings, Return of the King

The music in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was very similar to that of Williams music in Star Wars. The music in the film truly powered the fantasy of Middle Earth. The epic music heard in during the fight scenes to the eerie music that emphasised the rings power are just a few examples of the traits that are similar to classical Hollywood films. Another trait that is similar to classical Hollywood films are the wall to wall music. Leitmotifs, such as that of the ring itself, can be heard throughout the whole trilogy.

Big Fish

From the loud, in your face, circus inspired music to the quiet, calmer, mood inspired music when Edward Bloom died, the wall to wall music inspires the beautiful story about a man's life and love between a dieing father and his son. Danny Elfman composed the music for the Tim Burton film, Big Fish. The mixture of diagetic and non diagetic music fits in with the plot so well you feel as though the music is almost part of the plot.
Just like Danny Elfman's music inspired this amazing film, Danny Elfman was inspired by some of the great composers. Bernard Herrmann was one of the composers that Danny Elfman admires. His music for the film Psycho, was crucial for the film, according to Elfman. Elfman said, "I can't imagine almost any of the scenes in the movie working as well without the music — not just talking about the famous shower scene." I do not feel Big Fish would have been the same film if the music was either gone or different. One of the most important scenes in the film and examples of how the music in Big Fish truly effected the mood of the film was the last conversation between Will and Ed, right before Edward dies. Will is telling his father how he dies. During the parts of the scene where the audience of the film is seeing Will's story come to life, the music is happy and joyful. When the audience sees Will telling his father the story in the hospital the music is a little more quiet, less exciting, and a little more sad. I feel that this example of Danny Elfman's work was inspired by Bernard Herrmann.

The Color Purple

The music in the film The Color Purple was just as inspiring as the story itself. Listening to the music, one can almost hear the emotions of the characters. The music almost pushes the plot along, always giving us a little taste of what is going to happen next.
The music in the Color Purple was very inspired by the songs of the time. Jazz was a major influence, as we saw when Shug Avery was singing or when playing from a record in a room. Popular holiday music was also played during the film at the correct times in the film.
The use of ethnic tribal music was used and tied into Celie read her sisters letters. This music, which was originally from Africa where Nettie was, had the same beat or tempo as the sounds around Celie. The music in this film could be heard from beginning to end and both diagetic and non diagetic.

Ghandi

One of the most inspiration people throughout history to use the methods of nonviolence was Ghandi. He was so inspiring that he changed politics through his beliefs and convictions. Another aspect of this film that was inspired was the music. Having some traits that were common with the classic Hollywood sound, this film was mostly filled with music inspired by India, Hinduism, and the time period in which Ghandi lived.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

The music that John William's created for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial captures both the innocence of childhood and new expierences, as well as the moods that both ET and Elliott experience throught the film. It has many of the same aspects of the classical hollywood underscoring that we have seen before. The playful underscoring can be heard through almost the whole film.
We also see the use of leitmotifs. The hunter's leitmotif has a more aggressive sound than that of ET or Elliott. The music also seems to move or move along with the plot. The music in this film also has a unique mystical or magical senses to it. It has a little bit of suspense built in with some mystery.

The Sting

Music during the opening credits are clues to the leitmotifs and main themes of the music throughout the entire film. This is why I was a little confused when hearing the music in the opening credits for the first time. When I thought of the title "The Sting," I thought of the words bite, Peirce, hurt, thrust, or wound. Before viewing the film I thought that the music would be like that of "Psycho," piercing, unpleasant, and almost hurtful to your ears. This explained my confusion when hearing upbeat music from the early 1900's.
The music was upbeat, playful, and cheerful, similar to that of the music in silent films. Though the music did not seem to go with the title of the film it went fit in with the plot of the film. Con artists living the life they wanted while setting up a big.
The music was also used very sporadically throughout the film. It would stop as unexpectedly as it started. Overall I thought that when viewing the film as a whole, the music seemed to fit very well with the plot.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is not just one of my favorite novels but also one of my all time favorite movies. The music throughout the film had some traits of classic hollywood, such as the "Mikey Mousing" when the children were running from Boo Radley, and during the opening credits when a young child was humming along to the coloring. There was also some leitmotifs in this film, though I did not find there were a certain character's leitmotif. The Radley house and the mystery that lies within the walls. Overall I found the music in this film to be very unique and extremely perfect in telling this tale.

Casablanca

I had never seen Casablanca before yesterday. I knew it was a classic and had some pretty famous quotes but I had never thought of the music in the film. That's why when I turned on the movie and heard the music in the credits I was surprised. It portrayed the frantic, frazzled emotions of the occupants in Europe during World War II, as well as the suspense that was incorporated into the plot of the movie. Another song that played directly into the plot of Casablanca was the song "As Time Goes By." This song brought up the past of Rick and Ilsa, the movies two main characters. It was played throughout the film to bring up the past, bringing them together in the present and sending them into the future. "Music can help build a sense of community." In Casablanca, the music played in Rick's American Cafe, brought Americans together in Europe. They played songs in English, opposed to German or other well known languages throughout Europe. At one point in the film everyone in the cafe was singing along in high spirits. The music in this film brought people together to form a community away from their homes. To summarize the music in this film was not only suppensefull, intriging, touching, and moving. It added untertones that were neccessary to the film and really created the background for the film. d never seen Casablanca before yesterday. I knew it was a classic and had some pretty famous quotes but I had never thought of the music in the film. That's why when I turned on the movie and heard the music in the credits I was surprised. It portrayed the frantic, frazzled emotions of the occupants in Europe during World War II, as well as the suspense that was incorporated into the plot of the movie. Another song that played directly into the plot of Casablanca was the song "As Time Goes By." This song brought up the past of Rick and Ilsa, the movies two main characters. It was played throughout the film to bring up the past, bringing them together in the present and sending them into the future. "Music can help build a sense of community." In Casablanca, the music played in Rick's American Cafe, brought Americans together in Europe. They played songs in English, opposed to German or other well known languages throughout Europe. At one point in the film everyone in the cafe was singing along in high spirits. The music in this film brought people together to form a community away from their homes. To summarize the music in this film was not only suppensefull, intriging, touching, and moving. It added untertones that were neccessary to the film and really created the background for the film.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

There are many leitmotifs in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood, that was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Robin Hood and the Saxon's leitmotif was a springy sound made by string instruments. Prince John and the Norman Army had a harsher sound made by horn instruments. Marian has a leitmotif that is soft and usually blended into another leitmotif since she was not by herself very often. King Richard the Lion Hearted has a leitmotif that symbolized the good and somewhat resembled Robin Hood's leitmotif. During the many fighting scenes throughout the film, both sounds were combined to form one sound that represented the emotions, actions, and struggles of both sides. John Williams music for films such as Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park reminded me of the music that I heard in Erich Wolfgang Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood. Both used the characters leitmotifs and transformed them to fit the scenes or to accompany another character's leitmotif. Both composers also use different sounds for the good and the evil.

Psycho

While watching this classic the use of strings was used frequently. The way in which these strings that are used are unlike anything else we have seen in previous films. Strings were commonly used to symbolize love, light, or the female characters in a film. In Psycho, the strings are used in a harsh, almost unpleasant way. The sound is uneven, not constant.

This black and white film was one of the first films to not use the classic hollywood standards for music. I would consider the film Psycho film noir. The use of shadows to convey the killer and the use of light go portray the victum also is classic film noir.

This film has an interesting leitmotif that is unlike any other music that was have seen in a film. It is a harsh sound played by the strings. It is uneven, but remains constant throughout the movie. We would see this suspense filled lietmotif whenever the audience was left guessing about something or unsure of what was going to happen next. This use of hte leitmotif added to the suspense of the movie.

Double Indemnity

I found that the film Double Indemnity had a classic hollywood theme for the credit music, suspense. It started out strong and harsh and pulled you in as you watched it. The sound was dark with lighter strings on layered on top. The harsh music was used to describe the events and the masculine for, but on the contrasting view light music was played whenever a lady was involved to show her soft side.
The use of repetition was also used throughout the film. The same harsh and dark leitmotif was used to descrive the plan and the actions that were carried out.
I also noticed that music played when he was telling the story. The music went along with the narration.

On the Waterfront

When I first started watching On the Waterfront the music sounded harsh. It was loud, strong, and dominant. I suspected that the music would continue this way for the entire movie, but was surprised to discover that the music just stopped in some places, then picked up in a traditional manner again. Another thing thing that struck me as odd was that the music just started, sounded harsh and aggressive. There was no fading in or out of the music. The music simply started and stopped.
Music can make certain important speeches or dialogues in the movie more intense or emotional. The music can influence how the viewer perceives the speech as well. In On the Waterfront there was almost no music during any of the important dialogues.
I found that the music in On the Waterfront did not match any of the other composers that we have studied so far. There was no real leitmotifs or general themes, other than the harsh sounds of the instruments in this movie.