Neil Calloway argues that soundtracks and scores can make or break films…
This week, Flickering Myth’s own Oli Davis made the persuasive case that Suicide Squad‘s various cuts could be seen in the music they used; with David Ayer’s original version using different styles of music to the final cut by Trailer Park. There was also the release of a report titled “The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers’ Perceptions of Sharks” that suggested people are afraid of sharks because of the ominous music used to score film scenes where they are present. Personally, I’m frightened of sharks because I don’t want one to bite my leg off, leaving me to die an agonising death in the water while wearing only swimming shorts.
What both these stories remind us is the huge part scores and soundtracks play in films; when you get it right the music transcends the movie, and when you get it wrong it can ruin a great film (Time magazine listed the use of John Lennon’s Imagine at the end of The Killing Fields as the cultural low point on 1984; quite an achievement given that the same year also saw the release of Agadoo by Black Lace.
For a small number of truly iconic scores, you don’t need to have seen the film to know recognise the soundtrack; here we get back to finding sharks scary; in the absence of a decent prop shark, Steven Spielberg had to rely on John William’s score to up the fear factor in Jaws. Bernard Hermann’s score for Psycho – the violin led shower scene in particular – is known by people who haven’t even seen the film, and has been used and abused in countless pastiches and parodies since then. Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western scores has similarly been assimilated into popular culture.
As well as making or breaking a scene in a film, scores can have a life of their own afterwards. Before he started working with Darren Aronofsky, Clint Mansell was a struggling musician and former lead singer of a mildly successful British indie band. Now, Lux Aeterna, a piece originally used for Requiem for a Dream, has scored everything from trailer, the The X Factor, and more troublingly, was used by Anders Breivik as he went on his killing spree.
Kenny Loggins is still cashing the cheques from sound tracking films of the 1980s (a role he returned to in Funny or Die’s recent spoof adaptation of Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal), Bryan Adams still hold the record for the longest number one single in UK chart history with (Everything I Do) I Do It for You from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (to quote South Park “the Canadian Government has apologised for Bryan Adams on several occasions.”) films help promote songs, and songs help promote films. It doesn’t always work out – Prince’s contribution to Tim Burton’s Batman soundtrack not only dates the film but is far from his best work, as evidenced when the vinyl is used as a weapon in Shaun of the Dead.
The BBC recently broadcast a documentary about the athlete Mo Farah’s preparation for the Olympic Games. One scene showed him on downtime with his family; they were at a bowling alley, the soundtrack for this scene was “The Man in Me” by Bob Dylan; an unusual choice, as I don’t think Farah is a huge Dylan fan, but it made perfect sense in the context that it’s also featured prominently in the cult bowling movie The Big Lebowski.
Soundtracks matter; it’s not just about selling songs by artists signed to the record label you own alongside the studio; you take the songs with you when you leave the cinema; hearing a song from a film instantly takes you back to the moment you first saw it, if you get it right it works brilliantly, if you get it wrong it can ruin a film.
Neil Calloway is a pub quiz extraordinaire and Top Gun obsessive. Check back here every Sunday for future instalments.
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published August 14, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
