Looking into Film Music (Yet Again)

Film music is some of my favorite kind of music, and I have discussed it in the recent past on this here blog; whether it is in relation to the motion picture soundtrack to Tilda Swinton’s “Orlando” or some lovely hypnotic gem by Popol Vuh as featured in a Werner Herzog film. And now, here I am again looking at the music which really has no specific rules and that can equal anything and be entirely boundless. It is not enough to simply have the right song selections to be on a movie soundtrack, and while this does have its place, what I am thinking of is usually something more; a sort of music meant specifically for a film to enhance it. Because, as we are all aware, correct song selection or a quality film score in general can make a bad film slightly good. And, an otherwise decent film can be ruined by bad or inappropriate music.

One thing I love is this…



And yes, it is Popol Vuh yet again, but music with this much psychic depth and psychological oneness cannot be denied, and any pseudo intellectual knows that this is music to die for.

I think of the era-appropriate music by Simon Fisher Turner, a film composer who often collaborated with the late Derek Jarman, who was indeed a controversial and brainy chap. The success of Simon Fisher Turner was to pour raw musical power in almost vaguely reworking Renaissance era Classical and yet, making use of instrumentation that comes from centuries past as well. Observe the power and the magic…



Henry Mancini and Ennio Morricone are fun and interesting chaps as well, and there is not one of us who is not reminded of a bizarre spaghetti Western or an absurd series of comedies that feature Peter Sellers as a French detective when the sounds process in our collective noodles. Some film scores are obvious and can’t help but work, such as is the case with “Amadeus,” which is well, a film largely about Wolfgang’s superior Classical genius. The soundtrack to “The Last Emperor” is something that is naturally majestic and powerful as well…



Let the credits roll or I’ll eat your goddamned soul, jerk! Cheerio! ~ Mozart Breath