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MEMORABLE MOVIE SCORES

Sicario 2: SoldadoWilliam Shakespeare once said, "If music be the food of love, then play on". Well, he didn't say it, per se, not out loud. But he did write it down for one of his stageplays, most notably, 'Twelfth Night'. Which, in a roundabout way, has got me to thinking about the music featured on the silver screen. After all, music generally works on a visceral level while movies work on a more tangible one. Similar to taste, in fact, and explains why a person can be more subjective towards film, whereas their musical preferences can creep up on them the more they hear a song, a tune, or a notable melody. In the case of film scores, however, well, that's anyone's guess. Here, check out some of my favorites and tell me what you think. Please enjoy.





The Dark Knight


It must be extremely difficult composing the soundtrack for a Batman movie, especially since you've got to take into consideration all of those other tunes which came before: Such as Neal Hefti's classic melody from the 1966 Batman TV show, along with Danny Elfman's dirgelike anthem featured in the 1989 Tim Burton movie. So, if you think about it, you've got to hand it to Hans Zimmer for producing such a great score for Christopher Nolan's 2008 Batman reboot, The Dark Knight, which was made even more memorable when it was awarded ‘Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media’ at the 2008 Grammy Awards. In an interview he gave to the press, Hans told a journalist that his team used a blend of electronic and orchestral elements to create a rich audible experience which can be dramatic, solemn, or menacing, depending on the occasion.


Blade Runner


Many years ago, while I was traveling across Europe, I visited a small coastal town located in Greece, named Volos, where I bumped into an elderly lady who looked just like a ninja. Yeah. I'm not kidding, folks. Despite the humid weather, she was covered head to toe in a long black shawl, with the only portion of her body visibly exposed being the stubbled features of her face.  Still, she seemed nice, and we did converse, in part, for quite some time. Well, being Greek, I was lucky enough to understand what she was trying to tell me, which was mainly focused on one of her relatives, a man named Evángelos Papathanassíou, who I actually heard of because he was a notable composer of electronic and orchestral music. I also knew him by another name, Vangelis, who famously composed the soundtracks to such classic films as Chariots of Fire, Alexander, and Blade Runner. Small world, huh?


Jaws


Steven Spielberg once said that he wouldn't have had a career in film if it wasn't for John Williams and his mastery over music. Well, it goes without saying how brilliant this man truly is! Not only because of the many iconic film scores he's developed for Steven,  such as Close Encounters of the Third KindIndiana Jones,  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and of course, Jaws, but in addition to this, he's also devised a lot of amazing film scores for many other directors, including George Lucas (Star Wars), Richard Donner (Superman), and Chris Columbus (Home Alone). Either way, both John and George have worked together an awful lot. Some might say too much. Which begs the question, do these two have something going on? Or am I swimming in shark-infested waters here, waiting for a bite? Da Dum...


Interstellar


Hey! Wait a minute! What's going on with these two? Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan! First, they create a memorable melody for their Batman films, and now they've done it again with this futuristic dystopian fantasy: Interstellar. Like Steven and John, maybe they're secretly having a creative-affair? Or if not that, maybe they just like being in each others company, devising experimental tunes which move the soul and complement a story. Lovely stuff.


The Good, The Bad and The Ugly


Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! Once again, we have another musical collaboration where two artists can't help but work with each other, again, and again, and again. Although, in this case, the director is Sergio Leone, while the composer is Ennio Morricone: Two legends who've created some of the most moving music ever scribed for the silver screen. Throughout their time together, they've joined forces for six films in total, namely, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Duck, You SuckerOnce Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America. Although, just like John Williams, Ennio has also worked for other directors too, including John Boorman (Exorcist II), Brian De Palma (The Untouchables), Barry Levinson (Bugsy), and Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight). With all that said, however, I still can't help but love his work with Sergio the best, particularly on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, which is a Civil War Spaghetti Western made in 1966 (starring Clint Eastwood), comprising music that heightens the tension, captures the atmosphere, and is just wonderful to listen to.


Sicario 2: Soldado


Unlike the other composers featured on this list, Hildur Guðnadóttir is a classically trained Icelandic cellist who isn’t having a secret liaison with a filmmaker, ha! Seriously though, folks, Hildur is a great musician, a really great musician, and recently she has lent her talents to composing the soundtrack for Sicario 2: Soldado, as directed by Stefano Sollima. Basically, the film revolves around a team of agents, including two played by Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, who will stop at nothing to end the war on drugs. Which, thankfully, Hildur is able to perfectly capture by crafting a heart-pounding score that keeps up with the chaotic and unrelenting pace of its overall narrative. When she’s not composing film scores, she’s a notable recording artist who has played with a number of bands, such as Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle, and Múm.

SICARIO 2 IS NOW AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 4K UHD, STEELBOOK, BLU-RAY™ & DVD.

MEMORABLE MOVIE SCORES MEMORABLE MOVIE SCORES Reviewed by David Andrews on November 08, 2018 Rating: 5

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