For me, a movie’s music can elevate a good film to greatness. Or take a good movie down to mediocre level. I would love for audio books to be scored like movies, and I know a few authors who compile playlists to accompany their books. Here are two movies that have scores which make a huge difference to the quality of the movie.
Island at the Top of the World
This Disney adventure movie captured my imagination as a teenager. I don’t know if the movie was one of their top productions because there are no big name stars and the some of the special effects are clunky even for the ’70’s. Maurice Jarre composed the gorgeous score. This composer won Best Score Oscars for Lawrence of Arabia. Dr. Zhivago, and A Passage to India.
He wrote one theme to highlight the hunt for a legendary land where whales to go die. It’s slow and mysterious. He uses the same tune but with different orchestration and tempo to accompany the appearances of the Vikings. (And if you want to know why there are Vikings and whales in the same movie, click on this link.)
Ten Little Indians(1966)
Several adaptations of this Agatha Christie play have been filmed under various titles. Ten people are invited to a secluded location, where a recorded voices tells them they have gotten away with crimes until day. Now justice will be served, and the characters die off, one by one.
This 1966 version is okay. The director seems to have added scenes, like a long fist fight, because he thought audiences needed action. The performances from several wonderful British character actors are a lot of fun.
But the score is completely inappropriate. The jazz score has not a note of mystery or suspense in it. In some scenes, the brass sounds likes they are playing for a strip tease. For more on this movie, read the article from Turner Classic movies.
What are some of your favorite movie music? What are some you can’t stand?
As I prepared the heading for this post, my youngest read it and ask if it meant you felt like it was a movie shouldn’t have watched. I explained that a person felt guilty for liking some movies because they aren’t considered “good”, or they are so strange or off-beat that not many people like them. As a classic movie fan, most of my movie-viewing might be considered guilty-pleasure. But in an effort to give others the courage to admit that they like movies critics and/or audiences have rejected, I am listing a few of my guilty-pleasure movies.
A hero looks even better matched with a worthy villain. Would Sherlock Holmes have near the enduring popularity if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hadn’t invented Professor Moriarity to combat him? A couple of my favorites are: