Two Great Original Movie Scores

Two Great Original Movie Scores:

If a composer is doing a good job at composing an original score for a movie, you'll hardly ever notice that he or she is there. You will only be left with a feeling. Composers are usually never given proper recognition for their work and the lasting effect that an original piece of music composed explicitly for that scene can have on the audience. Since original scores are slowly fading away in favor of soundtracks in modern cinema, I'm worried that these special moments where the music blends perfectly with the cinematography and the story will be wiped away completely! So that's why I wanted to take a moment to highlight 2 of my favorite movie scores which both use very different techniques to achieve a similar effect and examine how the score helps to elevate the scenes and instill a profound feeling in the audience. That way maybe you can learn to appreciate the movie scores within your favorite films!

• French Connection [1971] (End Title by Don Ellis)

• Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=iqN4uinjRQo  
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After the law repeatedly fails him, Detective Doyle is forced to break the law and sets up a police raid which finally corners the heroin trafficker he's been hunting: Charnier. Charnier has sent an assassin to murder Doyle and has been eluding capture at every turn. The chase has become an obsession for Doyle, who finally manages to seize the dope and capture Charnier's men, but in the ensuing chaos Doyle loses Charnier.

Doyle and his partner chase Charnier down on foot and corner him in a derelict warehouse. Their footsteps echo against the cold pavement as they move down the shadowy hallways, creating a tense atmosphere. Both detectives are on edge with their guns drawn when a shadow suddenly moves in the darkness. Doyle opens fire, and the figure slumps to the floor. But as the men approach, they realize that it is not Charnier who lays lifeless on the floor, but a fellow detective. His partner runs to check the dead cop's pulse, but Doyle only continues scanning the darkness as he reloads his revolver. When his partner turns to confront Doyle, Doyle only says "He's here, I'm gonna get him" as he stares off into the darkness, his obsession consuming him.

And then the End Title begins to play, an eerie piece expertly designed by Don Ellis. The screeching strings and blues trumpets make your skin crawl and truly underscore the absence of justice and convey the themes of hopelessness and disillusionment which are prevalent throughout the film. As the End Titles play, the camera shows Doyle running off, chasing another shadow further into the darkness. From the shadows we hear Doyle fire another blind shot in the dark as screen fades to black and the end titles reveal that Charnier was never caught, and is believed to be living in France, where Doyle can never bring him to justice.

• Sicario [2015] (The Beast by Jóhann Jóhannsson) 

• Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9gcEZMZO8
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After a Mexican drug cartel attack nearly kills her and her partner, FBI agent Mercer volunteers for a special task force when she is assured that it will bring those responsible to justice. However, once Mercer meets the other members of the task force: Matt, the blasé and ruthless delta force leader, and the secretive and talented gunman named Alejandro, she quickly figures out that she may have signed up for more than she bargained for.

The task force must travel into Juarez, Mexico to assist in the extradition of a high ranking member of the cartel in order to bring him back to the U.S. to question him. Matt and his army operators gear up for open combat with vests, automatic weapons, and full body armor, but Mercer is horribly unprepared with only her sidearm and a vest. As they go over the planned route of the convoy, Matt warns Mercer that the Cartel could strike at any time, and that in Juarez many of the cops are on the Cartel's payroll so no-one can be trusted. And with that, the convoy rolls out over the desert. Everyone is on edge with their weapons at the ready because the cartel could strike at any moment. Every passing car, windowsill, and even the cops driving alongside them are potential threats.

As the city of Juarez comes into view, The Beast begins to play very quietly at first. But then as the  city approaches and the looming firefight grows closer and closer, the beat grows louder and louder, starting out as mainly an ominous bass line with a quiet percussive loop which transforms slowly into a very aggressive crescendo signalling Mercer's impending doom. The percussion beats out the rhythm of a war drum, and is mixed with the slowed down mechanical "ca-chunking" of helicopter blades. Jóhann succeeds at creating the sound of a looming threat with a theme that rivals the iconic Jaws. The repetitive "mechanical" motif within The Beast implies that a mechanism that is large, complex, and remorseless is awaiting Mercer, and it will grind her up with brutal efficiency if she isn't careful. A prophecy that ultimately becomes true in the way she least expected, as Mercer begins to question the task force's illegal and unethical methods, realizing that she is truly powerless to stop them and her life may be in danger.