Despite the surprisingly short runtime of Jason and the Argonauts, it’s filled with everything a Hollywood epic needs – grand scope, love, betrayal, and triumph. Composer Bernard Herrmann follows suit, as his score matches every pivotal moment and tonal shift. […]
Daniel Pemberton (Interview 1, 2) kicks off another month of excellent scores with Birds of Prey. The work is brimming with a sense of controlled chaos, matching the high-energy, frantic nature of its main character, Harley Quinn. Pemberton also injects a wide […]
Howl is in many ways a cinematic ode to poetry. The film makes a deliberate choice as to when and whether to use music in its two portrayals of the titular poem. Allen Ginsberg’s public debut of “Howl” at the Six […]
Although January 2019 had some very solid scores, it was still a fairly muted start to the year. This January is different. Instead, it’s seemingly filled with too many good scores too count (and unfortunately, far too many to cover). […]
The opening credits of Cat-Women of the Moon misspells then-fledgling composer Elmer Bernstein’s name. Despite this early blip in his career, Bernstein went on to become one of film’s great composers. The film generally gives Bernstein little room to work, […]
The Oscars are upon us, the keynote event of the 2020 film award season. However, at this point the best original score category feels like a retread of this season’s prior awards competitions. Of this year’s five nominees, three have […]
Seijun Suzuki is one of film’s most stylish directors. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his magnum opus Tokyo Drifter, where Suzuki’s bombastic and bizarre indulgences flow unimpeded. Rather than try to balance this out, prolific composer Hajime Kaburagi […]
A warm air blows through Los Angeles county; through the orange groves, the valley, the city, and everywhere in between. It is inevitable, undeterrable. It is Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Chinatown, led by the trumpet playing of the legendary Hollywood […]
After listening to nearly 700 scores released in 2019, I present the definitive list of the best film scores of the year.
What is there to say about John Williams’ score for The Rise of Skywalker? It marks a true end of an era, not only the end of the Skywalker trilogy of trilogies but also, by all accounts, the conclusion of […]
It’s that time of year, when everyone comes out with their ‘best of’ lists. After listening to nearly 700 film scores released in 2019, I’m ready. Up first are the most underrated scores of the year. These are ones that, […]
This year’s Golden Globes showcase a more varied and intriguing field than 2019’s, leading to a less-clear frontrunner. While the nominations have some familiar faces and inevitably cater to the more mainstream of film and film music (the nominated composers […]