Howl – Carter Burwell (2010)
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 […]
Cat-Women of the Moon – Elmer Bernstein (1953)
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, […]
Chinatown – Jerry Goldsmith (1974)
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 […]
The King – Nicholas Britell (2019)
Despite the ever-present strife and squalor in The King, Nicholas Britell’s score brings a sense of majesty to Hal’s transition from prince into King Henry V. The clearest example of this is during Prince Hal’s coronation. As grandiose images of […]
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Danny Elfman (1993)
Scores for Christmas films tend to be filled with the same cliched, seasonal sounds. Danny Elfman creates an alternative Christmas classic in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Rather than jingling bells and children’s choirs, Elfman creates the soundtrack to a kooky […]
Hellraiser – Christopher Young (1987)
Unlike the scores of most horror films, composer Christopher Young’s approach to the music of Hellraiser largely avoids anything verging on “scary.” Instead, his synth-heavy score conjures a feeling of grandeur that is more akin to dark fantasy. The main […]
Eraserhead – David Lynch and Alan Splet (1977)
The world is full of noise. On David Lynch and Alan Splet’s score for Eraserhead, that noise is the industrial chaos of a blue-collar nightmare. The score begins with howling winds and a slow, low rumbling like the maw of […]
The Grandmother – Tractor (1970)
The films of David Lynch have always been renowned for their bizarre, surreal nature. However, this attention typically overlooks the music of his films, which are as equally strange. Take, for example, Tractor’s score for Lynch’s early short film The […]
The Dead Don’t Die – Sqürl (2019)
The world is slowly dying, but the dead aren’t. Sqürl’s (the musical duo of director Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan) score for Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die provides the perfect foil: meandering, darkened drone against the film’s silly meta-comedy backdrop. […]
Death Wish – Herbie Hancock (1974)
Film music can be incomprehensible when detached from the underlying film. Snippets of ascending strings building tensions, rhythmic unaccompanied drums, or ominous rumbling synths build atmosphere for the images on screen. But they have trouble standing on their own. They […]
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell (2018)
Nicholas Britell’s score for If Beale Street Could Talk conjures up a parallel world, where memories, hopes, and fears meld together, floating like some great overwhelming cloud. Much of the film lives in the memories of its main character, Tish. […]
Dry Blood – System Syn (2019)
Independent film is one of the great breeding grounds for new film composers. Consider Hans Zimmer, for example, who started his career scoring direct-to-video films before eventually securing eleven Academy Award nominations. While these films don’t offer the same monetary […]