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SCORE: A Film Music Documentary offers a long-overdue look at an integral component of cinema whose abbreviated overview of the subject should only leave viewers ready for more. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

Tracking the progress of modern-day film score development, this documentary illustrates how the first few notes on a piano keyboard end up in the most dramatic moments of a film's emotional climax. Turning the spotlight on the creative struggles that make up a major motion picture score, this documentary showcases the way the world's top soundsmiths solve musical challenges - from the creative to the technical.

Cast & Crew

Danny Elfman
Self
Hans Zimmer
Self
James Cameron
Self
Quincy Jones
Self
Rachel Portman
Self
Trent Reznor
Self
Randy Newman
Self
Alexandre Desplat
Self
Tom Holkenborg
Self
Harry Gregson-Williams
Self
Matt Schrader
Director
Matt Schrader
Writer
Robert Kraft
Producer
Trevor Thompson
Producer
Kenny Holmes
Producer
Nate Gold
Producer
Matt Schrader
Executive Producer
Jonathan Willbanks
Executive Producer
Nate Gold
Cinematographer
Kenny Holmes
Cinematographer
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News & Interviews for Score: A Film Music Documentary

Cars 3 Is Pleasantly Middle-of-the-Road
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Critic Reviews for Score: A Film Music Documentary

All Critics (33) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (3)

  • Documentary maker Matt Schrader bills this as "the definitive look at the craft of film composing," though he takes a narrow route through the subject, focusing on the symphonic composers who hammer out music cues for big-studio projects.

    March 26, 2020 | Full Review…

    J. R. Jones

    Chicago Reader

  • That said, Score serves well as an introduction to the meticulous process by which soundtracks are created, and includes numerous case studies that reveal just how music contrives to shape our movie-going experiences.

    April 9, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Dan Einav

    Financial Times

  • A genial 93-minute dash through the history, process and contemporary practice of film composition.

    July 28, 2017 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Michael Phillips

    Chicago Tribune

  • Score: A Film Music Documentary is a celebration of the artists who create the musical heartbeat of the movies we love

    July 28, 2017 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Richard Roeper

    Chicago Sun-Times

  • Along the way, some treasure is mined from the film's numerous speakers, all of whom seemed happily enamored with their work.

    July 13, 2017 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Moira MacDonald

    Seattle Times

  • I would recommend Score: A Film Music Documentary to any and every film buff.

    June 23, 2017 | Full Review…

    Leonard Maltin

    leonardmaltin.com
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Audience Reviews for Score: A Film Music Documentary

  • Feb 02, 2018
    What a shame to see such a simplistic and forgettable discussion about the subject, considering all the history and evolution of music in films, while the movie also focuses way too much on American Cinema, spending even half an hour of pure hagiography on John Williams.
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
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