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Score: A Film Music Documentary Reviews
The film was interesting and, thankfully, it was not too long (about 90 minutes). But I wish they would have focused more on the music of quirky composers like Danny Elfman. There was a section where a Brazilian composer showed how he created a score out of banging miscellaneous items with his hands while humming a melody. That was inspiring. The section on Hans Zimmer was less so. His music was described as relentless. I guess one man's "relentless" is another man's "monotonous". One speaker suggested that he invented the tactic of using a string section rhythmically. I can only assume that person is not very familiar with Western string-quartet literature, which has been utilizing strings in any number of fashions and formats for hundreds of years. A film on film scores is a great idea, and I particularly enjoyed the score for the film itself. But I found I really only connected with about 50% of the music.
Sheer perfection. Been waiting for a movie like this for a long time.
Pure perfection. Long overdue look at the importance of music in film. Excellent.
If you like film music, then give it a watch. It covers scores from many time periods, includes composers we know and love, and gives an insightful view into the profession itself.
If you love movies, you probably have a few favorite scores. Maybe even a few favorite composers and artists that make these soundtracks. This film is going in depth on why the music is so important in film and also how it's done. It's fairly interesting but never really inspiring and it's not a film that will blow your mind. It's safe. We meet a bunch of famous composers - the names and numbers are impresive. They tell the stories, style and inspiration. Some of them tell us a lot of how they work too. From the Lumière brothers and the fact that silent films never was silent, to the freshest action films - we get the entire story. The most imporatant films are named, the most famous and impressive score work are analyzed. I liked it, and I dig many soundtracks and listen to some once in a while. The importantness of music in movies are unquestionable and this film is all about this serious business. 7 out of 10 toilet stall listeners.
Too much fanservice - attributed to composers only the uninitiated yet VERY curious (one would have to be to seek out this very subject out of the blue), or those like me who just like hearing the tunes, would find fascinating - fills the majority of the runtime, but the compelling last half hour showcases how the modern sausage is made, although after hearing the classic examples, one's patience of wading through the process of those modern works may vary.
Fascinating look at the unsung geniuses behind the silver screen. Music drives the emotion of so many films. The composers and musicians finally get their moment to shine in the spotlight.
Incredible idea about the power and importance of music in film! Great to see these talented artists get the spotlight they deserve.
The men and women who write film scores deserve much better than this. Almost unbearable in it's simplistic dumbed down approach. Why bother? What a passionless project. It seems to be directed and written by someone who has zero interest or any real knowledge of the subject. It primarily feels like an ad for the people featured in it. Expect to learn NOTHING more than you already know about film scores. It never delves into how it is actually done, rather it just recycles the same people saying how much they believe that music is so important to a film, without ever explaining why. And don't we know this already? Give us something we don't know. Idiots made this. How it has such a high RT average is absurd.
A pretty lazy look at what should be a fascinating subject. The contributors are very uneven with only recorded footage from other media sources being available for most of the big names. Other than going through the history of cinema and basically saying 'ooh Hermann/Morricone/Williams was good wasn't he?' it doesn't offer much insight. The best sections are therefore the decent contributors like Zimmer or the all to brief technical examinations of the process.
A very enjoyable dip into the methodology and sometimes accidental choices made by Hollywood composers working often to very tight deadlines (Jerry Goldsmith had ten days for Chinatown). Lots of musical excerpts, interviews, etc and several odd omissions (whither Alan Silvestri, Carter Burwell, Jonny Greenwood, James Newton Howard, etc?). And where the legion of non-Hollywood composers?
As a huge fan of film scores I found this brilliant documentary remarkably enjoyable. It features some of the best composers whose beautiful pieces are the beating heart of motion pictures. From John Williams and Jurassic Park to Howard Shore and The Lord of the Rings, this documentary only solidified my love and respect for these great artists.
I'm such a sucker for filmmaking docs, and this is a good one. Not a GREAT one, but a good one. Covering the entire history of composers scoring films, it's surprisingly comprehensive for how giant the topic is. Still, its scant 94 minute runtime did make me wish there was a "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" mini-series version of it. This will do for now.
I feel like this documentary was a 90 minute "trailer" or "advertisement" film for American composers. There were lots of very short interview snippets with lots of music examples and they just seemed to praise each others work... For someone who doesn't know anything about film music, it might give a (quite narcissistic) overview of American composers, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who expected a profound, reflecting documentary about this topic.
Filmmaking often focuses on actors and directors, but this little doc shines a light on composers who write film scores. There are some pretty cool stories and tidbits, although they could've gone in more depth on some topics. Still, these people and their processes don't usually garner too much attention, so it's nice to see their thoughts on their craft and their influences put on the big screen.
A historical and modern look inside the creative process of film music that, while not breaking new ground in and of itself, has a fun sense of exploration with the subject.
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.
interesting and taught me lots of things i didn't know. but was also pretty boring (1 viewing)
OMG!! Beautiful... I F**KING LOVE SOUNDTRACKS!!! This documentary is a look at the cinematic art of the film musical scores throughout history, and the artists who create them. With interviews of a lot of composers, such as Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Trent Reznor, Tom Holkenborg, Randy Newman and Alexandre Desplat giving their different perspectives and focusing on the greatest soundtracks of all time such as "James Bond", "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones, "Titanic," "The Social Network," "Mad Max: Fury Road," and "Psycho."