[78-L] Marvin Hamlisch dies

[Cary Ginell]

Remember that all bets are off when you are composing for a soundtrack. It's when 'source' music is anachronistic where I have a problem with it. Source music meaning the characters on the screen are hearing the music as well. Alex North's music for "Spartacus" is a perfect example. There are only a few instances, if that, where music is actually performed by the characters in the film. One is when Antoninus, played by Tony Curtis, sings a "song," which is actually spoken free verse, with no musical accompaniment, perfectly plausible for that period. Yes, the ragtime music in "The Sting" worked perfectly and I have no problem with it. I only question why instrument-specific music isn't used more in movies. Why must it always be a large symphony orchestra? Think about the use of the zither in "The Third Man," or a New Orleans jazz band for Woody Allen's "Sleeper"? Why can't filmmakers be more imaginative in use of music? George Roy Hill wanted a piano-centered score for "The Sting" and he was brilliant to think of it. 
 
Cary Ginell
 

> From: bowiebks at isomedia.com
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2012 10:27:20 -0700
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Marvin Hamlisch dies
> 
> I like the idea that the film maker decides what music sounds right for the 
> situation, regardless of when in time the story might be set.
> 
> The great stories are timeless and should not be restricted to music of the 
> period. I don't think there was a lot of music like Korngold back in the 
> days of Robin Hood, but that seems to work well in the movie, as does the 
> genteel rag stuff in The Sting.
> 
> 
> Taylor
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cary Ginell" <soundthink at live.com>
> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 9:41 AM
> Subject: [78-L] Marvin Hamlisch dies
> 
> 
> >
> >
> > The interesting thing about "The Sting" for me was how off-base Hamlisch 
> > was, timewise, in selecting ragtime for that score. "The Sting" took place 
> > in the early 1930s, 20 years after ragtime's heyday ended. Nobody listened 
> > to ragtime then, ...
> > but somehow, the charm of the music worked perfectly for that film, just 
> > as bluegrass worked for "Bonnie & Clyde." Bluegrass wouldn't be 
> > established for a decade after that. What is it about the 1930s that 
> > filmmakers couldn't get? Would those films have worked just as well if 
> > they had used music that was appropriate for the period?
> >
> > Cary Ginell
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> 
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