Transcript New American Era

New American
Era
1960s
• artists wanted to make something
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“new”
films from ‘30s & ‘40s were seen as
classics
o new film makers wanted their
films to become classics
The Auteur
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auteur:director/artist who controlled all parts of a
film (script, cinematography, music)
New Films had:
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innovative plots
ambiguous morals
Music in New Era films
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used sparingly
used to set the mood
mostly source music
used modern and popular styles over traditional
styles
Used smaller ensembles (groups of instruments)
Marion’s story: Marion & her boyfriend, Sam, are finishing a
lunchtime “meeting.” After being given $40,000 to
deposit, Marion takes off with the money and drives
through the night until she comes to the Bates Motel,
meeting Norman. After deciding to return the money,
Marion is killed in the shower by Mother.
Norman’s story: Norman discovers her body, cleans up and
drives her and her car into the lake. Sam and Marion’s
sister, Lila go to a detective to find Marion. At the motel,
Mother kills the detective and Norman gets rid of the
body. Norman knocks out Sam and Lila discovers that
Mother is a corpse. Norman, dressed as Mother, tries to kill
Lila, but Sam subdues him. Norman is sent to an asylum.
Declining Traditions in
the 1960s
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Hollywood continued to make epic stories of
ancient times, but they were weaker
Lawrence of Arabia(1962)
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features popular instrumental theme
has British & Arabian sounding music
Instrumental Movie
Themes
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Inspired by the success of TV themes
wanted themes to appeal to audiences & capture
the essence of the film
The Magnificent Seven
The Pink Panther
Vocal Theme Songs
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more popular than instrumental themes
makes you eligible for an extra Oscar
most effective if the movie and song have the
same title
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Born Free
Musicals in the 1960s
• -On the decline in number, still won 4 best picture
Oscars in the 60s
• -All were stage adaptions
• -West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music,
Oliver!
Baby Boomers
-were teens in the 60s,
• HW catered to them
• -more rock music used in films
• -sometimes as a star vehicle (Elvis & The Beatles)
and sometimes as a main theme/score (James
Bond)
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
- overall mood of childlike simplicity/ innocence
- uses small sets of instruments
- uses modern (classical) style of music
- example
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
- defining film between old and new film
eras
-- little music: source or used as a
transitions
- used to set location & mood
(banjo/fiddle)
The Graduate (1967)
- Simon and Garfunkel
composed/performed the main music
- S & G’s sound was essential to the film’s
success
- soundtrack became a top seller
British Invasion
1960s
- Films: many were tied to Britain
- People fell in love w/ British culture
Crisis Years (1968-1972)
- MLKjr & Robert Kennedy assassinated,
Vietnam, war protests,
- USSR invade Poland, France had riots
and strikes, Nuclear threat from USSR
Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Score by Jerry Goldsmith
- one of the most modern scores created for a
popular film
- Uses strange sounds: tuned mixing bowls, ram’s horn,
brass inst. with inverted mouthpieces
Midnight Cowboy & Easy
Rider
- both used pop music score
- Midnight Cowboy: only X-Rated film to win Best
Picture
- Theme song: “Everybody’s Talkin’”
-Easy Rider: music used for travel montages
rock music matches use of drugs in the film
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968)
- re-established the use of adapted score
- had a score, but Stanley Kubrick got rid of it and
used classical music
- Kubrick left music intact & let it co-exist with the
drama
- used to set mood
Early 1970s
- movies used modern music to reflect awful world
-Rise in : rock in underscoring
adapted scores
use of synthesizers
Clockwork Orange (1971)
- uses an adapted score
-music runs counter to the mood on screen
- Example: classical favorites to go with rape &
murder
- uses original music for a synthesizer
Post-Vietnam Years
(1973-1976)
• Racial tensions were easing, women saw more
equal rights, activism turned toward the
environment
• Movies:
o Cynicism is up: conspiracy theories, struggles against authority
o Escapism: nostalgia, horror, sports & disasters
• Film Scores: Eclectic, Adapted or Symphonic
Eclectic Scores
• Eclectic: ideas and style come from a broad and
diverse range of sources
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
o Used strange sounds to imply Native American dance and an insane
asylum
• Chinatown (1974)
o Like film noir: uses jazz & dissonance
• Difference: uses strange combos of instruments and strange ways of
using instruments to get new sounds
Adapted Scores
• The Sting (1973)
o Used songs from musicals and from Scott Joplin
• American Graffiti (1973)
o Adapted score all from classic rock music
• The Exorcist (1973)
o Adapted from the strangest works of the avant garde classical movement
Toward the Classical
Revival
• Rocky (1976)
o Started a trend: : rock beat for training and competition montages
o Music is still sparse, but is used to support the drama
o Used a combination of rock and orchestra
• Jaws (1977)
o Used orchestra to engage audience’s emotions
o 2 Note Shark Theme
• Absence of theme used to surprise
Psycho (1960)
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Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Score: Bernard Hermann
Different because: in Black &
White
First great score in the new
style
The Score
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For strings only
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Used harsh, percussive sounds and pizzicato
Dissonant throughout
No gradual changes in a cue--only sudden
changes from scene to scene
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Cue: music for a particular scene
Themes divided into 2 sections: Marion’s story and
Norman’s story
Marion’s Themes
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Opening Chords (used in the credits-makes you
think the story is about Marion)
Flight
Stolen Money
Transition
Listen to Psycho Music
Norman’s Themes
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Mother
Murder
-shower scene with and without music
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Making of the Shower Scene