Film music beyond the film

Film music has changed dramatically in the past twenty years or so, much like the films themselves. If you ask me, not necessarily for the better (in most cases). As I've written in an earlier post, modern movies often insist on realism in every possible aspect, trying to be a "perfectly" faithful reproduction of the circumstances they portray. At the same time, that good old feeling of entertainment and escapism, which we often associate with the movies from older dates, becomes the casualty.

In accordance, the music that accompanies most modern films is a reflection of their aesthetics. The basic principle that music must be in the service of the picture, is nowadays taken much more strictly and seriously than ever before. Regardless if we're talking about bombastic and "epic" soundtracks often found in a typical action movie, or minimalistic ones, characteristic of the modern drama. In either case, it is about music that isn't especially impactful and memorable on its own, and most of us will rarely feel compelled to listen to it outside the confines of the film itself.

Unlike the film music of the previous decades, soundtracks made after the millennia frequently avoid singable melodies and recognizable motifs. Advocates of this style often blindly follow the abovementioned principle and claim that melodies are too distracting from the movie. Contrary to this, they aim toward certain sterility in a musical sense by reducing the score to a mere background that shouldn't impose too much on the viewer what to feel.

The film music of the previous eras is often a total opposite of these modern trends. Thanks to its characteristic themes, as soon as you hear the music, you can immediately link it with a particular movie, character, or scene, and also know who is behind it in an instant. I will mention my two favorite composers as an example: Vangelis and Morricone. You can very easily listen to film music by these composers without necessarily watching the film. As a matter of fact, the general audience sometimes knows the music better than the film it came from. After all, unforgettable music can make a forgettable film unforgettable, but not vice versa.

The passionate opponents of the "old school" will probably go on about how modern film music is an art in its own right and that it takes as much knowledge and effort as do soundtracks of the yesteryear. They will probably mention the godfather of modern film music, Hans Zimmer, as the trendsetter and trailblazer. One of the reasons for such verbal and passionate devotion is likely connected with the huge competition that rules among film composers these days. Thanks to computers and software, the ability to create authentic film music has become available to the masses. Taking the current trends into account, you can draw out a logical conclusion. However, while many can "sound like Hans Zimmer" quite easily, only a few can sound like Vangelis and Morricone (if any). ;)