5 Beautifully Scored Films
Have you ever listened to a song for the first time in years, and suddenly waves of forgotten memories and emotions come flooding back? Music is unknowingly powerful, and so closely tied to our feelings, so I’m always baffled when someone tells me they don’t like the use of score in film. Their reason is often something akin to “it’s a cheap way to create mood.” Such a criticism is understandable in a way, but they don’t call cinema the fusion of all art forms for nothing. For many, a film’s score is a vital component that, when done right, does not fabricate emotion, but rather, enhances it. For me, the score is one of the most imperative parts of any film; an amazing soundtrack is tantamount to an amazing film, more often than not. Granted, you may come across a No Country for Old Men every once in a while that absolutely does not need a soundtrack and even benefits from its silence. You may also come across a film tarnished by a less-than-pleasant accompaniment (I’m looking at you, Last Year at Marienbad). I’ve come to find that a magical score will more often than not elevate a film to a transcendental level.
Mandy
The late Jóhann Jóhannsson is known for crafting some of the most inventive music to grace film, making him a fantastic match for the equally adventurous Panos Cosmatos. His metal score driven by guttural synths and raging electric guitars perfectly evokes the 80s synthwave feel that Cosmatos captures visually. It imbues the film’s primal ultra-violence with intense trepidation, but it also placates the more aggressive moments with some deeply sensual tracks. It’s a score that really has everything, and the emotions it conjures are practically indescribable, helping create the masterpiece work of art that is Mandy.
Vertigo
Bernard Herrmann is undoubtedly one of the masters, and perhaps the first master, of film composition. Vertigo gains most of its plaudits from Alfred Hitchcock’s controlled, masterful direction, but Herrmann’s orchestral score is nothing short of hypnotizing. Its supreme use of strings lends a tension to the film that slowly swells into various grand flourishes that are all too snug a fit for Hitchcock’s visual feasts. Herrmann’s score incredibly epitomizes passion and mania in what many call the best film ever made.
Call Me By Your Name
Luca Guadagnino’s sublime 2017 romance features not an original score, but instead a soundtrack combining multiple genres, including two exclusively made songs from Sufjan Stevens. The resulting music permeates the serene Italian backdrop with precisely the kind of lust and longing that Armie Harmer and Timothée Chalamet so expertly deliver in their performances. Be it the swirling, enchanting classical piano, or Stevens’ soul-crushing laments, this soundtrack is pure, raw emotion.
Victoria
Sebastian Schipper’s single-take film required an unrelenting score to carry it on its perilous, unpausing journey, and Nils Frahm provided that and more. His string-dominant music reflects Victoria’s flickering intrigue and the film’s unending anxiety, and is overpowered by feelings of grief and regret, but also relief. The film is a theme-park experience that brings the viewer right onboard with its characters, thus making the intense emotions created by the score practically palpable.
Interstellar
There was just no way I could make this list without including a Hans Zimmer score. Throughout his illustrious career, his work on Interstellar is what I’d pick from the bunch. It’s versatile in nature; it’s commanding alongside Christopher Nolan’s larger-than-life set pieces; it’s devastating in moments of loss and hopelessness; it perfectly encapsulates the wonders of space. Nolan’s most passionate production is matched by Zimmer’s most passionate composition.
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