daveb@rtech.UUCP (Dave Brower) (05/27/85)
Since everyone on the net seems to be jumping on the use of 'Modren' music
in historical films, I thought I'd throw in a counter-example:
What about the synths in Chariots of Fire?
There is an interesting book review in the May issue of "American Film" of a
book, "The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production
to 1960." This subheading speaks to the issue:
"The rules are a cunningly flexible game of give-an-take,
whereby the industry both absorbs change and contains
its disruptive effects"
I suspect that the use of the 'synthesized' style of music will be
completely assimilated in 10 or 15 years and seem as normal to most
people as symphonic scores now seem to us (and our parents).
It also seems possible to me that the use of electronics in historical
film scores is doing a very interesting thing: In being different from
the (film) historical convention, people are being forced to listen to
the music and make some determination about is propriety. Rather than
consciously filtering the music out because it sound like every other
orchestral score, one actually has to decide "Is THIS music appropriate
for THIS scene?"
Having not seen Ladyhawke, I can't make a judgement, but perhaps people
are really complaining about the particular score rather than the
electronics/rock per-se? Otherwise how can we explain the broad popular
succcess for the music in in Chariots of Fire?
--
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{ucbvax|decvax}!mtxinu---->!rtech!daveb | "I can't mix excuses."
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