PREVIEWA celebration of movie music and the men who make itThis movie's title reveals that it's not going go anywhere revolutionary, though it could provide good material for a film course. It's strictly talking heads. Among the couple dozen Hollywood composers heard from it's mainly the most famous highly paid ones like Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Trent Rezner, Alexandre Desplat, Heitor Pereira, who get to sit in front of the biggest electronic mixer consoles, conduct the biggest orchestras in the biggest halls, and drive the poshest hundred-thousand-dollar sports cars. And of course we hear
about Bernard Hermann and John Williams. They all love what they do - and who wouldn't? Their big loud sound is essential to blockbusters. The possibility of only classical soundtracks, like baroque for Malle's
The Lovers, jazz by Miles for
Elevator to the Gallows; purely diegetic music in film or no music in a movie at all, just interesting sound design, isn't considered here. A fan film and a promotional film good for TV that will please blockbuster fans, superhero movie fans,
Transformers fans. And I admit, I love
Titanic and Cameron may be right right here when he says a director's choice of music is key. Was Bernard Hermann's famous screechy sound in the
Psycho shower murder essential - or could the sequence be even scarier without it? This film doesn't encourage us to ask such questions, but it provides good material for debate. A book,
SCORE: A Film Music Documentary - The Interviews edited by Schrader and Trevor Thompson will be published 9 May 2017.
Score: A Film Music Documentary, 93 mins., is Matt Schrader's debut. Eleven festivals starting with the Hamptons Oct. 2016, including San Francisco where it was screened for this review. Theatrical release in the US and Canada 16 Jun. 2017.
SFIFF SCREENINGS SCHEDULE: 1 PM 9 9 Apr. 2017 Dolby Cinema; 3 pm. 11 Apr. SFMoMA; 8:30 pm. 17 Apr. Victoria Theater.