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Can you enjoy film music if you don't connect to the film?


Nick1Ø66

Can you enjoy film music if you don't connect to the film?  

33 members have voted

  1. 1. Can you enjoy film music if you don't connect to the film?

    • Yes! I love film music and can get into a score on its own even if I don't like the film.
    • What kind of question is this? I love film music and of course can get into a score on its own even if I don't like the film.


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Do you need to feel some connection to a film to fully appreciate the score? Do you associate the score with the film, and if visiting the film's themes and ideas when you listen doesn't interest you, does it lessen your desire to explore the score?

 

Take a film like Tomorrowland for example. Let's say you're not interested in the film or its subject matter at all. Can you still appreciate and get into the score despite that? Or suppose it's The Terminal?  Can you listen and judge it purely on its own merits without associating it with the thematic material the score represents?  For example, if you were listening to "Making A Comeback" from Nixon, do you associate it with Nixon's comeback? Whether the music is appropriate for just making a comeback in life in general? Or is it simply a piece of music you judge on its own merits without reference to it's thematic inspiration? In other words, can you listen the way you would traditional classical music?

 

What say you?!

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Of course I can!  There's a bunch of scores I love that are for movies I either never saw, or saw and were shit films!

 

Are there people out there that actually require loving a film to love its score?

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Well, I think it's obvious that to "understand" a film score you have to understand its context within the film. However, at the end of the day, music is sound, and if you enjoy that sound then you enjoy that sound! :)

 

E.g. I know absolutely nothing about Heartbeeps but I enjoy this track as stand-alone music because it's fun, catchy and witty:

 

 

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Dude, I listen to music with so many different mindsets and mental images that it's probably better ask, "under what mental situations do you not enjoy music?" I can enjoy music thinking about some craftsman handmaking rosin for the strings...or the movie...or reading another book entirely. Or imaging myself living my life to the movie. The thrill of driving down a highway. Enjoying a cup of coffee.... This is a terrible question.

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22 minutes ago, Jay said:

Of course I can!  There's a bunch of scores I love that are for movies I either never saw, or saw and were shit films!

 

Are there people out there that actually require loving a film to love its score?

Believe it or not, there are. I thought of this question because a group of us were watching 10 Cloverfield Lane this weekend and a friend of mine commented on how much he liked the score. I suggested he pick up the album, and he said he didn't like the film that much and probably wouldn't get into the score on its own. This is a guy who wont hesitate to buy a soundtrack if he likes the movie its from...it's not as if he doesn't like film music.

 

As for myself, I'd say my appreciation for a score might be enhanced if I like a film, but it's not dependent on it.  That said, I don't think I've ever listened to the soundtrack for a film I've never seen (or would go on to see).

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Yes as said, Jerry is the embodiment of this.  It's nice to like both, because it's music for context and I value the context quite a bit.  But now that I think about it, I can't pinpoint any of my owned scores that are from films I didn't like - even something like Logan's Run isn't totally objectionable to me.  Maybe Medicine Man?  I don't think there are any possibilities that aren't Jerry.  

 

Alternatively, I've never liked a film that I didn't like the score to. 

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1 minute ago, TheWhiteRider said:

 

Alternatively, I've never liked a film that I didn't like the score to. 

This is generally true for me as well, but then I think of Ladyhawke.

 

And to a lesser extent The Spy Who Loved Me.  How I wish Barry had scored the latter, because it's one of my favourite Bonds. 

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11 hours ago, TheWhiteRider said:

How can one not love those funky stingers when Jaws' face is illuminated during the pyramid scene?!

LOL...that's EXACTLY what I was thinking of when I wrote that post. :) I'll actually admit to some nostalgia for the score, which I appreciated growing up watching that movie countless times.

 

Some of it is OK...like when Hamlish does the instrumental of the main theme. 

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Most people who listen to soundtracks can do so without having a connection to the film (I wouldn't be surprised if the tally reads 100% in that option above). The big differences can be found in this: the degree to which you let the music (as it appears in the movie) inform the way you listen, and the way you want the music to be presented on album.

 

My interest in soundtrack albums never came from film at all, but rather from other music genres (electronic music, prog rock, art rock).

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2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Many many scores that I enjoy while not caring one way or another about the film.

 

Hell, you can't be a Goldsmith fan without that mentality!

 

 

 

Reminds me of when I watched The Russia House recently. I was bored out of my skull by that movie, but the score is amazing.

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Wouldn't say I can't enjoy music at all without the movie, but I definitely acknowledge that my connection to a film can create variability in my enjoyment, especially when it comes to going back for multiple listens. Doubt I would have listened to the non-Williams Potter scores more than once if they were just written for random fantasy movies. There are plenty of scores that I think are better than those that I don't think to listen to as often.

 

Also there's the nostalgia/childhood factor, of course. I wonder what I would think of these if I heard them for the first time today.

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, Daniel Clamp said:

 

Reminds me of when I watched The Russia House recently. I was bored out of my skull by that movie, but the score is amazing.

 

What are you talking about? TRH is a great film!

If you ever criticize TRH again, Daniel, you will not wake up, the following morning.

 

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I don't necessarily have to love the film, but a positive feeling towards it certainly helps. For instance, the running cues in Forrest Gump really worked for me because they inspire respect for Forrest, but when I first heard them in concert before seeing the film, I didn't really connect to them. I liked them, but it's so different when you know what's actually happening.

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6 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Alex Cremers, voice of the common man!

 

(aka...Sjonnie Cremers) ;)

 

Either that or some Trekkies and LOTR fans haven't been totally honest. I mean, has Incanus ever made a post that doesn't endorse LOTR?! Exactly! Nolan's church is small potatoes compared to the Book of Jackson.

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4 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Either that or some Trekkies and LOTR fans haven't been totally honest. I mean, has Incanus ever made a post that doesn't endorse LOTR?! Exactly! Nolan's church is small potatoes compared to the Book of Jackson.

 

Bollocks to the church of Nolan!

I'm going to set-up an anti-church of Nolan.

 

5 hours ago, Daniel Clamp said:

Nice shots of old Soviet locales, but the movie is boring as batshit.

 

You're not feeling the vibe, Dan. TRH is thick with Russian atmosphere, and it's good to see Frank Gallagher.

Ken Russell is a hoot 

"A Lisbon bank account, my dears!"

and Connery is great

"Why Langley, Bob?!"

 

 

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1 minute ago, Richard said:

 

Bollocks to the church of Nolan!

I'm going to set-up an anti-church of Nolan.

Name one science fiction film released the past couple years that's better than Interstellar. Just one.

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Those are REALLY good points. But a black hole would consume all of them, including your precious George Clooney (who is cancelled out by Interstellar's dreamy McConaughey in any event).

 

Though I almost gave it to you for the talking racoon. Close one.

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1 minute ago, KK said:

But Interstellar has a soapy Anne Hathaway, which knocks it a good couple steps down.

 

But Interstellar has a great "Love connects us all" message!

 

Yes, I think Nick1066 is right. It's time to accept that, I guess...

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Hathaway is indeed soapy, I give you that. But that was balanced out by the appearance of the strong willed, female role model, and cosmically connected scientist who happens to have a really cool library in her FARMHOUSE BEDROOM played by "The Martian's" Jessica Chastain.

 

But let's end this right now, shall we?

 

MICHAEL CAINE.


(drops mic)

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9 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

MICHAEL CAINE.


(drops mic)

 

Sorry, couls you repeat that? Couldn't hear what you said over the score on max volume!

 

Though it matters not! Critics have already decided that Arrival is the better film! And that it succeeds where Interstellar failed!

 

 

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Critics agree! Arrival is the feel-good sci-fi hit of the season!

Amy Adams shines as the spunky linguist with a heart!

If you've been waiting for the life-affirming film of Autumn, it's "Arrived!"

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Well, this discussion took an unexpected turn (or perhaps not so unexpected).

 

I largely agree with Nick. INTERSTELLAR is the some of the finest piece of sci fi cinema since Spielberg's A.I. But I would put last year's EX MACHINA pretty darn close. Other superb contenders in just the last few years include GRAVITY, TFA, LUCY (which I actually put before INTERSTELLAR on my own 2014 list), GODZILLA, UNDER THE SKIN, EDGE OF TOMORROW, LAST DAYS ON MARS, EUROPA REPORT, OBLIVION, RIDDICK, PROMETHEUS, LOOPER, ATTACK THE BLOCK, MELANCHOLIA, APOLLO 18, SOURCE CODE, SUPER 8, SANCTUM, MONSTERS, THE THING (remake -- yes, seriously), RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, THE ROAD, INCEPTION, PREDATORS...

 

And that's just back to 2010. Of course, if you want to limit it to outer space sci fi, the list becomes considerably smaller, and nothing really matches it.

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I don't really think of Under The Skin as a sci-fi film, but I suppose you're right.  Great film.  Lucy is utter garbage, though, Thor, you must be the only person I know that liked it even a little bit!

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Well all this film names in ALL CAPS is very interesting, but back to the subject at hand.

 

Can one enjoy Éric Serra's iconic "Lucy" score without thinking of Scarlett Johansson?

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3 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Well all this film names in ALL CAPS is very interesting, but back to the subject at hand.

 

Can one enjoy Éric Serra's iconic "Lucy" score without thinking of Scarlett Johansson?


Why would one not want to think about Scarlett Johansson?

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Yes, I'm probably in the minority when it comes to putting LUCY that high on the list (i.e. as the best film of 2014), but many of my colleagues share my enthusiasm for it -- a true return to form for Besson, who manages to use his audiovisual tool box to say something more than just the frame story (gotta dig that consistent play with red and blue in the cinematography, for example). I thought Serra's score was fine in context, but I don't like it very much on album. He's done so much better before, for Besson's films and others.

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5 minutes ago, Jay said:

Just noticed the poll options have changed.

Yes, it was clear the result was going to be 100% in one direction, so the "choices" now represent that. ;)

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23 minutes ago, Jay said:

I don't really think of Under The Skin as a sci-fi film, but I suppose you're right.  Great film.  Lucy is utter garbage, though, Thor, you must be the only person I know that liked it even a little bit!

 

Well, Jay, you know that I think of you as someone who loves everything, right? Then I learned about Thor and I found out that there is always someone who loves even more. If you search long enough, you will find someone who loves even more than Thor.

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15 minutes ago, Jay said:


Why would one not want to think about Scarlett Johansson?

This is a family site, please take this kind of smut to FSM where it belongs. You should know better as a moderator.

 

Really Jay, what's next? Stories of how you think of Daisey Ridley whilst listening to Rey's Theme?

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He, he....true, Alex, I always like to approach things on their own terms, and never resort to negative blanket statements except in special cirumstances. That being said, there are some films from 2016 that have received the lowest possible mark from me: CHI-RAQ, THE HOUSE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR, SIERANEVADA, SLACK BAY, EDDIE THE EAGLE (not even Margeson's superb score can save this turkey), THE LAST KING, WARCRAFT: THE BEGINNING, THE FOREST and THE 5TH WAVE. Also -- slightly above those -- all the films from position 74-104 on this list were disappointments to me: https://mubi.com/lists/2016-films-ranked

 

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