Catch Me if You Can score analysis

[Adam 1]

I decided I would very slowly ?unload? some of the John Williams analysis that has accumulated in my head from my many years of fascination and admiration of him. And what better forum than a JWFan Forum? I decided I would start with the most recent film first and go backwards (if I continue with this kind of thing). Feel free free to ignore, tell me where I?m wrong, add stuff I left out, etc.

Catch me if you Can

This is an appropriately light and whimsical score. The jazzy aspects help set the story in its time and place but also provide a ?feel? that is fun and hip. Major themes as follows :

Closing In theme : This is the theme used in the main title sequence and for the Hanks character chasing down Frank.

Its unfortunately under-represented on the soundtrack. The theme is a little jazzy but also somewhat dark and ominous at times. The looping melody line helps create the feeling of a determined someone moving in closer and closer. Emotionally, this theme generates a certain amount of tension, but all in good fun.

Frank?s theme : This theme is well represented on the soundtrack (over-represented perhaps since other cues were left off). Frank?s theme is heard when he is on the run, thinking up a scam, etc. The music helps the audience identify with Frank by reinforcing the fun and good naturedness of his scams (after all, we wouldn?t normally identify with someone who preys on a lot of innocent people). The theme uses a slippery, elusive melody line and a light, repeating

accompaniment that works as a kind of light turning on to alert us that he?s up to something again.

Father?s theme : This theme suffers the most in the film because it seems to be tracked in quite a few times, but only the very first part (track 8) until it quickly fades away. Its not so much a theme for the father but for Frank?s isolation and sadness, often in connection with his dad but not necessarily. I thought the music conveyed the right feel for what Spielberg was going for, which seemed to be a kind of seriousness and poignance to make Frank more sympathetic.

There?s a minor theme that is used a few times. It seems to reinforce the parts where Spielberg is highlighting the glitz and glamour of achieving status and wealth. The most prominent use of this theme was supposed to be used during the slo-mo montage of the stewardesses getting out of their limo (towards the beginning of the film) but the melody is taken out.

This movie has a very unique character from other films Williams has done and, as a result, the music carves out a unique identity from his other scores. JW mentions this being a regression musically to his earlier days, but I thought that was only marginally true. Most of his earlier scores reflected a kind of cheesy, 60?s poppish jazziness to accompany apparently zany, unserious comedies. CMIYC, in contrast, has a little more dramatic weight and even the beginning jazz sequence is a kind of sound he?s rarely written to screen, where the saxophone seems to be

improvising though not actually. This is one more score to the growing list of JW films that show off his remarkable range and versatility.

- Adam

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Very cool. It's always fun to read interpretations of JW's scores, so I think it'd be great if you continued with this.

Ray Barnsbury

[Morn 7]

I very much like how you say what each themes purpose for the movie is. Great analysis.

[HPFAN_2 0]

Even Williams said that Frank's theme appeared when he was thinking up a new scam.

[Adam 1]

Thank you Morn and Ray. Its therapeutic for me, if nothing else, to organize my thoughts on his various scores.

- Adam

[Incanus 5,518]

Great analysis. The score on album little bit over-presents the Frank's theme and many good cues involving the FBI agents closing in on Frank were left out as well as the movie version of Airport scene. Thats a great pity because the score is fun and I like Johnny's jazzy mood.