Preview

Music in Scorsese films

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2904 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Music in Scorsese films
2) For Martin Scorsese, popular music in films ‘doesn’t have to serve simply as mood music or be an unimaginative device for establishing a time period.’ (Romney & Wootton, 1995: 1)Taking this as a starting point, discuss the use of popular music in either one or two films or the work of one film director.
I will be looking at the films of Martin Scorsese regarding his statement that popular music in films ‘doesn’t have to serve simply as mood music or be an unimaginative device for establishing a time period.’ ’ (Romney & Wootton, 1995: 1) I believe that believe he practices what he preaches through this statement in his work. I will be analysing aspects in his work whereby the music works on a deeper level than just as a mood prompting tool, in films such as (The Departed,2006), (Goodfellas,1990),( Taxi Driver,1976) and( Raging Bull,1980) trying to understand the directorial thought process in the choice of the music as well as the desired effect on the audience. Scorsese carries the idea that “popular music has the potential to give movies a forceful, dynamic edge” ’ (Romney & Wootton, 1995: 1) he goes on to comment how important it is to him and how it is used in his own work “when I was young , popular music formed the soundtrack of my life- rock ‘n’ roll and Neopolitan love songs would rise from the jukeboxes in the little bars of my old neighbourhood, New York’s Lower East Side, day and night. And so it was only natural that it would become such an important part of my work as a director, beginning with my first student films. Music has always been a key source of inspiration for me- it has the power to bring entire sequences to life.” I will be exploring the creative use of both scores and popular music in his films, in regard to this and elaborating further.
In the book conversations with martin Scorsese (2011, p.350) Scorsese talks to Robert Schikel about how he uses music differently to other directors and how the way in which he uses music in films



Bibliography: Romney, J and Wootton, A, eds. (1995) Celluloid Jukebox: Popular Music and the Movies since the 50s. London: BFI. Marshall, B. Stillwell, R. (2000) Musicals: Hollywood and Beyond Intellect . Schickel, R (2011) Conversations with Martin Scorsese. USA : Alfred A. Knopf Publishing. Filmography Citizen kane (1941) Directed by Orson Welles [Film] The Departed (2006) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Los Angeles, California: Warner Bros Inc. Goodfellas (1990) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Los Angeles, California: Warner Bros Inc. Psycho (1960) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film]. Los Angeles, California: Shameley Productions Of Mice and Men (1939) Directed by Lewis Milestone [Film] Raging Bull (1980) Directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Los Angeles, California: United Artists , Chartoff-Winkler productions. Taxi Driver (1976) directed by Martin Scorsese [Film]. Los Angeles, California: Columbia Pictures Corporation.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I will be discussing the aspects of development from a historical perspective of the film and television industry. To help achieve this I will be focusing on musical genre in Hollywood by analysing the following clip shown of ‘Singing in the rain: Good Morning’. This clip shows how the musical conforms by having general conventions of the genre and also shows the development of Hollywood musicals and it’s importance to genre in a particular time period.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The power of music can connect and represent the words that cannot be spoken. Music unites people, nature, or even beliefs. Don’t you desire to reach people using the universal language - music? Film music is without a doubt about touching audience’s minds and evoke people in a certain way. It certainly isn’t around the music or the orchestra or the audience, however, it is the interconnection of all these elements that makes music alive. Being a film composer means that you will be the catalyst to trigger the crowd’s sensations.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The mise-en-scène greatly affected my perception of this movie in a positive way. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. This film seems to have the perfect compilation of imagination, color and classical music. The scenes are set up to match the emotion and vibe of the music, perfectly coordinated to each note, which further pulls the audience into the movie and its many changing themes.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Hollows, Joanne, and Mark Jancovich, eds. Approaches to Popular Film. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. Print.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the scene “Barrels” Jaws (1975), of the three categories music was more prominent than any other. There were several conversations as well. When anyone thinks of Jaws, they think of the music. It creates a sense of danger, suspense, and apprehension. The music in this scene works well with the dialogue, lighting, and continuity of editing. Goddykoontz and Jacobs (2011) describe music as being “a crucial part of the movie-going experience” (Sec. 6.4; papa. 18).…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australian Visions

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Better responses integrated an insightful and detailed analysis of film techniques, including music, setting and costuming, into a discussion that focused on Luhrmann’s visions of individuality, conformity, competitiveness, persistence and…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fehr, Richard (1993) Lullabies of Hollywood movie music and the movie musical, 1915 - 1992 Jefferson, NC : McFarland.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    For filmmakers, music can be a tool that is used to manipulate or augment the audience’s emotions. Background music can set a film’s emotional attitude or tone, particularly with regard to the plot and characters. It can also act as a harbinger for future events by foreshadowing a change in mood, such as in films where dissonant music leads the viewer to believe in the existence of an impending disaster or unfortunate event. Music can also add a sense of continuity in that it may be used to connect different scenes through repetition, thus making more significant specific motifs that the filmmakers wish to portray (Marshall). No Country for Old Men (Miramax, 2008) and Amelie (Claudie Ossard Productions, 2011) offer different takes on the use of music in film, but nonetheless are both successful in engaging their audiences despite the dissimilar approaches of the associated directors.…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Star Wars: Music Analysis

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Music is a powerful tool in our media to convey specific emotions from the audience. Television, film, news, sports, musicals and theatre are types of media using music to bring out our emotions. Music transports the audience into the world being watched. We use music on our phones and IPod’s to help motivate us to move. Movies use music to convey ideas and feelings to large audiences. Through music we feel and react to developments of the mood, landscape and tension in a part in the film. Can you imagine our favorite films without music? These films would not be as exciting without the orchestrated energy. The added music changes everything in the film, and a wonderful score can uplift a movie from decent to classic. The music from Star Wars:…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sound plays a significant part in all movies and one of the most interesting of all the sound techniques would be the use of nondiegetic music. In the movie Apocalypse Now, there is a double disc soundtrack with thirty tracks on it. The one song on there that has the most meaning would The Doors song "The End". This song not only set the mood for the scene waiting in Saigon and the move as a whole but is also used to foreshadow the death of Coronal Kurtis. Mr. Coppola, the director of the film, was a genius for picking this song to represent the movie. It not only fits the movie with the sounds of helicopter but the words alone have significant meaning to the movie. Along with it serving as a premise for the movie, Mr. Coppola plays with the viewer's perception of diegetic sounds and nondiegetic music.…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the last few years, we have seen a rise in musicals in cinema that have been on par with the films of the past were responsible for the genres rise in film history. These films and shows are original, revolutionary, but also keep intact the traditional conventions and styles at the heart of the genre. Two bodies of work that represent this rise are La La Land and crazy ex-girlfriend. The musical genre uses two major elements of film which are sound and movement such as dancing, singing, and music to express intense emotion. These characters often break the fourth wall when they start to sing and dance, they also use mise-en-scene and lighting to exaggerate and emphasis portions of the film.…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Films serve as an effective medium for educating their audience members. For historical events such as the Holocaust, films carry the immense potential to assure that the memory of horrifying systematic brutality inflicted on certain populations and the memory of the horrors these victims’ experienced live on. Films are instrumental in assimilating the remembrance of genocides like the Holocaust into public and popular consciousness. With the pivotal influence that these films harness, finding the balance between upholding historical accuracy and evoking strong emotions from the audience stands at the crux of Holocaust film production. In exploration of this balance, three films from different genres-- Night and Fog, Life is Beautiful,…

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since music first was combined with movies it created a truly emotional and scene setting experience. Music describes 4 key roles in movies, it sets time and place or convey characters or ideas or creates a mood or atmosphere or expresses the emotions of the character or a combination of these ideas. A movie that uses all 4 roles is Jurassic Park.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genre Analysis

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The musical film has always held a special place for me. From my time as a drama student in high school, my eyes have been opened to the amazing world of the musical and especially the musical film. The musical film is a film genre in which the characters sing songs that are integrated into the overall story. Since musicals first began in theaters, musical films usually contain similar elements. These elements often simulate that there is a live audience watching. In a sense, the film viewers become the audience members, at a theater production, as the actor performs directly to them. Due to the popularity of musicals in the theater, the style was quickly brought over into film. In 1927, the musical film genre began with the accompaniment of the first film talkie, The Jazz Singer. While popularity for this genre has fluctuated over the years, it nevertheless has succeeded in becoming a staple in films. Throughout this paper, I will explore what is a film in the musical genre and why it has such a lasting effect through the examination of three considered, classic musical films of their eras.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Introduction : The film of the series begins with the a man's body floating and face down in to the water. Joe's voice emerged "Probably it was five o'clock in the morning, the sun a big house on the Avenue came the murder. all the newspapers are headlining this case tomorrow morning, then you will find that tarnished movie star related on this case...... perhaps we should say the most famous star."…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays