2011…what a year in film music! Patrick Doyle took his music in “new” directions. Alexandre Desplat found his music subject to severe dissections. And two more John Williams scores were added to our collections. All three of these composers not surprisingly made the list of this year’s Readers Poll. Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting. Now let’s get to your results…
10. THE GREATEST MIRACLE – Mark McKenzie
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The Catholic-based animated film barely made a blip at the box office (a paltry $492,000) but film music fans have been enraptured by McKenzie’s lush, majestic score and its lovely main theme. McKenzie, a longtime orchestrator, and his publicist have been heavily promoting the score, so it’s nice to see that their hard work paid off with the fans.
9. SOUL SURFER - Marco Beltrami
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The true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton’s recovery from a shark attack gave Marco Beltrami an opportunity to compose pulsating action cues and sweeping themes, with a touch of authentic Hawaiian flavor in the vocals and orchestrations. While the movie overplays the religion card a bit (though not as muchas it could have), Beltrami’s music thankfully foregoes the piety and sentimentality, resulting in a nice departure from the genre scores he’s usually called upon to write.
8. THE TREE OF LIFE – Alexandre Desplat
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Alexandre Desplat’s ethereal music may or may not have helped Terence Malick’s pretentious clusterf*** of a film. With only five to ten minutes of score surviving in the film, we’ll never know for sure. But as a concept album, Desplat’s delicate, swirling score serves as an indicator of what might have been and further evidence of Desplat’s prodigious talents.
7. THOR – Patrick Doyle
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Patrick Doyle scored two of the biggest films of the summer and found himself moving in new directions. He adapted his trademark sound with more contemporary overlays which sat well with some fans and not so well with others. When he’s not being hampered by the Remote Control trappings imposed by the filmmakers, he can still conjure up a properly heroic main theme.
6. THE THING – Marco Beltrami
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Marco Beltrami could probably score a horror film in his sleep. Yet for this cheesy prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 remake, he doesn’t just resort to the tired tricks of the trade. While there weren’t too many scares onscreen, Beltrami’s music made us think there were. And the sliding motif at the heart of the score is truly creepy.
5. HUGO – Howard Shore
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Martin Scorcese’s love letter to the birth of film and film preservation is just as beautiful visually as it is musically. Howard Shore leaves behind the weighty melodies and harmonies of Middle-earth for something more Gallic and tender. The main waltz at the heart of the score contains one of Shore’s loveliest melodies and keeps the film lilting along.
4. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2 – Alexandre Desplat
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Though I was unhappy with Alexandre Desplat’s entry into the series with DH PART 1, PART 2 made for one of the better entries in this lackluster series, thanks in no small part to Desplat’s contribution. The music conjured up far more excitement and emotion than the film had any right to expect. And that final cue is heartbreaking.
3. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN – John Williams
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It’s no surprise that there is a lot of love for Williams this year, and deservedly so. He has been too long absent from the big screen. I was hoping for a stronger theme for our hero. But since he’s not much more than a tag-along in his own story, it shouldn’t be up to Williams to fix Spielberg’s mistakes. I’m by no means a fan of TINTIN the film, but no one can write an action cue like John Williams. And since the film is nothing but action, it gave him plenty of opportunities.
2. THE ARTIST - Ludovic Bource
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When I first heard of this film following the Cannes and Telluride film festivals, I had no idea that a silent film about old Hollywood would become a major player at awards time. Then I heard the music, which is equally charming within the context of the film and crucial to its success. From the first listen, Ludovic Bource’s score swept me away to film music long gone by. I’m happy to see other film music fans swept away as well.
1. WAR HORSE – John Williams
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I wish I was a betting man. This would have been easy money. It is no surprise that fans have responded to the direct emotions of John Williams’ lush score. Even on the cusp of 80, WAR HORSE proves that Williams has not lost any of his gift of melody or his command of the orchestra.
“But since he’s not much more than a tag-along in his own story..”
Thank you, you just summed up for me my biggest problem with the movie that I couldn’t put my finger on.
Also thanks for the audio samples, they really add a lot of life to the list!
Yeah, that’s one of my biggest problems with the movie as well. I also didn’t think it was particularly exciting. Too busy, full of the Spielberg touches that grate on my nerves, crappy 3D, and creepy motion capture faces. But the animation otherwise is pretty stunning, especially when the ship comes out of the sand dune and it turns into the ocean.
Glad to hear that the clips help. :)
i havent seen or heard The Artist yet but i heard that the score borrows from the Vertigo score. is that true and how much “borrowing” is there?
It doesn’t borrow exactly. The finale uses an Elmer Bernstein recording of the love theme from VERTIGO. When I did my interview with Ludovic Bource for the December issue of FSM Online, he told me that he was still writing that final cue in March when the director had to show the film to the producers in time for it to qualify for Cannes. Everything revolved around the film festival. That scene had been temped with Herrmann’s theme for three months and once it had been shown to producers, the cue was left in. Apparently you will be able to program Bource’s original cue when the film comes out on video. Yes, it is unnerving to hear if you know the music. But it still works beautifully in the film and doesn’t sound out of place. To me, that’s a credit to how well Bource has set the stage with his own music by that point.