I've been a big Tangerine Dream fan for years, especially during the era where they did Phaedra, which was a haunting trip through a sort of vibrant electronic wasteland. I've noticed that in a lot of suspenseful moments in the 1980's that the synthesizer was relied on heavily to create an added dramatic event. The Terminator relied heavily on the synthesizers use for its chase scenes, and Wes Craven even noted that A Nightmare On Elm Street was inspired by the opening sound in Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver". Another popular electronic composer, Vangelis, scored the soundtrack for Blade Runner, albeit a bit more romantic than dramatic. I suppose I am curious as to what actually happened to the synth heavy films? Did they just fizzle out at the end of the decade, or did people just grow tired of them altogether? -Aaron Swaidner
Not to mention Schrader's Cat People remake, but that was Giorgio Moroder, the other big synth guy of the time. I think the score works incredibly well in Near Dark. We've noted before how crucial sound is to horror, and this is further evidence. Think about Halloween, which actually goes old school with the piano theme (composed by none other than director John Carpenter), but is also heavily "electronicized."
I think it's brilliant when music is created for a movie that is not only original, but makes you only associate that song or sound with it. Besides the movies here, I think of Jaws and Original Exorcist ( tubular bells still give me the creeps). It's a great way to have your movie live on forever.
I also enjoy Tangerine Dream and thought they added dreamy and spooky elements to the film, although I'm not a huge fan of their recent "new age" music. Another fantastic band to create a soundtrack for one of the films we watched in this class was the Italian prog-band Goblin. Goblin did the soundtrack for Dawn of the Dead and other great horror films such as Suspiria. Its evident that the musicians chose to make a soundtrack can take a film to great heights, especially in horror (Psycho, Halloween, Jaws, Friday the 13th)
I've been a big Tangerine Dream fan for years, especially during the era where they did Phaedra, which was a haunting trip through a sort of vibrant electronic wasteland. I've noticed that in a lot of suspenseful moments in the 1980's that the synthesizer was relied on heavily to create an added dramatic event. The Terminator relied heavily on the synthesizers use for its chase scenes, and Wes Craven even noted that A Nightmare On Elm Street was inspired by the opening sound in Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver". Another popular electronic composer, Vangelis, scored the soundtrack for Blade Runner, albeit a bit more romantic than dramatic. I suppose I am curious as to what actually happened to the synth heavy films? Did they just fizzle out at the end of the decade, or did people just grow tired of them altogether?
ReplyDelete-Aaron Swaidner
Not to mention Schrader's Cat People remake, but that was Giorgio Moroder, the other big synth guy of the time. I think the score works incredibly well in Near Dark. We've noted before how crucial sound is to horror, and this is further evidence. Think about Halloween, which actually goes old school with the piano theme (composed by none other than director John Carpenter), but is also heavily "electronicized."
ReplyDeleteJim, for everyone to see this, you'll need to change the permissions in the Publish to the web options to make the presentation public.
ReplyDeleteI think it's brilliant when music is created for a movie that is not only original, but makes you only associate that song or sound with it. Besides the movies here, I think of Jaws and Original Exorcist ( tubular bells still give me the creeps). It's a great way to have your movie live on forever.
ReplyDeleteI love Tangerine Dream's work in "Legend". Sadly their music is changed with what the director originally intended on the DVD.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy Tangerine Dream and thought they added dreamy and spooky elements to the film, although I'm not a huge fan of their recent "new age" music. Another fantastic band to create a soundtrack for one of the films we watched in this class was the Italian prog-band Goblin. Goblin did the soundtrack for Dawn of the Dead and other great horror films such as Suspiria. Its evident that the musicians chose to make a soundtrack can take a film to great heights, especially in horror (Psycho, Halloween, Jaws, Friday the 13th)
ReplyDelete