Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 17, 2017

Movies wouldn’t be movies without music. However, film scoring is often an unheralded art, left as something for the senses, difficult to separate from the overall viewing experience. Writer/director Matt Schrader hopes to achieve a level of appreciation with “Score: A Film Music Documentary,” which examines the history of composing and performing as it’s developed over the last century. It’s not an easy task to cover such an enormous time period in just 90 minutes, and Schrader certainly speeds around the subject like the Tasmanian Devil, but the effort is there to spotlight dozens of creative people who painstakingly put together what often becomes the heart and soul of cinema, creating music that inspires emotion and, sometimes, life itself, offered clear identification in this wonderfully vibrant and insightful documentary.

“Score” doesn’t begin in a studio, but outdoors, with our introduction to composer ingenuity made through Marco Beltrami, who’s been tasked with creating ethereal sounds for his latest project, electing to record a piano that’s positioned in nature. The instrument sits in an uninhabited section of Malibu, with the elements speeding erosion, but Beltrami finds the peace and oddity fitting his needs, experiencing a creative breakthrough. It’s these kinds of interactions that make up the best parts of “Score,” which invites viewers into the secret lairs of the composers, permitted time to hang around with Hans Zimmer, Mark Mothersbaugh, Tyler Bates, and Rachel Portman as they summon their professional concentration and start to build, brick by brick, the music for movies, with Schrader granted impressive access to seemingly forbidden spaces, interviewing people who probably aren’t used to the type of attention “Score” is hoping to provide.

“Score” isn’t perfect with historical perspective due to the enormity of the subject matter, but it provides a basic understanding of growth. There’s are minutes devoted to the rise of the Wurlitzer and silent film accompaniment, giving quiet images a chance to soar when help from an organ. “King Kong” is generally considered the start of the modern scoring movement, providing orchestral sounds to support the feature’s epic ambition, providing scale to a production that struggled with tone. “Score” goes on to discuss the importance of motif and rule breakers like Alex North, whose music for “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which blended jazz into orchestral interests, changing the sonic possibilities of the profession. And there’s also considerable screen time devoted to the psychology of movie music, explaining how the art form inspires emotion and contributes, almost subliminally, to storytelling needs.

Heroes of the industry are celebrated, finding interviews with historians, critics, studio insiders, and fellow composers (including Danny Elfman, Junkie XL, Bear McCreary, and David Arnold) saluting legends such as Jerry Goldsmith, whose unusual work on “Planet of the Apes” is heralded. And, of course, there’s a section devoted to John Williams, who only appears in file footage, working on efforts such as “E.T.” and “Star Wars,” while his achievements on “Superman” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” helped to change the industry, restoring a classic orchestral sound after new artists used the 1960s and ‘70s to redefine what movie scoring could be, also putting more emphasis on soundtracks and source music. Additional admiration is reserved for Elfman and Thomas Newman, a legacy composer (son of Alfred Newman) who defined softer piano-based sounds with hits such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Finding Nemo.”

Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation retains its HD-shot look, offering comfortable sharpness on interviewees, with aging faces contributing interesting textures to the viewing experience. Location visits retain dimension, and interiors deliver a pauseable opportunity to study the inner sanctums of the subjects, who live in highly decorated and computerized homes. Colors are exact, handling primaries with care, and skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable. Banding periodically pops into view.

Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Forced to live up to high expectations, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix does a competent job with the myriad of scores sampled here. The general flow of music isn't disrupted, supporting vibrant samples with clear instrumentation and proper volume, giving the viewer a sense of creative accomplishment and pure thrills when hearing more iconic offerings. Interview segments provide strong, deep voices, and crispness isn't threatened, even when conversations are captured in varied environments. Surrounds aren't particularly active, but distances are communicated, and low-end has some heft with more pronounced percussion and deeper strings.

Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/director Matt Schrader.

• Interview (29:03, HD) is the full, uncut conversation with James Cameron, which answers a pressing question about the documentary: Where's James Horner? The interview offers an overview of Cameron's longtime association with Horner, dating back to 1980 for "Battle Beyond the Stars," with both men working for Roger Corman at the time. "Titanic" is covered extensively, including the construction of the picture's sound and Horner's insistence that the movie end with a song, winning Cameron over with his Celine Dion demo. There's also a discussion of Horner's death and Cameron's last interaction with the composer, and a few thoughts on "Avatar" are shared. Cameron being Cameron, he has a way of making all this about himself, but it's a good summary of his working relationship with Horner, along with his influence on screen music in general.

• Interview (7:12, HD) with Bear McCreary showcases his skills with a hurdy-gurdy, discussing the odd instrument's history and its use in the theme song for the television show, "Black Sails," adding the right gravity to a series about pirates.

• Interview (3:26, HD) with Harry Gregson-Williams sits down at a piano with the composer, who shares his creative interests and a selection from the "Prince of Persia" score.

• Interview (1:52, HD) with Hans Zimmer briefly touches on his personal exposure when scoring a film, permitting outsiders a look at a normally reserved, private man.

• Interview (:45, HD) with J. Ralph follows the composer on a golf cart through New York City, finding inspiration though examination of urban life.

• Interview (6:06, HD) with Tyler Bates is more of a demonstration of technique, with the artist creating music with a guitar and strange sounds.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:19, HD) is included.

Score: A Film Music Documentary Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Score" does a good job walking viewers through the steps of creation, which begins with ideas and expands into recording. The feature visits a few studios, including Abbey Road, to display what the process looks like, studying acoustics and professionalism, including the incredible nature of studio musicians who can sight read. And there's anxiety as well, with Hans Zimmer, a major force in the industry, worried about inspiration as deadlines are tightened. There's so much ground to cover here, and it's a subject that's worthy of a Ken Burns-style, multi-chapter odyssey, picking up on all sorts of details and anecdotes, while making sure the masters of the game are completely deified. "Score: A Film Music Documentary" doesn't have the run time to fully gorge itself on the irresistible legacy of movie music, but it supplies a satisfying understanding of motivation, instrumentation, and overall bliss when encountering some of the finest screen stimulation around. Or, as Quincy Jones calls it, "emotion lotion."