Samiul Bashar Samin
Imagine a world where your most favorite movies did not have musical scores in the background. It is impossible to sit through a movie such as any of the flagships from the Harry Potter Series or The Star Wars franchise without the emotive and iconic soundtracks produced by John Williams. For any movie to produce a lasting effect on you, it must have solid musical scores.
The problem however, lies in the fact that although there are but a handful of moviegoers who actually pay attention to the scores in the movies and can appreciate the effort put in , most moviegoers fail to notice the music playing in the background. I’ve been through numerous incidents where after I finished watching a movie, I turned to a friend next to me and was fan-boy-ing about the soundtrack but he seemed clueless and didn’t even notice what was going on in the background of the movie.
The perquisite for any musical score is to blend in and integrate itself with the movie while affecting the audience in way that reflects the mood being screened. The reason why you see classical music in most movies is because of the dramatic effect it emanates onto the audience. And this particular effect is what filmakers use to their utmost advantage in order to intensify the suspense or emotion in a particular scene.
Try watching a horror film without the musical score. It’s going to bore you to your grave. The power of music is such that it can evoke such panic in you that every bone in your body experiences a chill and you have the sudden desire to just roll up into a ball in put a blanket over your head. If you don’t believe me, just watch the scariest movie you can think of while muting the music. I promise, the scenes that made you cry out in horror will probably end up making you perform a hysterical fit.
I think it’s high time that we try to atleast appreciate the marvelous work that goes into making a movie. And appreciate the works of musical talents such as John Williams and Hans Zimmerman. Trust me, one you start noticing the symphonies in the background ,the movie will only get much better.