Soundtrack to My Life

I recently went and saw Red Riding Hood. To be honest it was purely a catch up with a girlfriend and this was the only movie showing at the right time slot so there was absolutely zero expectation of the flick. Miss Critty gave me a brief update as we wandered the dark red velvet isle to our seats on what the film was basically about and that it was directed by the same woman that did the Twilight Saga. As a 23 year old female, I was not impressed to be about to view something that had the same backbone as an Edward vs Jacob cinematic creation.


None the less, as the lights began to dim and the chatter fade, I was ready for the feature film.

Approximately 30 minutes in, I started to ponder why I wasn't getting entirely into the film. The acting was fine, the effects were cool and I wasn't distracted by any inappropriate patrons. So what was wrong? Was I tired? Perhaps I was stressed? Oh the possibilities! Then it finally dawned on me... the sound track to the movie. Or should I say lack of score?

There were no peaks, no silence followed by sudden thrashings of drum and base to really get the heart racing. Nothing. It was almost as though I were reading a book... silent - and even that isn't possible as I always have my ipod in while reading, creating my own appropriate sound track to the story.

Heck! Not even the trailer has a decent build up in it (I don't exactly count having a base line in the background as music). What ever happened to wonderful works such as the score for E.T done by John Williams? He not only created a dream like quality, but also allowed you to naturally develop sympathy for an unknown creature through his choice of pitch and depth. It's even believed Spielberg loved the music created for the final chase in the movie so much that he actually edited the sequence purely to suit the sound! Something that clearly didn't happen for Red Riding Hood.

Red Riding Hood directed by Catherine Hardwicke - out now

Jaws is another perfect example. EVERYONE knows the dum dum... dum dum... again a piece by John Williams. Such a simple E and F note sequence that absolutely everyone internationally relates to 'danger' when heard.

Perhaps they spent all the money on special effects and scoring top name current actors therefore had no budget left for the music direction? Maybe the deadline was fast approaching so they just spun a cd in the background? Or perhaps they just couldn't be bothered.

I'm not saying that a completely new and original score must be developed for a movie to be successful - Catherine Hardwicke got it right in her development of Twilight using a score composed by Carter Burwell and the remainder of the soundtrack a choice of fantastic tracks by various artists. A great selection made by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas.

How amazing that something you generally don't even notice in a movie can truly make or break the climax of a scene.