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This reminded me of thinking previously about this score - it seems Bernstein created a theme that was energetic and dynamic, almost carefree, in the midst of a horrible situation. It was almost sassy and jaunty as if to say - these guys know they will win. Steve Mcqueen was so cool in that... the perfect actor for it. He couldn't care less - he is ON it.
Anyway, Bernstein must have been thinking about something along those lines when deciding "how will I score this?..." A master of film music.
Well done John! and Thank you for sharing.
I agree with William that the score sounds more lighthearted then the serious subject matter the film portrays. Maybe, since Bernstein was Jewish, he saw scoring this film as an opportunity to give a one finger salute to the Nazis in his own small musical way. So maybe he just has some fun with it.
The score reminded me of John Williams 1941 March (composed 15 years later) but not because they sound alike, because both composers took similiar approaches with the scoring style. The difference however is that The 1941 March is a bombastic and cartoonish score to a bombastic and cartoonish film so the score fits.
But in a strange sort of way Bernstein's score fits too. Go figure.
Hi Jasen,
Thank you for your kind comment. Yes, I think it sounds somewhat like the 1941 March also. I like that piece a lot and I like John Williams' music in general.
I have a CD I purchased a long time ago that has every second of the Raiders of The Lost Ark music. Although some of the music seems like its just filling a space, it's interesting to listen to and analyze. I can imagine coming up with enough music to fill almost 2 hours is quite a challenge.
John Minardi
Actually I wasn't thinking it was merely lighthearted - I was thinking it was the idea of using that energetic tune instead of something heavy to suggest that these people are so confident they will win. And that allows them to. The "lively" energy carries them through.
You don't hear that usually nowadays. Normally it is a super-heavy dark theme - brooding, always brooding - we must brood! - to accompany anything so daunting as what these men faced. Bernstein deliberately did something the opposite, though as you mentioned it shows a determined quality also.
brooding, always brooding - we must brood! -
Well ain't that the sad truth 😔
And nothing says brooding more than the ominous DRONE burrrrrrrrr...😐😐😐
And no self-respecting so-called composer today wouldn't be caught dead without their loyal army of drones standing at attention on their harddrives just waiting to be called upon to do their duty.
I have a CD I purchased a long time ago that has every second of the Raiders of The Lost Ark music. Although some of the music seems like its just filling a space, it's interesting to listen to and analyze. I can imagine coming up with enough music to fill almost 2 hours is quite a challenge.
John Minardi
And I bet that, at the very least, 1 hour and 50 minutes of the music on that JW CD could stand on its own without a visual and still be enjoyable music. Unfortunately not 1 minute of a contemporary score today couldn't stand on its own.
"Coming up with enough music to fill almost 2 hours."
Try writing an opera John. Although I have never actually gone to the theater and seen one performed I hear that operas are pretty much "wall to wall" music, from start to finish, and some operas are 3 + hours long. But if you have an army of drones at your fingertips then 3 hours is nothing.
P Paul moved this topic from Orchestration & Composition on