'Hmmm ... mmmm .mmmm ...'

Film Last night's film course looked at the use of music on film. Or rather the mis-use. Tutor John was talking about how director Robert Bresson abhored the use of music in film as he felt it detracted from the story being told and basically messed about with the emotions of the audience too artificially. Much like his approach to actors, I can see his point and there are some stonkingly awful film moments whose use of a tune has made worse, but there are some equally great films even more enhanced by the use of a soundtrack. Howard Shore's work on Lord of the Rings in particular, as he created themes for individual races and characters is a modern classic of the form. What isn't commonly noticed is how often he and Peter Jackson actually throw out music in favour of the soundscape and in some cases sound altogether, allowing the visuals to tell the story.