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The Best Music in Film
Borut Krzisnik
(Composer for theatrical productions who recently worked with Peter Greenaway on The Tulse Luper Suitcases)
- S&S: What is your favourite film soundtrack music and why do you like it so much?
- "Nino Rota: Prova d'Orchestra (1979), directed by Federico Fellini. Beside the fact that I like this soundtrack as a stand-alone music, what makes this film special is the role of the music in it. There is a very close interaction between visuals and music. The whole film takes place during the orchestra rehearsal and - analog to the orchestra rehearsal itself - music is in the very core of the film action, in the story itself. First, the role of the music is basic for that film and not something which is added after the shooting and editing and secondly, it is certainly not just parallel action or illustrative/ornamental support the way it is pretty much customary in current film. This specific role of the soundtrack which is interwoven with the film action - in fact, it is film action itself - is very specific compared to the majority of film production."
- S&S: In what ways does music best enhance a film?
- "In film, visuals get married with music and - as in the marriage - there are countless different variations of relationships between the two, countless indeterminable ways to make the marriage what we want it to be. One can't make good marriage only by following some rules. There are no magic rules - it depends on the film, on the scene, on specifics. What functions in one film may not in another. Finally - to answer the question - some films or scenes are made the way they don't need (much) music and it would be inadequate to apply music by some rule. If the director makes enough room for music in the scenes, then it's more likely to make a good match. Secondly, I think it is a good sign for the perfect marriage between the video and music when visuals are made with some specific music already in mind."
- S&S: Which film either has music that you wished you'd written or is one you would like to rescore and why?
- "Peter Greenaway: Reitdiep Journeys (part of the Tulse Luper Suitcases (2003)). A scene where the film camera travels very slowly over a big painting with many details. Yet, the best marriage between the visual action and my music I was happy to see in the theatre, in the play Nietzsche Contra Wagner, directed by the American-Brazilian theatre director Gerald Thomas."