Rent Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016)

A thriving art - Score: A Film Music Documentary review by DW

A nice and interesting notion, highlighting the importance of film scores, how they are composed and then integrated into the finished visual product. The "right" score, of course, enhances and adds so much to just about any film and it's reassuring to know that the skill of movie score composition remains a thriving art. I would have preferred it if more time had been devoted to the symphonic type scores of the forties, say, and for my interest there could well have been less attention given to blockbuster type films which here are given precedence over any other genre.

Bland documentary - Score: A Film Music Documentary review by Alphaville

Composers talk about their film scores, but we learn little. The gist? Music is emotional and there are no rules. It’s hardly ground-breaking stuff. Don’t blame the composers, but watching talking heads telling us what music they like for 90 mins isn’t engrossing, even interspersed with film clips of movies they like. What would be interesting is to hear why some scores work better than others. Let’s hear just one voice who doesn’t think overblown orchestral superhero music is brilliant. This film is pure hagiography, like Oscar night for composers. The only real interest is in seeing the faces behind the names on the end credits.

Very US-focused, slghtly smug pat on the back for film composers - Score: A Film Music Documentary review by PV

I LOVE film music - from the old Charlie Chaplin films to Ealing Comedies to the great John Williams scores for Spielberg and then Jerry Goldsmith scores from the 1970s.

However, this US-focused documentary interviews a lot of composers who, unlike those mentioned above, fail to compose or write any memorable music - what they write is music. Composers here have credits for Minions and the Lego Movie for goodness sake! Music for such things and most superhero movies like the Avengers is tat, pure muzak, and not as some of the writers features here, the equivalent of Beethoven!

Happily there is NO pc bas here - if this had been made by the diversity-worshipping BBC they'd parachute a lot of minor female composers in to try and achieve alleged 'gender equality' (which would be the opposite!). Most featured here are men because the fact is men tend to be better at songwriting and composing (83% of PRS members are male, and film writing and directing, come to that.

One interesting section visits AIR studios near London, but this is very much a Hollywood show so people here make claims that withouth film music there wouldn't be any orchestras any more. WELL maybe in the USA< but in the UK and Europe we have state-funded orchestras aplenty and actually TOO MANY funded by the BBC licence payer - 9! Way too many!

Anyway, a so-so movie but all a bit MEH!