Soundtracks In Movies

 What's In A Soundtrack?

Iconic movies of our childhood are inseparable from their soundtracks. One cannot imagine Jack Sparrow, sorry I meant Captain Jack Sparrow making his grand entry without Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack to accompany him.

Hans Zimmer initially assumed that no one would watch a Pirates movie , but when he read the script he couldn't put it down.

Thriller films often use soundtracks to build tension within the film, it helps in creating the perfect atmosphere for the film when used wisely. It enhances the audio-visual experience of watching a film. The right music played at the right time can evoke intense emotions among the viewers and place them along side with the protagonist.

The Role Of Soundtracks In Films

In The Evolution of Music in Film and its Psychological Impact on Audiences Stuart Fischoff states that 

"Music adds something we might call heightened realism or supra-reality. It is a form of theatrical, filmic reality, different from our normal reality. Because films are two-dimensional, extra-ordinary experiences, they may need help, as it were, from music.

 After all, in real life when you’re scared you don’t need scary music to tell you.  Your body, your nervous system, your cognitions, tell you that."

Most thriller movies aim to offer the audiences an escape from reality, they take the audience into a fictional world that is much more exciting than their real life and since fiction can defy logic, music is a great tool a filmmaker can use to draw in the audience to their fictional world. In the same paper Fischoff states that

"Music works upon the unconscious mind. Consequently, music works well with film because it is an ally of illusion. Music plays upon our emotions. It is generally a non-intellectual communication. The listener does not need to know what the music means, only how it makes him feel"

Evoking Emotions 

Mission Impossible 

The soundtrack of Mission Impossible invokes a feeling of thrill and excitement as we imagine ourselves as Ethan Hunt on a bike chase in the streets of Vienna.

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible Series

Interstellar 

The soundtrack of Interstellar composed by Hans Zimmer acts as a tool for powerful storytelling, invoking strong emotions of sadness and pain within the viewers. It works its way on us subconsciously as we are immersed into Christopher Nolan's film. 

Hans Zimmer's magic places us within the shoes of Cooper.

James Bond 

The iconic British spy has been played by countless actors, but the soundtrack of 007 invokes the same excitement and thrill with every actor who donned the role of James Bond. Each actor adding their own spin on the memorable spy. 

Defying From Music

Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men" is a wild west, neo-noir film that has no soundtrack. Yet, this film draws in your attention like any other. The film is filled with such extreme tension that the viewers may not even notice the absence of a soundtrack in the film. It has one of the most tension filled scenes to be found in modern films.

 The coin toss scene is filled head to toe with nail biting tension, combined with Javier Barden's acting this scene is quite hard to forget. It is a film that uses the audience's intelligence to put together the pieces.  Coen brothers' excellent screenwriting does not underestimate the audience, which has made the film a cult classic. 

Soundtracks or no soundtracks a movie is still made by it's writing. The music is merely a tool to facilitate the audience's journey watching the film.