Anatomy of a film theme
Introduction:
What makes a great and memorable film theme? Thinking about some of the great themes of the last 40 years like Star Wars, Mission Impossible, The Great Escape, Dirty Harry and Jaws I started putting down some cohesive ideas of the anatomy of a great film theme from the perspective of a modern musician.
Firstly, I’ll outline the key ‘examples’ I’ll be working with, and why I love these film themes so much. Then I’ll be discussing the key elements that make these themes memorable, lasting and great pieces of music in themselves.
What can we learn from ‘themeology’?
Generally speaking most musicians and producers want to creative solid, memorable and lasting music. Whether creating a niche skate-rock crossover track or a blockbuster piece of plastic pop, we’re trying to create something that reaches out to the listener, grabs you and stays with you.
With this in mind film themes can teach us a lot. Thinking back over the last 40 years, what are the pieces of music that most stay with you? Great films and their themes time and time again capture key moments of populare culture and history.
For example, the James Bond theme was one of the first usages of a recurring theme across a franchise of films that started in the 60s. Later in the 70s, the rise of hard hitting action movies like Dirty Harry, Shaft and Bullitt brought with them some great themes that reflected the solid central characters at the heart of their stories and simultaneously captured the sound and look of the decade.
From a musical point of view, a film theme can be a great piece of pop music, with a catchy tune that means instant chart success. The way lead lines are introduced and expanded through a theme tune can teach us much about writing lead lines and harmonies into our own compositions.
Key Themes:
So, for the purposes of this post let’s select some great themes to base out our discussion on. Personally these are themes that I grew up knowing and loving. This is a list I have compiled that admittedly is driven by personal taste for these films and the composers behind them.
1960s:
- The James Bond Theme, John Barry & Monty Norman
- The Ipcress File, John Barry
- Mission Impossible Theme, Lalo Schiffrin
- Good The Bad And The Ugly, Sergio Leone
- Lawrence of Arabia, Maurice Jarre
1970s:
- The Dirty Harry Theme, Lalo Schiffrin
- The Theme from Shaft, Isaac Hayes
- Enter the Dragon, Lalo Schiffrin
- Star Wars, John Williams
- Superman, John Williams
- Rocky Balboa, Various
- Jaws, John Williams
- The Pink Panther, Henry Mancini
1980s onwards:
- Bladerunner, Vengalis
- Indiana Jones Theme, John Williams
- Chariots of Fire, Vengalis
- Batman Begins Theme, Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
- Beverly Hills Cop Theme, Harold Faltermeyer
How have themes changed over time?
After reviewing the list above, an obvious question is, ‘How have film themes evolved over time?’, or even, ‘how have the movies themes of today evolved from those 40 years ago?’. This is indeed an interesting subject and one worthy of an entirely separate discussion as for me it is closely linked to the evolution of film itself. This is something I intend to cover in a later post.
However let’s just say that as film over the last 40 years has evolved to become increasingly complex, subtle and refined as an art, so too have the soundtracks that accompany them. The heros of today are complex characters with subtle characters that often do not fall easily into the traditional categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. So too are their accompanying musical themes, which are often subtle and understated. Look for example at Gladiator and Batman Begins - recent films with strong but complex central characters that display a range of character traits throughout the movie. Their soundtracks in turn reflect this rich tapestry of emotion and character.
Anatomy of a great theme
1. Simplicity & Melody
Above all, and probably the most obvious element is to have a simple, impactful and melodic musical theme that is essentially ‘catchy’ and easily reproducible across a variety of instruments and sounds.
The acid test of any good ‘tune’ is essentially ‘can you play it on the piano?’. This is one reason why good song writers write on the piano, because good songs and pieces of music can be boiled down to strong chord progressions and lead lines. Think of the Mission Impossible Theme for example. The first few notes are almost instantly recognisable and are easy to play on virtually any instrument (”bum, bum…bum, bum…bum, bum…bum, bum!”).
This of course is nothing new, but a good theme can be simplified and introduced and blended into a number of different musical contexts with instant recognition. A good example of this is the James Bond Theme that is subtly woven into the soundtrack throughout all the Bond movies. Some times the theme is full blown and ‘in your face’ as Bond saves the day yet again, and more interestingly it appears as a subtle ’calling card’ for Bond’s character, often woven into the main soundtrack.
2. Harmony & Enhancement
The second common trait across these themes is that they all naturally compliment and enhance the story or character of the movie they were composed for. This may sound obvious but remember the composer’s main task is to add a dimension to the movie that ehances the story whilst hopefully capturing and defining an extra layer of meaning. Generally speaking themes are built around characters and not so much the films they are in. The soundtrack can introduce feelings and moods that are not directly conveyed in the visuals and at the same time can enhance other aspects of the story to become larger than life.
For example the boldness of John Williams’ Star Wars theme brings an epic feeling of drama and heroism through the sheer volume and scale of the orchestration. However think now of the Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back and this brings on an immediate feeling of foreboding and threat that signifies the malevolent Empire. My point here is that a good theme really echoes the character it was designed for - good, bad, heroic or tragic (think Jaws - the character is not even human). Interestingly as movie characters become richer and more complex so do their themes - and this I think explains why many movie themes are more understated and subtle these days.
3. Credibility & Realism
This is something a little more abstract. I think many good themes ’sound’ like they are a credible part of the character’s world. I am speaking in terms of the sound and instrumentation of the track itself. Think of the opening of Shaft as Richard Roundtree walks the streets of 70s Harlem and the slick Theme jangles in the background. The music feels almost like it could be playing from a stereo on the street or coming from a live band in a local bar. Some of this is due to the ‘in sound’ at the time and some of it is very intentional - it feels credible and real.
Take another example. The Great Escape Theme almost has the feel of an official piece of music being played by a military band (with a cheeky British twist of course). This blends seamlessly with the substance of the film itself and again feels credible and real for the wartime setting.
4. Boldness & Scale
Related to the earlier point of contextual relevance, a good theme has a feel of epic boldness that is usually a reflection of the movie itself. This does not mean to say though that the sound itself is epic and bold. Musically the sound could be quite understated. Think of the Pink Panther Theme - its swagger and style is quite different to large orchestration of Star Wars but both make bold musical statements about their characters.
However in the main soundtracks tend to upscale the impact of the movie. They bring a further enhancement to the story and visual treatment. Try watching Gladiator without the soundtrack and the experience is quite limp. But look at how the Lawrence of Arabia theme is introduced as the main character enters the desert and the epic sweeping desert landscape is enhanced by the bold theme. At this point both sound and vision come together perfectly to define a historic moment in cinema.
A more recent favourite of mine is the Batman Begins soundtrack and in particular the recurring string theme which is deliciously dark and moody. The music is more mood than up front lead theme but it accompanies Bruce Wayne’s transformation to Batman throughout the film and grows increasingly grand as his ‘power’ strengthens towards the end. This is truly great stuff.
5. Flexibility & Adaptability
Lastly, and building on the elements above a good theme is flexible and adaptable so that the key element of melody can be reused, reinvented and reinterpreted many times over - both within the movie saga or franchise, or outside it in other contexts. Think how the main Star Wars theme appears originally in the glorious opening bars of the soundtrack and then later over a minor chord progression to signify low points or sad moments in the story line. The lead line is the same but in a different mood - subtle yet powerful.
Think of how many times the Mission Impossible Theme has been reinvented - each time building on the original track and remaining true to its routes. Again, this is a powerful composition that has so much flexibility in it. Think how powerful this concept would be in the hands of a song writer or pop producer?
Conclusion
In this post I have tried to open up some of the common elements of good film themes from the perspective of both musician and the producer. Whilst I am a big lover of ‘themeology’ (see John Barry’s Soundtrack Collection) as a listener and movie fan, it also fascinates me in terms of composition and the way it can influence my own musical ramblings.
We have seen how the key elements of a good theme range from the memorable catchiness of pop music to having the flexibility and adaptability to be applied in many different musical contexts. However in general a good theme is both true to its film character and brings a rich dimension to the movie itself. These elements of emotion and boldness run directly into the world of modern music - whether it is epic rock or funky pop.
Take a look at Film Score Monthly which is a good site for more details. I also love http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/. Hopefully this will provide some guidance and spark some ideas the next time you sit down to write a song or piece of music. Good luck!
