The Music of Movies

We recently went to see the Hunger Games, which my husband describes as "Lord of the Flies" meets "Survivor", with a little "Most Dangerous Game" for good measure.

I enjoyed the movie. Like most movies that are based on successful novels, it was impossible to include all the detail of the book. Naysayers, please realize, if the director did that, the movie would be 13 hours long. The movie really did a great job portraying the events of the novel without messing it up too much. (Here, I must refer to the disasterous job movie makers did with The Lightning Thief!!)

However, what I really appreciated about this movie was the music. The under-running soundtrack is amazing! In many places, the music itself is so subtle, the casual movie-goer will never notice. However, it's the music that drives our emotions through the entire movie.

For example, the emotional Rue scene near the end of the movie makes me cry every time. Yes, I read the book. Yes, I know what's going to happen. It's that the music cue is so emotionally poignant that you HAVE to cry. Well done.

Another great example is in the "finale" of the games. Yes, I know a large animal is going to jump out from the bushes. Yes, I am going to jump every time. The second time through the movie, I closed my eyes. Guess what? I jumped anyway. And that's when I figured it out -- it's the music! It rises and falls, rises and falls, each time making the movie-goer more tense. Until right at the last moment, the music drops out. That's when the main characters get attacked.

Music is vital to the movies. It's how directors get the audience to respond appropriately. Think back to your favorite movie, remember the music of your favorite moments during that movie, and you'll understand. Music makes the movie.