The Sting

I immediately recognized a famous Scott Joplin piece during the credits and then throughout the film and ending with the conclusion credits. It faded as the introduction scene began. The ragtime Scott Joplin piano seems to match with the 1930s urban style, sounding upbeat and social and portraying movement, and action. The Scoot Joplin music is stuck in during transitions, making the film more playful and fun. I believe it gives the film as less serious portrayal then it was meant to have. It seems to be too playful for the urban tough-guy trying to make it and gambling storyline. The transitions are then cut off when the next scene begins, rather than fading off. Between many scenes there is no transition music at all. There is racy diagetic music played during the hooker dancing scenes. There is also very quiet, soft diagetic music played while the men play poker which seems to not fit in well. It is too soft and gentle to go with the tough men gambling. The pre-existing music seems to work as a filler to silence in the film and to lighten up the mood of the film.
Scott Joplin’s 1890s ragtime was meant to have energetic rhythms. The spirit and energy in the ragtime is supposed to fit well with the spirit and energy in the film although the 1930s storyline does not match the 1890 ragtime style.

The movie begins with a nice piano medley while a child hums and giggles. This music starts the movie off portraying a childish, calm, family story but with a hint of conflict or drama. The music also sounds like a country or small town sound. A woodwind and piano plays when the children look over at Boo Radley. When they look over at his house an erry repetitive woodwind and piano medley plays. This medley is played during the film to associate with Boo. The music to transition scenes is an upbeat woodwind country tune. While the children challenge each other to go over to Boo’s house an upbeat diagetic, triumphant horn music plays. Once Scout rolls into Boo’s lawn, the music turns darker into the music associated with Boo. This music is heard again at night when the kids are creeping over to his yard. When his house is shown, the repetitive woodwind erry tune is played. This music makes the scene mysterious and frightening. The music moves with the movements of Jem as he creeps up the porch and as the shadow of Boo reaches toward Jem. The music becomes quicker when the kids start to run.
A dark woodwind and high pitch horn music is played when Atticus is visiting the black man’s family and a man comes up to the car where Jem and Scout are waiting. The music reminded me of Psycho during the murder scene with the high pitched strings. As Jem sits on the porch, scared, a dark fast woodwind sound is played making it frightening. There are creeping noises of a crow and a bench creaking. The frightening music is stopped by the innocence tune and Scout’s voice.
The film is filled with music throughout. It is used for transition, and as theme music to Boo and the children. I would describe this music as Bernstein’s.

I had seen this movie before, the original version but is was interesting to watch when I was paying special close attention to the music in it. I was surprised to notice that most of the music in the film is low , frightening and mysterious sounding. There is little music in the film which plays harmonious strings. The short high pitch jumps make the movie into a horror film.
Psycho starts off with dramatic string orchestra. It jumps and has hard accents to make it sound like percussion. The music throughout the film is different from other films we have seen with film noir and classic Hollywood themes. The music in Psycho jumps to different notes, creating an erry feeling and contrasting moods. It keeps the audience tense to the next actions in the scene. While she is packing, strings play with building horns in the backgrounds. Then as she drives to the hotel through the night and during the day, the familiar dramatic string orchestra plays. The music is repetitive and quick and builds up higher. A smoother string sound plays at the end of each build up, creating a transition. Deep building string music plays during other times to indicate the tenseness of the woman because of the stolen money she has with her. High pitch string chords are played during the shower murder scene. These high pitch short string chords make the murder intense and terrifying. This music in the film is similar to film noir in that there is a mysterious feel by the dark, low sounding bassoons and clarinets.

Double Indemnity

It started off with fast paced string and then deepened with horns underscore. It sounded sort of strange and mysterious like the film noir theme. It was a darker sound, matching the detective or crime genre style of the movie. The film noir of sting and horn music in and between scenes adds a detective, mysterious feel to the scenes, causing foreshadowing and the audience to be more curious for what is next. High pitch string underscore is played to present the woman’s entrance into the scene. Deeper, mysterious cues with horns are played with the detective and when the gun is shown. There are very little amount of musical cues; there is a lot less music within this movie compared to others. It ends with slow, dramatic horns.