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Lobster Films of France has released a Blu-ray/DVD combo of a magnificently restored version of Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 silent film THE KING OF KINGS. It includes both the 155-minute roadshow cut (originally silent), plus the 1928 115-minute "sound" reissue (with a synchronized track consisting of music complied and/or composed by Hugo Riesenfeld, and a few sound effects). On the Lobster restoration, composer Robert Israel has extended and supplemented Riesenfeld's score and recorded it anew so it now fits the original 155-minute cut.
It is truly something to behold and hear.
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Aside from complete silence, (never a good idea), the only alternative to original music is canned music. A director is just as likely or unlikely to hate canned music as much if not more so than an original score. The only time it might be considered wrong to write a new score for a silent movie is if the original score still exists. (Most silent moves did not have scores written especially for them.)
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Posted: |
Aug 6, 2018 - 10:06 AM
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By: |
Jim Doherty
(Member)
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I have never heard of Donald Sosin. I looked him up on YouTube and watched an interview where he shows a few examples of his work. Not bad, but they have that typical nickelodeon sound that most people associate with silent film accompaniment. I have not heard any of his work for THE KING OF KINGS. His work is not included on any of the video editions.
Mark, in general, I agree with you that new scores for silent films just don't match up. although there are a few I like (such as James Bernard's NOSFERATU), most of the modern-age composers try to either put a modern stamp on the film or (as mentioned above), stick with a stereotypical rinky-tink sound, heavy on the upright piano.
All you have to do is listen to some of the scores from that transitional period of silent-to-sound films to hear the complexity of the scoring. Listen to DON JUAN (1926), SUNRISE (1927), THE JAZZ SINGER (1927), THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928), THE KING OF KINGS (1928 sound reissue),and many others of that period. The composers/arrangers/conductors treated this work seriously. They used full orchestras.
More importantly, they used a style of music that was relevant to the time these movies came out. That is just as important as the style of acting,direction,and the camera work of its day. It's part of the era from which these films came.
To compose a modern score for a silent film that already had a synchronized score really is simply unnecessary.
On the other hand, if you compose a new score for a silent film that never had a score, more power to you, but study the actual styles of the times, and score it the way it would have been done at that time, thereby keeping the opening night feeling of that film intact.
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Posted: |
Aug 6, 2018 - 10:11 AM
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By: |
SchiffyM
(Member)
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Is it right that long after the creators of a film have passed away a composer, such as Donald Sosin, can write the score that he thinks fits the film ? It could be that the original, long-dead director/producer (in this case De Mille) would hate his score, were he able to hear it.
The one thing you can be sure of is that the original, long-dead director/producer did not intend his film to be seen accompanied by silence. So in absence of an original score or detailed directions about the music, it seems the options are a new score, a library score, no score, or simply not showing the film. Which is the most respectful? (To me, it's either of the first two.)
Incidentally, in 1927, most films were accompanied by musicians who chose on their own how to "score" the films being shown.
An original, long-dead director/producer might also hate his work being shown to tiny audiences of one or two on a television, rather than to mass audiences in a movie palace. But that's just how it goes.
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Posted: |
Aug 6, 2018 - 11:43 AM
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By: |
Mark
(Member)
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I read an article some time ago about the use of music in silents. In this piece it suggested that you could see a movie five different times in five different theatres and each time the film could seem completely different because of the use of music. I know cue sheets gave directions to pianists, organists etc, but otherwise, for many silents anyway, it was kind of down to them to do what thought. I also read that the musical acompaniment for silents was often really poor - this is an excerpt from an article that I found online today; 'I'm sure that most of the silent film accompaniment was simply atrocious. Classical organists looked down their noses at the theater organ. Most of the movie house instruments were played by the local pianists who had never seen the film and could barely improvise.' but it seems if you saw the film in a larger theatre you may have got a better score, as the article goes onto say -
" But larger houses came with orchestras, and bigger films with original scores. 'When I was really young,' Mr. Coppola recalls, 'I would go to Broadway to see a movie. I remember 'Thief of Baghdad,' with Douglas Fairbanks; he always insisted on an original score. Those theaters - the Strand, the Rialto, the Rivoli, the Capitol - had 40-or 50-piece orchestras. It was so beautiful."
The thing is, with King of Kings, we do know what De Mille wanted in terms of a score, because he had one written for the film by Hugo Riesenfeld. So to now have more score added by Donald Sosin, does seem to go against what the director intended, and this is my point here - is it right to go against the directors wishes ?
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...The thing is, with King of Kings, we do know what De Mille wanted in terms of a score, because he had one written for the film by Hugo Riesenfeld...
That's a pretty good point.
I agree with most of the responses here. After seeing silent a print of The Passion of Joan of Arc, over which the film professor had played a carefully selected symphony, rendering it one of my favorite films ever, I saw it in another class, and the teacher's aid running things at the screening announced that the print had no music, and since we didn't know what the director would have wanted, we would watch it in complete silence. She thought she was honoring the director, meanwhile I couldn't keep my eyes open for only my second viewing of one of my new favorite films, and the movie made no impact on that film class. Silence is not appropriate, even, perhaps *especially*, when the goal is to honor the original artists.
I also disapprove of trying to recreate the historical experience with the plinky piano music, generically overplaying certain emotions for certain scenes. That serves to constantly keep the viewer in the culture shock position, preventing connection with the film, when the very purpose of all the music played under silents was to do the opposite. It may be historically accurate, but it is not authentic, because the people of 1920 did not watch silent movies with music that continually fought their ability to connect with them as happening stories.
I also wish some musicians wouldn't turn the opportunity to score a silent picture into a time of sonic experimentation. Silent horror films get hit with this a lot, with scores that have, for 75 minutes, exactly one vibe, usually something akin to the music Kubrick used for the stargate sequence of 2001, washing a movie like Nosferatu with a sonic gray. They aren't writing to support the film, rather the film is being used to give us something to look at while we appreciate their genius.
I think the best composer scoring silents today is Carl Davis, because he scores with some nods to the time, but otherwise writes a proper film score, considering every moment, the music underlining, rather than overlaying. Every film I have seen with his scores has been enjoyable as a movie, which is the most authentic way to see a silent picture.
But Mark, you've played the Ace card.
The man had a score written for his film, as many directors did, especially in the late 20's, when sound was developing, and even though sync wasn't good enough to match lips, music really could travel with a movie. The best approach for the 155 minute film might be to hire a game composer to re-orchestrate some pieces, or write 40 new minutes according to the style and themes that existed for the shorter version, and do a stunning, accurate rerecording of the full + new bits score, matched to the film, to help justify the effort.
That's a very good point of yours.
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This is getting a little confusing. To clarify, Donald Sosin had nothing to do with this Lobster Films restoration of THE KING OF KINGS.
As I said in my original post, ROBERT ISRAEL RE-RECORDED HUGO RIESENFELD'S ORIGINAL SCORE FROM THE SHORTENED 1928 SYNCHRONIZED-SOUND VERSION, BUT REPEATED PORTIONS, AND IN SOME CASES, WROTE SOME SHORT CONNECTING PIECES TO MAKE RIESENFELD'S SCORE FIT THE LONGER 1927 ROADSHOW EDIT.
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Sorry Jim, I should have made it clear - Sosin wrote 155 mins of wall to wall score for the film....even though De Mille had a score written for the film by Riesenfeld.
Sosin's score appears on the 2010 Criterion DVD release of the 1927 version of the film. Also, in addition to the original score for the 1931 release by Hugo Riesenfeld, Timothy J. Tikker provided a newly composed, alternate score.
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< It is one thing writing a new score for a silent when no score exists, but quite another penning a score for a film that already has one, and where the director had already pinned his colours to the mast regarding the music he wanted>
Original music scores for silents was the rare exception, not the rule, and even if there was one it didn't guarantee that a theater wouldn't compile their own. There was a vast amount of published photoplay music cues that theater music directors could draw upon, and most silent music accompaniment was compiled from such material. Companies such as Bradford and Belwin that were authorized to preview a studio's films and then publish cue sheets of suggested music cues would often include one or two original cues, but the majority was published music (often including their own publications).
I have the cue sheet for the '29 reissue of King of Kings, and sprinkled throughout the score along with Riesenfeld's music are many published photoplay cues. I'd be willing to bet that DeMille's involvement, if any, was limited to a desire for the inclusion of Wagner.
That said, I prefer hearing photoplay music as accompaniment, variable musical quality notwithstanding, because I feel it adds something to the experience of watching a silent.
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Posted: |
Aug 11, 2018 - 6:05 PM
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By: |
Jim Doherty
(Member)
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Sorry Jim, I should have made it clear - Sosin wrote 155 mins of wall to wall score for the film....even though De Mille had a score written for the film by Riesenfeld.
Sosin's score appears on the 2010 Criterion DVD release of the 1927 version of the film. Also, in addition to the original score for the 1931 release by Hugo Riesenfeld, Timothy J. Tikker provided a newly composed, alternate score.
Bob: Thank you for correcting me and setting me on right path. I TOTALLY overlooked the fact that Sosin's score was on the older Criterion DVD of the long version of this film. I am guessing that my memory blocked it out because I probably didn't like the score. I say this because I remember trying to grab tracks from the Riensenfeld recording for the shortened version and re-edit them to fit the long version. As I was doing this on cassette, the results were not perfect; neither was the sync (if you didn't start the cassette at the exact right time, the effect was simply ruined).
My point is, Bob, thank you again for pointing out that Sosin's score was on the Criterion DVD. I fully admit, I had TOTALLY forgotten all about that. I'll have to re-visit it to see see why I didn't like it. Although I don't remember Sosin's score, I must have disliked it enough to go through the trouble of trying to match Riesenfeld's score to the long version instead. By the way, I gave up my efforts after the first ten minutes.
Bob, thank you again for pointing out that Sosin's score was on the Criterion DVD. I fully admit, I had forgotten all about that. I'll have to re-visit it to see see why I didn't like it, and if I still dislike it.
In response to another poster's comments about Carl Davis' new scores for silent films, I do agree, he's got it nailed down. He writes new music, yet tries to stay within the style of the period. I consider his new score for 1928's THE WIND one of the best and most moving I've ever heard.
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Posted: |
Dec 17, 2021 - 3:12 AM
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By: |
MeAndre
(Member)
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Hi! Cool that you have the cue sheet of King of Kings. Would you mind passing it to me, please? Or posting a link to it here? I am very, very interested in the music Hugo Riesenfeld composed and compiled for this motion picture. Thanks!
< It is one thing writing a new score for a silent when no score exists, but quite another penning a score for a film that already has one, and where the director had already pinned his colours to the mast regarding the music he wanted>
Original music scores for silents was the rare exception, not the rule, and even if there was one it didn't guarantee that a theater wouldn't compile their own. There was a vast amount of published photoplay music cues that theater music directors could draw upon, and most silent music accompaniment was compiled from such material. Companies such as Bradford and Belwin that were authorized to preview a studio's films and then publish cue sheets of suggested music cues would often include one or two original cues, but the majority was published music (often including their own publications).
I have the cue sheet for the '29 reissue of King of Kings, and sprinkled throughout the score along with Riesenfeld's music are many published photoplay cues. I'd be willing to bet that DeMille's involvement, if any, was limited to a desire for the inclusion of Wagner.
That said, I prefer hearing photoplay music as accompaniment, variable musical quality notwithstanding, because I feel it adds something to the experience of watching a silent.
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