'83 Wasn't Too Bad Either

by Paul Andrew MacLean

Early 1983 was an amazing time to be into film music. At that time I already had a whole stack of incredible scores which came out in '82, and '83 promised to be just as fine a year. The news that Jerry Goldsmith would be scoring both Psycho II and Twilight Zone: The Movie, and James Horner would be scoring Krull and Something Wicked This Way Comes was to say the least exciting (and wit

What Orchestrators Do

by Paul Andrew MacLean

The role of the orchestrator remains an ambiguous one to many film music fans, largely because the dimension of their creative input varies from composer to composer.

In the case of classically trained composers, orchestrators do not generally contribute anything creative. However, with the kind of schedules composers face in Hollywood, it is often necessary to employ assistance. A composer like Jerry Goldsm

"Oh Misfortuna"

by Paul Andrew MacLean

Overuse of certain classical pieces is in movies is nothing new. Barber's Adagio for Strings, Ravel's Bolero and Pachabel's Canon are just a few to have had their respective periods of overkill, when used ad nauseam in war films, sex farces and lightbulb commercials. Likewise, Carl Orff's "Oh Fortuna", from his cantata Carmina Burana, has been trowelled into various films (and trailers) over the years. Unfortunate

Brian May (1934-1997)

by Paul Andrew MacLean

Brian May was a unique composer with an individualistic an eclectic style. He could evoke warm sentiment and visceral suspense?sometimes simultaneously. He had a gift for lyricism which Georges Delerue would have envied and could make a stationary theater seat feel like it was going 100 miles an hour. He was, in short, everything a film composer should be.

His early film work in the horror genre bore the influence of Ber