Top 5: Western Themes

30.04.09 / Uncategorized / Author:

Can you remember the last piece of film score that made you want to jump into the screen and join in on the action — that made you want to destroy an arch-villain’s volcano lair or swing into ship full of enemy pirates…? But of all the genres, there’s nothing quite like a  Big Western Score. The best are rousing, moody, flavorful… They drive a sense of danger and adventure into your innards and make you long to be a cowboy, which is no small achievement for someone like me who would rather spend a night in jail than outdoors.

Here are my 5 favorites in all their YouTube glory.

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1. Dimitri Tomkin – Red River (1949): Sweeping, epic, majestic and impossible to believe never nominated for an Oscar. An important part of scoring is deciding where to put the music and ”Red River” has some of the best spotting choices I’ve ever seen. It kicks in precisely when it should, not just to enhance a moment, but also to change moods and start fresh. Watch the scene again where John Wayne (who’s absolutely brilliant in his most unsympathetic role) tells Montgomery Clift (every bit as good as Wayne) he’s gonna kill him. This is “the” moment in the film and you expect dark, melodramatic music, but when Clift walks away and gets on his horse the score soars with adventure completely changing the mood and stripping the melodrama from the moment.

Bonus Points: Can anyone name the iconic moment created in a later Howard Hawks/Dimitri Tomkin Western using part of this score? Hint: It involved a Rat Packer.

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2. Ennio Morricone – Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): There was never a more perfect pairing of composer and director than Morricone and Sergio Leone. Each film seemed to be a warm up for the next until perfection was reached in 1984 with “Once Upon a Time in America,” which has one of the finest scores of all time. This piece from “West” is the theme for Charles Bronson’s haunted character Harmonica, and not only is it stand-alone gorgeous, but also equal parts haunting, lyrical and pure badass.

Bonus Points: Bronson’s character is haunted by the murder of his older brother. Can anyone name the 90’s Western that paid homage to this now iconic moment?

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3. Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven (1960): Good heavens, if this piece of music doesn’t make you want to save a poor Mexican village from rampaging marauders, you must be a girl or a soccer fan. I love a score that has you subconsciously waiting for it to kick in, and when it does … cinematic perfection.

Bonus Points: James Coburn’s knife-thrower Britt, has the best line in the film, “Nobody throws me my gun and says run… Nobody,” but how many lines did he have total? And who had nearly as few?

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4. Maurice Jarre – The Professionals (1966): We just lost Maurice Jarre, but what a legacy. He might be best known for his work on “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Dr. Zhivago,” but his contribution to “The Professionals” can’t be understated. The music’s affection for Mexico is crucial in foreshadowing the story’s touching final twist and manages to convey both the Burt Lancaster character’s robust lust for life and Lee Marvin’s stoic, violent professionalism.

Bonus Points: Sorry, don’t have one. Instead, take this moment to remember the awesomeness of Lee Marvin, Woody Strode, Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, and Robert Ryan. Yes, once upon a time men made movies.

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5. Ennio Morricone – For a Few Dollars More (1965): This is the second film in the “Dollars” trilogy, and my favorite of the three. The first, “A Fistful of Dollars” is just lean and mean; the third “The Good the Bad and the Ugly,” is full out operatic; but this one is a little of both and kind of perfect that way. You can sense director Sergio Leone leading up to bigger things, finding his way into the creation of mythology that will ultimately lead to his masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Same with composer Morricone.  Confident artists, but still a raw confidence.