Top 15 Scores/Soundtracks of 2014

Jerry Goldsmith, PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Nominee for Best Original Score for a Motion Picture

By Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson

As 2014 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the best movie music from this past year. The backbone of any movie, audiences heard rocket engines roar, traveled through LEGO worlds and made spiritual connections all thanks to the musical vision of the composer.

In a mix that was soulful, haunting and fun, this year’s soundtracks covered a range of emotions, from light to dark, to atmospheric and assaultive.

Our Top 15 scores wouldn’t be complete without an honorable mention…

Michael Giacchino – DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

The story about the birth of a civilization and “restart” for the planet Earth was no more prevalent than with the emotional reality of composer Michael Giacchino’s score. Director Matt Reeves’ sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes found its musical language through the empathetic sounds of the apes in the environment Caesar has created for them.

1. Hans Zimmer – INTERSTELLAR

Making his fifth collaboration with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, composer Hans Zimmer steered clear of any musical expressions he’d explored in the past with the director, and invented a whole new palette for the film with the earthy yet elevating notes of an organ.

We went for a spectacular adventure on a journey into the universe and Zimmer’s score gave humanity’s mission to the stars a very primeval quality.

2. Alexandre Desplat – THE IMITATION GAME, GODZILLA and THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Three of the best scores this year, six-time Academy Award Nominee Alexandre Desplat’s music was heard by audiences throughout 2014.

Desplat developed one of his most unusual scores for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL – one played entirely without traditional orchestral instruments. Instead, he brought in a host of Central European instruments, including balalaikas and the cimbalom, a type of hammered dulcimer common to Eastern European gypsy music.

With THE IMITATION GAME, the composer took us to the Bletchley Park codebreaking centre and inside the Enigma machine. Desplat may see his first Oscar win with his beautiful score to the Alan Turing biopic.

Listen on SoundCloud HERE.

Lastly with the great force of GODZILLA propelling the action and keeping the tension high, Desplat made a big sonic impact with the music. “I’ve never done a monster movie before, so coming to this with more than a hundred musicians—double brass, double horns—allowed me to open the frame of my imagination to another territory, and that’s very exciting.”

3. Jóhann Jóhannsson – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Filled with a charming score, composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s music for director James Marsh’s THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING was a mix of orchestral instruments and synthesized sounds giving the story of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde an ethereal, lovely sound.

Read our interview with Jóhannsson HERE.

4. Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor – GONE GIRL

David Fincher returned again to work with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) for the surging undertow to GONE GIRL.

Trent Reznor said, “In terms of the palette of sounds what’s unique on this one is that we used a more organic, less synthetic soundscape. We didn’t want it to feel too slick so we used a lot of interesting homemade equipment. There are moments where the rhythm is just me tapping on a wooden box so it feels repetitive but drifts around a bit like a human heartbeat.”

5. Antonio Sánchez – BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

Drums, cymbals, sticks, mallets and rods were used for the percussion heavy score in director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance. Four-time Grammy Award winner and composer Antonio Sanchez effectively sets the pace and rhythm to convey Riggan Thomson’s (Michael Keaton) tonal tightrope between comedy and pathos, illusion and reality.

Read our interview with Sánchez HERE.

6. John Powell – HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

Composer John Powell’s fantastic soundtrack on HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 was filled with emotional triumphant orchestral pieces and a resounding chorus making it one of our favorites scores of the year.

Read our interview with Powell HERE.

Listen on SoundCloud HERE.

7. Henry Jackman – BIG HERO 6, THE INTERVIEW and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Jackman had three big scores in 2014.

He composed a grandiose action score for North Korea’s favorite film – THE INTERVIEW. While building on his previous collaboration with Evan Golderberg and Seth Rogen on THIS IS THE END, Jackman scored the film as if it were a classic action-blockbuster to ground the film’s comedic moments. Jackman also created a score that celebrated the comic-book style action of BIG HERO 6, while weaving in the original music from American rock band Fall Out Boy.

But none was more epic than Jackman’s contemporary take on his superhero score for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. Up next for Jackman is Kingsman: Secret Service and Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.

Read our interview with Jackman HERE.

8. Steven Price – FURY

Just as Price did on his Oscar-winning score for GRAVITY, where the sounds of radio waves were incorporated into the score, the British composer was able to find a distinctive voice for the music of FURY by using unusual and unconventional instruments in a fusion with the orchestral, choral and solo writing featured throughout. The daunting sounds put the audience inside the WWII tanks alongside Brad Pitt and his crew.

Read our interview with Price HERE.

9. Marco Beltrami – THE HOMESMAN

Marco Beltrami’ s created a rustic sounding landscape in director Tommy Lee Jones’ THE HOMESMAN. Alongside his work on SNOWPIERCER, THE GIVER and THE NOVEMBER MAN in 2014, the Oscar-nominated composer’s score for THE HOMESMAN evoked the desolation of the homesteaders by drawing out the essence of the wind with an innovative wind piano that contained 175 feet long wires.

Read our interview with Beltrami HERE.

10. James Newton Howard – MALEFICENT and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1

The sweeping emotions and volatile moods of THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 and MALEFICENT are evoked not only in the performances and visual designs but in the music, which once again is driven by an original orchestral score from eight time Oscar nominee James Newton Howard. The music for both films cover the whole breadth of experience from scenes of epic action to moments of epic heartache and intimate poignancy.

Howard also composed the score for Dan Gilroy’s NIGHTCRAWLER and Edward Zwick’s PAWN SACRIFICE.

11. Hanan Townshend – THE BETTER ANGELS

Directed by A.J. Edwards, executive produced by Terrence Malick with a beautiful score by Hanan Townshend (TO THE WONDER), THE BETTER ANGELS music took a poetic approach to Abraham Lincoln’s childhood in the harsh wilderness of Indiana.

12. EDGE OF TOMORROW – Christophe Beck

The composer created a score that captured the suspense, the action and the fun of Cage (Tom Cruise) and Rita’s (Emily Blunt) extraordinary journey in director Doug Liman’s awesome EDGE OF TOMORROW.

Read our interview with Beck HERE.

13. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – Tyler Bates

Combining a rich orchestral score with familiar rock tunes, composer Tyler Bates’ score for director James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY was one of the most popular of the year.

The soundtrack featured classic 1970s songs like Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc, Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love,” and The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.”

Bates also composed the score for the heart-pounding revenge thriller JOHN WICK starring Keanu Reeves.

Read our interview with Bates HERE.

14. A MOST VIOLENT YEAR – Alex Ebert

Another beautiful score from composer Alex Ebert (ALL IS LOST), the haunting music for director J.C. Chandor’s A MOST VIOLENT YEAR transported audiences into the treacherous yet stunning landscape of NYC, 1981. Ebert’s score uses piano, synth, and percussion to capture the tension and emotional pressure faced by Oscar Isaac’s Abel Morales, as he fights to protect his business and family.

Displaying his versatility, Ebert also recently composed the score for Disney’s animated short FEAST, which is currently being shown in theaters prior to BIG HERO 6.

A Most Violent Year (Original Music From and Inspired By) by Alex Ebert by Nyc1981 on Mixcloud

15. THE LEGO MOVIE – Mark Mothersbaugh

Brick by Brick, composer Mark Mothersbaugh’s fun score for THE LEGO MOVIE

Filmgoers went along for the hilarious ride with Emmet, Wyldstyle, Vitruvius, Lord Business, Unikitty, Batman, Benny the Spaceman and Bad Cop/Good Cop and it truly was the most AWESOME time at a movie theater this year!

Read our interview with Mothersbaugh HERE.

Listen as The Hollywood Reporter discusses with Marco Beltrami (The Homesman), Danny Elfman (Big Eyes), John Powell (How To Train Your Dragon 2), Trent Reznor (Gone Girl) and Hans Zimmer (Interstellar) the process behind scoring the top films of the year.

The Academy Presenting First-Ever “Oscar Concert” Celebrating Nominated Scores and Songs February 27

For the first time as part of its annual Oscar Week events, the Academy will present a live “Oscar Concert” celebrating this year’s nominated scores and songs on Thursday, February 27, at 8 p.m. at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

The program features an 80-piece orchestra performing suites from each of the nominated original scores, conducted by their composers.

They include:

William Butler and Owen Pallett, “Her”

Alexandre Desplat, “Philomena”

Thomas Newman, “Saving Mr. Banks”

Steven Price, “Gravity”

John Williams, “The Book Thief”

Prior to each piece, the respective composers will participate in a brief onstage conversation with film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell about creating their scores.

The concert also will feature this year’s nominated original songs, including “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” performed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” performed by Jill Scott. Other special performers and guests will be announced on www.oscars.org.

Tickets are $100 and $75 and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center.

PHILOMENA, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, GRAVITY, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Among Scores In Contention For Oscar

One hundred fourteen scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2013 will be vying for nominations in the Original Score category for the 86th Oscars®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.

Nomination voting in all Oscar categories begins Friday, December 27 and ends Wednesday, January 8.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

      “Admission,” Stephen Trask, composer
      “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Daniel Hart, composer
      “All Is Lost,” Alex Ebert, composer
      “Alone Yet Not Alone,” William Ross, composer
      “The Armstrong Lie,” David Kahne, composer
      “Arthur Newman,” Nick Urata, composer
      “At Any Price,” Dickon Hinchliffe, composer
      “Austenland,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      “Before Midnight,” Graham Reynolds, composer
      “The Best Man Holiday,” Stanley Clarke, composer
      “The Book Thief,” John Williams, composer
      “The Butterfly’s Dream,” Rahman Altin, composer
      “The Call,” John Debney, composer
      “Captain Phillips,” Henry Jackman, composer
      “Closed Circuit,” Joby Talbot, composer
      “The Company You Keep,” Cliff Martinez, composer
      “The Conjuring,” Joseph Bishara, composer
      “Copperhead,” Laurent Eyquem, composer
      “The Counselor,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
      “The Croods,” Alan Silvestri, composer
      “Despicable Me 2,” Heitor Pereira, composer
      “Elysium,” Ryan Amon, composer
      “Ender’s Game,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
      “Enough Said,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
      “Epic,” Danny Elfman, composer
      “Ernest & Celestine,” Vincent Courtois, composer
      “Escape from Planet Earth,” Aaron Zigman, composer
      “Escape from Tomorrow,” Abel Korzeniowski, composer
      “Evil Dead,” Roque Baños, composer
      “47 Ronin,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      “42,” Mark Isham, composer
      “Free Birds,” Dominic Lewis, composer
      “Free China: The Courage to Believe,” Tony Chen, composer
      “Fruitvale Station,” Ludwig Goransson, composer
      “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” Henry Jackman, composer
      “Gangster Squad,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
      “Gravity,” Steven Price, composer
      “The Great Gatsby,” Craig Armstrong, composer
      “The Hangover Part III,” Christophe Beck, composer
      “Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters,” Atli Örvarsson, composer
      “Haute Cuisine,” Gabriel Yared, composer
      “Her,” William Butler and Owen Pallett, composers
      “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Howard Shore, composer
      “Hollywood Seagull,” Evgeny Shchukin, composer
      “Hours,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer
      “How Sweet It Is,” Matt Dahan, composer
      “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” James Newton Howard, composer
      “Identity Thief,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
      “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” Lyle Workman, composer
      “Insidious: Chapter 2,” Joseph Bishara, composer
      “Instructions Not Included,” Carlo Siliotto, composer
      “The Internship,” Christophe Beck, composer
      “The Invisible Woman,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      “Iron Man 3,” Brian Tyler, composer
      “Jack the Giant Slayer,” John Ottman, composer
      “Jobs,” John Debney, composer
      “Kamasutra 3D,” Sreejith Edavana and Saachin Raj Chelory, composers
      “Labor Day,” Rolfe Kent, composer
      “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” Rodrigo Leão, composer
      “Live at the Foxes Den,” Jack Holmes, composer
      “Love Is All You Need,” Johan Söderqvist, composer
      “Mama,” Fernando Velázquez, composer
      “Man of Steel,” Hans Zimmer, composer
      “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” Alex Heffes, composer
      “The Missing Picture,” Marc Marder, composer
      “Monsters University,” Randy Newman, composer
      “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” Atli Örvarsson, composer
      “Mud,” David Wingo, composer
      “Murph: The Protector,” Chris Irwin and Jeff Widenhofer, composers
      “Now You See Me,” Brian Tyler, composer
      “Oblivion,” Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese, composers
      “Oldboy,” Roque Baños, composer
      “Olympus Has Fallen,” Trevor Morris, composer
      “Oz The Great and Powerful,” Danny Elfman, composer
      “Pacific Rim,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
      “Pain & Gain,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
      “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” Andrew Lockington, composer
      “Philomena,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
      “The Place beyond the Pines,” Mike Patton, composer
      “Planes,” Mark Mancina, composer
      “Prisoners,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
      “R.I.P.D.,” Christophe Beck, composer
      “Reaching for the Moon,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
      “Romeo & Juliet,” Abel Korzeniowski, composer
      “Runner Runner,” Christophe Beck, composer
      “Rush,” Hans Zimmer, composer
      “Safe Haven,” Deborah Lurie, composer
      “Salinger,” Lorne Balfe, composer
      “Saving Mr. Banks,” Thomas Newman, composer
      “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
      “Short Term 12,” Joel P. West, composer
      “Side Effects,” Thomas Newman, composer
      “The Smurfs 2,” Heitor Pereira, composer
      “The Spectacular Now,” Rob Simonsen, composer
      “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Michael Giacchino, composer
      “Stoker,” Clint Mansell, composer
      “Thor: The Dark World,” Brian Tyler, composer
      “Tim’s Vermeer,” Conrad Pope, composer
      “Trance,” Rick Smith, composer
      “Turbo,” Henry Jackman, composer
      “12 Years a Slave,” Hans Zimmer, composer
      “2 Guns,” Clinton Shorter, composer
      “The Ultimate Life,” Mark McKenzie, composer
      “Unfinished Song,” Laura Rossi, composer
      “Wadjda,” Max Richter, composer
      “Walking with Dinosaurs,” Paul Leonard-Morgan, composer
      “Warm Bodies,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
      “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” Will Bates, composer
      “We’re the Millers,” Theodore Shapiro and Ludwig Goransson, composers
      “What Maisie Knew,” Nick Urata, composer
      “Why We Ride,” Steven Gutheinz, composer
      “The Wind Rises,” Joe Hisaishi, composer
      “Winnie Mandela,” Laurent Eyquem, composer
      “The Wolverine,” Marco Beltrami, composer

To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.

See the rules HERE.

The Oscar for Best Original Score at the 85th Academy Awards went to Mychael Danna for LIFE OF PI.

The 86th Academy Awards® nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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I Heart Horror: Scores

Hello fiends! Miss me? Awww…stop it now. I’m back this week to talk about film scores in the genre I love. They are iconic. This is a known fact. Even people that aren’t familiar with the genre as much as film geeks are know when they are hearing the music that was designed to creep them out. I recall a couple of years back on my normal weekly visits to Best Buy, I would go to the keyboard section and play Carpenter’s simplistic, but effective, theme from ‘Halloween’. Most people knew what film it was from and would comment on how it creeped them out. Hell, sometimes I would get a story out of it from a random stranger. With the horror genre, the score and themes of a film are a character. It can set the mood or just have a catchy melody or just put you in an eerie state. Think about it. Everyone knows the ‘Friday the 13th’ theme. Well, at least the CHIC CHIC CHIC…KA KA KA part.

In the horror genre, the musical accompaniment is broken down into simple devices that I have coined the following:
“The Stinger” (a.k.a. The Cat out of Nowhere)
“The Mood Establisher”
“The ‘Oh Shit, something’s about to happen!’ Buildup”

All of these are in every slasher film and, since Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’, have laid the blueprint for any horror film score. I’m not saying that ‘Halloween’ was the origin, but it’s best example I can give to explain this to you, loyal reader.

“The Stinger” is usually used more as a sound effect to accompany an action on screen. It is devised to be a discordant sound to give you a jolt and is usually a different noise in tone than the non-main score – also known as “The Mood Establisher”. “The Stinger” stands out. In Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’, we hear it when Michael Myers walks into frame without the characters knowing or when he attacks. In other films, it could be notes we hear after a lead up to an actual threat to the character on the screen – “The ‘Oh Shit, something’s about to happen!’ Buildup”. Lately, it leads up to a “Jump Scare” or a “Fake Scare” – Hence the a.k.a. “Cat out of Nowhere” subtitle (Horror Fans know what I mean).

“The Mood Establisher”is the theme that may or may not harken back to the melody or notes of the main theme. Obviously, this is created to establish mood. Visuals alone can do this, but it is very rare. To take you out of the ‘Halloween’ environment, let me hit you with a different film that is very reliant on it’s score. ‘Jaws’ probably wouldn’t be as scary if it didn’t have the Shark Theme – DUH, DUM. DUH, DUM. When you hear that, if you are in the water…you will probably jump out. You know that shit is about to go down. When you feel that way, I think the Mood is established.

“The ‘Oh Shit, something’s about to happen!’ Buildup” – this is one that can be a crescendo of notes that build up to an action with no musical accompaniment or, one that leads up to “The Stinger”. I have seen this used a couple of ways. It can either lead you down a dangerous path to only have the “Fake Scare” or it can be used to put your senses in check and make you feel unsafe. If the film establishes this theme early on and sticks to the conventional method of delivering a genuine scare or kill at the end of this buildup, when the audiences hears it again, it will bring them back to that previous mindset.

In this new generation of horror, the groundwork that was laid by composers like Manfredini (‘Friday the 13th’), Carpenter, and others is being turned upside down. Some horror films are keeping the score back and pushing the sound design forward. Granted, this isn’t anything new either. Sound Design is also a character and some might say it deserves the same character grouping as the musical themes. With Sound Design, you are creating a virtual environment. One of the best examples I have seen – or heard – would be Neil Marshall’s ‘The Descent’. It even got to a point where I wouldn’t let anyone borrow my R2 DVD to see it in advance prior to it’s US release unless they had 5.1. Why? Imagine the score of ‘Halloween’ not being in the film, that is how ‘The Descent’ would feel. It is set in a dark environment and when our brains cannot process anything visual, our hearing sense is heightened. 5.1 creates a three dimensional environment and with a film like ‘The Descent’, it is essential.

Some composers have experimented with infrasound to actually cause a physical feeling to the audience. Probably the most publicized example of this is not neccessarily a textbook horror film, but one that many horror genre fans know of. That film is Gasper NoÃ©’s ‘IrrÃ©versible’. Thomas Bangalter, one half of the group Daft Punk, created tones to accompany the buildup to one the film’s controversial scenes. With NoÃ©’s dizzying visuals of what can simply be called a “out of control floating camera”, Bangalter had a tone lying secretly under a synth melody throughout this sequence. The tone was reported to be 28Hz. The frequency has been reported to cause nausea, sickness and vertigo. To me, it just kept me uneasy. When you watch the film, the visuals don’t help either. Your eyes are trying to adapt to an dark environment that we keep getting glimpses of red. It is a sensory assault and that is why it works so well.

Music and Sound Design is a character. In the horror genre, it is as important, if not more important, than the antagonist of any horror film you are watching. Now, buy a 5.1 system, you are missing out!

Horror News:

Before you see the remake, 1987’s ‘The Stepfather’ will be hitting the DVD shelves via Shout Factory! on October 13th! The original stars Terry O’ Quinn (Locke from ‘Lost’) in the title role.
Speaking of 1987, ‘The Gate’ is being remade by Alex Winter – Director of ‘Freaked’ and Bill from the ‘Bill and Ted’ films. Production is set to start later this Summer.

Horror DVD & Blu-Ray Releases for Next Week:

”[REC] is the film that floored Spanish Audiences and spawn the remake, not inspiration in my opinion, of ‘Quarantine’. It is obvious that Sony bought the rights for it and held it back from being released until they made full bank on their regurgatation. Oh, did I say that… A film that needs 5.1 as well, it was one of the most tense films since ‘Inside’. Highly Recommended – preferably before you see ‘Quarantine’.

The Haunting In Connecticut (Lionsgate) – imdb | Single-Disc , Unrated , Blu-Ray
Horsemen (Lionsgate) – imdb|amazon
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Blu-ray (Sony) – imdb|amazon

AdiÃ³s!

[Andy Triefenbach is the host of the horror & cult movie podcast – DESTROY THE BRAIN! – which is available online at http://www.destroythebrainonline.com]

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