WINTER 2007
KEEPING SCORE
FEB 8-MARCH 1
Northwest Film Forum is proud to
announce a new program exploring the art of film music and commemorating
cinema's greatest scores. The first installment of KEEPING SCORE begins
with a panel discussion among contemporary film composers Steve Fisk,
Stephen Cavit and David Wingo and continues with three weeks of special
screenings celebrating the work of masters Bernard Herrmann, Ennio
Morricone and Michel Legrand. Each of these three great innovators is
represented by two films: one undisputed "hit" ("Side A") and another
whose score is often overlooked ("Side B"). Join us in examining an
important aspect of cinema and, in the process, witness some of the
greatest cinematic masterpieces of the past 50 years on glorious 35mm.
Curator: Peter Lucas Series made possible by support from the National
Endowment for the Arts and the Academy of Arts and Sciences.<
Attend all the films in KEEPING SCORE with the Series Pass: $35/$25 NWFF members
Feb 8 Thur at 8pm
FILM MUSIC PANEL DISCUSSION AND SALOON
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
KEEPING SCORE kicks off with a special evening investigating the art and craft of creating music for film. Guest composers Stephen Cavit (CHUCK & BUCK, THE GOOD GIRL), Steve Fisk (SHARDS, KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON) and David Wingo (MANIC, ALL THE REAL GIRLS) will speak about their work, process and influences. The discussion will be immediately followed by a social hour - a rare opportunity for filmmakers, composers and filmgoers to mix and mingle.
Bernard Herrmann
One of the most influential of all film composers, Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) revolutionized the relationship between music and cinema, creating atmospheres with dramatic emotional and psychological triggers rather than a string of tunes. Herrmann's filmography reads like a list of cinema's great masterpieces, beginning with CITIZEN KANE in 1941, when the composer was just 30 and ending with TAXI DRIVER, completed just before his death in 1975. Herrmann scored films by Orson Welles, Robert Wise, Nicholas Ray, Raoul Walsh, Francois Truffaut, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese. However, he is most often associated with Alfred Hitchcock, for whom he created his most memorable scores.
FEB 14-15 Wed-Thurs at 6:30pm
BERNARD HERRMANN
Side A: VERTIGO
(Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1958, 35mm, 129 min.)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Hitchcock's classic psychological thriller stars James Stewart as a policeman whose fear of heights prevents him from saving his love, Madeline, and whose obsession with the uncannily similar Judy eventually leads to unavoidable tragedy. From the suspenseful opening prelude, Herrmann's score perfectly conjures the spiraling vortex of the lead character's fears, obsessions and despair with a haunting and hypnotic use of thirds in a parallel series of notes. It's a mark of Hitchcock's trust in his composer that VERTIGO, their fourth collaboration, contains more music than spoken dialogue.
FEB 14-15 Wed-Thurs at 9:30pm
BERNARD HERRMANN
Side B: ON DANGEROUS GROUND
(1952, Nicholas Ray, Ida Lupino, USA, 82 minutes)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Following a decade of scoring mainly drama and fantasy films, this 1952 film noir thriller was Bernard Herrmann's only effort in the genre and his first full action/thriller score. The film takes a turn from usual noir motifs, exploring the psychology of a bitter and violent New York City cop and the duality of life. Herrmann's bold score signaled a change in his approach to more ferocious mounting of tension and peril, and laid the foundations for his later, more famous scores.
Ennio Morricone
Italian composer Ennio Morricone (1928-) has scored over 300 films since the early 1960s. He has worked with such notable filmmakers as Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Gillo Pontecorvo, Dario Argento, Terrence Malick, Roland Joffe and Brian De Palma. Morricone is most often associated with Italian director Sergio Leone, for whom he created six scores, beginning with the landmark MAN WITH NO NAME trilogy of westerns. Morricone's inventive instrumentation has included the use of electric guitars, harmonicas, wooden flutes, percussive sounds (church bells, cracking bullwhips, gunshots) and unusual vocal parts (chants, whistles, hums, yells) within orchestral scores.
FEB 21-22 Wed-Thurs at 6:15pm
ENNIO MORRICONE
Side A: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
(Sergio Leone, Italy/Spain, 1966, 35mm, 179 min.)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The third collaboration between Morricone and director Sergio Leone, and the final (and best) chapter in Leone's trilogy of stylish and cynical westerns, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is an epic scramble for buried gold starring Clint Eastwood (the good), Lee Van Cleef (the bad) and Eli Wallach (the ugly). The film's influential score incorporates electric guitar, wood flute, and harmonica with vocal singing, whistling and yells. Inspired by the sound of a coyote call, Morricone created the theme's famous vocal ("ah-yee-ah-yee-aaah") to introduce each of the three main characters as "solitary animals."
FEB 21-22 Wed-Thurs at 9:30pm
ENNIO MORRICONE
Side B: THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
(Gillo Pontecorvo, Algeria/Italy, 1966, 35mm, 121 min.)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The first of two films Morricone scored for the late director Gillo Pontecorvo, THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS is one of the most influential political films in history. It vividly recreates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. Shot documentary style in the streets of Algiers, the film is a case study in modern warfare. Morricone worked with Pontecorvo to create the film's striking score, one of his most impressive. The score's propulsive theme, with trident percussion and bass staccato chords, heightens the tension and power of this masterpiece.
MICHEL LEGRAND
Winner of three Academy Awards, French pianist and composer Michel Legrand (1932-) has scored over 200 films since the late 1950s and is still active in composing for the big screen. His music mixes elements of classical, jazz and popular music and often features dazzling and elegant orchestrations. Legrand has collaborated closely with nouvelle vague filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, as well such directors as Joseph Losey, Richard Brooks, Claude Lelouch, Norman Jewison and Clint Eastwood.
FEB 28-MARCH 1 Wed-Thurs at 7pm
MICHEL LEGRAND
Side A: THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG
(Jacques Demy, France/West Germany, 1964, 91 min.)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Jacques Demy's THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG is an enchanting, romantic movie operetta in which every line of dialogue is sung to the melodies of Legrand's score. The film stars Catherine Deneuve as a young woman in love with a mechanic named Guy (Nino Castelnuovo). After Guy is drafted and sent off to Algeria, she discovers that she is pregnant. Legrand's music, modeled around the patterns of everyday conversation, changes key and tempo according to the story. One of his many collaborations with Demy, this unique pop-art opera won the Cannes Palme d'Or and brought Legrand his first real recognition on the international stage.
FEB 28-MARCH 1 Wed-Thurs at 9pm
MICHEL LEGRAND
Side B: CLEO FROM 5 TO 7
(Agnes Varda, France/Italy, 1961, 90 min.)
Sponsored by Easy Street Records, Scarecrow Video and KEXP with support from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Director Agnes Varda's second feature film details, in near real time, two vivacious and harrowing hours in the life of young pop singer Cleo (Corinne Marchand) as she awaits the results of a medical test confirming whether or not she has cancer. She spends the late afternoon weaving through the streets of Paris, struggling with her fears and shortcomings, and ultimately finding hope in a chance meeting with a young soldier. Legrand worked with Varda to create a score that perfectly expresses the singer's journey, and Legrand himself appears in the film as Cleo's pianist and composer.
