JAMES HORNER FILM MUSIC

STANDOUT SET PIECES #8: BUILDING TENSION

James Horner always focused on story and especially character. Famously (within the Horner community at least), he once stated in the context of his two Star Trek scores that it was always about Spock and Kirk and … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #7: COCOON’S THIRD ACT

0. Bringing you up to speed and architecture of the score This seventh episode in the Standout Set Piece series is a bit different, as it will not concern itself exclusively with one standout cue. Even though this article will … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #6: THE THIRD ACT FROM HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG

6.0 Bringing you up to speed

Spoiler alert: since the focus of this article is the music James Horner wrote for the movie’s concluding third act, everything down to the third-act twists is … Read More

JAMES HORNER’S PLACE IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

0 Introduction and terminology

James Horner was one of film music’s greats. Understanding his talent requires thorough study of what made him an outstanding and influential individual composer, but also of the changing landscape of film music itself. … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #5: THE RIVER CROSSING TO STALINGRAD FROM ENEMY AT THE GATES

0 Bringing you up to speed In early 1943, Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich is at the height of its power. The dark spill of Nazi domination is spreading to the farthest reaches of Europe, although in the east, it meets … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #4: PROJECT X (1987)

4.0 Bringing you up to speed In his eye-opening book Save The Cat, screenwriter Blake Snyder reveals the structure of the standard Hollywood screenplay: a three-act story with fifteen different “beats”. It’s important to realize that Snyder didn’t invent anything, … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #3: COMING HOME FROM THE SEA (THE PERFECT STORM)

3.0 Bringing you up to speed Reportedly, James Horner really wanted this assignment, and for good reason, because The Perfect Storm (2000) offered him the kind of canvas he liked to work on: it’s chockful of action sequences big and … Read More

COLLAGE – THE LAST WORK

Collage – The Last Work is a James Horner compilation album that you’ll definitely want to listen to – and will revisit time and again. It not only presents the concert piece that lends the album its … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #2: ELORA DANAN FROM WILLOW

“It is a time of dread… Seers have foretold the birth of a child who will bring about the downfall of the powerful queen Bavmorda. Seizing all pregnant women in the realm, the evil queen vows to destroy the child … Read More

STANDOUT SET PIECES #1: THE LAUNCH FROM APOLLO 13

Scoring the moment refers to the practice of just trying to make the most out of individual scenes. Far too many film composers do it and incompetent directors love it (mostly because many of them wouldn’t know how else to … Read More