Analysis Of George Miller 's ' Mad Max '

As time goes on, history has a way of getting distorted from its most truthful form. Time causes people to drift away from accuracy and become more interested in what they want to remember. Hollywood has a reputation of creating films that cater more to the average viewer, rather than the history buff. Inglorious Basterds, by Quentin Taratino, take very liberal liberty with a history story, and creates a story that will sell to the crowd. This may seem dubious, but it is often not such a bad thing. Hollywood can take a story that may have one connotation, may it be serious or dreary, and turn it into something that evokes different emotions, will still addressing historical issues or topics. Taratino chooses to film a movie of this type

Pablo Escobar has been a popular topic lately. From ‘Narcos’ on Netflix to Andrea’s Di Stefano’s underrated ‘Escobar Paradise Lost,’ cocaine and greed can’t get anymore bombastic in the entertainment zeitgeist. Yet with director Brad Furman’s (The Lincoln Lawyer), The Infiltrator, the infamous Columbian drug load plays only second to agent Robert Mazur (played wonderfully by Bryan Cranston), the man who brings down the world’s largest cartel. It’s a refreshing angle on the subject matter with stellar performances (most notably John Leguizamo’s radically different and award-worthy role) to match. Yet, one of the biggest highlights of the film is that of film composer Chris Hajian’s (First Position, Yonkers Joe, The Take) score. Hajian manages to keep the film’s music subtle, but with gravitas to capture the heaviness of the situation at bay. It plays to the trend of synth percussion, a popular sensation seen everywhere from Cliff Martinez’s score in Drive to Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of Stranger Things. Sure it plays to the trend, but doesn’t get lost in it. Hijian has the ear to work with modern sound, but keeps disciplined by incorporating instrumental sounds that grounds the film, but at the same time keeps it constantly moving. Check out track “I’m Being Followed,” to hear the complexity of modern synth, layered with piano. Recently I got the chance to sit down and interview Chris Hajian. Read below to

Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film production of the Anthony Burgess novel, A Clockwork Orange, is a truly unforgettable film.  It is narrated by one of the most vicious characters ever put on screen, Alex DeLarge.  The promotional poster for the film advertised it as "The adventures of a young man whose principle interests are rape, ultra-violence, and Beethoven" (Dirks 1).  Needless to say, music plays a very important role in A Clockwork Orange.  The expressive use of music in this film gives the viewer a look into the psyche of the vicious Alex, a psyche that equates violence with art.  By doing so, the film shows us the complexity and duality of the human mind through a character who loves both

The way in which composers convey their ideas is dependent on their use of distinctive visuals. Amanda Lohrey’s “Vertigo”, Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” and Bruce Dawe’s “Homecoming” show how the composers use the distinctively visual concept to portray a greater understanding to the audience of the themes and ideas presented in their work.

In the movie he used music to create suspense. Like when something bad was about to

Most people have heard his musical scores in famous movies and movie series such as Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter, and Star Wars, but many people don’t know the composer behind the movies’ masterful scores. John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932 in Queens, New York to John and Esther Williams. With a father who was a percussionist for the CBS radio orchestra, Williams was exposed to music from a young age. As a child, he studied piano, trumpet, trombone, and clarinet. Williams and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1948 where he briefly studied music composition at the University of California. In 1951, Williams was drafted into the United States Air Force during the Korean War. During his service in the

Who is Richard Wagner? Who is John Williams? How did Richard Wagner influence John Williams? What is leitmotif and how did both of these men use the idea of leitmotif? In this paper I am going to talk about whom these men are and what advancements they brought to their era of composition.

Howard Shore has made many contributions to the film and the music industry, the most well-known being the “Lord of the Rings”. The Lord of the Rings really kicked off Shore’s successful music career in 2001. Shore’s main music “practice” was improvisation, which was a main ideal at Berklee College.

In the films Mad Max and Wall-E, a post apocalyptic world is featured in which earth is in a deadly waste land and is dependent of some type of balance to be restored. In Wall-E earth is incapable of living upon for humans and any other living species due to decades of consumerism causing the humans to venture of on a ship into space to live their lives off of nothing but technology. While the humans await in space female based robots are sent to earth to find any possible living plant so that humans can recolonize back on earth. The film Mad Max is similar to Wall-E but their post apocalyptic world has a energy crisis that puts everyone in a battle for natural resources. Essentially men are in control of these worlds and seem to be the cause for the destruction in each of these films as the women are seen closer to nature and ultimately are the solution to restore order back into the society and take the lead while the male figures are challenged in taking a different role then being the lead savior

6. Herrmann turned an orchestra into the sound of a giant buzzing machine in the movie Mysterious Island by utilizing tremolos in the string section, rapid trills in the woodwinds and flutter-tonguing by the brass instruments.

and beats. The guitars and drums that were used, give the song a dramatic rock vibe. According

A common theme in many post-apocalyptic films, is that of technology being the cause of the event that formed the post-apocalyptic world, or else have, “the apocalyptic catastrophe often destroy the technology and infrastructures of the modern world” (Harris, 2016, pp.14). Whilst most technology in Mad Max 2 is non-existence, the emphasis on vehicles differs Mad Max 2 from other films in the post-apocalyptic genre, instead showing the power of technology as those with cars and the skills to drive them, give them an advantage over those without, along with the necessities of survival. “The themes of Road Warrior are fundamentally based on…technological might overcoming ugly savagery.” (Harris, 2016,

Another aspect of sound in this film was how it affected the story. By using sound dramatically in certain parts and not using it at all in other parts, sound gave this story an entity of its own. For example, during long stretches of film with mostly dialogue, there was no music played in the background, only a phone ringing in the distance, or the men's voices during their deliberation. These long silences also took place during editing shots of the town and images that surrounded this German city. This dramatic difference in sound was a revelation of how mood can be made by images and sound put together to make an incredible component.

While well-crafted sound design and sound effects are so very necessary in the creation of a film, music touches the emotion, the psyche, and the things you cannot see. Sound design and effects don’t do this nearly as efficiently and naturally. Without music it would be much more difficult to follow the emotional ups and downs of a film. (Freer)

Music can be extraordinarily influential in films, as it has the ability to evoke emotion not displayed by on-screen action. Music used in films can play many roles; it can depict time and place, mood, atmosphere, character, and can be used to underscore the onscreen drama and titles. Alan Silvestri and John Williams successfully manipulate the use of music in film to establish characters (along with their personality, actions and changing emotions), as well as underscore the mood for the entirety of their given films. The contrasts of Silvestri’s “The Feather Theme” with Williams’ “Batman Theme” exemplify the power of music in film.