A Damn Fine Cup of Culture Podcast #49: The Music Makers

Bernard Hermann, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith: so many of our favourite movie moments wouldn’t be the same without their iconic soundtracks. What would Louis Malle’s Ascenseur pour l’Échafaud be without Miles Davis’ melancholy jazz trumpet? Or the title crawl of Star Wars: A New Hope without John Williams’ epic orchestral fanfare? What does music add to films that can’t be done in any other way? Can great music make a mediocre or even bad film memorable? What about films that use pre-existing music? And can there be too much of a good soundtrack? Join Julie, Matt and Sam as they discuss their favourite movie music moments!

Want to listen to the music we talked about for this episode? Check out our Footnotes post for some choice soundbites!

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The Rear-View Mirror: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

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Each Friday we travel back in time, one year at a time, for a look at some of the cultural goodies that may appear closer than they really are in The Rear-View Mirror. Join us on our weekly journey into the past!

Imagine you could create any movie. Any movie at all. A drama perhaps. It might star the inimitable James Stewart, it might have music by the masterful, the truly incredible Duke Ellington. That, to me, is Anatomy of a Murder. It happens to be a courtroom drama in the truest sense of the word. What we learn about the case (a murder and a rape), we learn through the court procedure only.

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