For those not familiar, He Shoots He Scores is a fortnightly feature here at Southern Vision where I look at a great film score or soundtrack and highlight its excellence. This week’s score is The Cinematic Orchestra’s specially written soundtrack for the 1929 silent film masterpiece The Man with the Movie Camera.
Now this score is one of the best I’ve ever heard in a silent film, because it’s different to what we’re expecting. It’s modern music, slyly mixed with the sounds and feelings of industrialism and adventure that the film highlights in the 1920s. The score starts approximately four minutes into the movie and lasts the whole film, nonstop. It is sometimes soft and mournful, sometimes excited and bursting with energy. It is one of the top five film scores I’ve ever heard.
Written in 2003 for the film, the score is one of many made to complement The Man with the Movie Camera, but none of the other scores capture the vitality and movement of The Cinematic Orchestra’s. If you see the film, it is recommended you see it with this score playing (the entire film is available on YouTube with this score here).
Below I’ve included clips of various tracks from the score on YouTube. Give them a listen, and let me know what you think.
