Mervyn Cooke provides a comprehensive and lively introduction to the major trends in film scoring from the silent era to the present day, focussing not only on dominant Hollywood practices but also offering an international perspective by including case studies of the national cinemas of the UK, France, India, Italy, Japan and the early Soviet Union. The book balances wide-ranging overviews of film genres, modes of production and critical reception with detailed non-technical descriptions of the interaction between image track and soundtrack in representative individual films. In addition to the central focus on narrative cinema, separate sections are also devoted to music in documentary and animated films, film musicals and the uses of popular and classical music in the cinema. The author analyses the varying technological and aesthetic issues that have shaped the history of film music, and concludes with an account of the modern film composer's working practices.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"As cinema's second century gathers place and the film soundtrack acquires ever greater critical respectability, the need for a good, compact, one-volume survey of its evolution from solo piano afterthought to a meticulously planned, fully integrated element as crucial to the success of a film as cinematography,lighting or direction, has become increasingly necessary. Mervyn Cooke's A History of Film Music gets magnificently close to being just such a book. ...Written in a clean, clear prose shot through with a lightly-worn, concisely-argued scholarship, this is a considerable achievement and an essential read for anyone interested in this vital and still developing genre." --Classical Music Magazine
"'Cooke hasn't written merely "a" history of film music... this will surely be "the" history of film music. ...An authoritative read, written with the cracking pace of a Bond thriller." --Classic FM Magazine
"Cooke writes accessibly yet with as much intellectual rigor on the propagandistic songs of Shostakovich as on MTV's impact on Flashdance. ....Crammed with source acknowledgement for further reading, this is nothing short of essential reading for anyone with an interest in film." --BBC Music Magazine
"Cooke has written a book useful to readers with or without musical background...they [readers] will appreciate a historical study that incorporates music and film studies and keeps the film music, not the films, its focus." --Choice
"The real charm of Mervyn Cooke's A History of Film Music, however, and one with which the reader is abundantly left, is the sheer breadth of coverage and the passion with which this coverage is conveyed. Never before has a work attempted such a wide-ranging, vivid, and well-documented sweep of film music and, for this reason among many others, it is a work thoroughly to be recommended." --Music & Letters
"'Cooke hasn't written merely "a" history of film music... this will surely be "the" history of film music. ...An authoritative read, written with the cracking pace of a Bond thriller." --Classic FM Magazine
"Cooke writes accessibly yet with as much intellectual rigor on the propagandistic songs of Shostakovich as on MTV's impact on Flashdance. ....Crammed with source acknowledgement for further reading, this is nothing short of essential reading for anyone with an interest in film." --BBC Music Magazine
"Cooke has written a book useful to readers with or without musical background...they [readers] will appreciate a historical study that incorporates music and film studies and keeps the film music, not the films, its focus." --Choice
"The real charm of Mervyn Cooke's A History of Film Music, however, and one with which the reader is abundantly left, is the sheer breadth of coverage and the passion with which this coverage is conveyed. Never before has a work attempted such a wide-ranging, vivid, and well-documented sweep of film music and, for this reason among many others, it is a work thoroughly to be recommended." --Music & Letters
Book Description
From silent cinema to the modern Hollywood blockbuster, this volume provides a comprehensive and engaging overview of the major trends in the history of film music. The first study of film scoring to present a genuinely international perspective, it is ideal for both students and film enthusiasts alike.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost too comprehensive?,
By Pecos Pete "Forever a student" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A History of Film Music (Paperback)
The passion for the subject and the depth of the research overcomes the danger of attempting to cover as much as possible on the subject (film-music history). Given two volumes it would be amazing, and perhaps then Cooke could become the first to take on the last fifteen years of history (so far too daunting for anyone it would seem). I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a broad perspective on the whole picture, which includes great coverage of film-music made in places far from Hollywood. If you are looking for a deeper look and analysis into certain aspects of the history, you might find Film Music: A History a more thoughtful read. And if its "cheap and cheerful" you want, it's hard to beat Film Music: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). If you are a film-music fan... you need them all :-)
But I'm not opinionated (no, sir).
1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A History of Film Music (Paperback)
Great book and a very good seller! Hope we meet again.
Lázaro Silva Terceira - Açores
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
Miklós Rózsa, Béla Balázs, nondiegetic film music, nondiegetic cues, classical film score, leitmotivic procedures, nondiegetic scoring, nondiegetic score, mainstream divides, stinger chords, projection venues, other film composers, electronic sonorities, diegetic performance, nondiegetic music, chamber scoring, diegetic song, compilation score, musical provision, melodramatic clichés, filmed opera, film music music, replacement score, classical arena, temp track Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Academy Award, New York, Hollywood's Golden Age, Warner Bros, Elmer Bernstein, New Hollywood, New Wave, Vaughan Williams, Los Angeles, Second World War, Star Wars, United Kingdom, George Fenton, Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, Alfred Newman, John Williams, King Kong, Once Upon, First World War, David Raksin, Twentieth Century-Fox, Bernard Herrmann, Adrian Lyne, John Huston Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Miklós Rózsa, Béla Balázs, nondiegetic film music, nondiegetic cues, classical film score, leitmotivic procedures, nondiegetic scoring, nondiegetic score, mainstream divides, stinger chords, projection venues, other film composers, electronic sonorities, diegetic performance, nondiegetic music, chamber scoring, diegetic song, compilation score, musical provision, melodramatic clichés, filmed opera, film music music, replacement score, classical arena, temp track Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Academy Award, New York, Hollywood's Golden Age, Warner Bros, Elmer Bernstein, New Hollywood, New Wave, Vaughan Williams, Los Angeles, Second World War, Star Wars, United Kingdom, George Fenton, Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, Alfred Newman, John Williams, King Kong, Once Upon, First World War, David Raksin, Twentieth Century-Fox, Bernard Herrmann, Adrian Lyne, John Huston Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
