Book Review
Jul. 25th, 2025 03:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Cambridge Companion to Film Music
edited by Mervyn Cooke and Fiona Ford
This book of essays about film music was really interesting. One of its big strengths is the breadth of films and genres it covers: everything from animated family films to Japanese noir. Although the one caveat about that breadth, also my one main gripe about the book, is that it barely steps outside American and European film making. Even in the section entitled "Music in World Cinemas", three out of the five chapters are about films from central Europe. South American and African cinema are entirely absent.
I found the chapters about spaghetti westerns and Takemitsu's scores for three Shinoda films particularly illuminating in the ways they delve into how specific motives and instrumentations work with the narrative and visuals of the films. I also liked the chapters on music in horror and science fiction films and in noir films.
edited by Mervyn Cooke and Fiona Ford
This book of essays about film music was really interesting. One of its big strengths is the breadth of films and genres it covers: everything from animated family films to Japanese noir. Although the one caveat about that breadth, also my one main gripe about the book, is that it barely steps outside American and European film making. Even in the section entitled "Music in World Cinemas", three out of the five chapters are about films from central Europe. South American and African cinema are entirely absent.
I found the chapters about spaghetti westerns and Takemitsu's scores for three Shinoda films particularly illuminating in the ways they delve into how specific motives and instrumentations work with the narrative and visuals of the films. I also liked the chapters on music in horror and science fiction films and in noir films.
