The Choice of Music in Any Film and the Meanings of the Actions Performed in the Film - Research Paper Example

Introduction. Films today are a part of everyday life; it is a process that has taken many years to get to where it is today. The films we watch everyday are very much significant to our lives. Thrilling moments created in the films always have resounding effects in our lives. Such moments are those that are able to attract our concentration through the actions performed complemented by well refined production and directive skills. Music in film forms an integral part of film making. Music in a film can be used to achieve different objectives depending on the ensuing scenes and the particular director and producer involved in the film production (Anderson, 1997:4; Neumeyer & Cox, 1992,). During the early period of cinematic action in films was bare without any accompaniment of music or the new strategies of directing and production present in films since the 1930’s. It was earlier argued that the viewers’ attention was to be fully focused on the actions on the film, rather than be distracted by the accompaniment of the stage action. However with time as opera music took a center stage in cinema, music became a big part of film art (Neumeyer & Cox, 1992). With time people came to realize that theatre and film action was spiced up, enhanced and corrected by background music in performances (Anderson, 1997:4). This is why today any work in theatre and the film industry use music to achieve the required level of satisfaction for the viewers (Gabrielson, 2006; Gardner, 2003). This paper is going to revisit the functions played by music in two different films; with respect to how music plays different roles in scenes within the two films and how it changes the course of actions within the films. The most appropriate films to analyze the role of music in films are, The Pianist and The GodFather (1972). The two films despite representing the general theme of moral decadence are good illustrations of how music can be used to achieve different objectives in a film. The two films are stories of two different men faced with different situations and circumstances that transform them. In The GodFather, we see the transformation of Michael Corleone from a law abiding, the former decorated war hero turned civilian to a ruthless mafia boss. Different circumstances in the underworld mafia crime transform Michael from the nearly naïve young man into a ruthless beast in charge of the largest mafia family in the United States, probably in the whole world. In the Pianist, the horror story of the Nazi holocaust is told through the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman. He is a polish-Jewish Pianist cum composer trapped in the evil objective of the Nazi manifesto to degrade the Jewish people of the world (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). Music in both films is used to achieve different emotions to viewers in order to convey different messages to them. While “The Pianist” starts with a low note of the piano The GodFather begins in the center of the underworld which is Don Corleone’s office as he listens to requests in his role as The GodFather; the leader of the crime world. Dressed in a dark suit and a white shirt The GodFather epitomizes the cadre of his profession which is raw crime. Outside the dark tense office of Don Corleone there is an ongoing wedding full of pomp and music; it is the wedding of his only daughter. This is meant from the onset to show the two different worlds in a mafia family. While the women and the children are spared the intricacies of mafia operations the men such as Sony and his father are the kingpins of the underworld. The Pianist begins in the streets of Warsaw in 1939 at the onset of the world war. Szpilman is behind his keyboard in the studios of the polish state radio playing Chopin 's Nocturne in C-sharp minor Lento con gran espressione. The calm composition signifies the pieced prevailing in Warsaw before it is attacked by the Nazi thugs. As Szilpman plays the piano the first sounds of the raging war outside are heard presumably from the window behind his producer in the studio. This scenario shows how war encroaches on the normal lives of the common citizen. Peace mainly associated with prosperity as seen in the polish radio studio is easily disrupted by raging bombs and mortar fire. Within a few minutes the piano the slow, calm rhythm of the piano is eaten away by the sounds of the war outside. Attempts by The Pianist to continue; playing are thwarted by debris from a wall, probably caused by a Nazi bomb. People who earlier were continuing with their day to day activities are forced to flee their areas of work signifying the start of bad days ahead. Music as seen at the start of the two films is used to show different agendas. In The GodFather music signifies pomp and luxury probably acquired from dirty crime money. Music in the beginning of the Pianist signifies the calm and normality before the attack of Poland. War transforms Warsaw into a city of mayhem and chaos right from its onset (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). Right after Bonier’s request to The GodFather to deliver justice to the people who defiled her daughter in The GodFather, an Italian folk song Tarantella by Carmine Coppola is heard in Connie’s wedding. The song is accompanied by the bright day and bright clothes worn by the wedding guests who are mainly women and children. After people dance to the Italian folk song The Love Theme by Nino Rota is played and for the first time The GodFather joins his wife for a dance. The young and old even the mafia boss himself dances to the beat signifying how love can bring people of all kinds together. For desperate lowly thugs in mafia business as Paulie the music is nothing compared to their lust for money. As the music plays in the background, Paulie contemplates loudly if the wedding belonged to somebody else rather than Connie what he would have done. Meanwhile in the next scene of The Pianist as Szpilman’s family prepare the items they are going to leave their home with, sirens probably of fire engines and ambulances are heard outside. In The GodFather Thomas Hagen, who is the Corleone family’s Consigliore, leaves the ceremony in huff. He goes back to the dark dungeon, which is Vito’s office although he leaves rather reluctantly probably owing to the ongoing ceremony. In a scene in The Pianist as Szpilman’s family embrace in celebration due to the good news that France and Britain have declared war on Germany a celebratory war song is heard in the background. However Poland is defeated within a month by the Nazi Germany. Later as Szpilman is trying to harmonize some notes in his composition on the keyboard of his piano, his sister comes with a map of the planned Warsaw Jewish district where they are supposed to move. To add salt to injury, as they digest the bad news they overhear their mother crying in her bedroom. She is worried that the remaining money is not going to sustain them. The disorganized piano notes played by Szpilman forebode the evident mess the war has brought to the lives of the Jews. As one would expect the movement of the Jews to the ghetto to be accompanied by music but, only the click of their shoes and their tense quietness grace the event. This is meant to denote the uncertainty in the future of the Jewish people (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). One of the scenes that the director directly evades using music is where Sonny goes to the parking lot to encounter the FBI. The director uses this scene to bring out the high tempered nature of sonny. As Michael Corleone arrives at his sister’s wedding, a soft jazz jam plays in the background. The jazz jam then fades out as we return to the Don’s office. This depicts how Don Corleone’s world is different from Michael’s world. In The Pianist a slow rhythmic composition plays as Szpilman goes to the street to buy some bread. The composition is more audible as a man lies in the street probably dead or presumably dead from hunger. The composition is meant to signify the trauma that Szpilman is in. The slow rhythmic counting evokes an internal regressive response in the brain to signify the trauma Szpilman is under. As well the slow rhythmic counting signifies how the condition in the ghetto is skewing slowly for the worst (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). In The GodFather, Johny Fontane is the epitome of the best musicians of his time. In “the Pianist” Szpilman is also among the best composers of his time. Whereas Szpilman mixes around with others easily without anybody taking note from him Johny attracts a lot of attention especially from the females. During the times of Johny Fontane there is prevailing peace in the United States. Szpilman does not only live in a war-torn country, but he is also unwelcome in Poland as a Jew. Johny’s music is among the best mainstream love music of his time. Szpilman’s compositions mainly depict sadness and trauma largely caused by the prevailing war. The directors use the two musicians to put across different themes. Szpilman being the main starring in his film has largely brought out the film’s major theme which is trauma. Fontane brings out the theme of Materialism and partly the crime theme, especially when he requests his godfather to intervene for him to Mr. Waltz (George, 2006). The two directors also show the relationship between music and masters of moral decadency. In the The GodFather Don Corleone sees music as an opportunity to spread his wings further in music. Johny, who is his godson presents him with an opportunity to meddle into the music and film business. Nothing is as important to him more than the power he exerts over the rest of the society. When Tom Hagen is sent to Mr. Waltz to intervene on behalf of Fontane, slow Jazz music plays from the time the plane arrives in Los Angeles to Beverly Hills (Tony & Aitchison, 2007). The slow jazz music popular in the 40’s signifies the level of power which The GodFather exerts in the society. In The Pianist a lone Nazi German officer (Honsefeld) plays Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in an abandoned house just as Szpilman discovers it. The German officer plays music from his motherland, in contrast with the compositions from Poland/Chopin compositions played throughout the rest of the film. While the polish such as Szpilman listen to their own compositions the Germans revere their own composers such as Wagner and Beethoven. Despite this, music is able to bring two enemies together to a common ground. Honsefeld and Szpilman are able to come together, play and listen to each other’s compositions. Honsefeld is highly impressed by Szpilman that he does the unthinkable. He allows Szpilman to hide in the abandoned house and brings him food frequently. This part of the movie near the end of the movie softens the mood in the film, where for the first time a German officer compromises his authority and interacts freely with a Polish Jew. Both Szpilman and Honsefeld are overwhelmed by the war. Szpilman’s horror emanates from the attack of Germany in Poland while Honsefeld is exhausted by the war between the German forces and Stalin’s Red army. However the two men are able to forsake their problems with the help of cool music they play on the piano that tells of their suffering (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). Music is a very good indicator of the certain prevailing trend at the time and geographical area a film is set. Any piece of music that accompany’s action in a film epitomizes the particular period in history. The Pianist is mainly set between 1939- 1945 war Poland. Before the war, Europeans were more accustomed to listening to compositions set by their composers. The GodFather is set in postwar America. America is unaltered by the war in Europe, in fact America is improved economically by the largely European war. Jazz music mainly grows during the war period. Jazz is prevalent throughout the movie. It is mainly associated with the popular culture in America. The director uses the jazz to signify the prosperity in America (Tony & Aitchison, 2007). Music also tells about the culture of a society in a film. In postwar America, signs of racial tolerance are starting to appear unconsciously among the citizens. Jazz music which is originally Negro music has been largely accepted by all in the mainstream popular American culture. However the Italians have chosen to stick with their traditional ways as seen with the wedding. The use of Italian music in the wedding emphasizes the culture of Italian American families. In pre-war and war Europe the popular culture is mainly classical. Classical composers such as Beethoven, Wagner and Chopin command a lot of reverence in mainstream polish popular culture (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). However during the war as people wait to close the German check point, an old mad man rant in German as a Jazz beat plays in the background signifying the ongoing transformation of European culture during the war. The romance of Kay and Michael is emphasized by “Every time I look into your eyes” by Carmine Coppola. The music’s orchestra and piano depict the love between Michael and Kay. The music is repeated in several scenes where the romance of Michael and Kay is depicted. In the Pianist the theme of romance does not feature since the film is mainly meant to show the trauma of the holocaust propagated by the Nazis under Hitler against the Jews. However a young Woman is impressed by Szpilman as he strokes a romantic composition on his keyboard in a Jewish hotel and is sexually suggestive to him. Nearing the end of The Pianist” Szpilman strokes away one of his quick progressive compositions that signifies triumph after a long, exhausting, bloody and horror war. Szpilman goes back to the place where a violinist had passed German war prisoners who one of them claimed to know him to find the place locked up. In the background sounds of bird and the wind are heard instead of the blaring guns heard during the war period (La Salle, 2003). As the film ends Szpilman is playing his piano in a large orchestra band. The movie ends in a positive mood as depicted by the orchestra music, which signifies the return of things back to normal. In the church in the The Godfather as the child of Connie is being baptized, a traditional catholic composition plays in the background. As the composition plays Michael’s thugs murder his enemies all over the country, from New York to Los Angeles. The composition brings out the irony in the character of Michael Corleone’s; as he becomes a godfather he kills others in the pursuit of power. The irony is enhanced by the talking priest who is baptizing Connie’s son. The priest’s blessings welcome’s new life on earth as it bids others a farewell from this life. Despite Michael claim that he has renounced the devil and his pomps he does the opposite right after the baptism ceremony. He orders the murder of Carlo, the father of the child he has just become The GodFather to. The Love them by Nino Rota plays as Michael walks away after the death of Carlo. It also plays as Tessio is led away by Michael’s henchmen after he is trapped to admit unknowingly that he was about to give away Michael to Barzini. The music also plays as Michael lies to Kay that he is not the one who killed Carlo. Music at the end of the film signify the end of the long journey of Michael from a young college kid cum war hero to a cold-hearted and ruthless mafia boss ( Tony & Aitchison, 2007). In conclusion, I would like to assert that the choice of music in any film is of very important concern to a filmmaker as it is what will bring out the creativity nature of the performed piece of art. The background songs play a very significant role in bringing out the value of the film as far as the level of creativity is concerned. As an accompaniment, it helps in portraying the meaning of the film in a different perspective. The music takes the persons viewing the films in a separate virtual world where they communicate with their inner selves in order to get the correct interpretations of the actions performed. The background music often creates the color of the film by designing the image of the viewer's mind right in the viewing hall to clearly and in a more practical manner discern the inner melody of the film. Besides the music played in different films describe the time in history as well as determine the film atmosphere making it easy for the viewers to understand the underlying meanings presented in the actions performed in the film. References Albersnagel, F. (2008). Behavior Research Theory. Velten and musical mood induction procedures: a comparison with accessibility of thought association, 26, 79-96. Anderson, J. D. (1997, June 17). Introduction to Symposium Cognitive Science and the Future of Film Studies. In Proceedings of Symposium Cognitive science and the future of film studies, 2- 6. 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