Captain America: Civil War is out now — but what more is there to say about Marvel movie music? Instead, let's talk about the best scores written for films about the actual Civil War.
The American Civil War has long been an inspiration to composers working in film; the challenge is finding the appropriate ways to represent the music of the time while also adding a contemporary perspective. Here are some of the most notable scores for movies set in the Civil War era.
Ennio Morricone: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
A lot of people forget that Sergio Leone's masterpiece is even about the Civil War. It also inspired one of Morricone's greatest accomplishments and caused many to not only reconsider how film music works, but how music in general can address a diversity of sensibilities and ideas. There is no accounting for the impact of this score and for its keen insight into a drama that has lasted long beyond its initial battles, and Morricone's Oscar for The Hateful Eight was surely in part a tribute to his lasting legacy.
Max Steiner: Gone with the Wind (1939)
One of the most well-known Civil War films, and ambitious productions of its time, is Gone with the Wind. Famed composer Max Steiner produced a score to match the grandiosity of the film. Full of orchestral bravado, Steiner's score speaks less to the Civil War era than to the extravagance of Hollywood's Golden Age. Iconic to this day, it represents a type of filmmaking mostly lost to us now.
Howard Shore: Gangs of New York (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sddpp13il_0
Often a collaborator of Martin Scorsese, Howard Shore crafted some signature themes for this story about rising New York gangs at the time of the Civil War. Balancing the characters' personal experience with the larger political evolution of the country, Scorsese's film is a fever dream of feeling. Shore's score follows suit and helps connect the pieces, evoking a sense of grief in post-9/11 America.
Gabriel Yared: Cold Mountain (2003)
Most remember this film for its musical contributions by the likes of Jack White and Alison Krauss. However, the composer Gabriel Yared also contributed an impeccable score that managed to present the grandness of the narrative enwrapped in the isolation of time and character. Combining solo piano with expansive orchestral compositions, Yared manages to present a way of seeing history still cognizant of what was gained without dispensing the truth of what's lost.
James Horner: Glory (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IiUKojYSN4
This tale of the first all-black volunteer company fighting in the Civil War was scored by the legendary James Horner. This score inaugurated a peak era for Horner as he developed his signature compositional ideas; this score features a choir and brass prominently to speak to the "glory" of the fight and the significance of human loss. This is a film about war as a whole, not just the specific time and place.
John Williams: Lincoln (2012)
Steven Spielberg's low-key investigation of Lincoln's final years is an exercise in sparsity. Whereas most films about the Civil War focus on the larger aspects of violence and loss, Spielberg chooses to focus on key individuals who have come to be seen as larger than life. As a result John Williams also pulls back on many of his larger orchestral considerations, focusing on piano with light touches of signature warmth in strings and wind instruments. This is a film about the internal struggle amidst large-scale upheaval, and Williams produced one of his finer works of the last decade.
Laurent Eyquem: Copperhead (2013)
Not many know of this film, but the score by Laurent Eyquem is lush and expansive. Like Steiner's Gone with the Wind score, this music has a sweeping quality that elevates its personal narrative to something of greater stake.
Mychael Danna: Ride with the Devil (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVOnm-NXZ_Y
Ang Lee's somewhat forgotten film is scored by the great Mychael Danna. With this film he worked to thoughtfully represent the time and ideas in the musical arrangements. It feels like it could have been performed by instruments of the era, which gives it an important air of authenticity.
John Barry: Dances with Wolves (1990)
As a movie, many think tht Dances with Wolves has not stood the test of time, but the score by legendary composer John Barry is quite a bit more complicated than many perceive the film to be. Militaristic percussion is punctuated by Barry's signature brass elements, creating an atmosphere of tense drama. It's one of the most important scores to emerge during a period that proved to be a turning point for movie music, with greats like Barry wrapping up their careers while young new voices were emerging to redefine film scores for the next generation.
Mark Isham: The Conspirator (2010)
Robert Redford's film about Mary Surratt, the lone woman charged as co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, is not seen as a great film. However, it did provide a wide palette for Mark Isham to play with as he combined many of his electronic sensibilities with organic instrumentation that speaks to the time and place. Though this is predominantly a film about people talking, the score is vast and attempts to suggest the significance of this trial for the nation. It's a conspiracy film, and Isham's score has an energy that many felt was lacking in the film itself.
Garrett Tiedemann is a writer, filmmaker, and composer who owns the multimedia lab CyNar Pictures and its record label American Residue Records.
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