Did you like the music?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Cromwell
anneandwalt-1 — 17 years ago(April 10, 2008 06:56 PM)
Everytime I struggle with a film I feel I should like more, I always look to the musical score.
Rewatching Cromwell, I was struck by the composer's use of minor chords and discordant themes. I understand the film was aiming to present a serious historical subject, and didn't want a showy Hollywood-epci score, but something about the music sours the film.
I had the same reaction to Cordell's music in Khartoum and especially to John Addison's scoring in Charge of the Light Brigade.
There was something about the music in all three of these high-budget English history films that somehow keeps the film distant and less involving.
I compare this to Kubrick's decision to use period classical music in Barry Lyndon, which worked brilliantly.
Any one else think that Cromwell, Khartoum or Charge would have been more accessible with different music? -
Blueghost — 17 years ago(July 17, 2008 02:48 PM)
I liked the music for what it was, though I didn't find myself loving it a great deal. It seemed more religous than political in tone, which counters the actual history of the English Civil war but supports the dramatic theme of the film. In this sense it's mroe jingoistic than anything else.
I think that was just the style of film music being used at the time. Upon reflection, I'm not sure what kind of score would have worked for this movie. Something Baroque isn't stirring enough but yet who knows? -
alistla — 15 years ago(March 12, 2011 04:07 AM)
The musical score was very off-putting, from the first note on. It's so bad that it probably knocks off at least one point or two from my 10-point star rating.
From what I've read of Cordell, the composer, he came from an avant-garde background and liked to employ a lot of discordant, minor-key notes. It simply doesn't suit the period of this film. So he attempted to correct this by adding dollops of religious choir singing, which only makes it worse. I actually found myself wincing and turning the sound down at times. And some of the music cues are so on-the-nose they are unintentionally comical.
It just plain doesn't work. Which is a shame, as I'm convinced that a decent score could have given this film a shot at entering the upper ranks of great British historical drama, alongside the likes of A Man for All Seasons, Beckett, and Lion in Winter. (A better script would have helped in this regard, too.) The excellent battle scenes, which seem quite historically accurate, actually make a serious go at redeeming that awful score. But alas, the awkward score, along with a by-the-numbers script virtually devoid of emotional impact, drag this movie down to the class of an also-ran.
One more thing: This movie proved to me once and for all that Alec Guinness is a better actor than Richard Harris. -
Sonatine97 — 13 years ago(February 03, 2013 03:39 AM)
I have watched "A Man For All Seasons" many times, and even though I really enjoyed every aspect of the film, especially the commanding performance of Paul Scofield; I was totally in awe of the opening score, coupled with some outstanding photography. Right from the off this set the tone, mood & significance of the entiry story.
Two nights ago I rewatched Cromwell, and the score throughout, is feable & amateurish in comparison. The score just didn't emphasise the true importance of this major aspect in England's history: nothing uplifting, nothing dramatic, nothing to raise the hairs on the back of one's neck. The score failed to become that extra dimension needed to bring additional drama to a story.
For all that, I always enjoy watching Cromwell, but the score just holds it back from being a true masterpiece in the same context as AMFAS
"One must first get behind someone, in order to stab them in the back!" -
gulag — 14 years ago(June 04, 2011 12:24 PM)
Unfortunately the music was very much of its time, that is the 60's. Not terrible but a bit stilted. Many historical films of this time use varying degrees of pastiche and odd choral reworkings of older tunes and styles. This film would have certainly been aided by a solid use of period music. But in actual fact if one listens to most of the Baroque music recorded during this period there is still a stodginess to it. In fact this would be a great moment in history to revisit now. Though I think the tendency today would be to make Cromwell a villain and to raise up the Levellers or another anarchistic group as the heroes from the era. So, sadly, we won't be seeing an accurate version of this for quite a while, until the current paradigm shifts a bit more. But someday I really want to see a film from this period that really uses the most recent discoveries in Baroque dance music and English country dance.