Comparing Goldfinger's Musical Score

Compare and Contrast

Goldfinger (1964); Musical Score by John Barry vs Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Musical Score by John Williams

During the 1960s, popular music played an important role in film. Many films garnered larger audiences because of the appeal popular music had on audiences. This could be due, in part, to the fact that psychologically, people tend to associate the music they are hearing with real life events or emotions. When the music is more contemporary, this is even more so the case. One such film to reach a particular level of notoriety based on this phenomenon was Goldfinger which debuted in 1964. From 1960-1967, film scores began to change. No longer would we see the traditions of the 50s, where epics or musicals stood

Barry also interjects a Kentucky Bluegrass melody as we are introduced to the horse farm Goldfinger owns in the United States. This is a masterful use of music to establish the setting change from Goldfinger’s dreary metal smelting complex in the Alps to the horse farm. As the climax of the film plays out, there are uses of timpani and snare drums to signify the military surrounding Ft. Knox as well as building tension as the plot hatched by the villain plays out. High pitched woodwinds accompany the same timpani as the bomb is set inside the center of the complex, the very heart of the US gold storage facility. The Bond wrapped Goldfinger theme builds along with the accompanying music including the trilling of a piccolo as the complex is overrun by the military, flushing out Goldfinger who makes his escape. All of these thematic transitions proved mood changes and help support the plot as it plays out on screen as well as introducing us to the diverse characters or locations, as well as the point of view of Bonds character. Many of the musical themes can be found to have brass dominating the score, metal chimes are heard when there are scenes with gold shining on the screen helping to remind the audience of the overall theme of the movie and the obsession of the

Young people rejected orchestral scores and preferred the pop music styles. If music was original it was therefore along this vein. The rise of rock and soul soundtracks in the 70s ran counter to the grand orchestral scores of John Williams who singlehandedly brought symphonic music back in vogue. Williams challenged the musical norms of the time by employing ‘outdated’ film-music techniques such as the leitmotif, mickey-mousing, and the symphonic rather than the pop idiom such as was heard in Goldfinger. Both Barry and Williams made use of musical cues and themes for emotions and moods, as well as for supporting the plot, establishing characters and their roles in the story, or in general for setting the scene or point of view. While the music from each of these films is from not only a different genre but also a different era if film scoring, the composer’s ability to enhance each film is obvious in their expressive methodologies. From hopeful to lost, anger to love, fear to triumph, the function of music in film has been expertly manipulated in order to bring us to the height of our emotions, giving us a memorable experience that will be remembered for a long