There are many movie series, but the top three in my estimation
\nare the
\nJames Bond<\/i> series, the
\nStar Wars<\/i> series and the
\nMan With No Name<\/i> series. (There are many other deserving
\nones, like
\nIndiana Jones<\/i>,
\nStar Trek<\/i> and many others, but I think these stand above
\nthose in terms of longevity and influence.)<\/p>\n
I’m sure you’re all aware of the movies that made Clint “You
\nfeelin’ lucky, punk” Eastwood into an international star. Eastwood
\nportrays a lone bounty hunter that roams the plains of the Old
\nWest, dispatching a tough brand of justice to all types of outlaws
\nand killers. Of course, as the title suggests, his true name is
\nnever revealed to the audience — just nicknames like Blondie or
\nManco. (It was this character that Eastwood later renounced in his
\nOscar-winning film, “Unforgiven.”)<\/p>\n
In any case, a big part of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns was
\nthe music of composer Ennio Morricone. He provided the films with
\ntwangy sounds and whistles that made as much sense for the
\ncharacters and setting as the Imperial March was perfect for the
\nEmpire. Even to this day, we remember the very theme to the last
\nmovie of that trilogy,
\nThe Good, The Bad & The Ugly<\/i>. Here we’ll take a look at
\nit.<\/p>\n
What most amazed me as I heard this album is how somber and
\nmelancholic it is. It’s like Leone wanted the music to make a
\nstatement against the violence we see onscreen. Pieces like “The
\nStrong,” “The Carriage Of The Spirits,” and “The Story Of A
\nSoldier” are very sad and down-beat. This is due to how the main
\nstory has the Civil War as a background. Even tracks like “Marcia”
\n— which feature kids whistling – and “Marcia Without Hope” —
\nwhich combines “Marcia” with “The Story Of A Soldier” to create a
\ncadence — do not lift one’s spirits. This is a story about dark
\ncharacters living on the fringes and the music seems to follow that
\nidea.<\/p>\n
Another thing to notice is how vast several cues try to be.
\nStarting with “The Sundown,” which uses a wistful turn at the
\nguitar and violins, the music also tries to encompass the dry dunes
\nof the Southwestern deserts. Speaking of which, “The Desert” is
\nvery ominous and almost has a Lawrence of Arabia vibe. The piece
\nfollows Tuco and Blondie as they set off across the desert and it
\nseems to be trying to capture the beating of the harsh sun.<\/p>\n
Of course, I must speak of the well-known title track. Famous
\nlike the
\nJames Bond<\/i> theme and the
\nMission: Impossible<\/i> theme, this ranks among the very best of
\nMorricone’s career. It uses a male choir, some whistling and a
\nguitar to establish the lead characters and their world. As you
\nhear it, notice how it changes tone and becomes darker here or
\nlouder there – to encapture not only Blondie, but also Angel Eyes
\nand Tuco.<\/p>\n
Aside from the title track, only two other tracks do not follow
\nthe somber and sad route — “The Ecstasy Of Gold” and “The Trio.”
\nNot only that, but they are also among the best tracks to be found
\nhere. “Ecstasy” builds towards its climax using a female choir and
\ngreat orchestral work. (You might remember it from Metallica’s
\nS&M<\/i>, where it is used to kick off the show). The final
\ntrack, “The Trio,” underscores the final duel between the three
\nmain characters. It starts ominously with the guitar strings and
\neventually brings in the rest of the orchestra to build to a final,
\nloud and sudden stop. Both of these tracks work great in the movie
\nand by themselves.<\/p>\n
To this day, Morricone is still best known for his great scores
\nto the
\nMan With No Name<\/i> trilogy. There is reason for that. The
\nmusic plays a large part in these movies in capturing all of the
\nplotlines, characters and places. That still doesn’t mean that it’s
\nfor everyone. If you are a fan of fast and loud movie scores and
\ndon’t care much for some subtlety, then you might want to avoid it.
\nHowever, if you can stand softer and somber music, you will find
\nthat the music in this disc is great. Then, you can crank out “The
\nEcstasy Of Gold” and simulate Tuco as he runs through the cemetery.
\nOoh-ahh-ooh-ahh-ooh!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":25528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5993],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-36734","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-original-motion-picture-soundtrack","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36734"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36734"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}