Born in
Rome in 1928 to a musical family, Ennio started composing as young as six. The
name may or may not ring a bell, but I can guarantee you’ll know his music, or
some of it at least. Perhaps only rivalled in recognizability by James Barry’s ‘James
Bond’ theme, is there any more famous and atmospheric theme in cinema than that
of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ from 1968?
'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is
the third in the trilogy - after 'A Fistful of Dollars' and 'For a Few Dollars More' - of Sergio Leone’s collaboration with Morricone, starring Clint Eastwood as the "man with no name". All masterpieces
thanks in large part to Morricone’s unique, innovative and provocative scores.
The opening track to the first in the series, ‘A Fistful of Dollars’, tells you
all you need to know. Clearly it has a Western feel but with a range of less
conventional sound effects, such as the whistling, the sound of gunfire and something resembling a bird call combined
with male vocal harmonies – a little less rigid than the traditional “manly”
singing of the American Westerns – as well as strings, guitar and so on. He has created a truly unique vibe even before we’ve seen
anything on the screen. In fact, it was a case of necessity being the mother of
invention. Budget restrictions limited his access to a full orchestra leading
him to improvise, which by accident or design added extra contrast to the style
of Western normally seen in Hollywood. The other main contrast of course being
Leone’s shooting style and techniques but’s that another discussion. An interesting
aside is the irony that it was an Italian director in a European collaboration
that made Clint Eastwood’s name. Clint wasn't Leone's first choice but when James Coburn proved too expensive he got the job. Eastwood's TV contract at the time forbade him
from doing American Westerns but lucky for him and us that there was no issue
with Europe. Sergio, Ennio and Clint created a new genre, "The Spaghetti Western". It was Leone’s respect for Morricone and his estimation
for the importance of the soundtrack, that allowed Morricone the freedom to
create such iconic music. Some creative partnerships really are meant to be.
Another
of my favourite soundtracks and favourite films with a Morricone score is a
French film, ‘Le Clan Des Siciliens’, a classic heist adventure from 1969 with
Alain Delon, Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin. Delon plays an escaped convict
planning a jewel robbery in Rome with Gabin’s Parisian/Sicilian gangster.
Ventura is the cop chasing them. Within
seconds of the film opening we are taken into that world. A melancholy
whistling from the mesmerising Curro Savoy
- whom we also hear in 'The Good, Bad and Ugly' - combined with
a metallic sounding Jew’s harp effect creates a sense of stillness and menace
and leads to haunting guitar chords as Delon exits a police van in cuffs. And
it feels like Italy but I’m not sure why. Is it the instruments? Not especially.
Is it the mood? I can’t say. Subliminally he does that to you. This was part of
Morricone’s genius; to suggest or illustrate but in a non-clichéd way.
Incidentally, the film opens in Paris, so that feeling is even more
interesting. But I suggest you watch it and see if you agree. In fact while
you’re at it watch the whole film, it’s magnificent.
In the summer
of 1999, I was in London visiting a girl – well, a woman – that I knew. It was getting
late on a lovely, warm and still summer evening. My memories have that
vagueness that the tipsiness from the specific moment in time brings, but I’ll
never forget the feeling. From the other room, she put on a song. I heard these lovely, slightly off beat piano
chords leading to this truly beautiful and moving melody. I rushed through
wondering what it was. It was the main theme to ‘Cinema Paradiso’ which became
one of my favourite films. Again, it was the work of the great Ennio. How
grateful I was for that discovery. She also introduced me to Withnail And I.
She had good taste in films, perhaps less so in music (I do remember a John Farnham
– he of “You’re the Voice” fame – cassette). Though she was Australian so I suppose
it can be forgiven. Anyway, I was hooked though I didn’t actually see ‘Cinema
Paradiso’ till a year or two later. Made
in 1988, it is essentially the story of Salvatore (Toto), a successful film maker living in
Rome, who returns to Sicily – Sicily again, what a place – having left thirty
years before and never returned, for the funeral of Alfredo, played by the
legendary French actor, Phillipe Noiret. Going to a flashback, we move to
just after WW2. Alfredo is the Camera Projectionist at the Cinema Paradiso in
town, and he befriends the young Toto, becoming his mentor and surrogate father.
The cinema becomes a refuge for the boy and the movies a place of escape; his
home life being difficult due to his mother’s depression - his father, her
husband, having been killed in the war. The metaphor of the cinema as an escape,
as it was particularly in those days before television, is one of the other keys
to the film. It very much evokes the joy and nostalgia for things past and the
magic of old black and white movies; the power that cinema held and still does.
But it is much more than that: A political history, a story of love, friendship
and humanity. Mr Morricone’s contribution, as always, is sublime. Being a
little more classic in its instrumentation, using pianos, cellos and violins,
for example, to help evoke the sense of nostalgia. There’s a certain sadness, a
certain fragility to the music but also a certain warmth. And of course, a
certain beauty.
1982’s
The Thing is an altogether different type of film that also benefited from
Morricone’s talents. A tense and atmospheric Sci-Fi horror about a
shape-shifting alien that can take the form of any animal it gets its tentacles
into, including humans, it is truly exceptional. The creature having been
accidently released from the ice after thousands of years creates havoc in an
Antarctic research station and kills most of the men in it. A sort of Ridley
Scott’s Alien-type film but set on Earth rather than Space, though it might as
well be Space. Morricone himself was a bit of a shape shifter in his ability to
put his talents to so many different types of movies. Directed by John
Carpenter, he of ‘Halloween’ and ‘The Fog’ fame, the music has an electronic,
minimalist and sombre style, befitting the era and style of the film. A sense
of foreboding and terror is around every corner as the men get more and more
paranoid about which one of them is the monster. Widely panned by the critics
at the time for reasons best known to themselves, it is a truly wondrous piece
of filmmaking, the theatricality and horror of the beast contrasting with the
stillness and chill of the mood and harsh landscape. Morricone’s music, of
course, helps build and support the sense of foreboding and isolation. Highly
recommended unless you don’t like being scared out of your wits, of course. Even
then, it’s worth it. As Carpenter himself said, Morricone had an innate feeling
for mood and how to enhance it beyond the expectation of the director.
Sergio
Leone’s final film, ‘Once Upon A Time in America’, of course scored by
Morricone is also highly recommended, if you have a couple of days to spare.
Leone was actually offered the Godfather, but he turned it down as he already
had the project in mind for what would become this film ten years later.
Released in 1984, the film received a rapturous applause on its screening at
the Cannes Film Festival. Sadly, the American distributors, terrified by its
running time of almost four hours, cut in by half and re-edited it without
Leone’s permission. This shocking form of censorship had the opposite effect
intended. The film was a critical failure and it took years for its reputation
to be restored. If you can watch it get the Director’s cut. Funnily a similar thing
happened with ‘Cinema Paradiso’. Damn those meddling money men. Starring Robert
De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci and Elizabeth McGovern amongst others, it is a
masterpiece. Covering more than half a century from the early 1900’s to the
60’s it is an epic story of violence, crime, revenge, love, friendship and so
on. The usual stuff for the genre. The Godfather films have, understandably, a
great reputation. As does 'Goodfellas'. This is a different beast, a little more theatrical dare I
say, more Italian in its wide sweeping shots, it's almost baroque framing and of course with Morricone’s
astonishingly evocative and beautiful music. In a French interview in 1988, Leone explained that for this film, he
often had Morricone compose the music before he shot the scene. There existed,
in other words, “une complicité totale” between the two. A great
director like Leone actually shooting a scene with the music already written is
perhaps the greatest testimony that could be paid to Morricone. Genius is an
exception and we and future generations are blessed to have access to his
legendary works. Have a look at his filmography. I’ve just mentioned a few,
there are hundreds more. Search for his name on YouTube. There are numerous
gems to get you started or to remind you. His work with Leone may be his best.
Certainly their symbiosis seemed to bring the best out of them. Stanley Kubrick
once said to Leone that the only music of Morricone he liked was in Leone’s films.
Leone replied that he hated the composer Richard Strauss except in that famous scene in
Kubrick’s 2001 ‘A Space Odyssey’ with the apes and the spaceship. The marriage of the music to these great
directors’ visuals is a match made in cinematic heaven - nothing more, nothing
less.
Beautiful Lewis
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