What I wonder: Subconsciously, these people probably still hear the music (or the whole importance of film scores for dramatic purposes is pure bulls**t). But how much does it affect their experience of watching a film? Probably the mood of the score DOES affect them - I guess they feel uneasy because of the Planet of the Apes score, and frightened when hearing Ave Satani. But how important are more "general" score parts for these people? Are they less affected by a movie? Or do they, after all, notice aspects we never do, because we're so busy listening to the score?

I'm interested what you think about this.

I think there is a real long and interesting discussion on this as I've tried many times to figure out how the experience is different for the film music conscious movie goer. I haven't been able to yet though I know there does exists a difference.

Without a doubt, film music keeps me interested in a film. I mean, why else would I have kept watching Meet Joe Black, were it not for Thomas Newman's fantastic composition?

Same goes for Mission to Mars and Thin Red Line. A complete bore, but the music is so great I don't mind just sitting there and taking it in.

On the other hand, sometimes the movie is so good that the music really enhances the mood and makes it an even better picture, as in Fargo, The Green Mile and The Sixth Sense. I'd consider having the score as a bonus, because they're movies I'll probably buy.

does that make any sense at all?

NP -- Casper (James Horner)

I've been working in theatrical exhibition for about 17 years now, and I've developed a theory for the direction that the whole movie-going experience is going (in general-for the average patron).

If you hit your finger with a small ballpeen hammer, it will hurt at first. But eventually, you'll get used to it and it won't really hurt anymore. If you then use a larger hammer, it will hurt again at first, but then you'll eventually get used to it again and it won't hurt. If you continue this until you get to a 20 lb. sledge.......well, you get the picture. My point is, people have become desensitized (to the so-called 'blockbuster') over the years since the mid-70's, so that most movies (there are exceptions) today that would have been super-blockbusters 15 or 20 or more years ago, are looked upon and received with disdain (i.e. poo-pooed) because people can't set their 'expect-o-meter' to zero when they go to see a movie, instead of expecting it to be better that the last movie they saw (i.e.-hit with a bigger hammer). (example-Is X-men going to be as good or better than The Matrix? because it looks the same?).
I think this comes into play with film scores, too. Is Williams' 'Patriot' score going to measure up to, say, his 'Superman' score? That's not the way to look at it. But, it seems that's the way everybody does look at it.
That's how I approach every movie and film score. I set my 'expect-o-meter' to zero every time and I'm rarely disappointed. I just take them as they come........ it's entertainment.

Sorry for the long wind......

I guess I'm pretty "normal" when it comes to my filmgoing. I go into a film hoping to keep attentive to detail, to notice the score, the cinematography, the symbolic use of color or other elements and about 5 minutes into it, I'm hooked and lose all my awareness. I'm pretty much a puppet from there until the end title--I go where the film leads me. Unless a phrase stands out or calls attention to itself in some way, I don't particularly notice the score while watching a film. I mean, I'm aware enough of the score to tell if I like it or not. But often, I'll buy a CD from a film I've seen and go, "was that in there?" I guess I just get caught up in the story or action. And yet I love that films have music while I watch them and I love to listen to film music over anything else. Maybe film music listeners respond to films in a rhythmic, musical way and so what makes us love music and film is something similar in our psychological make up. We respond to film music in a way that "the average guy" does not--maybe we do experience film differently. I've listened to film music for most of my life and I'll tell you I get great pleasure from it, but it's a mystery to me if there is some deeper reason to it.

NP: Sunset (Henry Mancini)

(And let's not even get started on the even worse GODZILLA by the Evil Twins.)

On the flip side: the relatively unpopular REINDEER GAMES, while absurdly (if amusingly) written, knocked me out because of the sheer craftsmanship of it -- that was a movie that wound up being better than it had any right to be, due to any number of factors, but all of them united under the singular vision of director John Frankenheimer (my current role model). You can't mistake a Frankenheimer picture for one directed by anyone else. He's capable of elevating the most mediocre material imaginable (c.f. PROPHECY, THE CHALLENGE, DEAD-BANG), while making the fearsome most out of potentially waffling scripts (c.f. AGAINST THE WALL, GEORGE WALLACE, ANDERSONVILLE). I watched his previous RONIN in the theaters no less than FIVE times just because I get off on studying his frames (what they call in the industry "the Frankenheimer slash" -- referring to his deep-focus close-up shots, which cut off the bottom chin and top forehead of the actor in the foreground, and generally include something interesting in the background.)

Knowing too much about the craft can be a handicap at times, in terms of enjoying a picture, but is often a blessing at others. It means one might not like what someone else will like, but next time, one might find something that sure as hell no one ELSE would ever see or hear. I feel that way about a lot of Goldsmith's music, and Williams' as well. Still the two most dextrous composers in the business. I'll be curious to see who rises to the fore when the both of them are no longer working.

P.S. Didja know that Michael Bay believes he is the illegitimate son of John Frankenheimer? Frankenheimer went so far as to take blood tests, MANY years ago, and they proved negative, but Bay believes the tests were merely inconclusive, since DNA testing wasn't so slick back then. All I can say is, if Bay IS the son of Frankenheimer, then it proves that talent isn't necessarily inheritable.

These are a pair of those OH, BROTHER reactions I've never forgotten. And I can never understand the mentality that utters such nonsense. Then again, "they" can never understand our passionate appreciation for music in a film, so it all evens out.

It seemed for the longest time that awareness of the music was incidental to the movie experience, but these days I find myself zeroed-in to the extent my enjoyment is seriously handicapped. I think the Net has a lot to do with it, at least in terms of awareness resulting from a lifetime's worth of non-expression suddenly crammed into 2 years of non-stop reveling. For instance, I'm sure Titanic was a wonderful picture but my disappointment with the score was so great that I hated a lot of what I saw on the screen. And not to pick on Horner, but it's gotten to the point that I focus on the music on tenderhooks wondering when my ear's gonna perk up at the next overt self-plagiarism. Didn't used to be like that; point is, I'm listening for all the wrong reasons when it comes to him and it spoils the film for me.

I too give the score in a film special attetntion, not only on the first vieweing, but any subsequent viewing that may follow. If anything I do this simply because I probably love the music.

Another thing too, I often get scores to a film I've not even yet seen (due to conflicting overseas release dates of films, I have no choice). With Green Mile for instance I was awaiting the play of particular cues, curious as to their placement within the film.

Also, often when I remember a scene in a film the first thing I recal is the music, take Andy's escape from Shawshank Redemption for example, classic! And that's one simple example, I can name hundreds.

I certainly think we have the ability to experience films on a higher levelm more emotionaly.

Dan (UK)

NP: The Player (****/*****)

If the film draws me into its world then I don't really notice the musical moments until I see it again. I still get an impression about whether I liked the score, I just couldn't tell you why. I knew I liked the Matrix score, I just couldn't tell you why until I saw it again.

However, if the film fails to pull me in, then I will generally notice the score more. This happened in Men in Black.

YES!

smartarsetimmer

Also, I usually catch where music is trying to add subtext to a situation. For instance, I remember watching Seven Women and noticing this strange flute pattern underneath the scenes with Sue Lyon and Margaret Leighton which suggests that there is something odd going on there (Leighton is a lesbian and the film/score doesn't look too highly on this in this case). Still, if you asked me to hum this flute music, I wouldn't know where to begin unless I had it on a disc and had heard it a few times.