Danny Elfman & Edward Scissorhands

One of my favorite film composers is Danny Elfman, who has worked alongside Tim Burton for many years, and I think Edward Scissorhand‘s score is a great representation of his work. His music helps to emphasize the wide range of emotions which the film embodies, including love, sorrow, joy, nostalgia, and even humor.

It always interests me to find out about what has inspired the people who inspire me, as well as their techniques and how they specifically work. In an interview I found with Danny Elfman, he speaks about these topics. He explains that his love for music in movies stems from Bernard Herrmann, who composed scores for films such as Citizen Kane, Vertigo, The Birds, and Psycho. It’s interesting to note the partnership between Bernard Herrmann, which is mimicked by the partnership between Danny Elfman and Tim Burton. In this interview, Elfman goes on to discuss how he actually goes about starting to write music for a film. He says that he does not look at anything during pre-production, such as a script; he only creates ideas based off of the films themselves, once they are all but finished besides needing the score.

One scene in Edward Scissorhands which has a particularly beautiful music accompaniment (though I believe all of them do) is the scene where Kim, Winona Ryder’s character, dances in the falling snow created by Edward as he creates an ice sculpture. The music here is made up of vocals, violin, and piano which are all very light in tone to give a light, ethereal feeling to the already uplifting visuals. This abruptly transitions into starkly contrasting dark music when Jim, Kim’s boyfriend, appears in the scene. The music now serves to signal the idea that something terrible is going to happen to either Kim or Edward very soon.

Tuesday’s Gone in Dazed and Confused

For Dazed and Confused I couldn’t help but notice the song playing in the background as the party under the Moon Towers started to wind down was “Tuesday’s Gone” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I feel this song was perfect for this scene to end. The instruments playing before Skynyrd starts singing is slow and laid back. There is a summer feel to the tone of the song. Stating that Tuesday’s gone gives great meaning to the characters, even though they don’t realize it yet. It’s the end of the school year, some are going off to college, others are about to start high school, and everyone by the end of the day is different.
During the day, Mitch was just a junior high kid who could only look forward to getting paddled by the upper classmen. By the end of the night, he has been accepted and has lost his childhood behind. Randy couldn’t choose between playing football or smoking weed. He found his voice and decided to stick it to the man by continuing to smoke. By just looking at these two characters, their pasts are gone. A verse in the song that stuck out was “Tuesday, you see, she had to be free”. Though the song has to do with leaving a man’s love, I view it as the character’s leaving their pasts behind and starting a new. This can be seen especially through Mitch and Randy. Both needed that freedom from their past to move forward and onto their future paths. This was an excellent song to show that character development.

Wooderson’s Car- 1970 Chevelle SS 454

Wooderson is undoubtedly the coolest guy in Dazed and Confused; he is the ultimate jock/cool older guy you want to be friends with in high school. His “epitome of cool” persona is reflected in the car he drives.  Wooderson drives a 1970 454 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. This IS the classic muscle car.  It is one of the most famous and praised vehicles from the muscle car era. It has a big block engine, a 454, which means it is a very powerful car, and is the manifestation of American muscle.  Wooderson is fit to drive this car because he is the older guy all the other kids look up to, see as a role model, and want to emulate.  The car’s personality fits like a glove with Wooderson’s. This car is about enjoyment, adventure, and the good times- just like Wooderson.

I first saw this movie back in high school, probably around sophomore year, and when I saw this car, I fell in love with it.  Today, it is still my dream car. Just like Wooderson it is the epitome of cool and style.  Having knowledge about this car gave me further insight into Wooderson’s character and his frame of mind.

This is a beautiful car, a work of art, and an extension of Wooderson.

Here is another link to a good picture of a 1970 Chevelle:

http://http://marlin-car.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/1969-chevelle-ss-454-hgri30ld.jpg