MOVIE MUSIC UK

After a little bit of a slow start, 2017 ended up being a really excellent year for film music. Many of the industry’s most reliable and storied composers had superb years, each writing multiple outstanding scores, while a bevy of exceptionally talented newcomers made their marks on the genre for the first time, proving that – hopefully – the future is in good hands if they continue to be given quality projects to score.

Despite the lack of a true ***** masterpiece, I ended up with an astonishing 66 scores which, were I still handing out star ratings, would have rated **** or better. And it’s not just Hollywood staples – composers working in China and Japan, Britain and France, Russia and Poland and Finland, Spain and Italy, all wrote outstanding music this year, proving once again that there is magnificent music out there – if only you’re prepared to look for it. So, without further ado, here are my choices…

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SCORE OF THE YEAR

• VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, music by Alexandre Desplat (review)

Nominees:

• MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, music by Patrick Doyle (review)
• PHANTOM THREAD, music by Jonny Greenwood (review)
• THE SHAPE OF WATER, music by Alexandre Desplat (review)
• STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, music by John Williams (review)

No score impressed me more in 2017 than Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, director Luc Besson’s ambitious, visually spectacular sci-fi extravaganza based on the comic books of his childhood. Alexandre Desplat’s score is simply sensational: a collision of huge orchestral outbursts and smooth electronics, deftly applied thematic ideas, brilliant instrumental arrangements that draw from both the western classical tradition and middle eastern ideas, and not a small number of magnificent action cues. I don’t have enough superlatives to convey just how brilliant this score is. In a career that already contains more masterworks than most composers can dream of in a lifetime. Valerian is one his all-time best.

Desplat’s other major score of 2017 is The Shape of Water, director Guillermo Del Toro’s aquatic monster movie romantic fantasy. Showing a different side to his personality, Desplat impressed with his understanding of the film’s needs: he scores it with a sense of child-like fantasy, whimsy, and hesitant romance, while incorporating some outstanding action and thriller suspense music during the scenes which call for it, and it’s all superb.

Patrick Doyle’s Murder on the Orient Express brought a new sound to the classic Agatha Christie story; as I wrote in my review, Doyle judged everything perfectly, allowing the inner workings of Poirot’s mind to take center state as he quietly, methodically solves the case. This, combined with the wonderfully evocative opening sequence in the Middle East, the ebullient and sweeping Traveling sequence, the brief explosions of action, and the extraordinarily powerful finale in Cue of the Year contender “Justice,” reminds me why I have always held Patrick Doyle in such high esteem, and why his collaborations with Kenneth Branagh should always be something to be greatly anticipated.

Jonny Greenwood’s score for director Paul Thomas Anderson’s austere, unusual romantic drama starring Daniel Day-Lewis was one of the great positive surprises of the year. I described the score as one which gets deeply under the skin of the damaged, potentially dangerous, but nevertheless mutually fulfilling relationship at the center of the story. The abstract, impressionistic, modernistic textures perfectly capture the torment that both characters at times feel, as well as their willful and often unpleasant personalities. Then, when he opens up his orchestra and performs the Phantom Thread theme with glorious melodrama, or when he writes elegant romantic music for what should be the dreadful finale, the whole thing simply soars.

And, of course, there’s The Last Jedi, the eighth Star Wars score by the incomparable John Williams. Were it not for Valerian’s enduring brilliance this would have been the winner – in it, Williams deftly combines themes and motifs from previous Star Wars scores with several new musical identities for new characters and locations. It’s an explosion of nostalgia dressed up with some fantastic action material, enveloped in Williams’s impeccable compositional technique, and capped off with no small amount of emotion, especially during the finale.

Rounding my Top 10 film scores of 2017 (in alphabetical order) are: CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS by Theodore Shapiro, HONNOUJI HOTEL by Naoki Sato, THE LAST WARRIOR by George Kallis, VICEROY’S HOUSE by A. R. Rahman, and YOUTH by Lin Zhao. But, honestly, the margins between the top 5 scores and the ones ranked from 6-10 are tiny and every one of my top 10 picks are absolutely superb.

 

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT

Nominees:

• GEORGE KALLIS
• NAOKI SATO
• BENJAMIN WALLFISCH
• JOHN WILLIAMS

I tend to work on a mathematical basis when deciding on Composer of the Year: how many good scores has the composer written in the year, and what’s the average ranking of his or her entire output. Having applied these criteria – it’s Alexandre Desplat, for the sixth time since 2006. Yet again, the 56-year-old Frenchman proves himself to be the most consistently excellent film composer in the world: his output in 2017 not only comprises Score of the Year nominees Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and The Shape of Water, but the brilliant Herrmannesque music he wrote for George Clooney’s satirical thriller Suburbicon, and three movies in France that no-one even mentions: 12 Jours, Roman Polanski’s D’Après Une Histoire Vraie, and Espèces Menacées. Astonishing.

38-year-old English composer Benjamin Wallfisch had the best year of his career in 2017, and almost took top spot. Although none of his scores made my Top 10 of the year he was remarkably consistent, writing excellent music for products as varied as the gothic thriller A Cure for Wellness, the terrifying re-imagining of Stephen King’s It, the sweeping historical drama Bitter Harvest, and the emotional documentary Mully. Add to this the critical acclaim he received for his work with Hans Zimmer on Blade Runner 2049 and adapting Elgar for Dunkirk, and you have a composer who is clearly on the cusp of greatness.

On the other side of the world, 47-year-old Japanese composer Naoki Sato continues to prove himself to be one of the most versatile and excellent film music composers working today. His theme-writing prowess, emotional sensitivity, and mastery of the orchestra comes through clearly in films such as Honnouji Hotel and Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura, and TV shows like A Life: Itoshiki Hito and Seirei No Mamoribito – I just wish that more people in the west were aware of how brilliant he is.

There’s really not much left to say about John Williams. At the age of 85 the great man is still capable of producing stunningly realized space fantasies in the shape of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but in 2017 he also gave us the added bonus of the score for Steven Spielberg’s The Post, a wonderful throwback to the political dramas and thrillers he scored with greater frequency in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Treasure everything this man does while we still can.

And as for George Kallis, read below…

Five other composers who had excellent years in 2017 are: CYRILLE AUFORT, PATRICK DOYLE, MICHAEL GIACCHINO, JONNY GREENWOOD, and MARK MOTHERSBAUGH.

 

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• GEORGE KALLIS

Nominees

• ANNE KATHRIN DERN
• MATTHIEU GONET
• CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
• LIN ZHAO

Although he’s been writing music for films since around 2007, 2017 was truly the breakout year for 43-year-old Cyprus-born composer George Kallis. He impressed with three truly magnificent scores – the epic Russian fantasy epic The Last Warrior, the historical drama The Black Prince, and the children’s adventure Albion: The Last Stallion. Although none of the films themselves were especially popular or noteworthy, Kallis showed with his music that he is a composer of significant skill and class, and that he has enormous future ahead of him if he can get the breaks on the right projects.

The other four composers are listed for what are, essentially, their first solo works of any significance. German composer Anne Kathrin Dern, who used to be the assistant to Pinar Toprak, brought her considerable skill to bear on two very different projects – the epic Chinese drama The Jade Pendant and the German children’s film Hexe Lillis Eingesacktes Weihnachtsfest – both of which showcased her immense skill for beautiful themes and orchestral grandeur. In France, composer Matthieu Gonet made an impression on me for the first time with his scores for two comedies, Madame and Santa & Cie, both of which showed him to be a composer of skill, wit, and intelligence, who is worth watching in the years to come.

English composer Christopher Willis wrote his solo debut film score for the critically acclaimed satire The Death of Stalin, and had a whale of time channeling Russian masters like Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky, with outstanding results. Having previously worked extensively with Rupert Gregson-Williams, especially on the hit comedy series Veep, it’s clearly time for him to step into the limelight in his own right. Finally Chinese composer Lin Zhao – son of the legendary composer Jiping Zhao – wrote one of 2017’s most beautiful scores for the Chinese film Fang Hua, aka Youth. He’s clearly inherited his father’s orchestral sensibility, his capacity for crafting stunning themes, and his innate sense of melodrama, and I cannot wait to explore his work in future.

Five other composers work keeping an eye on in the future are: MICHAEL ABELS, TOM HOWE, OSCAR MARTIN LEANIZBARRUTIA, VITO LO RE, and ALEJANDRO VIVAS.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “EVERMORE” from Beauty and the Beast, written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, performed by Daniel Stevens (in the film) and Josh Groban (in the end credits)

Nominees:

• “A LITTLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER” from Downsizing, written by Rolfe Kent, Edward Randell, and Joanna Goldsmith-Eteson, performed by The Swingles
• “BRING THE SNOW” from Moomins and the Winter Wonderland, written by Jori Sjoroos, Jussi Vahvaselkä, and Paula Vesala, performed by Sarah Àlainn
• “SPEAK TO ME” from Voice from the Stone, written by Michael Wandmacher and Amy Lee, performed by Amy Lee
• “REMEMBER ME” from Coco, written by Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, performed by Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Anthony Gonzalez, and Miguel feat. Natalia Lafourcade

It’s not been an especially great year for original songs, but a handful did stand out and impress me – none more so than “Evermore,” one of the new songs penned for the remake of Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. As I wrote in my review, it’s a song for the Beast himself, who surprisingly had never had one. With its longing, brooding, yet determinedly hopeful lyrics, soaring central melody that emerges from the classic Rose theme, and beautiful instrumental bridge, it’s the knockout of the score’s new material, and is given special gravitas by Dan Stevens’s unexpectedly powerful and bassy voice.

“A Little Change In the Weather” from Downsizing is a sweet and gay little ditty based around a variation on one of the main themes heard in Rolfe Kent’s delightful score. It’s light, airy, whimsical, and beautifully old-fashioned, filled with gorgeous a cappella vocal harmonies courtesy of the British vocal group The Swingles, who also co-wrote the playful lyrics. “Bring the Snow” from the animated film Moomins and the Winter Wonderland, is simply beautiful, tender, intimate, and gorgeously rendered, with some stunning orchestral crescendos and wintry orchestrations that complement the film’s score by Polish composer Łukasz Targosz. Interestingly, this song broke a world record by having versions recorded in 23 different languages, all of which were released simultaneously to coincide with the film’s worldwide release. The version I heard, in English, is by Japanese-Australian pop star Sarah Àlainn.

“Speak to Me,” from the little-seen euro-thriller Voice from the Stone, was co-written by film score composer Michael Wandmacher and Amy Lee of the Gothic rock band Evanescence, and which is performed by Lee. It’s a haunting, quite mournful song, which is mostly stripped of the overpowering Evanescence rock arrangements, and instead concentrates on Lee’s expressive, lyrical voice. It impressed me right from the first moment I heard it. Finally, I have to mention “Remember Me” from the Pixar animated film Coco; it’s the heart and soul of that film, receiving at least half a dozen different performances with varying arrangements and different emotional intentions. It’s testament to the prowess of songwriters Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez that they were able make these subtle changes in inflection so powerful in context.

Five other original songs I enjoyed in 2017 are: “Enna Sonna” from OK JAANU by A. R. Rahman and Gulzar, performed by Arijit Singh; “If I Dare” from BATTLE OF THE SEXES by Nicholas Britell and Sara Bareilles, performed by Bareilles; “Never Forget” from MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Patrick Doyle and Kenneth Branagh, performed by Michelle Pfeiffer; “Plastic Heart” from JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 by Tyler Bates and Ciscandra Nostalghia, performed by Nostalghia; and “You Will Always Find Me In Your Heart” from SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE by Christopher Lennertz and K. T. Tunstall, performed by Shaley Scott.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION

• THE ORVILLE, music by Bruce Broughton, John Debney, Joel McNeely, and Andrew Cottee

Nominees:

• GAME OF THRONES, music by Ramin Djawadi
• ONNA JOUSHU NAOTORA, music by Yoko Kanno (review)
• OUTLANDER, music by Bear McCreary
• TIEMPOS DE GUERRA, music by Federico Jusid (review)

By far the best new television music written in 2017 was for Seth MacFarlane’s science fiction comedy-drama The Orville. The show is a loving homage to Star Trek with the addition of MacFarlane’s irreverent brand of comedy, but which also contains much more serious drama, serious science, and serious action than one might otherwise expect. The wonderful main theme is by Bruce Broughton, while the episode scores are by Broughton, John Debney, Joel McNeely, and newcomer Andrew Cottee; it’s clearly intended to evoke the Star Trek spirit of Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, and it does so brilliantly. No other score in 2017 gave me such a nostalgic glow as The Orville – and it made me ridiculously happy.

In Japan, Yoko Kanno wrote the score for the 2017 NHK Taiga drama, Onna Joshu Naotora, and it was magnificent: it overflows with gorgeous melodic writing, is punctuated with complicated and intense action music, and regularly combines the sound of a full western orchestra with a choir, and an array of traditional Japanese instruments. Meanwhile, in Spain, Federico Jusid cemented his position as the reigning king of Iberian television music with Tiempos de Guerra, a historical drama about Spanish nurses in North Africa. Fully orchestral, thematic, richly arranged, and with sparkling solos for violin, piano, and cello, the whole thing overflows with emotional period romance and drama from the first cue to the last.

Ramin Djawadi’s score for Season 7 of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones reached new heights, accompanying Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryan, and the Lannisters as they race towards the inevitable confrontation with the White Walkers for control of Westeros. Djawadi deftly juggles his now large array of character themes with sensitivity and intelligence, while giving the action material a scope that matches the show impressive visuals. Finally, Bear McCreary’s score for Season 3 of Starz’s Outlander saw the action move from the Highlands of Scotland to the West Indies, following the adventures the time travelling Claire Fraser and her hunky husband Jamie. The way McCreary added traditional Caribbean elements to his music was very impressive, but the soul of the score remains the sweeping romantic material, which crescendos every time Claire and Jamie engage in a little bit of Scottish fuckery.

Special mentions should also go to A LIFE: ITOSHIKI HITO by Naoki Sato, BELLE EPOQUE by Bartosz Chajdecki, EMERALD CITY by Trevor Morris, FARGO by Jeff Russo, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN by Mac Quayle, THE HALCYON by Samuel Sim, HOUSE OF CARDS by Jeff Beal, REINAS by Carlos Martin, SÉ QUIÉN ERES by Arnau Bataller, and SHERLOCK by David Arnold and Michael Price.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME

• VALKYRIA: AZURE REVOLUTION, music by Yasunori Mitsuda

Nominees:

• DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN II, music by Borislav Slavov
• MARIO + RABBIDS: KINGDOM BATTLE, music by Grant Kirkhope (review)
• MINECRAFT: NORSE MYTHOLOGY, music by Gareth Coker
• SO LET US MELT, music by Jessica Curry

The world of video games continues to be a source of truly outstanding music, spanning multiple genres and multiple styles, and this again was the same in 2017. The best score of the year, for me, was Yasunori Mitsuda’s score for the sci-fi fantasy action role playing game Valkyria: Azure Revolution. The score has everything: sweeping fully orchestral themes, militaristic marches, complicated action music, lighter material for prancing woodwinds, and soaring vocal performances by Sarah Àlainn (who seems to have been everywhere this year). Had it not been written for a video game, this would have competed for honors as the best score of any type written in 2017.

Running a close second is Grant Kirkhope’s masterful score for the Super Mario spinoff Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, a fun, emotional, at times wonderfully exciting orchestral score which takes the listener through a wild adventure with Mario and his friends, culminating in a Phantom of the Opera-inspired action finale that has to be heard to believed! At the other end of the scale is Jessica Curry’s score for the unusual So Let Us Melt, which the developers themselves describe as a game about friendship, gardening, and singing. Curry’s ethereal, haunting music makes outstanding work of sublimely operatic vocal performances and is perfect counterpart to her earlier score, Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture.

My top five is rounded out by two bombastic action-adventure scores: Divinity: Original Sin II by Borislav Slavov, and Minecraft: Norse Mythology by Gareth Coker. Both the scores fit my personal musical tastes perfectly: big orchestra, big themes, rousing action, and creativity in the arrangement, and Coker’s is given some additional oomph by the addition of gruff, chanting Viking vocals!

Special mentioned should also go to: ARK by Gareth Coker, CALL OF DUTY WWII by Wilbert Roget II, DEFORMERS by Austin Wintory, THE DOTA 2 by Jason Hayes, HOLLOW KNIGHT by Christopher Larkin, LAND OF GLORY by Gordy Haab, RAW DATA by Jeremy Nathan Tisser, REND by Neal Acree, RIME by David Diaz Garcia, and SYBERIA III by Inon Zur.

 

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Presented without additional commentary are my choices in the various genre sub-categories; for additional information and details on my thoughts about each nominated score, I strongly recommend you click on each link review, where available.

 

BEST DRAMA SCORE

• PHANTOM THREAD, music by Jonny Greenwood (review)

Nominees:

• DARKEST HOUR, music by Dario Marianelli (review)
• MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, music by Patrick Doyle (review)
• VICEROY’S HOUSE, music by A. R. Rahman (review)
• YOUTH, music by Lin Zhao (review)

Special mentions should also go to: 95 by Panu Aaltio, BITTER HARVEST by Benjamin Wallfisch, THE BLACK PRINCE by George Kallis, THE JADE PENDANT by Anne Kathrin Dern, PASSAGE TO DAWN by Diego Navarro, PAST LIFE by Cyrille Aufort, SUBIRBICON by Alexandre Desplat, TSUIOKU by Akira Senju, UN SAC DE BILLES by Armand Amar, and VOICE FROM THE STONE by Michael Wandmacher.

 

BEST COMEDY SCORE

• THE DEATH OF STALIN, music by Christopher Willis (review)

Nominees:

• ALI’S WEDDING, music by Nigel Westlake (review)
• DOWNSIZING, music by Rolfe Kent (review)
• KNOCK, music by Cyrille Aufort (review)
• MADAME, music by Matthieu Gonet (review)

Special mentions should also go to: GOING IN STYLE by Rob Simonsen, LISTY DO M. 3 by Łukasz Targosz, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED) by Randy Newman, PADDINGTON 2 by Dario Marianelli, SAATTOKEIKKA by Pessi Levanto, SANTA & CIE by Matthieu Gonet, SNATCHED by Theodore Shapiro and Chris Bacon, THEIR FINEST by Rachel Portman, UN PROFIL POUR DEUX by Vladimir Cosma, and WHISKY GALORE! by Patrick Doyle.

 

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER SCORE

• A CURE FOR WELLNESS, music by Benjamin Wallfisch (review)

Nominees:

• LÔI BÁO, music by Christopher Wong (review)
• PLAN DE FUGA, music by Pascal Gaigne (review)
• LA RAGAZZA NELLA NEBBIA, music by Vito Lo Re (review)
• WOLF WARRIOR 2, music by Joseph Trapanese (review)

Special mentions should also go to: DUMMIE DE MUMMIE EN DE TOMBE VAN ACHNETOET by Matthijs Kieboom, EL GUARDIÁN INVISIBLE by Fernando Velázquez, FURIOUS: THE LEGEND OF KOLOVRAT by Serj Tankian, JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE by Henry Jackman, KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, KONG: SKULL ISLAND by Henry Jackman, NAPOLI VELATA by Pasquale Catalano, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES by Geoff Zanelli, SPOOR by Antoni Łazarkiewicz, and WIND RIVER by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

 

BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI/HORROR SCORE

• VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, music by Alexandre Desplat (review)

Nominees:

• HONNOUJI HOTEL, music by Naoki Sato (review)
• THE LAST WARRIOR, music by George Kallis (review)
• THE SHAPE OF WATER, music by Alexandre Desplat (review)
• STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, music by John Williams (review)

Special mentions should also go to: ALBION: THE ENCHANTED STALLION by George Kallis, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST by Alan Menken, DESTINY: THE TALE OF KAMAKURA by Naoki Sato, IT by Benjamin Wallfisch, JUSTICE LEAGUE by Danny Elfman, THE MUMMY by Brian Tyler, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING by Michael Giacchino, THOR RAGNAROK by Mark Mothersbaugh, TOKYO GHOUL by Don Davis, and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES by Michael Giacchino.

 

BEST ANIMATION SCORE

• CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS, music by Theodore Shapiro (review)

Nominees:

• COCO, music by Michael Giacchino (review)
• MOOMINS AND THE WINTER WONDERLAND, music by Łukasz Targosz (review)
• SPARK, music by Robert Duncan (review)
• THE STAR, music by John Paesano

Special mentions should also go to: THE BOSS BABY by Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro, CARS 3 by Randy Newman, ELIAS OG STOREGAPS HEMMELIGHET by Gaute Storaas, FERDINAND by John Powell, GODZILLA: PLANET OF THE MONSTERS by Takayuki Hattori, THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE by Mark Mothersbaugh, LOVING VINCENT by Clint Mansell, NAPPING PRINCESS by Yoko Shimomura, SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE by Christopher Lennertz, and TADEO JONES 2: EL SECRETO DE REY MIDAS by Zacarías M. de la Riva.

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SCORE

• MULLY, music by Benjamin Wallfisch

Nominees:

• BOSTON, music by Jeff Beal
• CANTÁBRICO: LOS DOMINIONOS DEL OSO PARDO, music by Santi Vega
• JANE, music by Philip Glass
• L’EMPEREUR, music by Cyrille Aufort (review)

Special mentions should also go to: BLUE PLANET II by Jacob Shea and Dave Flemming, DIANA, OUR MOTHER: HER LIFE AND LEGACY by Miguel d’Oliveira, INTENT TO DESTROY by Serj Tankian, KEDI: CATS IN ISTANBUL by Kira Fontana, LION KINGDOM by Sarah Class, THE MILK SYSTEM by Gary Marlowe, THE PUTIN INTERVIEWS by Jeff Beal, SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY by Ryan Taubert, TERREUR ET GLAMEUR: MONTEE ET DECLIN DU STUDIO HAMMER by Maximilien Mathevon, and UNREST by Bear McCreary.