Soundtrack of My Life

So I got to see the new Narnia movie yesterday. I had always loved the first one. SO MUCH! "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" had always been one of my favorite books - the idea of walking through a wardrobe into a new land! And, of course, as I grew I appreciated the symbolism of it.

That's not the point.

This movie had one of my favorite soundtracks ever! (Oddly enough, seeing as how I have not purchased it...) It complemented the magic wonderfully.

So yesterday when I saw Prince Caspian I went with a fear - what happens if they change the composer? They did in the Harry Potter series. What if the same composer chooses different themes that I don't like? What if they never play the good stuff?

I didn't have to worry. See, that's the beauty of movie soundtracks. The themes subtley keep you in tune with the motiffe of the scene. The music swells and ebbs with the drama. Themes develop characters personalities, and they clue you in to major events.

I've been watching lost, and I notice the shrieky music when something ominous happens, even if the characters don't realize that it's ominous.

Soundtracks are so important to me, often times my judgment of a movie is emotionally based on enjoying the soundtrack while, looking back, the plot may not have been that good. I loved the recent movie 10,000 B.C. because it had a wonderfully dramatic soundtrack based on a simple theme.

In fact, old movies with no sound would have a player piano develop the "soundtrack" to go along with the action. And really, I personally think I could have just as much fun watching movies if there was a soundtrack but no speaking. (I qualify that, of course. Even silent movies shot up screens to show what the actors were thinking or saying).

So, in short - I love music!