reading_boswell

Sound In Cinema

I can recall many memorable scenes with distinctive soundtracks over the years. It seems fitting to mention the first synchronized sound film The Jazz Singer (1927) which featured several musical numbers by Al Jolsen. ONe of my favorite vignettes with sound is in Blue Velvet where Dean Stockwell syncs with Roy Orbison. Custom sound was created for punches in the fight scenes in The Raging Bull. Original sound was mixed with squashed tomatoes and melons - gunshots were used to mimic the pops of flashbulbs. Robert Altman developed a distinctive style of overlapping. In the film Nashville, we see a highway traffic jam where several people are outside their cars talking. He intends for us to hear multiple conversations simultaneously. The reading mentions Welles's Magnificient Amberson's - Sound helps emphasize the contrast between the horse drawn sled racing through the snow (beautiful music) and the hand- cranking and engine sputtering of the horseless carriage. In animation, Disney's Silly Symphony Skeleton Dance was the 2nd synchronized sound cartoon with an original score by Carl Stalling.