Halloween: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
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Music CD Cover
Composer: John CarpenterComposer: John Carpenter
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Varese Sarabande
Free Music Notes for Halloween: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Free Music Review: One of the great movie scores. 9/10
Hit: 5 Stars
Since I've got both versions of this soundtrack, I may as well discuss both. The 20th Anniversary Edition features dialogue/scenes from the movie interspersed with the tracks. As I didn't know this when I bought it, I got the original soundtrack too. Both versions are fine, but if dialogue and excerpt scenes from the movie could annoy you, then go for the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack version. Another reason I got the original soundtrack was that I thought maybe the music had been altered in some way for the main theme in a way in which I found annoying. It wasn't. Watching the movie, the annoying part of the theme must have escaped me.
Both versions of the soundtrack have the same liner notes, I think, by the director/composer John Carpenter. He mentions some interesting things in his short article, like a studio executive not finding the movie scary, but having a different reaction to it once the score was added. I know what she meant! The soundtrack is really the 'hook' of his movie. The main theme has a just delicious keyboard riff to it. Also interesting was Carpenter mentioning how he was influenced by movie composers Bernard Herrmann (with Alfred Hitchcock) and Ennio Morricone ('spaghetti westerns' with Serge Leone and Clint Eastwood). Of his famous main theme, Carpenter mentions getting the idea for the 5/4 time from his father, I think, when John played the bongos as a child.
As far as I can tell, there are some five categories of tracks: the major theme; three minor themes; and incidental music. Maybe these can be whittled down to three...major theme, minor theme, and incidental music. Not sure if my 5 categories referred to the Anniversary edition...probably not, and my musical analysis isn't anything more than layman level.
Musically, some tracks are nearly identical or have slight variations or seem 'stitched together'. Tracks are marked by a minimalist style, which is very effective. They have simple notes and you get juxtaposition between piano and synthesiser, with one playing high notes, while the other goes low, or in the middle.
Selected tracks from the Original soundtrack:
Halloween theme - has a heartbeat kind of sound to it and an annoying bit which I had never noticed before...what sounds like a sprinkler being used! Usually I don't like the original version of a song being messed with, but I think the famous main theme would be even cooler without the sprinkler sound in it. Piano plays high notes whilst low, gothic notes are played on the synthesiser.
Laurie's theme - a variation on the main theme, in the Original version. Sounds like two pieces stitched together. The second part is more sombre with 'brown' notes on the synth, so to speak.
Meyers' house - sounds like 3 pieces stitched together. The first piece is a variation on Laurie's Theme, but pensive, languid and sort of relaxing. The second piece has a chiming synth sound, which reappears on other tracks. Notes not clear, but I think the main theme is also used in this piece.
Michael kills Judith - another variation on a theme. Has an interesting, detuned piano sort of sound to it (vaguely along the lines of the theme to "The young & the restless" day time soap opera). Curious synth melody sound at the start and has some loooong notes utilised.
The shape lurks - something new, musically here. Has dramatic, mid-bass piano notes and a high pitched fire alarm sound to it. The synthesiser really hits those 'brown' notes here!
The shape stalks - a variation on the previously mentioned track. I like the reverb early on in the notes. The variation includes a loooong scraping, metal sound or some such.
In conclusion, a satisfying movie score. It has exciting, simple/repetitious compositions, as well as some pensive, moody tracks. However, the insanely catchy piano/synthesiser melody of the main theme is unforgettable.
Must remember to check out Morricone's theme to "The good, the bad and the ugly". It's also repetitious, but no less delicious.
Halloween: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Poster
The success of the original Halloween launched six sequels, a ravenous decade's worth of imitators, and Hollywood careers for star Jamie Lee Curtis and director John Carpenter. But its budget was a micro one, and director Carpenter managed to save a few bucks by hiring the same composer he'd worked with since his days as a student and struggling indie--himself. Borrowing the staccato rhythmic devices of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells cum Exorcist score, Carpenter overlaid them with a few simple Grand Guignol-esque synth chords and created nothing less than a surprisingly enduring horror classic. Carpenter also gleaned a few hints from Italian prog-rock horror-score kings Goblin, imbuing his simple, synthesizer-based cues with an almost subconscious sense of dread, tension, and impending doom. If the music has become something of a modern cliché, that's only a testament to its continued ability to strike terror in the hearts of listeners. --Jerry McCulleyMiscellaneous Music CDs
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