Intrada Soundtrack Forum

Just for fun. Part experiment to see what people think of as sad, part opportunity to invite discussion on a style of writing rarely singled out. "Sad" in broad musical terms typically might mean a theme rooted in minor keys (the "sad" keys, the black notes on a piano, so forth) and intended to haunt or induce sorrow. Please try to avoid listing really pretty pieces just because they may be gentle or subdued. Think tears. I was almost going to say bringing up Georges Delerue would be cheating but he has a lot of sunny major key themes, too... and in fact a sad theme could probably be scored in a major key anyway. Plus, I have one of his in my top five. Whatever. Pick any decade or era you identify with. If you find it sad, feel free to list it. Stick with five.

Five varied examples, off the top of my head:

1) "The Girl From Patusan" from LORD JIM (Kaper)
2) "Interlude - Instrumental" from INTERLUDE (Delerue)
3) "The Lonely Princess" from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (Mancini)
4) "Main Title" (or at least the main theme) from PSYCHO II (Goldsmith)
5) "Neesa, The Indian Girl" from NEVADA SMITH (Newman)

If I think very long, five others will probably pop up instead. So I'll just stick with these for now.

What say you?
--Doug

I like to mostly think in context to the film's imagery. For me, the saddest and most haunting cues are very much emotionally amplified by the film's non-musical content even when I'm just listening to the music as an album.

Obvious picks for me would be:

"End Titles" - ORCA (Ennio Morricone)
"The Elephant Man Theme" - THE ELEPHANT MAN (John Morris)
"Main Title" - CARRIE (Pino Donaggio)
"Theme from The Champ" - THE CHAMP (Dave Grusin)
"Finale and End Credits" - THE CONVERSATION (David Shire)

Yes, this list would get quite difficult if I stopped to think about it for too long! For now, what jumps to mind is...

"Anastasia's Illness" from IVAN THE TERRIBLE (Sergei Prokofiev)
"Main Title" from THE SAND PEBBLES (Jerry Goldsmith)
"The Meeting With Mao" from NIXON (John Williams)
"Casper's Lullaby" from CASPER (James Horner)
"End Credits" from WILLARD (Shirley Walker)

I don't know if movie songs are permitted, but if so, "Deep in the Dark" from CHARLOTTE'S WEB (The Sherman Bros.) might have made the cut. Maybe in place of THE SAND PEBBLES, which perhaps skews more "tragic" than "sad."

Not an authoritative list for me, but I chose a favorite cue from several of my favorite composers...

1. "For Mina" - John Williams, DRACULA
2. "Tommy's Death" - Jerry Goldsmith, THE SWARM (LP)
3. "End Titles" - George Fenton, MARY REILLY
4. "Alone on the Farm" - John Barry, OUT OF AFRICA
5. "Jacob's Gone" - Howard Shore, BEFORE AND AFTER

Some of these are stronger on "theme" than others but each does have what I find to be a particularly sad or pensive take on material from elsewhere in the score. Strangely, listening to this music is thrilling to me and makes me very happy. It's not "depressing" as some others find it, and in fact this level of artistry makes me glow with appreciation.

_________________
Randy Wilson
Dallas, TX

I do not really think of any music as "sad", so I concentrate on "melancholy" or "haunting" pieces. I think "haunting" (as in the thread's title) might be the mood I go for here.
Also, as T.Newman Fan pointed out, sometimes it depends on the movie's context.

In any case, playing by the rules, here are just five off the top of my head, and, like Doug said, if I think long enough, some others migth come to mind.*


1. Ennio Morricone: "Interrupted Melody" (Exorcist II - The Heretic)
Not because of any particular movie image... it is just a wonderfully haunting theme.

2. Bernard Herrmann: The Road & Finale (Fahrenheit 451)
If Bradbury's prose at the end of the book were music, that's what it might sound like.

3. Jerry Goldsmith: "Death of a Thousand Cuts" (The Sand Pebbles)
A demonstration on how to maximize the impact of a scene through not just excellent music but intelligent musical spotting. In the context of the movie, this is likely to be the saddest scene Goldsmith has ever scored.

4. George Delerue: "Adagio" (Platoon, unused)
Delerue's original composition is sadder than Barber's more contemplative Adagio that was ultimately used.

5. John Barry: "Final Dance" (Walkabout)
One of Barry's most poignant cues. Digeridoo. (Sounds funny as a word, but is used wonderfully as a solo instrument here.)


*What'd I say.... just posting this, another one came to mind... off the top of my head were the 5 above, but I John Williams: "The Search for the Blue Fairy" (from A.I.) is definitely one of the most heart tugging cues ever composed by John Williams. I just don't have the time right now to think which of the five up there I'd exchange.

And sheesh... Basil Poledouris "It's My Pary" (It's My Party)...

These just pop into my head now... and I still got some stuff on my desk here to do... so I gotta for now, or I'll come up with a completely revised "on second thought" list.

Although not in my top five, I've got to mention "The Skull" from Carlo Silliotto's score for the 2004 version of The Punisher. A cue can't get much better at conveying loss and revenge (sorry, "punishment") at the same time.

The film may not be so great, but it was extremely refreshing to see this kind of film receive a relatively delicate and smartly conceived score throughout.

These themes break my heart when I hear them in the movie or apart. Not all of these would necessarily be characterized as sad or haunting, but for me they are archetypally so:

Main theme from The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Jarre) - especially in the final cue - Miss Lillie Langtry

Opening and ending titles from Silent Running (Peter Schickele)

You're Going Back/Finale from Defending Your Life (Michael Gore) - I've probably listened to this the most.

Finale from Somewhere in Time (John Barry) - talk about music improving a movie, this is textbook.

And, perhaps oddly for anyone not a trekkie - Sign-Off from Star Trek The Undiscovered Country - it's a triumphant piece playing under the cast autographs at the end, but it's always just hit me right in the throat. In a good way.

Morricone: Addio Fratello Crudele Main Title
Grusin: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter End Title
Herrmann: Valse Lente from "Obsession"
Herrmann: Sorrow from "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"
Delerue: A Walk With Love and Death - Main Title (well the whole score is actually very sorrowful)
or
Delerue: Contempt: Theme/Main Title