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Art of the Score

Episode 2: Raiders of the Lost Ark - Part 2

Art of the Score

Nicholas Buc

Education, Tv & Film, Music

5624 Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2017

⏱️ 98 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the second episode of Art of the Score, we’re going even deeper into John Williams’ 1981 score for Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the previous episode, we looked at the main themes for the score – in this episode, we’ll uncover the hidden moments and orchestrational genius that makes Raiders a film score for the ages. Episode Notes: - 2:50 The opening cue of the film – ‘In the Jungle’ - 9:40 Indiana Jones’ introduction in the film, both musical and visual - 11:45 ‘The Idol Temple’ and the spider pizzicato - 16:40 Comparison with the restless strings in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho - 20:45 The stealing of the Idol - 23:40 The rolling boulder, killer trumpet triplets, and Williams’ respect for sound effects - 28:40 The development of Marion’s theme across the score, from wistful, to tragic, to overblown romance - 36:50 The development of the Indiana Jones theme across the score, starting with its introduction - 41:20 Indiana Jones the sad and lonely professor, played on clarinet - 44:00 Indiana Jones the action star - 47:15 Our favourite performance of the Indiana Jones theme: the swim to the submarine - 49:00 Comparison with The Sea Hawk (Korngold) - 52:00 The travelling and map sequences of the film, ‘To Nepal’ and ‘Flight to Cairo’ - 1:00:00 The action cues of Raiders - 1:01:55 ‘The Basket Game’ and melodies in action sequences - 1:06:15 ‘The Fist Fight / The Flying Wing’ - 1:09:00 ‘Desert Chase’ and the trials of the orchestra - 1:12:40 John Williams does the Macarena - 1:14:00 The unscored bar fight - 1:15:50 The religious moments in the score - 1:16:30 ‘The Map Room: Dawn’ and turning religious awe into musical certainty - 1:22:50 Comparison with ‘The Lighting of the Beacons’ from Howard Shore’s Return of the King - 1:25:50 ‘The Medallion’ theme (or is it the Ark’s B theme?) - 1:29:10 ‘The Miracle of the Ark’ and the power of the Ark - 1:31:40 Williams’ use of horror music and slapsticks for the terror of the Ark - 1:35:14 The final cue of the film, and ending on the Ark theme We’d love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode of Art of the Score is proudly supported by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

0:05.3

Head over to www.m.m.com.com.org for more information on their upcoming season of live

0:13.4

movie score presentations. Welcome to Art of the Score, the podcast that explores, demystifies and celebrates some of the greatest soundtracks of all time from the world of film, TV and video games.

0:38.8

I'm Andrew Pogson. And in each episode, we'll be joined by Daniel Golding and Nicholas Buck,

0:43.5

as we check out a soundtrack we love, break down its main themes, explore what makes the score tick,

0:49.2

and hopefully impart our love of the world of soundtracks.

1:03.6

Thank you. impart our love of the world of soundtracks. In our second episode, we continue to explore the music from Raiders of the Lost

1:08.0

Ark, with part two of our analysis.

1:11.1

In episode one, we got to know all of the main themes of Raiders,

1:14.4

but in this episode, we'll delve deeper into some of the lesser-known cues

1:18.8

from the movie where much of the Williams' magic exists.

1:23.6

And joining me, as always, for part two of our expedition.

1:26.7

It is writer- lecturer, critic,

1:28.9

and all-round handsome lad. It's Dan Golding. How you doing, Dan? I'm doing good. I cannot wait to get

1:34.0

through some of this stuff. It'll be great. Do you like how I introduced you with the,

1:37.8

the arc theme over the top? Look, I think I'm worthy of. As is befitting someone of your

1:43.1

stature. Just don't open it, Dan. Yeah. As is befitting someone of your stature.

1:45.9

Just don't open it, Dan.

1:46.2

Yeah.

1:48.8

And there is the voice of God himself.

1:50.4

It is Nick Buck.

1:51.1

How are you doing?

...

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