Sound technique · used in 4 films
Building a score from instruments and sounds that match the story's era, like ancient lyres, bronze and folk singing. The music feels made from the world on screen.
Examples
Danny Boyle · 2015
Daniel Pemberton's score changes with each act. 1984 uses analog synthesizers, 1988 moves to operatic music for the Opera House and 1998 was composed on an iMac. The music follows the technology Jobs is selling.
Where to see it: The 1988 launch. Operatic music plays at the War Memorial Opera House while Jobs argues with Wozniak about how he treats people.
David Fincher · 2020
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross wrote the score with 1940s-style instruments, and the musicians recorded from home because of COVID-19. The music sounds like it came from the period and keeps you in old Hollywood.
Where to see it: The 1933 party at Hearst Castle. Mankiewicz mixes with Hearst and Marion Davies at the castle.
Ridley Scott · 2021
Harry Gregson-Williams's score features the a cappella group Voces8 alongside orchestra. The voices give the story a medieval, churchlike weight without sounding like a museum piece. They set a serious tone for a story about power and belief.
Where to see it: The score: Throughout the film, choral voices and mixed instruments underline the three characters and the build toward the duel.
Christopher Nolan · 2026
Ludwig Goransson avoided the usual orchestral sound of sword-and-sandal films. He layered bronze gongs with synthesizers, used a replica ancient aulos and lyre and recorded Albanian shepherds singing and playing flutes. At Nolan's suggestion, the lyre sounds when Odysseus plucks his bow.
Where to see it: The bow contest: Penelope declares she will marry whoever can string Odysseus's bow and shoot an arrow through a row of axe heads. Only Odysseus succeeds, which reveals who he is.
Questions