Movie × Music

Author: Luo Zhanfeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: I don’t know if I chose the film music or if the film music chose me. Because of my love for it, I began to write about it. Luo Zhanfeng’s Soft and Hard Approach: Soft: A strong moment of being moved by film music was Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore, with the music primarily composed by Elio Morricone. Unexpectedly, it led me on a journey of exploration in film music, transforming from a listener and consumer to a researcher and writer in this field. The process was spontaneous, yet it required effort—active pursuit and accidental discovery. Most importantly, I believed in starting from the heart. Among the film composers I admire, the one who has remained steadfast in my heart for years is Presnitzer. Although his long-time collaborator, my beloved director Kieslowski, is no longer with us, his presence is so profound that I’ve collected different versions of the same album or even purchased multiple copies of the same album, fearing that one day the disc might get scratched and become unobtainable. Due to this "incomparable pair," I made a wish for myself: my next destination is Poland. Hard: Graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Majored in Chinese Language and Literature, with minors in Philosophy and Gender Studies, later earning a Master of Arts in Modern Languages and Cultures. Member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. Engaged in media work for many years, I strive to create my own secret garden of film music amidst heavy responsibilities, sometimes opening the door to invite you in. My film music column articles have appeared in Cinephile, as well as in Film Appreciation and Hong Kong Economic Daily. This book weaves together film and music, offering readers a new perspective on "listening and reading" films. Books that cross-discuss music and film are rare today. Among film enthusiasts, many are also music lovers, as many classic films feature outstanding soundtracks, often composed by masterful artists, making music and imagery shine together and even spreading even further. The author possesses a strong sense of perception toward film, music, and literature. This book is a collection of her film music criticism articles, divided into six sections, discussing various aspects of film music—from content to form—from different thematic angles and film practices. Her analysis of the and of film music has greatly helped film enthusiasts in their close reading of films. The author also cites numerous English sources, demonstrating a normative academic stance in her attempt to study the new cultural phenomenon of film music as an interdisciplinary medium.