Matthew Collins
Composition in The Shining
In the
film The Shining written and directed, by Stanley Kubrick not only
demonstrates near cinematic perfection, it is also has one of the best scores
in any horror movie. Kubrick created a terrifying piece for his horror
masterpiece. It is so innovative because most the music used was not written
for the film itself. Stanley has used music in this way before in such movie as
Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick worked
closely with score and used music from such composers as Bartok, Penderecki and
Ligeti. The music created jarring and frantic feelings for the viewer. Some of
the most notable scenes where the music fits perfectly are the scenes where
Wendy is running up the steps and Jack has the bat. Kubrik uses Penderecki’s
Utrenja, which is a very fast paced piece with disembodied vocals. The use of
this piece creates a disturbing scene that is very intense as it represents unwanted
guests within the hotel and amplifies Jack’s actions with the bat. Penderecki's
The Awakening of Jacob used in the scene where jack finds the rotting woman
shows how terrifying the moment is for Jack. The build up in the song is used
immensely well within the scene from the beautiful naked woman to rotting old corpse.
Kubrick is a Master at composing a score for films and this is shown throughout
his horror masterpiece The Shining.
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