Four Sessions: Tuesdays at 5:30 pm
September 17: Getting Under Our Skin
October 1: Westerns – “A Steppe is a Steppe!”
October 15: Genres for the Generations
October 29: Cartoons: Not Just for Kids!

Cost per lecture: $24 Members, $29 Non-members
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Cost for the series: $90 Members, $100 Non-members
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Experiencing a great film score can have a lifelong impact. Director Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, Moonstruck) stated: “The marriage of the moving image and music is perhaps the most powerful visual communication we have.” Composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Ennio Morricone, and John Williams have engraved iconic scenes into our collective memory with their extraordinary music, even if the rest of the movie might have faded.

Film music can inspire and romance us. It can make emotional statements that a script simply can’t; it can subvert a plot with a completely different subtext, and inject irony, fear or humor when there is apparently none on screen. Music can salvage a bad movie and make a good one great.

The Museum’s popular music lecturer Dr. Rachel Franklin returns to an audience favorite, handpicking more movie landmarks and exploring the stories behind some of the world’s greatest film music. Over four lectures we’ll watch fascinat- ing film clips and discuss the role of the score, comparing our responses, and delving into the history and craft behind the composer’s work. We’ll consider the role of the movie director, covering genres from Westerns, historical subjects, thrillers, animated films, and many more. Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a fabulous ride!

October 1: Westerns – “A Steppe is a Steppe!”
So declared the Ukrainian composer Dmitri Tiomkin. Pronounced shtep, this vast plain could be a few hours east of Moscow, Russia — or ten minutes from Moscow, Idaho. Tiomkin was one of many immigrants from Eastern Europe who created the mighty West in music, but that rip-roaring tradition underwent a massive change after the arrival of Italian “Spaghetti” Westerns. Featured films include High Noon; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; and Dances with Wolves.