1917 (soundtrack)

1917 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the album to the Sam Mendes-directed war film 1917 featuring original score composed by Thomas Newman. The film marked Thomas' seventh collaboration with Mendes after American Beauty (1999), Road to Perdition (2002), Jarhead (2005), Revolutionary Road (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).

1917 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
Thomas Newman
Released20 December 2019
StudioAbbey Road Studios
GenreOrchestral
Length1:17:08
Label
Producer
  • Bill Bernstein
  • Thomas Newman
Thomas Newman chronology
Tolkien
(2019)		 1917
(2019)		 Let Them All Talk
(2020)

The film's score was recorded before and during the film's production. Initially three musicians recorded the score at Los Angeles, before recruiting an 87-piece orchestra which performed the score at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Orchestrated by J. A. C. Redford and conducted by Thomas himself, the sessions held for nine weeks. Thomas considered it as his most challenging score, in terms of vocabulary, execution and production.

The soundtrack was released by Sony Classical Records on 20 December 2019.[1] It received mixed reviews from music critics, but was also nominated for Best Original Score in several ceremonies, especially at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Satellite Awards and Grammy Awards, lost to Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker (2019).[2]

Background

"The movie is in present tense and because of that, music cannot comment because that puts you a couple of seconds behind present tense. Music is there to help, but the way in which it helps must be fundamental and visceral as opposed to intellectual and reflective.

— Thomas Newman[3]

The film is scored by Mendes' regular collaborator Thomas Newman, whom he had discussed him the musical ideas before scoring the film, and had understood the tense journey of the film needed to come around a sense of human redemption in the end. Describing the experience of time, it felt that "exploring musical time works in lockstep with or in counterpoint to film time". Since the film takes in present tense, he felt that "the more the music commented on any particular action, the less exciting it was likely to be".[4]

In April 2019, before Mendes began shooting for the film, Thomas described his musical ideas to Mendes without seeing the final edit.[5] Given that the one-shot concept he would experiment on the pacing and rhythm of the film's music, where in a sequence, Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) walking out of General Erinmore's (Colin Firth) dugout and onto the front line, Thomas intended that the music had to create excitement but could not get in the "way of the story".[6] Hence he learnt a lot about pacing, though it was not related to "being outspoken or colorful" but had a sense of neutral pace to understand the "tick-tocking aspect of the film".[3][6]

Recording and composition

Thomas did not begin scoring with an orchestra, but instead with three musicians at Los Angeles he regularly worked with. Since it was a war film, he felt important to use snare drums and instruments associated with that to produce a "military sound" but not "too military" as the director did not want the music to fit in particular type but needed to drive the score forward.[6] Ultimately, through his discussions, Thomas brought lap dulcimers and processed field cadences as the sound for the film. The 87-piece orchestra included strings, solo cello, brass, wind instruments, drums and percussions, which was laid with electronic, modeled sounds as a base for the score as it "hides the intent more and allows for an orchestra to grow out of something, as opposed to being there to begin with".[6]

Thomas considered the film as his most challenging film's he word on both in terms of vocabulary, execution and composition.[6] He worked for many months in Los Angeles and moved to London in September, to record the orchestral portions at the Abbey Road Studios for nine weeks, he called it as "physically exhausting" as he worked without a day off. He felt that there was a "certain sense of satisfaction having made in one piece".[6] The climatic six-minute musical piece was recorded in a single take.[5]

Reception

Critical response

In a negative review, James Southall of Movie Wave rated two stars summarising: "This lengthy album is a very difficult one to summarise. A very large part of it is really not at all satisfying away from the film, but then every now and again something comes along which is just outrageously good – and part of the reason it’s so good is the contrast with what’s around it. In this case, when you do you get a few minutes of the best music Thomas Newman has written in years, but even so it’s a very hard slog to get there."[7] Filmtracks.com wrote "[Thomas] Newman's work for 1917 is as psychologically exhausting as the film itself and cannot be sustained alone for its whole length. The variance in the score is just too extreme, no consistent demeanor developed for the whole and the moments of catharsis forced cheaply into an otherwise bleak soundscape. That said, the highlights of this score are among the best of Newman's career, especially "The Night Window," and no collector of his work should be without these moments of impressive, symphonic triumph."[8] Zanobard Reviews gave 5/10 to the album calling it as "decidingly unremarkable" and wrote "it's a bit of a shame really, as there are elements of Newman’s score that are good but sadly none that last long enough to capture interest".[9]

In a positive review, music critic Jonathan Broxton wrote "the score is nevertheless one well worth exploring. The highlights, like “The Night Window,” are among the best thing Newman has written this decade, the Hans Zimmer temp-track homages are still worthwhile if you can ignore how they came into being, and as for the rest of the score... well, it needs context for it to be appreciated fully, but the film is so good that appreciating it in context will likely be one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences of the year."[10] Thomas Tunsall of Irish Film Critic commented that the score "exhibits another magnificent effort by the gifted Newman".[11] Anton Smit of Soundtrack World wrote: "The music worked very well in the film. It was in the background for most of the time, was allowed to shine when it was needed, and most of these moments are the highlights of the album."[12] Little Dabler commented "Newman’s use of brass nods to the military, and the soundtrack replicates the parallel opening and closing camera shots, bringing the listener full circle."[13]

Accolades

1917 marked the 14th nomination for Thomas Newman at the Academy Award for Best Original Score ever since his first with The Shawshank Redemption (1994).[14][lower-alpha 2] Several publications highlighted the possibility for Newman's score to fetch him an Academy Award.[15][16] He further competed with his cousin Randy Newman whose score for the film, Marriage Story (2019) has been nominated for the "Best Original Score" categories at the 92nd Academy Awards,[17] 77th Golden Globe Awards, 25th Critics' Choice Awards and 24th Satellite Awards, and few critics association based awards.[18][19][20] Both Thomas and Randy, lost the respective major awards to Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker (2019); whom became the first woman to win an original score Academy Award since 1998.[21]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
Academy Awards 9 February 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [22]
Austin Film Critics Association 6 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Won [23]
British Academy Film Awards 2 February 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [24]
[25]
Chicago Film Critics Association 14 December 2019 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [26]
[27]
Critics' Choice Awards 12 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [28]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 16 December 2019 Best Musical Score Thomas Newman Won [29]
Detroit Film Critics Society 9 December 2019 Best Use of Music 1917 Nominated [30]
Florida Film Critics Circle 23 December 2019 Best Score Thomas Newman Nominated [31]
[32]
Georgia Film Critics Association 10 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Won [33]
Golden Globe Awards 5 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [34]
[35]
Grammy Awards 14 March 2021 Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Thomas Newman Nominated [36]
Hollywood Critics Association Awards 9 January 2020 Best Score Thomas Newman Nominated [37]
Houston Film Critics Society 2 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Won [38]
[39]
International Film Music Critics Association 20 February 2020 Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film Thomas Newman Won [40]
[41]
Film Music Composition of the Year "The Night Window" by Thomas Newman Nominated
Film Score of the Year Thomas Newman Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association 8 December 2019 Best Music Thomas Newman Runner-up [42]
Online Film Critics Society 6 January 2020 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [43]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle 16 December 2019 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [44]
Satellite Awards 19 December 2019 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [45]
Saturn Awards 26 October 2021 Best Music Thomas Newman Nominated [46]
Seattle Film Critics Society 16 December 2019 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [47]
[48]
St. Louis Film Critics Association 15 December 2019 Best Music Score Thomas Newman Won [49]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association 8 December 2019 Best Original Score Thomas Newman Nominated [50]
World Soundtrack Awards 24 October 2020 Film Composer of the Year Thomas Newman Nominated [51]

Track listing
Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."1917"1:17
2."Up the Down Trench"6:19
3."Gehenna"3:34
4."A Scrap of Ribbon"6:29
5."The Night Window"3:41
6."The Boche"3:21
7."Tripwire"1:40
8."A Bit of Tin"2:02
9."Lockhouse"4:04
10."Blake and Schofield"4:20
11."Milk"10:10
12."Écoust-Saint-Mein"2:36
13."Les Arbres"3:36
14."Engländer"4:29
15."The Rapids"1:29
16."Croisilles Wood"2:06
17."Sixteen Hundred Men"6:32
18."Mentions in Dispatches"3:44
19."Come Back to Us"5:39
Total length:1:17:08

"I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"
"I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (From the Film 1917)"
Single by Jos Slovick
Released7 February 2020
Recorded2019
StudioAbbey Road Studios
GenreOrchestral
Length4:09
Label
Producer(s)
  • Bill Bernstein
  • Thomas Newman

The soundtrack does not include the rendition of the American folk song The Wayfaring Stranger by Jos Slovick.[52] In early 2020, a Change.org petition collected over 2,500 signatures to urge film producers Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures to release a full studio version of Slovick's performance. Subsequently, Sony Classical Records released an EP of the song on 7 February on Amazon and streaming platforms.[53]

Track listing
No.TitleArtistLength
1."I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (From 1917 (A Cappella))"Jos Slovick4:09
2."I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (From 1917)"Jos Slovick & Craig Leon4:49
3."I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (Original Lyrics)"Jos Slovick & Craig Leon4:49
Total length:13:47

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[54]

  • Thomas Newman – composer, producer, conductor
  • Caroline Dale – cello
  • Rick Cox – fiddle, siren
  • George Doering – fiddle, electric guitar, frame drum, melodica, dulcimer, acoustic buss,
  • Steve Tavaglione – percussion, woodwind, reversed brass
  • John Beasley – keyboards, synthesiser, sounds, effects
  • J.A.C. Redford – orchestration
  • Thomas Bowes – concertmaster
  • Lucy Whalley – orchestra contractor
  • Leslie Morris – contractor
  • Shinnosuke Miyazawa – recording
  • Gordon Davidson – orchestra recording, recordist
  • Simon Rhodes – orchestra recording, mixing
  • Dave Collins – mastering
  • Bill Bernstein – producer, music editor
  • Global Music Services – music preparation
  • Jill Streater – copyist
  • Reprise Music Services – music preparation
  • Peter Clarke – music editor
  • Daniel Hayden – engineer
  • Jeff Gartenbaum – engineer

Notes
  1. Listed under Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC.
    • From 1995–1998, the Best Original Score award was split into Original Dramatic Score and Original Musical or Comedy Score. He received a nomination for Unstrung Heroes (1996) in the latter category.[14]
    • Newman also received Best Original Song nomination for WALL-E (2008), in addition to an original score.[14]

References
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