In the current age of digital technology, anything has become possible in the creation of film and music. For example, it is possible to put one's creative imagination into physical or digital practice in composition and film making, whether it is in the form of a dream or an existing narrative such as a fairy tale. Regardless of the technology used at the time (from cel-animation to computer graphical imagery), it has been possible to put these ideas into action. This thought especially applies to film's relationship with music. We are used to hearing Western art music's depiction of epic films, but composers of popular and contemporary music have also contributed to soundtracks and designer leitmotivs. Like popular music, film is composed and marketed in various genres and, in most cases, associated with specific types of music – such as fantasy. This leads to the main discussion of the review, a book that focuses on the music of fantasy film.
As fantasy film has existed for almost a century, there is surprisingly a gap in scholarly material that discusses music in this genre. Fortunately, as part of publisher Equinox's Genre, Music and Sound Series, there is a book that attempts to fulfil this gap in the literature. The Music of Fantasy Cinema consists of 11 chapters in undivided sections. In the Introduction, the editor, Janet K. Halfyard, highlights the issues surrounding the definition of fantasy as a term and genre. It is likely that the general audience may know or feel what ‘fantasy’ is, but how would one actually define it? The complexity of the term could be further stretched if discussed along with current trends in popular culture such as virtuality – which is not approached in this book – but could be associated or replaced with ‘fantasy’ which may unintentionally complicate matters even more. Halfyard explains that ‘fantasy can easily be cross-over with other genres such as comedy, horror or romance’ (p. 4). Therefore, despite the complexity in defining ‘fantasy’ as a genre, it is not unusual to find that it has connections with other types of films. Halfyard offers an understanding of the fantasy film genre based on three categories: comedy, wishing and earthbound (pp. 5–6). Most of the contributors in the book also attempt to define the genre.
Mark Brill offers a definition of fantasy in Chapter 1, ‘Fantasy and the exotic other: the films of Ray Harryhausen’. Here Brill describes how exotic places, unfamiliar cultures, magic and the supernatural (p. 16) are all considered as fantasy. He examines common musical and cinematic trends in fantasy by studying the works of Ray Harryhausen (who directed films such as The 7 thVoyage of Sinbad, 1958 and Jason and the Argonauts, 1963), and the ‘exotic other’ (p. 19) where characters of unknown territory (e.g. villains, unfamiliar places, females) may prove to be an asset, a threat or a necessity for the main heroic figure. Brill argues how the ‘exotic other’ in early fantasy films was represented by Western art music to maintain the Western audience's attention. It was not until composers such as Lawrence Rosenthal and Miklόs Rόzsa started to break down boundaries in film music by introducing more authentic sounds – such as traditional music of other cultures – to represent the ‘exotic other’. The discussion of music that may not be considered as ‘Westernised’ continues in Chapter 2 (‘Numinous ambience: spirituality, dreamtimes and fantastic Aboriginality’), where Philip Hayward analyses how Aboriginal music is portrayed in films in the form of ambience (to signify nature, protection and spirituality) or as a deterrent (to overcome oppression).
In Chapter 3, by J. Drew Stephen (‘Who wants to live forever: glam rock, Queen and fantasy film’), the contributor makes a convincing claim that ‘glam [music], with its emphasis on theatricality and role-playing, was a perfect match for fantasy film’ (p. 58), using Flash Gordon (1980) and The Highlander (1986) to demonstrate his argument. With his case study on Queen, Stephen offers a synopsis of the two films and describes how involved they were in the musical process, especially the superhero theme which is represented by ‘power’ (via dynamics, texture and timbre), that is evident in Queen's signature genre of rock. While Stephen argues that Queen paved the way for other artists to follow suit, they are perhaps the most memorable pioneers of composing the popular music film soundtrack.
Chapter 4, ‘Fantasy meets electronica: Legend and the music of Tangerine Dream’ by Lee Barron, features the electronica genre which is evident in fantasy films such as Ridley Scott's Legend (1985). The musical analysis of Tangerine Dream is fairly limited (when compared to the other chapters), but there is a good insight into the birth of electronica. In ‘Entering the Labyrinth: how Henson and Bowie created a music fantasy’ by Liz Giuffre (Chapter 5), the author discusses the unique collaboration of the film creator of Labyrinth (Jim Henson) and performance artist David Bowie. The film allowed Bowie to showcase his musicianship, but this is somewhat musically underexplored in the chapter. For example, the song ‘Magic Dance’ had the potential to be developed and would build a stronger connection to the worlds of music and fantasy film. In Chapter 6, ‘Superman as mythic narrative: music, romanticism and the “oneiric climate”’, Ben Winters attempts to explore the music of the opening credits of the superhero film. Again, there is potential to fully explore the opening theme tune (or flying titles) by examining how Williams' composition blends with the titles and how it sets up the fantasy narrative of the film. In ‘Music and fantasy types in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands’ (Chapter 7), Alexander G. Binns explores how the film is divided into binaries which are represented by fantasy (orchestral music) and reality (popular music).
‘The tritone within: interpreting harmony in Elliot Goldenthal's score for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ (Chapter 8) is perhaps the strongest chapter with a musicological approach. Here Scott Murphy explains the use of the tritone and its significance in fantasy film (to represent certain situations such as violent or climatic scenes). Murphy argues that not only the common leitmotif has an important role in film music, but also the tritone. The remaining three chapters continue the musicological approach by analysing gender coding in adventure films in Chapter 9 (‘Scoring fantasy girls: music and female agency in Indiana Jones and The Mummy films’ by Janet K. Halfyard and Victoria Hancock), and science and magic in Chapter 11 (‘Superconductors: music, fantasy and science in The Sorcerer's Apprentice’ by Janet K. Halfyard). It is likely that the readers will be drawn to Chapter 10, Jamie L. Webster's ‘Creating magic with music: the changing dramatic relationship between music and magic in Harry Potter films’. Here Webster examines how fantasy in the famous film series is represented by the music. Webster explores ‘Hedwig's Theme’ by discussing its theme and variations in the films. This accessible chapter is supported with a clear analysis. Here, the reader will be able to virtualise the music without having to physically search for the soundtrack or film.
Overall, this book carries an academic feel, with a target aimed at music students. If the book is used in other disciplines such as film, it is likely that individual chapters will be suitable for research or set readings. A glossary would have been useful for the reader as the contributors deal with specific terminology. There is also a call for some chapters to offer a stronger musical analysis as an aid for the reader. Overall, this book has helped to decrease the gap in scholarly material that covers fantasy film music; therefore, The Music of Fantasy Cinema certainly deserves a follow-up volume.
