This groundbreaking collection by the most distinguished musicologists and film scholars in their fields gives long overdue recognition to music as equal to the image in shaping the experience of film. Refuting the familiar idea that music serves as an unnoticed prop for narrative, these essays demonstrate that music is a fully imagined and active power in the worlds of film. Even where films do give it a supporting role--and many do much more--music makes an independent contribution. Drawing on recent advances in musicology and cinema studies, Beyond the Soundtrack interprets the...

In the first in-depth examination of music written for Hollywood animated cartoons of the 1930s through the 1950s, Daniel Goldmark provides a brilliant account of the enormous creative effort that went into setting cartoons to music and shows how this effort shaped the characters and stories that have become embedded in American culture. Focusing on classical music, opera, and jazz, Goldmark considers the genre and compositional style of cartoons produced by major Hollywood animation studios, including Warner Bros., MGM, Lantz, and the Fleischers. Tunes for 'Toons discusses several...

This collection of essays explores the link between comedy and animation in studio-era cartoons, from filmdom s earliest days through the twentieth century. Written by a who s who of animation authorities, Funny Pictures offers a stimulating range of views on why animation became associated with comedy so early and so indelibly, and illustrates how animation and humor came together at a pivotal stage in the development of the motion picture industry. To examine some of the central assumptions about comedy and cartoons and to explore the key factors that promoted their fusion, the book...

"Photoplays," or silent movies, cried out for accompaniment, and a distinctive art form arose to fill the demand, combining cinema, music, and storytelling. This unique anthology features original sheet music for the piano pieces that complemented early motion pictures. Derived from eight rare sources, the contents include pieces by J. S. Zamecnik, M. L. Lake, Joseph Carl Breil, J. Bodewalt Lampe, and Walter C. Simon.
An extensive essay by editor Daniel Goldmark introduces the compilation. Goldmark discusses the history of early cinema music its composers and publishers as well as its...