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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 Music

    Key Stage Target !KS2

    Curriculum Links !Music

    This resource is intended to support Key Stage 2 music teaching. The National Curriculum for the KeyStage states that students should learn how to understand the way in which thoughts and feelingsare conveyed through music and that they should develop their own musical compositions. Theresource focuses on the music used in many popular childrens films and introduces students to theconcept of soundtracking. There is also an activity for each film that is designed to consolidate thenew concepts that students have learned.

    Running a film club in your school can enrich the curriculum, and may allow young people to

    experience cultures beyond their own, explore a wide variety of issues and stimulate theirimaginations. After watching a film, students can comment during a post-screening discussion withtheir peers, before writing reviews on the FILMCLUB website (which has a real audience of otheryoung people) where they can analyse the music in the film. Above all, students and teachers canenjoy the shared experience of watching and discussing a film together.

    The films in this resource are:

    Laurel and Hardy - Way Out West(1937, U) 5+, 65 mins

    Enchanted(2007, PG) 5+ 107 mins

    Dumbo(1941, U) 5+ 64minsPinocchio(1940, U) 5+ 83 mins

    Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade(1989, PG) 9+ 127 mins

    North by Northwest(1959, PG) 9+ 130 mins

    Jurassic Park(1993, PG) 7+, 127 mins

    Princess Mononoke(2004, U) 9+ 119 mins

    Chariots of Fire(1981, U) 9+, 124 mins

    It is now even easier to join through online start up sessions! To join FILMCLUB please visit:

    www.filmclub.orgor call 0207 288 4520 for more information. Follow us on Twitter and

    Instagram @filmclubuk and on Facebook www.facebook.com/filmclubuk

    http://www.facebook.com/filmclubukhttp://www.filmclub.org/http://www.filmclub.org/http://www.filmclub.org/http://www.facebook.com/filmclubukhttp://www.facebook.com/filmclubukhttp://www.filmclub.org/http://www.filmclub.org/
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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicLaurel and Hardy - Way Out West(1937, U) 5+ 65 mins

    Whats this film about?Comic shenanigans from the legendary double-act, who here travel to the Wild West

    and run into problems with a cunning bar owner.

    Why this film?

    Comedy duo Laurel and Hardy travel to the Wild West where they run into a cunning bar

    owner, and soon everything starts to go wrong - which is exactly what you want to

    happen in a comedy. Want to see a man actually being forced to eat his hat? Someone

    using his thumb as lighter? The weighty Olly doing a spot of dancing (surprising well)?

    Composer Marvin Hatley earned an Oscar nomination for Best Music (Scoring) in 1937 .

    What the critics think

    This movie was pure comedy, the type of thing every child likes to watch.

    FILMCLUB Member Harry, age 9

    Some classic moments, such as the pair's soft-shoe shuffle outside the saloon, and their

    vocal duet at the bar on 'The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia', as well as a razor-sharp

    satire of B Western conventions

    Time Out Magazine Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students but is also suitable for use with

    ages 5+. Suggested subjects for discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. Listen to The Cuckoo Song which is Laurel and Hardys

    theme song. What does the music tell us about the pair?

    2. Why do you think the song The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

    is one of Laurel and Hardys most famous songs?

    3. How does the music add to the drama in the tickling

    scene?

    4. Do you class this film as a musical or a comedy film?

    Explain your views.

    Next Steps

    1. Create your own dance to the songAt The Balland perform it for your class.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. Hardys character is represented by the pompous and dramatic melody. Laurels character is out of key andcan only use two notes that create the cuckoo sound. Ask students what it means to say that somebody iscuckoo. However Laurels music creates the harmony and demonstrates the partnership between the pair.

    2. The song was originally written in 1913 and so had been around for 20 years prior to Laurel and Hardy's cover of it.This helps it to exist outside of the film and allows it to be easily enjoyed on its own merit. The piece uses differentvocal ranges to comic effect, Hardy mimes a deep bass vocal which changes to a high falsetto when he is hiton the head with a mallet. Once you have seen the film the visual image stays with you, making the vocal

    change humorous even whenlistening to the song on its own.

    3. The background music is very fast and complicated. It adds to the drama of quite a serious scene. The music isvery loud and its speed causes viewers to feel like their heart is racing to match the tempo of the music.

    4. Ask your students to define what a musical is. Does this film match their definition?

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicEnchanted(2007, PG) 5+ 107 mins

    Whats this film about?A very modern fairy tale about a cartoon character who enters the real world,

    Enchantedis delightful, hilarious and irreverent.

    Why this film?

    Enchanted has to be the ultimate fish-out-of-water comedy, as a cartoon character

    enters the real world and becomes human - although she still holds onto certain

    characteristics from her old life, like wide-eyed innocence, the ability to organise

    battalions of animals and a tendency to break into song. Amy Adams plays the beautiful

    Princess Giselle who, thanks to a shove from wicked Queen Narissa, suddenly ends up

    living in New York, and in three dimensions! The music was composed by Alan Menken(who has written the music for many Disney films including The Little Mermaid) with lyrics

    by Stephen Shultz and Enchantedhad three nominations for music related Academy

    Awards in 2008.

    What the critics think

    The songs are so sweet and if you like to sing sweet songs watch this movie and sing

    along.

    FILMCLUB Member Orlaith, age 10

    A heart-winning musical comedy that skips lightly and sprightly from the lily pads of

    hope to the manhole covers of actuality.

    Chicago Sun-Times Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students but is also suitable for use with

    ages 5+. Suggested subjects for discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. The Happy Working Song is based on Whistle While

    You Work from the Disney animation Snow White and

    the Seven Dwarves. How do the lyrics show that this is a

    verymodern song?

    2.Thats How You Know is a parody of Under the Sea

    from The Little Mermaid. In what ways are the two songs

    similar and different?

    3. Some people think that musicals are ridiculous because people burst into song and dance all

    the time. Does the scene from Enchantedprove this?

    4. How do the style of the songs in the film change from the start to the end?

    Next Steps

    1. Watch The Little Mermaid(1989, U) 5+ and think about how the soundtrack compares to

    Enchanted.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. The lyrics in The Happy Working Songreflect life nowadays and are supposed to be making fun of theoriginal Disney movies. It includes words such as crud, toilet and vacuum which would not be in anytraditional Disney film.

    2. The tempo, use of steel drums and chorus of people singing leading to a big finish is found in both songs. InUnder The Sea, Ariel does not sing but Giselle in Thats How You Knowleads the singing after taking over fromthe busker.

    3. The scene starts with a busker, before Giselle and a guitarist joined in the all-singing dancing number with acast of hundreds! This would never happen in real life and it gets increasingly more ridiculous as Robertcomments throughout the song.

    4. The songs start off very similarly to classic Disney films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, then

    develop into songs that are similar to modern Disney movies. Once Giselle becomes unsure if her Prince canmake her happy, her songs become more modern and like pop songs.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicDumbo(1941, U) 5+ 64 mins

    Whats this film about?

    1941 Disney classic about an elephant with unusually large ears.

    Why this film?

    Baby elephant Dumbo is brought to his mother by a stork - but is soon made fun of by

    the other circus animals due to his unusually large ears. This animated classic still

    entrances audiences today just as it did when first released back in 1941. The soundtrack

    was written by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace and won an Academy Award in 1941

    for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.

    What the critics think

    !You can really tell that this was all drawn by hand and it's has really beautiful animation.

    The songs are really clever and the background music really expresses how the

    characters are feeling or what is going on.

    FILMCLUB Member, Ethan age 12

    Touching, comic, visually inventive and emotionally convincing, this remains a jewel in

    the crown of Disney's golden age.

    John Fortgang, Film4 Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students but is also suitable for use with

    ages 5+. Suggested subjects for discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    Questions 1-3 relate to Chapter 13 of the

    DVD : Pink Elephants on Parade.

    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. What instruments are used by the pink

    elephants marching band?

    2. What different types of music is played in

    this section?

    3. Watch the scene with your eyes closed. Does this affect the mood? Is the music better

    with or without the visuals?

    4. Baby of Mineis a sad song in the film. What kind of song is it and why is it so sad?

    Next Steps

    1.Watch Fantasia(1940, U) 5+. The Disney studios lost a lot of money because some people

    felt like classical music was ruined by cartoons. What do you think after watching the film?

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. The instruments are formed from parts of the elephants own bodies and include trumpets, euphoniums andother members of the brass instrument family.

    2. The section starts with marching band music then leads into a strange nightmarish voice. This is followed byArabian music being played as the elephant belly dances, which leads into a waltz. The scene ends with aLatin tune.

    3. Ask students how they felt when they watched it with the images. After they have listened to it with their eyesclosed, how do they feel? Ask them why they think this is.

    4. The song is a lullaby and it is sad because Mrs Dumbo sings the song but we do not see her sing it to her son asshe is imprisoned in the cage. The lyrics tell Dumbo that he needs to stand on his own two feet even though heis young. Also Timothy looks at other mothers and babies in the circus.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicPinocchio(1940, U) 5+ 83 mins

    Whats this film about?Animated fable about toymaker Gepetto and his wooden puppet Pinocchio, who is

    brought to life after he wishes for a son.

    Why this film?

    When the toymaker Gepetto wishes for a son, the Blue Fairy gives him a chance by

    bringing his wooden puppet Pinocchio to life. Through a series of marvellous and

    occasionally terrifying adventures - including being swallowed by a whale, kidnapped

    by a circus and turned into a donkey - the puppet learns about courage, kindness and

    honesty. But can he ever become a real boy? Pinocchio was the first animated feature

    film to win Academy awards and won the Oscar for Best Song and Best Soundtrack in1941.

    What the critics think

    I love this film it was one big adventure.

    FILMCLUB Member, Ellie, aged 8

    Although the animation shows its age, the characters and songs are as distinctive as

    ever.

    Alan Robinson, Empire Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students but is also suitable for use with

    ages 5+. Suggested subjects for discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    he questions below relate to Chapter 18 of the

    DVD :Lampwick Makes a Jackass of Himself.

    After the film: Discussion Questions

    . Watch the scene where Lampwick turns into a

    donkey without music. How does it make you feel?

    Play it again with the sound on but close your eyes.

    Does it make you feel any different? Why do youthink this is?

    . How does the volume change during this scene?

    . What sound effects are used? How do they make the scene more scary?

    4. How could you make this scene less scary for small children just by changing the music?

    Next Steps

    1. Using your ideas from question four, compose an alternative soundtrack for this scene with

    a group. Perform your soundtrack to your class alongside the film playing on mute.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews atwww.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. Students may feel that the scene is more distressing when just listening to the soundtrack and not watching theimages. They may find it funny to watch without the sound. Ask students to identify the emotions that they feel.

    2. The volume increases throughout this scene in order to mirror the distress and confusion of Lampwick as he turnsinto a donkey. The string instruments build up and switches from the occasional blast of trumpet to screechingstrings that speed up and get louder as Lampwick realises what is happening to him. As Pinocchio makes hisescape the volume dips and rises until it going very soft when he dives into the sea.

    3. The sound effects include the crack of the whip, the trumpet when Jiminy Cricket realises that the boys turn intodonkeys, a chime when Lampwick spits by the pool table, donkey hooves banging and the mirror smashes.

    4. Students may suggest making the volume level throughout, or even that the scene should be even scarier inorder to encourage children to stay in school!

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 Musicndiana Jones and The Last Crusade(1989, PG) 9+ 127 mins

    Whats this film about?The third adventure of Indiana Jones sees the brave archaeologist in a race against time

    to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis can do so.

    Why this film?

    Indy returns in his third adventure, this time on the trail of his missing dad - a bad-

    tempered professor, who was once on the trail of the Holy Grail himself. However, the

    courageous archaeologist soon finds Jones Senior isn't the only one looking for the

    mythical object, and his search becomes a race against time to stop his old enemies the

    Nazis finding and using it in their quest for power. Director Steven Spielberg's thrilling yarn

    is lighter in tone than the earlier Raiders of the Lost Arkprequel The Temple of Doom thatsense of fun due in part to the constant sparring between Sean Connery and Harrison

    Ford as the dad-and-son adventurers. The soundtrack was created by John Williams and

    is his tenth collaboration with Steven Spielberg.

    What the critics think

    !This film made my mind go wild. The whole plot is sensational, and is very detailed. The

    special effects are very impressive, and caught my attention.

    FILMCLUB Member, Petar aged 11

    !Perhaps the film's most impressive technical aspect is the soundtrack. Joseph McBride, Variety Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students. Suggested subjects for

    discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    The questions below relate to Chapter 2 of the

    DVD : The Pursuit.

    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. Watch the first scene where Indy has his first

    adventure with the sound muted. Play it again

    with the sound. What difference does the music

    make?

    2. How does the music change when he jumps on the horse?

    3. Why does the music change when he enters the circus carriage on the train?

    4. How does the music add comedy to this scene?

    Next Steps

    1. With a group create your own action sequence and compose the music to accompany it.

    Try to make the music match the action.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. Without the music there is no energy to the images on the screen. The music makes it more tense for

    example when he falls into the box of snakes, and it also adds comedy at points such as when Indy misseshis horse. John Williams has synced the music with the film and in this scene there are 55 points where theymatch perfectly.

    2. The music speeds up from the point when he jumps onto the horse as this is the start of the chase toemphasise how fast they are travelling towards the speeding train.

    3. There is more action at this point because Indy is under threat from the men chasing him and the animals inthe carriage. There are more strings used to emphasise the fear and the music becomes less melodic.

    4. The music highlights the funny parts; such as when the rhinoceros horn smashes through the top of thecarriage we can hear the horn section emphasising this. When he comes face-to-face with a lion, a slowed-

    down version of the Indiana Jones six note motif can be heard, and when he is cracking the whip, which is aclue of the man that young Indiana will become.When he manages to escape from the train the famousIndiana Jones theme plays to show that this was the first step in his journey to becoming Indiana Jones, thehero.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicNorth by Northwest (1959, PG) 9+ 130 mins

    Whats this film about?

    Regarded as one of the finest films of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock, this classic

    chase movie is about a man who gets mistaken for a secret agent.

    Why this film?

    North by Northwest is widely regarded as one of the finest movies in the career of its

    legendary director, Alfred Hitchcock. A classic chase movie, the film stars Cary Grant as

    a suave executive who is mistaken for a spy and tirelessly pursued by enemy agents. All

    of Hitchcock's cinematic trademarks are present, and set to a blistering score by Bernard

    Herrmann, while the story's bold mix of slick comedy and nightmarish thriller works

    perfectly.

    What the critics think

    I thought this film was quite funny and it also had a very good storyline. I also thought it

    was very gripping and it had all of us teetering on the edge of our seats.

    FILMCLUB Member, Adam aged 10

    North By Northwest (the title comes from Hamlet) also benefits from Ernest Lehmann's

    spot-on script and Bernard Herrman's edgily magnificent music.

    Kim Newman, Empire Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students. Suggested subjects for

    discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    After the film: Discussion Questions

    . How does the music add tension to the car

    chase scene?

    2. There is no background music in the cornfield

    scene until the very end. How does this affect

    yourviewing of it?

    3. What sound effects can you hear?

    4. The same piece of music is played whenever

    Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall meet, but how does it change during the course of the

    film?

    Next Steps

    1. Create a soundtrack for the cornfield scene with a group. Use music and sound effects.

    Think about how the characters, mood and action can be reflected in the music. Perform

    your composition for your class with the film running silently.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. The music is very fast (triple time) and there are slow rising harmonic sequences played by the low wind,high-pitched strings, brass and horns. This makes it sound like a chase.

    2. Students may find that it enhances their experience as their opinions are not affected by background music.

    3. The sound effects include the planes engine, gun fire, Thornhills footsteps, the car as it passes, the rustle ofthe corn as Thornhill shelters in the cornfield and when it is doused with the spray, the horn of the truck, theplane crashing into the truck and the explosion.

    4. The music involves celloes and basses, and when the pair first meet in the dining car it is shy and gentle.During the first sleeping car scene it is more passionate but even more so at the end of the film when Eve iscalled Mrs Thornhill by Roger. Throughout the film the music reflects the state of their relationship.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicJurassic Park (1993, PG) 7+ 127 mins

    Whats this film about?Visually stunning Steven Spielberg creature-feature in which dinosaurs, cloned from

    dormant DNA by a research organisation, run amok.

    Why this film?

    A research organisation has worked out how to clone dinosaurs from long dormant DNA

    - and the boss has set up a zoo on a remote island to display the living results. He invites

    a group of scientific experts and a lawyer down to this out-of-the-way location to assure

    them of the project's safety. However, events conspire to set the beasts free, and soon

    they're running amok in director Steven Spielberg's eye-popping creature-feature, which

    is, at times, truly terrifying. Composer John Williams won a BMI Film Music Award for thefilms score.

    What the critics think

    The plot will make you laugh, cry and hide behind the sofa all at once.

    FILMCLUB Member Jack, aged 11

    An eye-popping, mind-bending, kick-out-the-jams thrill ride.

    Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students. Suggested subjects for

    discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    After the film: Discussion Questions

    . Listen to the music that plays during the title credits. What

    atmosphere does it create?

    . Listen to the music that plays when the characters first

    enter Jurassic Park. How does it make you feel about

    what might happen in the film?

    . How does the timing and tempo of the music change at the end when the group is trapped

    between the Velociraptor and the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

    . In the scene when Dr Sattler (Laura Stern) switches the security systems back on, how does the

    music tell us something surprising is about to happen ?

    Next Steps

    1. With a group create a theme for the more peaceful, vegetarian dinosaurs. Try to show that

    they are gentle creatures through your choice of instruments, tempo and volume.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. The music hints that something bad will happen. There is a low male voice choir, electronic sounds and brassinstruments used. A distorted Japanese drum creates a sound like a dinosaurs footstep. The music fades out,leaving the door open for what might happen later. The four notes are the Raptors theme which will appearthroughout the film.

    2. This section is where the group is welcomed to Jurassic Park. It starts softly with a flute before the strings join in todevelop the theme song. The crashing cymbals indicate action and adventure. Within the music there areclues about the types of dinosaurs that there will be on the island. Students may find the music majestic andawe-inspiring, much like the dinosaurs themselves.

    3. The tempo of the music increases but the timing is out when the group is trapped. Ask students if they can hearanything that reminds them of the opening. The Raptors theme is played again but it is slowed down andthen sped up. When the humans leave, the Raptors theme is very faint compared to the fanfare used torepresent the T-Rex.

    4. The music leading up to this scene becomes frantic and with more instruments joining in until the wholeorchestra plays a sequence of notes exactly in time with Dr. Sattler turning on each light. After Tim falls from theelectric fence, the music gradually dies away to almost nothing. When Dr. Sattler turns away from the metalbars to shout, there is no music heard at all. Then the velociraptor bursts through the bars as the recurringtheme crashes back in to shock the audience. Ask students if this reminds them of a similar use of abrupt silent/noisy contrasts in other scenes.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicPrincess Mononoke(1997, PG) 9+ 134 mins

    Whats this film about?Animation in which a prince travels west to remedy a demon's curse, and finds the

    animals there are battling townsfolk who are trying to destroy their forest.

    Why this film?

    Having fallen ill after being cursed by a demon, a prince travels far to the west in search

    of a remedy to break the spell. When he arrives at his destination, the prince finds utter

    chaos as the animals that inhabit the magical forest are battling against the nearby

    townsfolk determined to destroy it. Led by the mysterious Princess Mononoke - a human

    who was raised by wolves - do the animals have a chance to succeed? The soundtrack

    was composed by Joe Hisaishi and two songs were written by director Hayao Miyazaki(Princess Mononoke was originally made in Japanese, but has been dubbed into

    English.)

    What the critics think

    This film was magical, exciting and at the end I was hanging off my seat!

    FILMCLUB Member, Jack, aged 10

    Superbly imagined and visually sumptuous, it's let down only by Hisaishi's sub-Miklos

    Rosza score.

    Derek Adams, Time Out Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students. Suggested subjects for

    discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

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    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. Watch the opening of the film. How does the

    music change as Ashitaka battles the demon

    boar spirit?

    2. What do you think is the main emotion behind

    Princess Mononokes theme song?

    3. Listen to the Tatara Women Working song. Why

    do the women sing the song?

    4. Listen carefully to the music when Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke

    work together; how does it reflect their emotions?

    Next Steps

    1. With a group, create your own working song that will encourage your classmates to do

    their work. Try to include some ensemble singing.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. The music reflects the idyllic images of the Japanese countryside. It changes by becoming a animalistic,electronic beat that reflects the action of the battle.

    2. The theme song was written by the director Miyazaki and is sung in the Japanese version by a male singer,with a female voice, and the English version by Sasha Lazard. After initial rehearsals Joe Hisaishi asked singerMera-san to sing without any emotion, making his tone more "mechanical"; both director Miyazaki andcomposer Hisaishi referred to this style as a "murmuring voice". Joe Hisaishi explained,"the desired tone is notanything dramatic or dynamic - not an exciting tone." Miyazaki said the song is meant to be Ashitaka'sfeeling for San... thats why I asked for a murmuring voice, its a voice within Ashitaka's heart."

    3. The women sing the song to help them keep in time while they are making iron weapons and tools. Thesong includes ensemble vocals that are layered for effect and electronic backing.

    4. Their two themes are blended together and played on just a piano. This shows their emotions and mutualunderstanding that humans and gods can work together.

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    FILMCLUB Guide to Key Stage 2 MusicChariots of Fire(1981, U) 9+ 124 mins

    Whats this film about?This film is based on the true stories of two runners, Eric Liddell and Harold Abraham,

    taking part in the 1924 Olympics.

    Why this film?

    With London 2012 sure to live long in the memory, Chariots of Fire tells the story of British

    success at a much older Olympics - the Paris Games of 1924. This rousing film is based on

    the mixed fortunes of two ambitious runners; Eric Liddell, a Christian missionary from

    Scotland who refused to run on Sundays, and Harold Abrahams, a Jewish athlete

    battling anti-Semitism. The struggles and triumphs of these very different but equally

    talented men make this one of movie history's best-loved sports films.

    What the critics think

    !The bit I really enjoyed was when everyone was training for The Olympics because it

    showed that they really wanted to win and that they have courage!

    FILMCLUB Member, Megan, age 13

    From the early shots of feet pounding the ground, to the slow-motion races, the soaring

    music supports a truly stirring story.

    Ade Solanke, BFI Screen Online

    Enrichment Focus

    This Film Resource is aimed at Key Stage 2 Music students. Suggested subjects for

    discussion are music, composition and soundtracking.

  • 8/10/2019 Primary Music Resource FILMCLUB

    19/19

    The questions below relate to Chapter 1 of the DVDLet Us Praise

    Famous Men(the credits sequence).

    After the film: Discussion Questions

    1. How does the music in the opening scene make you feel?

    2. Why do you think the beach scene is one of the most

    memorable in movie history?

    3. Do you think the keyboard sounds the composer Vangelis uses

    suits the historical period?

    4. What other kinds of sport would fit with the music in Chariots of

    Fire?

    Next Steps

    1. Pretend its your next P.E lesson and compose some music for the sports that youre playing

    at the moment. Half your group can pretend to play the sport whilst the other half plays

    the music.

    2. Get your students voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at

    www.filmclub.org

    Teacher Notes

    1. Inspired and positive. The music grows and grows to show us that the athletes are part of a team that is

    training together to succeed.

    2. The music builds gradually until all the instruments come in. When the main theme music plays all theathletes are shown running together. The slow motion pacing adds to the drama.

    3. Thekeyboard sounds bring the film up to date for when it was made (1981) but those instruments werentinvented in 1924 when the film is set. This can seem weird to a modern day audience but was verysuccessful when the film first came out.

    4. Any sport involving a race would be good, e.g. swimming, hurdles or cycling. All the Olympic sports areabout athletes giving everything to achieve their dreams so the inspiring Chariots of Fire music could workfor them all.

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