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First Man (soundtrack)

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First Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Justin Hurwitz
ReleasedOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)
StudioSony Scoring Stage, California
Genre
Length1:07:57
LabelBack Lot Music
Justin Hurwitz chronology
La La Land
(2016) 		First Man
(2018) 		Babylon
(2022)

First Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle. The musical score was composed by Chazelle's usual collaborator and Harvard University classmate, Justin Hurwitz. The score uses electronic, orchestral and vintage sounds.[1] In addition to a 94-piece orchestra, an electronic theremin, a moog synthesiser and several other instruments were used, fused with vintage sound-altering machines during the audio mix. The soundtrack released by Back Lot Music on October 12, 2018, received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its balance of softer melodic passages and powerful themes.[2][3] Hurwitz's score received several awards and nominations, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

Development

[edit]

The score was performed by a 94-piece orchestra at Sony Scoring Stage in California, with instruments such as the electronic theremin and Moog synthesizer, as well as vintage sound-altering machines including Leslie speakers and an Echoplex.[4][5]

Based primarily on the script from Josh Singer, Hurwitz began creating piano demos before principal photography began until he and Chazelle decided on one that would become the main theme. "It had to have a sense of loneliness but also beauty. Like when he gets to the moon – you're on this barren surface; it's all very beautiful, but it's very, very lonely." Chazelle liked the theremin's association with low-budget sci-fi pictures of the '50s and early '60s, as according to him, "Armstrong and his NASA colleagues were, in their race to the Moon, basically doing real-life science fiction". He further added, "Those were the sounds and images we had in our minds of the moon, and space in general. At its heart, this was a story about grief, about someone who lost a lot of people he loved, and what those losses did to him. There was something about the theremin that seemed to convey that grief that spanned across the cosmos. It obviously makes you think of space, but it also has those qualities of the human voice – a sort of wailing – that could feel very mournful to me."[4]

Hurwitz acquired a theremin and learned how to play it, and his performances are in the final score, as he wanted to "sound electronic, but not harsh or abrasive" and tried to make it, in most places, mildly to blend with the orchestral music.[4][6] He further added an American Moog and a British EMS VCS 3 synthesiser model, as they sounded "futuristic" during the late-1960s. In addition to this, Hurwitz predominantly made use of harp in the score for the "intimate moments".[7] Other instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, basses, brass, strings, woodwinds and percussion instruments were used in the conclusion of the film, particularly brass being used only after the sequences following Apollo 11 mission.[8][5] Saying in an interview, to Collider: "we had developed that palette early on with those electronic sounds and we wanted to feather in very lightly bits of some vintage synths and some of the sounds and ambiences that we had designed. We wanted to layer in very, very light touches here and there, just to kind of create an atmosphere in a lot of those scenes. It wasn't about articulating melody as much as it was just like creating a little bit of atmosphere to get you to feel something."[8] During the final mixing process, Hurwitz designed the score with analogue rotor cabinets, and then being synthesised with analog instruments.[7][8]

Leon Bridges appears in the film as Gil Scott-Heron, reciting the Scott-Heron spoken-word poem "Whitey on the Moon". Chazelle felt it was important to underscore that one of the challenges at the time was the push back of citizens who did not agree with the expense, and the risk, of the space program.[9] On October 4, 2018, Entertainment Weekly reported that two themes from the film's score soundtrack, were released as preview tracks, before the soundtrack's release through Back Lot Music on October 12.[10]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitlePerformersLength
1."X-15"Justin Hurwitz1:22
2."Good Engineer"Justin Hurwitz1:06
3."Karen"Justin Hurwitz0:45
4."Armstrong Cabin"Justin Hurwitz1:15
5."Another Egghead"Justin Hurwitz1:05
6."It'll Be an Adventure"Justin Hurwitz0:41
7."Houston"Justin Hurwitz2:16
8."Multi-Axis Trainer"Justin Hurwitz2:54
9."Baby Mark"Justin Hurwitz0:47
10."Lunar Rhapsody" (featuring Les Baxter)Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman3:04
11."First to Dock"Justin Hurwitz1:27
12."Elliot"Justin Hurwitz0:28
13."Sextant"Justin Hurwitz1:45
14."Squawk Box"Justin Hurwitz1:54
15."Searching for the Agena"Justin Hurwitz1:51
16."Docking Waltz"Justin Hurwitz3:22
17."Spin"Justin Hurwitz1:15
18."Naha Rescue 1"Justin Hurwitz1:05
19."Pat and Janet"Justin Hurwitz1:34
20."The Armstrongs"Justin Hurwitz2:25
21."I Oughta Be Getting Home / Plugs Out"Justin Hurwitz1:10
22."News Report"Justin Hurwitz0:42
23."Dad's Fine"Justin Hurwitz1:03
24."Whitey on the Moon"Leon Bridges1:48
25."Neil Packs"Justin Hurwitz1:25
26."Contingency Statement"Justin Hurwitz1:56
27."Apollo 11 Launch"Justin Hurwitz5:50
28."Translunar"Justin Hurwitz1:01
29."Moon"Justin Hurwitz1:07
30."Tunnel"Justin Hurwitz0:52
31."The Landing"Justin Hurwitz5:31
32."Moon Walk"Justin Hurwitz1:29
33."Home"Justin Hurwitz1:51
34."Crater"Justin Hurwitz2:00
35."Quarantine"Justin Hurwitz2:15
36."End Credits"Justin Hurwitz4:19
37."Sep Ballet" (Bonus track)Justin Hurwitz1:17
Total length:67:57

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

Reviewing for The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere in Venice Film Festival in August 2018, David Rooney called Hurwitz's score as "masterful", "from tender, melodic passages through echoes (intended?) of vintage Jerry Goldsmith to a rare burst of full-thrust power when the lunar surface is first glimpsed up close, the quiet majesty of the drama owes much to the infinite moods of the score".[2] Scott Snowden of Space.com wrote "The instrumental score by Justin Hurwitz – on more than one occasion – was reminiscent of the wonderful soundtrack by Philip Sheppard to the series Moon Machines (2008) and like that underrated TV show, the music is utilized to great effect in this movie."[3] Zanobard Reviews called First Man score as "pretty spectacular" and opined "The way Justin Hurwitz perfectly captures the mysterious and suspenseful nature of space is superb, and at points you really feel just how awed and at the same time terrified the astronauts must have been as they rocketed towards the Moon, so he did a great job there too [...] The score builds-up its themes incredibly well, but it takes a long time and so makes for a very dull forty minutes before the music finally kicks into gear with the likes of Apollo 11 Launch and The Landing. Still, once it did finally get there the score performed excellently, especially when the two main themes finally came together."[11]

Chart performance

[edit]
Chart (2018) Peak

position

UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[12] 29
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[13][failed verification] 34

Accolades

[edit]
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Austin Film Critics Association January 7, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [14][15]
Boston Society of Film Critics December 16, 2018 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Runner-up [16]
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival January 2, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Won [17]
Chicago Film Critics Association December 8, 2018 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [18][19]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 13, 2019 Best Score Justin Hurwitz Won [20][21]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association December 17, 2018 Best Musical Score Justin Hurwitz 2nd place [22]
Florida Film Critics Circle December 21, 2018 Best Score Justin Hurwitz Won [23][24]
Georgia Film Critics Association January 12, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Won [25]
Golden Globe Awards January 6, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Won [26][27]
Hollywood Film Awards November 4, 2018 Hollywood Film Composer Award Justin Hurwitz Won [28]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 14, 2018 Original Score – Feature Film Justin Hurwitz Nominated [29]
Houston Film Critics Society January 3, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [30][31]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association December 9, 2018 Best Music Justin Hurwitz Runner-up [32]
Online Film Critics Society January 2, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [33]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle December 9, 2018 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [34]
Satellite Awards February 22, 2019 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Won [35][36]
Seattle Film Critics Society December 17, 2018 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [37]
St. Louis Film Critics Association December 16, 2018 Best Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [38]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 3, 2018 Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz Nominated [39]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "How the 'First Man' composer created the movie's powerful score, which just won a Golden Globe". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  2. ^ a b "'First Man': Film Review | Venice 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "'First Man' Offers an Emotional Account of Neil Armstrong's Life (Film Review)". Space.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Burlingame, Jon (September 5, 2018). "'First Man' Gets Space-Age Feel with Unusual Instruments, Retro Sounds". Variety. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  5. ^ a b McVey, Ciara (2019-01-02). "'First Man' Composer Justin Hurwitz on Conducting His First Score". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  6. ^ Eng, Joyce (2018-11-29). "'First Man' composer Justin Hurwitz on how he put a twist on the space sound with an instrument he'd never played before [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (2019-01-13). "Composer Justin Hurwitz On The "Excitement" & "Pressure" He Felt Entering New Space With 'First Man'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. ^ a b c "Composer Justin Hurwitz on First Man, Damien Chazelle, and the Theremin". Collider. 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  9. ^ "Why 'First Man' prominently features Gil Scott-Heron's spoken-word poem 'Whitey on the Moon'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  10. ^ October 04, Devan Coggan; EDT, 2018 at 01:00 PM. "Exclusive: Hear the first two tracks from Justin Hurwitz's cosmic 'First Man' score". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Zanobard (2018-10-12). "First Man – Soundtrack Review". Zanobard Reviews. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  12. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  13. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  14. ^ Whittaker, Richard (December 28, 2018). "Austin Film Critics Release 2018 Awards Nominee Lists". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Stoddard, Elizabeth (January 7, 2019). "2018 Awards: If Beale Street Could Talk leads the 2018 Austin Film Critics Association Awards". Austin Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "2018 Winners". Boston Society of Film Critics. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  17. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2019-01-02). "'Vice' Gets Best Picture Award At Capri, Hollywood Festival; 'Roma', 'First Man', 'A Star Is Born' Among Winners". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  18. ^ "'Roma,' 'The Favourite' and 'A Star is Born' lead 2018 CFCA nominations" (Press release). Chicago Film Critics Association. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  19. ^ "'Roma' The Big Winner Among Chicago Film Critics" (Press release). Chicago Film Critics Association. December 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  20. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (December 10, 2018). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'The Favourite' Leads With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  21. ^ Crist, Allison (January 13, 2019). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Roma,' 'Americans,' 'Mrs. Maisel' Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  22. ^ Jorgenson, Todd (December 17, 2018). "DFW Film Critics Name 'A Star Is Born' Best Picture Of 2018". Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  23. ^ "'The Favourite' Leads 2018 Florida Film Critics Awards Nominations" (Press release). Miami, FL: Florida Film Critics Circle. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  24. ^ "Florida Film Critics Circle Proclaims 'The Favourite' Their Favorite Film Of 2018" (Press release). Miami, FL: Florida Film Critics Circle. December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  25. ^ "2018 Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. January 12, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  26. ^ "'Vice,' 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace' lead 2019 Golden Globe nominations". Los Angeles Times. December 6, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  27. ^ "All the Winners of the 76th Golden Globes". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. January 6, 2019. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  28. ^ "The 22nd Annual 'Hollywood Film Awards®' Marked The Launch Of Awards Season With A Star-Studded Evening" (Press release). Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Film Awards. November 4, 2018. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  29. ^ Xu, Linda (November 15, 2018). "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  30. ^ Vonder Haar, Pete (December 17, 2018). "Houston Film Critics Society Announces 2018 Awards Nominations". Houston Press. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  31. ^ Darling, Cary (January 4, 2019). "'The Favourite,' 'Roma' tie as Houston Film Critics' favorite films". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  32. ^ "The 44th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. December 9, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  33. ^ "2018 Awards (22nd Annual)". Online Film Critics Society. January 2, 2018. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  34. ^ "2018 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards". San Francisco Film Critics Circle. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  35. ^ "23rd Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. November 2018. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  36. ^ "ROMA, A STAR IS BORN, Set for Top Honors at 23rd Satellite™ Awards | International Press Academy".
  37. ^ "'The Favourite' Leads the 2018 Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations". Seattle Film Critics Society. December 10, 2018. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  38. ^ "Annual StLFCA Awards". St. Louis Film Critics Association. December 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  39. ^ "Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2018". Washington DC Area Film Critics Association. December 2018. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
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