John Wilson

As a free speech absolutist, I really appreciated this piece. I worry about a society that defines free speech in such narrow terms that, if someone writes or says something to offend someone else, they can be silenced.

I believe that when the score of a film is good, you never remember it. But you do remember what the score evokes (the shower scene in PSYCHO, the shark in JAWS).

But Kubrick’s use of Penderecki’s music is interesting in THE SHINING, because Kubrick was not faithful to Penderecki’s original recordings; he adapted the music to suit the purpose of his own work. Unlike the John Williams or Bernard Hermanns of the world, Penderecki is not primarily a film composer. Yet his work is easily adapted to film soundtracks. It is very interesting.

A great article. Thank you for this. It is a beautiful encapsulation of why, in my view, the best way to capture reality is by using the written word to explore human feelings and emotions.