WTTR Composer interview

EXCLUSIVE MUSIC INTERVIEW: Marc Streitenfeld:

E-Notes: COMPOSER MARC STREITENFELD ROBS FROM THE RICH IN 'ROBIN HOOD'

Ridley Scott's new court composer shoots into Sherwood Forest for another musical arrow in the scoring legend of ROBIN HOOD

Sometimes it’s good to be The King, especially if you happen to be commanding thousands of troops on the Crusade battlefield, or reaping your unjust riches back home in England. But when it comes to a German fellow who’s lucky enough to have become director Ridley Scott’s musical wingman, those melodic riches are well-deserved, particularly when they’re distinctively embodying the most popular mythic figure to defy the crown. That man is Robin Longstride, better know as Robin Hood to his merry men, the forests of Sherwood, and an oppressed England in general. Robin’s swung into the cinematic frame in as many faces as he has soundtracks, perhaps most rousingly with the lush orchestral stylings that Eric Wolfgang Korngold and Michael Kamen used for Errol Flynn in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and Kevin Costner in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES.

Well, unlike the latter actor, Russell Crowe does have a real English accent, or as close to one as an Aussie can come. And his aim is straight and true for Ridley Scott’s new, historically darker take on ROBIN HOOD. Fans of director’s period battle epics like GLADIATOR and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN will find the same, sword-swinging grit here, as well as recognize the director’s tastes for old-school symphonic scores that simultaneously combine a modern sense of percussion with time-accurate instruments, all shot into the air for an exciting melodic arch.

Where those two films in Scott’s oft-visited genre received scores by Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams, Marc Streitenfeld’s similarly effective score shows just how well this guitarist has moved through the ranks to be at the director’s side. Joining Zimmer’s team at the age of 19, Streitenfeld honed his percussively melodic chops as a composer’s assistant on such films as THE ROCK and THE FAN before becoming a music editor on HANNIBAL and BACK HAWK DOWN, then music supervising KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and A GOOD YEAR.

It was on Ridley Scott’s decidedly personal wine-growing dramedy that Streitenfeld graduated to composer with his own, full-bodied original voice. Streitenfeld’s shown his increasingly impressive stylistic versatility for Scott on the bluegrass crime of AMERICAN GANGSTER and the dark Middle Eastern action of BODY OF LIES. Now his fourth film for the director delivers the Summer blockbuster goods with a full throttle score that puts a contemporary pulse into its charging knightly action, using snarling brass villainy, religioso chorus Scottish jigs and an overall sense of emotional empathy that just might make Crowe’s Robin Hood into the most interesting, and dramatically full-blooded man in tights (just don’t dare tell to the actor). Now in a new edition of E-notes, Marc Streitenfeld tells just what it takes to impress a meticulous action stylist as he properly welcomes him to Sherwood Forest. 

iF: How did you first come to Hans Zimmer's attention, and take the path that would lead you to Ridley Scott?

MARC STREITENFELD: I took a plane from Germany to Los Angeles and knocked on Hans Zimmer’s studio door when I was nineteen. He gave me a job as his assistant. Looking back, I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was to have such an opportunity right from the start and I am very thankful to Hans for giving me that chance. It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot and slept very little. After working for him for about three years, I felt ready to move on and go my own way.

iF: When you were working with Hans on Ridley's films, did you imagine you'd ultimately end up scoring them? What do you think it was about your work that led Ridley to give you the big shot?

STREITENFELD: When Ridley asked me if I had ever thought about writing film music myself, and if I wanted to score A GOOD YEAR for him, it was a big surprise. I was working for Ridley as a music supervisor at the time and really enjoyed my job. I had not thought about scoring films myself and I had not scored a single film at that time. But it was an amazing opportunity and I thought I could give it a shot. So I went to Hans and asked for his blessing. He was very generous and offered me his support. But I realized if I do this, I need to do it my way and on my own. So I set up a studio in Venice and started writing. It was very odd, writing a score for a Ridley Scott film as your very first score.

iF: Ridley's first film was THE DUELISTS, which received a lush, classical score from Howard Blake. Over the years, how do you think Ridley's period "war" films, and the scores he's had for them have reflected how this genre has visually, and musically evolved to the point of ROBIN HOOD?

STREITENFELD: I see ROBIN HOOD more as an action adventure than a “war film”. It’s quite a different subject matter than any of Ridley Scott’s previous films. So it’s hard to compare them. The score is much more inspired by the subject matter and the story rather than any changes in Ridley’s visual style.

  

iF: How would you describe Ridley's approach to music, and your collaborative process with him?

STREITENFELD: Ridley leaves me quite a lot of creative freedom, but he can be very specific as well. He has great ideas. We usually have a conversation about the film in general, about the story and the characters, not necessarily the music. Then I start writing. The exchange with Ridley continues through out the whole process. This is the fourth consecutive film I have scored for him, so the communication is easy. 

iF: Did you watch the previous takes on Robin Hood before starting the score. And did you want your music to reflect how the character had been played before?

STREITENFELD: I didn’t watch any previous ROBIN HOOD films to prepare for this project. From my conversations with Ridley I could tell early on that this film would go in a different direction, and watching previous films might have just confused me. My preparation focused more on refreshing myself on 12th century music, which I had already researched in the past.

iF: The first person to score a major Robin Picture was Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who hailed from Eastern Europe. As a German yourself, how do you think your cultural background suits you for scoring such a distinctly English character?

STREITENFELD: I am always careful about classifying composers by their origin. Obviously, culture and upbringing will have an influence on you, but that is not necessary determined solely by the country you grew up in. It depends what music you were exposed to. Growing up in Germany doesn’t mean you listen exclusively to Bach and Beethoven or brass marching bands. I have to admit I have listened to Bach a lot, but so have a lot of non-German composers. As a kid I listened to a great variety of music from all over the world because I spent most of my life in other countries. But the English setting of ROBIN HOOD is important, and I tried to acknowledge this with a Celtic folk influence in the score.

iF: Could you talk about your main character themes?

STREITENFELD: There are quite a few characters and storylines in this film. The movie opens with what Ridley called the “Destiny Theme”. It follows Robin Longstride’s journey to becoming the legend Robin Hood. It has a simple folk melody quality to it. There is also a heroic Robin theme and the strident Godfrey motif that underlines the French conspiracy. There is a twisted romantic theme for King John and a bolder theme for King Richard. Marion is mostly represented by a more spiritual variation of the Destiny theme, since she is Robin’s link in becoming Robin Hood. There is a theme that is attached to Robin’s father and his background as a revolutionary. The children in the forest have their own theme also.

iF: You make particularly striking use of wordless vocals here. How did you come upon this approach to give the characters like King John and Maid Marion a spiritual nature?

STREITENFELD: For some of King John’s key moments in the film I used a large choir, and for Marion a solo vocal. The spiritual nature of the Marion character was important to Ridley. This approach is also used with the children in the forest, which share most of their scenes with her.

iF: There's a striking, "snarling" brass motif that you make use of for The Sheriff. How did you achieve this?

STREITENFELD: I believe you are referring to Godfrey’s motif, which was mainly used with Mark Strong’s character and his French conspiracy. It is a simple, insistent motif that starts out on woodwinds and then transforms into a full-scale orchestra that is dominated by aggressive brass. For this character I experimented with limiting myself to one motif that doesn’t change pattern and is only altered by dynamics and orchestration. So his music suddenly jumps from a single woodwind to a 100-piece choir and large orchestra, which gave it the intensity I was looking for. I had a lot of fun recording this.

iF: Ridley's ROBIN HOOD could be called the most historically authentic take on this legendary subject. How do you think your music reflects Ridley's eye for period accuracy?

STREITENFELD: The 12th century time period was deftly a consideration harmonically. A lot of the solo instruments that I used are typical for that era. But the score is not a medieval score by any means. Try sustaining authentic 12th century music and instrumentation through a 30-minute battle scene. Thought that sounds like an interesting concept, it would wear out quickly.

iF: You're starting to come up on Hans' record as the composer who's worked for the longest time with Ridley Scott. What do you think keeps a mercurial filmmaker like him by your side, and what's ahead for your collaborations together?

STREITENFELD: It looks like Ridley has been happy with my work so far. I don’t know what’s next for him yet. He always has several irons in the fire.

iF: Do you think ROBIN HOOD firmly establishes you as a Hollywood blockbuster composer who's ready for any director?

STREITENFELD: If you have a project of the scale of ROBIN HOODunder your belt, people tend to feel more comfortable with the idea of you doing another project of that size. But I wouldn’t describe myself as a blockbuster composer. My interest in film is very diverse. The other film I scored this year was the independent drama WELCOME TO THE RILEYS starring Kirsten Stewart and James Gandolfini.

Shoot a bulls eye with Marc Streitenfeld and ROBIN HOOD HERE

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xoxo

Carrie