Over the next few weeks, you will write a five-page essay comparing and contrasting the scores of two different films by two different composers from two different eras. The focus of the essay is to examine how one composer is influenced by another, using the two scores as evidence. You must meet the following criteria:

The films must both either be of a similar genre (e.g., two westerns, two horror films, etc.) or two versions of the same story (e.g., the Frankenstein story, a Three Musketeers story), or one can be a remake of the other (e.g., Planet of the Apes). Whichever films you choose must have release dates at least 20 years apart. They do not necessarily need to be films we have studied up to this point. Your choices must be approved by the instructor, which is this week’s assignment.

You must be able to show some common threads between the styles and scoring approaches of the two composers. These may include orchestration, physical vs. psychological approach, ways similar problems are solved, etc. Examine the similarities and differences between the two composers, and speculate as to why this is the case. For example, did one composer study with the other? Perhaps different economic situations (e.g., 1930s Depression-era vs. 1990s boom) or different production environments (e.g., studio system vs. independent production) may have influenced their approaches or choices for the particular films you are examining.