Raiders Of The Lost Ark Analysis

Shiyao Anna Luo
MUS Z315 Music for Film
Raiders of the Lost Ark Viewing Assignment

1. How is music used in this film to create a sense of place? Trace, compare, and discuss the role of musical exoticism in three different scenes. You can either be literal in your discussion (Tibet, Egypt, the Amazon, etc…) or more abstract (the supernatural as a type of “exotic”). How does Williams use unusual harmonies, instruments, or special effects to create an expressive mood?
Generally, when the characters are at different places, the music can remind the audience of that place since the composer uses lots of traditional and local instruments at scenes that are associated with different cultures and countries. Those special instrumentations go along

While they just enter the cave, it is violins plucking make that background music. I have to say this scene really scares me because I am very afraid of spiders and the music at here plays in synch-point when they find out there are spiders on their bodies. When Jones turns back, the audience finally sees the spiders and there is a sudden sound made by the percussion and then followed by scratching strings’ sound play in a fast tempo. This creates the tensions of seeing those huge spiders and how Jones will overcome this problem. The music is kind of exotic since it is out of the normal music that we will hear from the orchestra, and it captures the dangerous and adventure unpredictable feelings since they are at the cave of the rainforest. Another example is the scene that happens around (00:36:23), which is when Jones and Marion arrived at Cairo. The music is different from what it was before since there was some western orchestra music before this. It adds more local instrument in the underscoring music, and I feel like it maybe some kind of instruments that are similar to flute or piccolo. Also, I hear some traditional percussion’s sound as well. Back into the releasing time of this film, many people may not have a comprehensive understanding of music from those cultures, and the composer basically helps us be more focused on the storyline

Also, even those music that are performed by the orchestra, it is more in atonal and really has very little harmonic and melodic effects. By creating music like this, it somehow creates the mystery feelings and that fits the whole concept since finding the Ark is a very mystery journey and everything is unpredictable and I think the music really captures