Happy Fourth, my fellow Americans! 🇺🇸

I haven’t done a Music Break post in ages… it’s a series I hope to do more regularly, perhaps every other month. For today, I thought I’d commemorate America’s Independence Day with a trio of scores from movies highlighting true American heroes that are perfect to watch to celebrate our country’s 248th birthday. This post is not political. Regardless of how we feel about current and past US leaders, we shouldn’t let their actions, blunders, or inadequacies define the land of the free.

I’ve highlighted the patriotic score of Captain America: The First Avenger and the Fourth’s staple, Independence Day a few years ago. There are quite a lot of patriotic scores to choose from that celebrate America’s history, values, and bravery, so to narrow things down, I’m picking three from space-themed movies.

APOLLO 13 (1995)

Score written by: James Horner

NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.

The main title is so majestic that it still gives me goosebumps. The score was nominated for an Academy Award but didn’t win. The Best Score went to Luis Bacalov for Il Postino: The Postman. Out of the nine nominations, the Ron Howard-directed film won 2 for Best Editing and Best Sound. 

I have to highlight this one as well which feels so evocative, epic, and simply masterful. There’s a solemn, even worshipful tone given the weight of this momentous occasion.

Per IMDb trivia:

• Included among the American Film Institute’s 2005 list of 250 movies nominated for AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores.

• The tense background music that accompanies the crew’s filter-building efforts is actually a reused score from The Pelican Brief (1993), where the main characters escape from attackers in a parking garage after retrieving a safe deposit box. James Horner composed the music for both movies.

HIDDEN FIGURES (2016)

Score written by: Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer

The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

There’s a soaring feeling with this score, and I love the use of the choir/voices mixed in with graceful piano music.

As I’m only highlighting the scores in this post, here are two more favorite tracks from the movie:

Per IMDb trivia:

• Producer Pharrell Williams also oversaw all musical elements, and the soundtrack.

• While the music for the film was being recorded, the number of African-American musicians was deliberately and consistently kept at 50%, meaning that half of the musicians who worked on the film were African American.

FIRST MAN (2018)

Score written by: Justin Hurwitz

A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

The Landing has become one of my all-time favorite scores. I’d even say the score is better than the film! My hubby and I often listen to this in the car on repeat, it’s THAT good!

I love that Hurwitz incorporates the dance music in the triple meter of Viennese origin for a space movie. It’s not something one associates with this genre but this gorgeous score works beautifully,

Just like other famous director/composure duos, such as Steven Spielberg + John Williams, Ryan Coogler + Ludwig Göransson, Damien Chazelle + Justin Hurwitz collaboration has produced some memorable works. Hurwitz won two Oscars for Best Music and Best Song for La La Land, and was also nominated for Babylon. I actually think First Man is his best work so far and I’m aghast it was not nominated for an Oscar! 

Per IMDb trivia:

• Hurwitz used a variety of instruments to compose the original music, such as the theremin and Moog synthesizer. He also utilized an Echoplex tape-based delay unit to give the score its unique sound. Additionally, Hurwitz rerecorded a string orchestra being played back through a Leslie rotor cabinet to create special sound effects.

• During his background research with Armstrong’s family and friends, Ryan Gosling uncovered Neil Armstrong’s fondness for the theremin. He shared this discovery with Damien Chazelle and Justin Hurwitz, leading to the inclusion of the unusual instrument in the score.

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Hope you enjoyed this music break! What do you think of these scores?