Auteur direction, collaboration and film music: Re-imaginings in the cinema of Rodriguez and Tarantino

Abstract

The theory of film music and its terms and categories have not yet been applied to or tested in more recent genres of film, and this study tests the application of the terms auteur and melomane in the films of Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Sin City and Planet Terror) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill V. 1 and 2, Death Proof). Both directors have a distinct musical stance, and through an examination of the above-mentioned films, their influences and sonic impact are explored. The working question of this thesis, in the abstract, is whether or to what extent the terms, concepts and directorial categories of film-music theory apply to this recent repertoire. This study explores the similarities and differences in the relationship between the music in the films of the auteur and melomane while exploring the fields of musical narrative present in contemporary film.