Movie Soundtracks: Emotional Memories

I grew up before cable, video recorders, smartphones, and many, many TV networks.  Because of that, I went to the movies a lot.  I soon realized that I was drawn to many by their soundtracks.  Not songs, not dances (although I did enjoy the musicals, also), but the music that is played throughout the film as well as when the credits are listed at the beginning and end.  Rather than collect albums of the current popular singers, I collected soundtracks.

One that always evokes memories of childhood and the wonder they feel as the world opens up to them is “To Kill A Mockingbird”, composed by Elmer Bernstein (brother of Leonard Bernstein who did the music to West Side Story – did you know that!!!).  We here in Alabama are rather tied to this movie as Harper Lee, the author of the book, was a resident in Monroeville, and each year they hold a dramatization of that story.

 

Listen to the music during the opening credits of the movie.  Close your eyes, and imagine the wonders of a young child as the world unfolds before her young eyes.

 

 

 

I always strive to create feelings that evoke emotional memories for my clients.

 

Heart-Tugging Stories: Lassie Come Home

Because I love animals, I will watch most of the movies out there about them.  Most will move me to tears, every time.  But, you cannot beat the original “Lassie Come Home”.   Below is a clip from the ending of that movie.  For those who have never watched it, in the beginning of the movie, Lassie is sold to a wealthy landowner very far from where she lived since her young master’s father could no longer afford to maintain her.  But Lassie was determined to return to her beloved companion.  This scene I’ve selected opens after she has returned but, upon hearing the clock chime the hour, she realizes that it’s time to go into town, as she always did, to greet the boy she loves as he comes out of school, even though she’s hurt and exhausted.  If you have never seen it, grab some tissues.  One person commented, “If this doesn’t move your heart, you’re not human.”  Like this movie, I strive to move people with stories I create of their beloved companions.

 

Lassie Come Home

BTW, (a little trivia) Lassie was always a male dog.