There are some films that we wanna see time to time again and again. When Harry Met Sally is that sort of a film for me. Strange that i don't remember when was the first time i saw it since i fell in love with every aspect of it. Well i guess a month ago i was feeling depressed thus it was time for me to see When Harry Met Sally once again. And no! still not tired of it.
I love the script the cinematography, the costume, the acting, the sound, the colour, everything. But i am gonna write about the sound because i am obsessed with sound. Besides that aspect is neglected. some one has to deal with it:)
When Harry Met Sally is written by Norah Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner in 1989. The music is adapted and arranged by Marc Shaiman. Also Harry Connick, Jr. arranged and performed. I am not gonna give you the plot. That can be your suprise and i am not interested in writing about plots at all.
The scene i have selected is about two people discovering that they could be good friends or maybe more and that is kind of surprising and interesting for them. This new discovery and adventure is also being expressed by the sound.
The scene starts at 1.25 and ends at 2.25
The scene starts at 1.25 and ends at 2.25
The scene starts with Harry and Sally on the street in New York walking together. They had nice time in a café in the previous scene and now they are out having a walk and continuing the conversation. The song ‘It had to be you’ accompanies the scene. It is performed by just a piano. There are no lyrics this time. The movie starts with this song but at that time we hear the lyrics as well. So we have already been introduced to the song and we hear the song several times in the movie including the romantic happy ending. Also the line ‘It had to be you’ is so dominant. So this is the song of ‘When Harry Met Sally’. What I mean is the song is associated with their love story. The characters don’t know yet but they will fall in love with each other and this song will be the clue to what is in the air or what is coming. It is also associated with the connection they have. When they talk the conversation flows. Harry is funny and Sally is very interesting and challenging. The conversation they have is tasty for everyone. Both they and the audience enjoy it very much. The song also emphasizes this connection as well. And since this conversation and the connection they have should be emphasized the lyrics disappears and just soft and quiet piano music stays in the scene. But we know the music implies; yes! you are right for each other, ‘it had to be you’. I believe also the tempo of the song is slowed down to support the mood. In addition to these, the movie’s location is New York and it is autumn. I personally associate NY always with jazz. Jazz is romantic especially the jazz standards and this specific song. Also autumn can be considered romantic as well; at least I can say that jazz standard and autumn and NY were used deliberately to enhance the romantic mood of the movie. The diegetic sounds are heard in the scene as well because they are walking in the street in NY. Thus diegetic sounds together with the visuals locate the spectator in the street (Bordwell, 278). Also towards the end of the scene when Sally asks; ‘would you like to have dinner with me some time?’ (Because she liked the conversation), one can observe a dialogue or question in the piano music as well. Then Harry answers so as the music. Then they agree on having a dinner and also becoming friends. Musical structure of the song and the nuances follow these. As they leave, the song ends quietly and softly. So in the scene music makes an external comment on the scene. It creates a romantic mood although the conversation they have is not romantic. The music emphasizes the connection they have. The music is not romantic because of the content of the conversation. So the song says something which is not said by the screenplay. It adds something to the scene. It makes us to interpret the scene as a romantic scene. On Youtube I have seen a clip which is called Horror Trailer of When Harry Met Sally. All the songs have been changed with scary songs and effects and although the visuals and the dialogs are the same the movie actually looks like a horror movie. That is a good illustration how the music adds something to a scene and reshapes it. The music in this scene can also be associated with the characters’ emotions. Maybe they don’t think that he or she is the one as it is said in the song but they obviously liked the time they had together. They feel nice. Maybe they are questioning whether they like each other or not.
To sum up, In When Harry Met Sally, again the music/sound has several functions. It has formal function, narrative function, emotional function and so on. In the scene from When Harry Met Sally, even tough we don’t hear the lyrics we perfectly know what the lyrics are. So the message is still there. There are direct or indirect connections with the lyrics and I agree with Larsen's idea that spectators always force themselves to find metaphors. No matter what, the music/sound changes the scene and the scene change the music/sound as well (Bordwell, 275). They collaborate together to create new meanings intentionally or non-intentionally. Cook says ‘…they create a new experience of each’ (Cook, 73) and he disagrees with the idea that music is the servant of the visuals. I know that film sound/music was neglected for a long time. I think it still can not be seen as important as the visuals or screenplay or actors. But I completely agree with Cook. They constantly support and change each other. Realizing and experiencing this is so fun.
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