MovieChat Forums > Mother Night (1996) Discussion > Music ripped off by There Will Be Blood?

Music ripped off by There Will Be Blood?

posted 16 years ago by BouncyCastle
4 replies | jump to latest

Ok, hear me out. I just saw Mother Night yesterday. I forget the scene exactly, but I think it's about in the middle of the movie- I believe the 2nd time Nolte meets up with John Goodman (still in Germany I think). They're in a dark room. There's this very dramatic music- violins- which builds into a crescendo, stops, and a piano hits a couple heavy chords.

This really reminds me of some music in There Will Be Blood- especially the piano strike.

Does anyone know what the hell I'm talking about?

"It's... a sweater!"

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] alunrichards-1 16 years ago

I thought that all the music in There Will Be Blood was by Johnny Greenwood, except for the Brahms violin concerto? Anyway, I was going to say that Greenwood's soundtrack 'rips off' plenty of stuff, although it's hardly an issue for film music to do this. I got Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements recently, and there's a passage in the first movement, near the start, where piano and violins hammer out syncopated riffs on top of a pizzicato ostinato in the cellos and basses. It sounds just like the music from the scene in which the other prospectors arrive in town.

[–] Vampenguin 16 years ago

...hence why it wasn't eligible for Best Original Score at the Oscars: Most of it is made up of classical pieces such as the aforementioned.

----------------------------
Max: Up to your necks in security: How can love survive?

[–] misparast 13 years ago

Good remark, but not rip off, this piece is not composed for either film, both films use Estonian composer Arvo Pärt`s piece Fratres (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbTK-uY_dIQ). You can say that backbone of Mother`s Night is Arvo Pärt`s music, it`s played throughout the film. Pärt`s music is used in many films though, he is most performed living classical composer so no surprise there.