While I agree with Mullin, a number of films today are so thin on anything that makes a good film, constant score is the only veil covering it and keeping people from fully realizing what garbage they are watching. It's like Atlas, holding the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
Its funny that a lot of the best movies, are almost without or very little original score...and when there is a score its mostly a soundscape sort of score..or an intimate one. THE DEER HUNTERS...GOOD FELLAS...RAGING BULL...2001...PATH OF GLORY....THE EXORCIST....THE STING....etc.
Even more if you move outside the confines of Hollywood. Of all the films competing in the main competition in Cannes every year, it's the rule rather than the exception that they have no or very little non-diegetic score.
I'm guessing your post was made tongue-in-cheek rather than a serious query.
Then your guess would be wrong, Thor. There is nothing in my question that suggests tongue-in-cheek, so that is an aspect that you are bringing in with you. If you have a way to word it that would come across as being more "serious", then I invite you to say so.
(PS. I enjoyed your responses to the actual question.)
Music in film should have a dramatic purpose. I've never seen a film where anything close to every minute should be underscored. The premise is as ridiculous as asking "Should an actor be speaking every second of the film?"
This kinda ties in with bad films with great scores. While a good well balanced film doesn't need constant scoring, a really bad film benefits from constant scoring and often leads to a great score which ends up being the only good thing about the film.
I have been listening to the epic score for "Ben Hur" by Miklos Rozsa, and there is no music during the nine-minute chariot sequence (from beginning of race to the end). I get the impression that a musical score would just distract the audience from the non-stop action.
Wall to wall scoring can be oppressive. "If everything is important, then nothing is important." Patton had like 20 minutes of score. It was a three hour movie. I still haven't gotten through the complete Lord of the Rings recordings.
I really enjoy the classic Star Trek scores. A complete release could be like 60 minutes.
