I am currently teaching myself to play "The Night Window" on the piano.
It's from the 1917 movie soundtrack. You will recall this is the war movie that looks like it is all one scene. Of course there were as many as 5 scenes but they were all put together seamlessly and it feels like there's only one camera going around. I honestly LOVED the one-shot (faux) cinematography. But the music? Oh my, the music. I am obsessed with "The Night Window." It's so haunting and beautiful and powerful. It's a crime that the movie score didn't get an Oscar. It is a masterpiece.
As you will recall, the scene for "The Night Window" slowly moves toward the window, then you sort of float to the ground.
Then it's all color and lights. It's like watching a living painting. I saw this movie just before Covid hit. A movie like this one is a rare masterpiece. The courage and utter terror of war are perfectly encapsulated in it. It's pure visual and auditory poetry. This is why I say Thomas Newman is my favorite movie score composer. The shot of the arch silhouetted by the fire reminded me of a biblical scene of judgment. Terrible. Horrifying. Hypnotizing. It was like watching a heart attack in slow motion. I don't think I've ever been so stressed in a movie theater. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a movie that changed protagonists midway. That made Blake's unexpected death all the more gut-wrenching and shocking.
"The Night Window" is not difficult to play on the piano. I will forever love it. It represents such a magical moment in the movie. It pushes the narrative forward like a beating heart. I think it's matched only by Schofield's charge across the field as the troops go over the top.
This film makes me want every day to become more and more excellent at everything I put my hand to, including my messages this Sunday. A sermon, like a good movie, should be memorable, not forgettable. The score of a good movie alone can make you cry. This is true also of a good sermon.