Sound of Cinema
Episodes
Mind the Gap!
08 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew looks at music for films that explore the age gap between their characters, inspired by the release of Paul Thomas Anderson's new film, Licori...
Come Together at Abbey Road
25 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Radio 3’s ‘Sound of…’ marks the 90th anniversary of one of the most famous of all recording studios, London’s Abbey Road. Presenters Matthew...
The Return of The Lord of the Rings
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings is one of contemporary cinema's milestone moments. Now, more than 20 years since it first appeared, Matthew Swee...
Marni Nixon
11 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew looks back on the career and recordings of soprano Marni Nixon, a "ghost singer" who provided the vocals for several leading actresses often w...
The World of Fashion
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The fashion industry has long links with cinema, both on screen and off. With the release of House of Gucci in mind, Matthew Sweet looks at the relati...
The films of Clint Eastwood
13 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the release this week of 'Cry Macho', Matthew Sweet looks back on the music for the films of Clint Eastwood, both as actor, director and composer...
1966
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The release of Edgar Wright's new film 'The Last Night in Soho', where the main character travels back to 1966, prompts Matthew to look back at the fi...
Epic Struggle
23 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Transferring a book or idea to the screen can be troublesome, in the week of the long-awaited ‘Dune’, Matthew Sweet selects music for films that h...
John Carpenter
16 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet meets director and composer John Carpenter to talk about writing the music for his films, and his score for 'Halloween Kills', which was...
Bond Villains
09 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the recent release of the new James Bond film ‘No Time To Die’, Matthew Sweet looks back on the music for Bond villains from John Barry to Ha...
Skin
25 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew's theme is skin, featuring music for the screen as varied as The Singing Detective to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and prompted by this we...
Mike Leigh's Music
18 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet is joined by director Mike Leigh to talk about his ideas about music for films and to look back on some of the scores for films such as ...
Underground
11 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet with music for films inspired by the world beneath the surface including James Horner's music for 'The 33' and Bernard Herrmann's music...
Running amok!
28 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet with a look and film music for movies with a disruptive vibe reflecting the launch this last week of Michael Caton-Jones's new film 'Ou...
Love Knows No Bounds
21 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet presents a selection of film music inspired by the new film Reminiscence with a score by Ramin Djawadi, with a look at films in which th...
Christophe Beck
14 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew meets Canadian film composer Christophe Beck, who wrote the music for both Frozen films, the Ant-Man franchise and The Hangover trilogy. Init...
Indiana Jones and the Ruby Anniversary
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew looks back on 40 years of Indiana Jones, with music from the franchise alongside some of the titles from the Golden Age of cinema that inspire...
He'll Be Back...!
24 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew looks at music for the Tough Guy Movie, especially films featuring the creations of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bronson, Eastwood and Willis - h...
Mark Mothersbaugh
17 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet catches up with the prolific American film composer, artist and author Mark Mothersbaugh, founder of art-house band Devo and the compose...
Who Do You Think You Are?
10 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by the release of Freaky, featuring a new score by Bear McCreary, Matthew Sweet presents a selection of scores for films where characters hav...
A Need For Speed
26 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet marks the return of the Fast and Furious franchise to cinemas, and a new score by Brian Tyler, with a look at film music for fast cars a...
Clint Mansell
19 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet talks to Coventry born Clint Mansell, founder member of the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and one of the most distinctive composers of mode...
Anxiety
12 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by the Emma Seligman's new film, 'Shiva Baby' featuring an imaginative and unsettling score by Ariel Marx, Matthew looks at music for films t...
Joseph Bishara
29 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hollywood composer Joseph Bishara, who has scored all the Insidious and Conjuring films, joins Matthew Sweet to delve into the world of contemporary h...
Road Movies
22 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet with music for the road movie genre, marking the cinematic release of the much-garlanded film 'Nomadland'.Characters in a road movie und...
Real-Life Spies
15 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet marks the forthcoming release of Dominic Cooke's thriller 'The Courier', with a new score by Abel Korzeniowski, and focuses on films bas...
The Films of Bertrand Tavernier
08 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet looks back on the music for the films of the great French director Bertrand Tavernier, who died earlier this year, including Herbie Hanc...
Spring! - The Movies
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A selection of film music written to evoke the start of spring and the idea of rebirth, including scores by Ji Bark, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Isob...
The women that score
06 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 25 years since Rachel Portman composed the music for Emma and collected an Academy Award for Best Soundtrack, the first woman to merit such rec...
Christopher Lennertz
27 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the upcoming release of a full length big screen outing for Tom and Jerry, Matthew Sweet meets composer Christopher Lennertz to talk about his mu...
Future Visions of the Present
20 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, Matthew Sweet features a selection of music for film from across the years that has presented its ow...
Mark Isham
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Isham, Hollywood composer of 'October Sky', 'A River Runs Through It' and the new 'Judas and the Black Messiah' has scored over 400 films and is ...
Small Screen, Many Parts
23 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet looks at music for some of the recent On Demand small screen series and in particular at those with a supernatural theme, in the light ...
Terence Blanchard
16 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The American composer and jazz trumpeter, Terence Blanchard, talks to Matthew Sweet about his career in film music and his artistic association with f...
I Remember
09 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the release of Kornél Mundruczó’s award winning ‘Pieces of A Woman’, with a new score by Howard Shore, Matthew Sweet looks at film music ...
The Cinema at Christmas
26 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'Tis more than just a season of snow-clad backdrops and tinkling soundtracks as Matthew Sweet illustrates in his sparkling assortment of film music fo...
The Films of Orson Welles
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the recent on demand release of David Fincher’s new film ‘Mank’, exploring the background to the 1941 classic film, 'Citizen Kane' and star...
Turkish Bond and Indian Potter
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As part of a weekend profiling Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, Matthew Sweet is joined by film historian Iain Smith, a past member of scheme, for a...
Dave Grusin
22 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Heaven Can Wait, On Golden Pond, The Champ, The Firm and The Fabulous Baker Boys are some of the best-loved film scores of the past 50 years. Matthew ...
Film music for Hallowe'en
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet with a selection of film music inspired by the theme of Halloween, from the classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to more recent manifesta...
Secret Places
24 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the cinematic release of a new telling of the classic Frances Hodgson Burnett children’s book The Secret Garden, featuring a score by Dario Mar...
1968
17 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's featured new release is The Trial of the Chicago 7, with a new score by Daniel Pemberton, a true story set against the background of prote...
Zbigniew Preisner
03 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Zbigniew Preisner first came to international attention through his collaboration with the great Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski, for films such ...
Christopher Nolan
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' now back in cinemas alongside the eagerly awaited arrival of 'Tenet', Matthew Sweet looks back on some of the mu...
History - according to the cinema
26 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet marks the release of the new Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter 'Bill and Ted' adventure - 'Bill and Ted Face The Music' - with a selection of...
Movie Tyrants
19 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew introduces a selection of music that underscores some of cinema's most tyrannical characters. The programme draws on music from Star Wars -Pha...
Harry Gregson-Williams
12 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet meets the British-born composer Harry Gregson-Williams for a retrospective on his career in film. He’s been a hugely successful figure...
Olympians
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'Rising Phoenix', a new documentary film charting the history of the Paralympic Games is launched this week with a new score by Daniel Pemberton. Matt...
Empowerment
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Featured this week is 'Project Power', a new film starring Jamie Foxx with music by Joseph Trapanese. The film is centred around a new drug which give...
The Comic Strip
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the 40th anniversary re-release of Mike Hodges’s Flash Gordon into cinemas at the end of the month, Matthew Sweet is joined by guitarist Brian ...
Ennio Morricone
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet marks the news of the death earlier this week of the great Italian film composer Ennio Morricone with a look back on his career and musi...
John Williams - the scores you'd forgotten
04 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John Williams is one of the most successful and most identifiable of all Hollywood composers, with the likes of Star Wars, Harry Potter, ET, Jurassic ...
Music for Gerry Anderson
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie Anderson, whose father Gerry Anderson gave us Supercar, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, UFO and Captain Scarlet, joins Matthew Sweet for a look back...
David Amram
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The multi-instrumentalist musician David Amram describes himself as a 'promising young composer' as he approaches his 90th birthday. This promising yo...
Child Stars
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet features a selection of music for films that have been led by actors not yet in or out of their teens. From the likes of Jackie Coogan, ...
Electric Palaces
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew considers films that make a feature of the cinema going experience itself and invites stories and recollections from listeners as part of the ...
Disappeared!
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet focuses on music for mystery films, a genre favourite, where the unexplained disappearance of a character becomes the starting point for...
The Atom
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew features music for films which take their inspiration from mankind’s inconsistent relationship with the atom and nuclear energy. The program...
Danny Elfman
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Danny Elfman is one of the biggest names in film music. His numerous collaborations with Tim Burton include Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejui...
Armchair Cinema
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Online film streaming services have become an influential means of receiving and enjoying film and have created an important platform for new film and...
Good Films for Hard Times
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With cinemas closed, new releases postponed and audiences turning to film from home, Matthew Sweet ponders the best films and best film music for thes...
The Unreliable Narrator
21 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hirokazu Kore-eda's film 'The Truth' appeared this week, it stars Catherine Deneuve, Juliet Binoche and Ethan Hawke with a new score by Alexi Aigui. T...
Weird Westerns
14 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet takes his cue from the UK release of Juliano Dornelles's and Kleber Mendonca Filho's award winning film 'Bacurau', with music by Mateus ...
Mychael Danna
07 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Academy Award-winner Mychael Danna's scores include Life of Pi, Little Miss Sunshine, The Time Traveller's Wife, and Monsoon Wedding. His regular coll...
The Female Gaze
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the release this week of the acclaimed 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' with music by Jean-Baptiste Laubier, Matthew considers the impact of "the fem...
Jane Austen
15 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet talks to composer Isobel Waller-Bridge about her score for the 2020 film of Emma, and looks back at other Jane Austen adaptations over t...
The Oscars
08 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the weekend of the Academy Awards Matthew Sweet looks at some wonderful film scores over the decades that somehow failed to pick up an Oscar despit...
Coming of Age
28 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the week that sees the release of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Little Women’ Matthew Sweet focuses his attention on music for films that explore the idea ...
The MGM Musical
21 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As the nationwide BFI Musicals season continues Matthew Sweet celebrates the all-singing, all-dancing world of MGM musicals on film. Featuring Judy Ga...
Henry Jackman
14 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew talks to the celebrated Los Angeles-based English film composer, conductor and arranger Henry Jackman. Jackman is now hugely successful in Hol...
Down to Earth
07 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet presents music from films with characters who come back down to earth with a bump. Whether it's returning to everyday life after war, su...
The "Sound" of Cinema
30 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew's guest is the Hollywood Sound Designer Midge Costin (Con Air, The Rock, and Armageddon), director of the new documentary 'Making Waves: The A...
God of War and Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary
19 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Composer Bear McCreary's credits include Godzilla King of the Monsters, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Child's Play, Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and...
Primal Scene
05 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Joker is the new Batman-themed film directed by Todd Philips, a movie which describes the rich psychological back-story of its lead character, played ...
Object of Desire
28 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the screen adaptation of Donna Tartt’s novel ‘The Goldfinch’ just released, Matthew Sweet features some of Trevor Gorecki’s score plus mu...
Deep Space
21 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet ventures into deep space and spins a few stellar cinematic discs to mark the launch of ‘Ad Astra’ and a new score from Max Richter. ...
The Country House
14 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The big-screen version of Downton Abbey is released this week so the setting for today’s theme is the stately pile or country retreat - the des res ...
Spooky Children
07 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the next chapter in the 'It' series released this week, featuring music by Benjamin Wallfisch, Matthew Sweet turns his attention to music that un...
Alberto Iglesias
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Composer Alberto Iglesias has worked extensively with legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodovar since the late nineties, scoring All About My Mother,...
A Four-Legged Friend
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jed Kurzel's new score for The Mustang, which was released this week, is the spur for a programme looking at the horse in film. Matthew Sweet consider...
The Spaghetti Western
10 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A look at the history of the Italian-made western, through its music, with Matthew Sweet. A genre that appeared in the mid-60s and soon became instant...
Henry Mancini
03 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet talks to Monica Mancini, the daughter of one of the great icons of film music, the composer Henry Mancini, whose seminal scores for 'Bre...
'You've Never Had It So Good'
20 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A look back on cinematic depictions of 1950's Britain through film music with Matthew Sweet, marking the release this week of 'Tell It To The Bees' - ...
Cars
13 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the release of 'Stuber' this week, Michael Dowse's action comedy about a taxi driver and a terrorist, with music by Joseph Trapanese, Matthew Swe...
... Yours faithfully
06 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the release of the bio-pic ‘Vita & Virginia’ this week, inspired by the correspondence of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, Matthew...
Daniel Pemberton
29 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet meets the British composer Daniel Pemberton who started writing documentary scores aged 17. He's since collaborated with Ridley Scott on...
1995
23 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week sees the final instalment of the Toy Story franchise which in 1995 was the first feature length CGI film. Matthew Sweet considers it and oth...
The Berlin Wall
15 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet with a selection of Cold War inspired film music for films centres around the Berlin Wall marking the release this week of Michael Herbi...
Electronica
08 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by the release of 'Gloria Bell' with a new score by electronic musician Matthew Herbert, this week's programme with Matthew Sweet, looks back...
Kaijū and the Japanese mega monster!
01 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the release of a new Michael Dougherty film, ‘Godzilla: The King of Monsters’ this week, Matthew Sweet looks at Japanese Kaijū, which draws ...
The films of David Lean
25 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
David Lean was one of Britain’s greatest and most influential film makers, directing epics such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘The Bridge On The Ri...
The Twilight Zone
18 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Roxann Dawson's new film "Breakthrough", with a score by Marcelo Zarvos, is the featured new release and puts Matthew in mind of films that explore th...
The Con Artist
11 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by 'The Hustle', with a new score by Anne Dudley, a remake of the comedy 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' gives Matthew Sweet his cinematic theme th...
Academia
04 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Academia has provided a rich backdrop for cinema over the years. With the release of the biopic ‘Tolkien’ this week, based on the life of the Oxfo...
Free Thinking - Cinematic Love Themes
30 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet live from Sage Gateshead with a look at cinematic love themes as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival.
Things are not what they seem...
23 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet presents a selection of music for films where things are not quite as they would have us believe, including music by Michael Abels for t...
John Scott
16 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
He's the man who gave us the music for A Study in Terror, The Final Countdown, and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. He worked with John Barry, Henry M...
Women Super Heroes
09 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet considers music for the female super hero and talks exclusively to composer Pinar Toprak who's written the score for the much anticipate...
Video Game Music: Lines, Loops and Layers
02 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Exactly how do you set about composing music for a video game? As part of Radio 3 and 6Music's exploration of video game music - "High Scores" - Matth...
Vigilante
23 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Sweet selects music for vigilante films.