Edinburgh Film Festival lines up film score retrospective for 2020

EIFF celebrates the work of Ennio Morricone, Mica Levi and Delia Derbyshire in its 2020 retrospective

Feature by Peter Simpson | 20 Nov 2019
  • Under the Skin

To quote David Bowie, don't you wonder sometimes about sound and vision? Well clearly EIFF have been having a think about the relationship between the two, as for 2020 the festival are bringing some of cinema's most iconic and intriguing soundtracks back to the big screen. The Big Score will focus on the work of three titans of film composition, from three dramatically different schools of thought.

The diverse and genre-spanning work of Ennio Morricone is celebrated in the strand. The selection of his scores on display includes historical drama The Battle of Algiers and cinematic love letter Cinema Paradiso (both screening from new 4K restorations), John Carpenter’s The Thing, Brian de Palma's The Untouchables, and unhinged camp classic Danger Diabolik

Mica Levi's experimental and evocative scores for Jonathan Glazer's Glasgow-set Under the Skin, Pablo Larrain's Jackie Kennedy biopic Jackie and holographic Jon Hamm drama Marjorie Prime will all screen as part of the series. We hope EIFF find a way to preview those screenings with Levi and Glazer's terrifying recent short film The Fall, ideally without warning anyone beforehand.

Pioneering electronic musician Delia Derbyshire is also given room to shine in The Big Score. A pair of short film programmes will share some of her experimental work and documentaries on her life, while Derbyshire's soundtracks for Hamlet, Duffer and Dracula A.D. get the big screen treatment. 

Aside from those three, the strand also includes a celebration of jazz's role in scoring iconic moments in cinema. Essentially, it's a good excuse to screen films like Bullitt, Taxi Driver and Touch of Evil, so we're on board. The full programme for The Big Score will be announced next month; the 2020 Edinburgh International Film Festival takes place from 17-28 June.


https://www.edfilmfest.org.uk