The Sound of the 60s English • Filmhuis Denhaag Filmhuis Denhaag

The Sound of the '60s

Espionage, Pop Music and Rebellion 

The Cold War led to increasing tensions on the world stage and unsurprisingly, the spy movie made its appearance. British spy James Bond arrived on screen with bombastic soundtracks full of booming brass. Never to disappear again. 

But Hollywood also continued to offer escapism as it had always done. The romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Blake Edwards 1961) became a global sensation thanks to Audrey Hepburn and the song Moon River. It was so successful that from that point on almost every film came with a tune that had hit potential. Film studios increasingly commissioned pop musicians to come up with these songs, particularly for films in which young people took centre stage. Rather than orchestral scores, rebellion, sexual freedom and drugs called for rock, beat and surf music. 

Young directors and composers rebelled against Hollywood norms. They made idiosyncratic films and experimented with jazz and other genres. European cinema also gravitated towards rebellion. French filmmakers rejected music, but later rediscovered it thanks to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, for example. And Italy introduced a variation on the American cowboy movie: the Spaghetti Western.


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Listen to cowboys, spies and pop musicians

Listen to the jazzy music of spy movies, dream away to the rarefied voice of Audrey Hepburn, sing along with Simon & Garfunkel, feel the grandeur of the desert & let Ennio Morricone take you to the Wild West.

Facts of Filmmusic

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)

With Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964) and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967), director Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand offered their own spin on the Hollywood musical. As well as singing songs about their emotional rapture, the actors in the two films also sang the dialogue. This was something entirely new. When a journalist asked Jacques Damy why ‘in God’s name he let people sing all the dialogue’, the director responded: ‘Why not? It would make life much more pleasant.’ The music for Les Parapluies de Cherbourg and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort cemented the reputation of composer Michel Legrand in Hollywood. He won no fewer than three Oscars with his work.

Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean (1962)

Before composer Maurice Jarre became involved in Lawrence of Arabia, two other composers had already turned it down. Jarre was given six weeks to write the score – a rush job. He came up with a soundtrack that perfectly complemented the vast desert of David Lean’s film. Jarre used a large orchestra with extra percussion for his music. This combination produced Arabic-sounding music on one of the most famous film themes ever. Jarre received an Oscar for his soundtrack, which to this day is still in third place on the American Film Institute’s list of best film scores.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Planet of the Apes is over half a century old and still one of the most memorable films in cinema history. Not only because of the superb translation of the novel onto the big screen and striking make-up, but also thanks to Jerry Goldsmith’s groundbreaking score. Goldsmith expanded the orchestra with a rather extraordinary set of acoustic and ethnic percussion instruments. He even used instruments that were no instruments at all, such as some stainless-steel mixing bowls that he brought from his own kitchen. He also let the strings section use the wooden side of their bows and the horn players blow into their instruments without a mouthpiece. According to legend, Goldsmith even wore an ape mask when he conducted the score.

The Pink Panther by Blake Edwards (1963)

Who doesn’t know the theme tune to The Pink Panther? It is probably composer Henry Mancini’s best-known work. After the soundtrack was released, the track was brought out as a single. It reached the Top 10 in the U.S. Billboard charts and won three Grammy awards. In The Pink Panther’s opening sequence, image and sound come together seamlessly as the cartoon character of the Pink Panther walks along to the beat of Mancini’s music. It was so successful that Mancini’s theme was later also used for the many animated television series starring the Pink Panther.
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