A little bit ago, I put up a meme about favorite movies. The top 10 all timers and so on, and the details surrounding your first viewing of them. I have to say that the time of year affects the list for me, and the list changes with the seasons. As one season rolls out and the next takes hold of our world, what’s important to me in my movie list changes. For instance, partly because of the score for the movie, Shawshank Redemption moves into the top ten. I love the subtle way that Stephen King draws you into the story, the way it develops and plays out in the end. How the bad guys get what’s coming to them and the good guys win in the end. It is a fantastic story of triumph over your surroundings, and the need for hope no matter the time or place. And it has a musical score (by my current favorite composer - Thomas Newman) to match. However, there is one moment in the musical parts that absolutely screams out to me, and has become one of my all-time favorite music pieces. It sets the tone and plays during this speech:

Brooks (played by James Whitmore) Narrates: Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called "The Brewer". And a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep up but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello. But he never does. I hope wherever he is he's okay and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun, an, an rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.

The scene itself, and the moments leading up to it, are sad, yet eye-opening at the same time. I actually gasped during that scene the first time I saw Shawshank, I hadn’t actually expected that ending to that character. The music though, more than the scene and the speech, stayed with me. I love the piece so much I went out and bought the soundtrack several years ago (which I felt guilty for… I have a hard time spending money on anything for myself), and I play this over and over again. Its perfect for fall, slightly melancholy, smooth, soft, inviting and soothing. It’s funny how some pieces of music just live in the corners of my head like this one, and pop out when least expected. I have other pieces that I enjoy, many from Mr. Newman, but this one… I never seem to become bored with it. How about you guys? Is there a piece of music from a movie that has effected you to a degree over the years?