Matthew Sweet’s Sound of Cinema 4gg1e

Matthew Sweet celebrates the film highlights of the year with a focus on the recently announced 2025 Bafta winners. He speaks exclusively with the winner of the Best Original Score - composer Daniel Blumberg, for the film The Brutalist - who tells Matthew about how he travelled to an Italian quarry to record some of the music, and what it was like to actually win the Bafta itself. There's music from Conclave, The Brutalist and The Wild Robot, plus even some Zoe Saldana and a hint of Trent Reznor's alarm clock....and even a musical jump-scare from Nosferatu.... To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”

Matthew Sweet speaks to actor and director Jesse Eisenberg ing Chopin's music in his latest film "A Real Pain" - the story of two cousins touring Poland to honour their grandmother. Matthew also explores the wider impact Polish music and musicians have had on the world of film music - from Bronislaw Kaper's music for the 1954 monster classic "Them!" to Wojciech Kilar's award-winning scores for "The Pianist" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula". To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”

With the Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie in cinemas, Matthew Sweet speaks to Maria director Pablo Larrain. The talk about working with Angelina Jolie, being a frustrated musician himself and how Pablo uses music in his films. Pablo also reveals the secrets of bringing Maria Callas alive through Angelina's singing. Matthew also explores how films have turned to their natural predecessor, opera, for inspiration. Puccini's Madame Butterfly proves a Fatal Attraction for Michael Douglas, Bernard Herrmann writes his own aria for Citizen Kane, and the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen gives depth and poignancy to widower Carl's pottering in Up! To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”

Matthew Sweet talks to composer Debbie Wiseman ing period music in films. For the TV series Wolf Hall, Debbie wrote original music in a period style, films like Farinelli and Death In Venice use classical music and for the series Bridgerton Kris Bowers created a hybrid of period-sounding music with hip-hop beats. Matthew asks how the search for authenticity enhances the viewer's experience, and when does it become a distraction? To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”

Defying the convention of massive orchestral scores, Matthew Sweet looks at films that embrace the intimacy of chamber music including: the Syrian-inspired strings of Nainita Desai's For Sama score, The Third Man's iconic 1949 zither melody composed by Anton Karas, Clint Mansell's agonising quartet from Requiem for a Dream, and a surprising period drama score written for a trio by John Williams. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

From the driving energy of North By Northwest to the iconic string stabs of Psycho, music is an integral part of what makes Alfred Hitchcock's films stand out. Matthew Sweet finds out what makes them so good and looks at times when Hitchcock and his composers disagreed. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

As part of Radio 3's European Road Trip, Matthew Sweet explores some of the best soundtracks in German cinema. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

Presenter Matthew Sweet cosies up with the soundtracks of films that bring comfort to those dark, wintry nights… From the life-affirming joy of Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbour Totoro to the 80s cinema thrills of Raiders of the Lost Ark, he uncovers why film scores don't necessarily need to be twee to warm our hearts… To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

Hop on board the Polar Express! Matthew Sweet's unwrapping the greatest Christmas film soundtracks. We'll be walking in the air with Howard Blake's Snowman and Home Alone with John Williams. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

In cinema, US presidents have been portrayed as heroes, villains, great leaders who unite the world and hopeless puppets who are the butt of jokes. In this episode, Matthew Sweet casts his vote on classic soundtracks to films including Nixon and Independence Day. Celebrating the 1991 blockbuster, Point Break, as it returns to cinemas in the UK. To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema."

With the release of Gladiator II in cinemas, Matthew Sweet brings us the music of the Roman Empire - as told by Hollywood - from Alex North's scores for Spartacus and Cleopatra, Miklos Rozsa's epic music for the equally epic Quo Vadis? and Ben Hur. Matthew is also ed by composer and academic Dr MaryAnn Tedstone Glover to find out if the music we now think of as Roman sounds anything like what the Romans themselves would have heard. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".

Sleepless In Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, The Addams Family, Hairspray, Mary Poppins Returns, Marc Shaiman's music has been a part of our lives for over three decades. One time king of the Romcom score, master arranger and songwriter, Marc talks to Matthew Sweet about his career and introduces cues from some of his many scores. As well as those listed above, the programme also features music from Mr Saturday Night, City Slickers, The American President, LBJ, Bros, and Marc's chosen Classic Score of the Week.

Matthew Sweet saddles up to explore the most iconic soundtracks of the Wild West. Traverse the sweeping landscape with music from Western blockbusters, including The Magnificent Seven and A Fistful of Dollars. Featuring the award-winning score from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in celebration of its 55-year anniversary. To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema."

Matthew Sweet packs his bags in search of the films that bring back memories of summer - with music from the hot sun of Roman Holiday and Jean de Florette, the childhood adventures of Swallows and Amazons and UP and the nostalgia of Cinema Paradiso.

This special episode of Sound of Cinema features an exclusive interview with the visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, known for his masterful blend of suspense, psychological drama, and supernatural elements in films like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and Split. His collaboration with composers like James Newton Howard has resulted in some of the most memorable film scores of recent decades, making his insights particularly valuable in the context of Sound of Cinema. Hosted by Matthew Sweet, the programme dives into the unique role that music plays in Shyamalan’s films, exploring how scores have been integral in shaping the eerie atmospheres and emotional depth for which his work is renowned. Whether you’re a devoted fan of Shyamalan’s work or simply curious about the intersection of music and film, this episode promises to be a fascinating listen.

With a career spanning 60 years and over 200 films, the late Donald Sutherland was a true acting legend. His son, actor Kiefer Sutherland - best known for his starring roles in 1987's The Lost Boys plus Designated Survivor and 24 - s Matthew Sweet to look back at his father's life through the soundtracks of his major films. It includes music from The Hunger Games (by composer James Newton Howard), Don't Look Now (composer Pino Donaggio), Six Degrees of Separation (composer Jerry Goldsmith) and Pride and Prejudice (by composer Dario Marianelli), this episode also contains insights into what it's like learning about your father through film...

With the release of Fly Me To The Moon - in which Scarlett Johansson wants to fake the moon landing - Matthew Sweet uncovers the films in which fakery is the name of the game. From characters stuck in artificial worlds - The Truman Show and The Matrix - to films that lead the audience to question what's real and what's not, like The Game, Total Recall and Synecdoche New York, this episode of Sound of Cinema looks at how deception comes across in the music of these fraud-based films...

Matthew Sweet in conversation with Abel Korzeniowski, the composer of Ishana Night Shyamalan's supernatural horror film The Watched. We'll hear about writing music for 'Emily', the 2022 biopic about Emily Brontë, and the film that won Colin Firth the Best Actor award at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, A Single Man. Abel also talks about why Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather means so much to him.

Matthew Sweet showcases film scores about female firsts and cinematic examples of outstanding achievements by women, and he chats to composer Amelia Warner about her score for the new film Young Woman and the Sea recalling the story of Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel. The programme also includes music from Pope Joan, Cleopatra, Captain Marvel, Hidden Figures, Suffragette, Radioactive, Amelia, Mary Shelley, and the Classic Score of the Week - Toshiro Mayazumi's music for the 1966 movie The Bible: In The Beginning...

With the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Matthew Sweet hails cinema's greatest apes. From King Kong to Gorillas In The Mist, apes have proven a constant lure throughout the history of film and in today's programme we'll hear the soundtracks for the very best of them. And Matthew takes us on a sonic journey through the music of all nine Planet of the Apes films.