The Hills Are Alive...With the Sound of Silence

Some DVDs feature a score-only audio track, a bonus I've appreciated on such films as Superman, North by Northwest, and Enter the Dragon, among others It occurs to me that an audio track that included everything but the orchestral score might be just as interesting.

Imagine watching Star Wars, for example, without John Williams' music - just the dialogue and sound effects. How would that transform the experience? I think it might make the movie far less thrilling, but might it not also draw the viewer further into the world of the film, documentary style? Without music, which always breaks the fourth wall, audiences might subconsciously consider the events of the film more "real," even when they're watching science fiction or fantasy films.

Removing the music might also allow the audience to discover whether or not the emotional impact of scenes works without the score. Would Superman's first rescue in Metropolis be as heart-pounding without Williams' rousing music? Would Halloween be as scary without John Carpenter's eerie main theme? I have a feeling that removing the music might actually work with some horror films, since creepy music often telegraphs scares, making them less effective. But most action, fantasy, and science fiction films absolutely depend on their scores to keep the emotional momentum going. And musicals wouldn't work at all, though they might be very amusing to watch...