Ahead of the UK cinema release of Max Richter's Sleep on 11 September and the UK premiere + exclusive Q&A on 8 September, learn about some of the finest scores from the great composer.
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Richter’s score for Ari Folman’s 2008 animated depiction of the 1982 Lebanon war is a haunting evocation of war recalled through memory and social narrative. His score for the film earned Richter the European Film Award for Best Composer in 2008 from the European Film Academy.
How to Die in Oregon (2011)
Accompanied by a moving, piano-based score from Richter and winner of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Award, Peter Richardson’s How to Die in Oregon explores the state's historic and controversial Death with Dignity Act, which legalises physician aid-in- dying for some terminally ill patients. This is also the only Dogwoof film scored by Richter himself…for now, at least.
Wadjda (2013)
Richter returned to scoring cinema of the Middle-East with Haifaa Al-Mansour’s celebrated Wadjda, both the first feature ever made by a female director from Saudi Arabia, and the first film ever shot entirely within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The film follows with a 10-year-old Saudi girl who is determined to buy a bicycle, despite Saudi traditions that make such a purchase difficult.
My Brilliant Friend (2018-2020)
Based on the international bestselling novel by Elena Ferrante, the American-Italian drama TV series My Brilliant Friend features a vast array of Max Richter’s catalogue, including works from Infra, From Sleep, Three Worlds, The Blue Notebooks, and Vivaldi Recomposed.
Ad Astra (2019)
Richter’s Ad Astra score takes as its inspiration both the psychological dimension of its lead character, astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), as well as the physical journey he takes across space. While developing his concept for the score Richter recalled NASA’s Voyager Interstellar Mission, launched in the late 1970s. He took the plasma wave data, detected and transmitted by the Voyager probes as they passed planets in our Solar System, and used this data (via a specifically commissioned virtual instrument) as an element in his writing. As Roy passes through space we hear probe data from the same locations being applied to the score.
Max Richter's Sleep is available in UK cinemas & on demand from Friday 11 September, with a UK premiere + exclusive Q&A on 8 September.