Question by Mikey: What are the differences between classical music and movie music?
I’m thinking it would be fair to say that movie music is more simplistic and direct whereas classical is more sophisticated and obscure. I’d like to know your thoughts if you please 
Best answer:
Answer by ♥Usagi♥
music made by conductors for films, usually have so much strength and emotion in them to convey the message and feeling of the movie.
I’m very inspired by John Williams, Howard Shore and Danny Elfman. they really make a movie come alive.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Do you mean music that was written by a film composer?? Or is this to include music that has been used in film but not necessarily made specifically for the film (ex. Blue Danube waltz and Ligeti lux Aeterna in 2001 Space Odyssey by Kubrick). This question is virtually un-answerable without knowing this. Movies can contain very complex music. “Movie scores” are usually less complex than regular music scores only because they are usually meant to ‘enhance’ the film and plot, etc …not overpower it. Movie music can be classical…it can be jazz…it can be a mix of genres…it depends on the kind of film…obviously John Williams, Elfman, etc…they are heavily influenced by classsical…but today there are pop scores and there are music supervisors who choose songs, etc etc…its not a simple question to just compare it as if it were apples to apples…movie music can be sophisticated….but it isn’t always….classical music can be simple and well-known…but it usually isn’t….etc etc …you get the point….i can answer further when I know more abt what you are looking for…
Some of the music used in movies IS classical music. I am not sure what you are asking here ?
the only real difference between “classical” music and film music is that scores written for films are dictated, severely limited, and inspired by events happening on the screen. on the other hand, classical symphonies narrate their own drama, and as such use specific forms (sonata, rondo, etc.) which directs the dramatic flow of the music. in a movie, the music is but one component that makes up the entire movie-watching experience; you can appreciate it on its own for its intrinsic merits, but it was still created with a very specific function in mind.
to go back to your comment, i think it would actually be rather unfair to say that movie music is “more simplistic and direct whereas classical is more sophisticated and obscure”. functionally speaking, movie music must appeal to the emotions as directly as possible, but techniques by which film composers operate are all derived from classical writers, from chord progressions to instrumentation to the leitmotif. then there’s opera and ballet music, which are similar to movie scores in their functional purposes, but composers like Stravinsky and Wagner were writing some of the most difficult music of their times in that context. indeed, Shostakovich himself was a film composer, and many of those pieces are very difficult as well.
to sum up, there’s plenty of classical music out there that is relatively simple and direct. mozart’s operas are evidence of such. dances, such as minuets, waltzes, mazurkas and such are also considered classical music. on the other hand, film music can also be very complicated. it all boils down simply to the functional context of the music.
Music composed for movie scores is called program music.
Some classical scores are borrowed for use in film, but the film media was not invented until the late 19th century, nor had sound until the early 20th.
Classical music was inspired by partisans who paid their composers to write music. It is by no means obscure, but it takes intelligence to appreciate. The music written for film use is two-thirds stolen and one-third original. Especially John Williams. They have a fee that is charged for a product, and some of us who have the ability to compose know crap when we hear it. We just don’t have any say in who gets hired to write this schlock.
The means to an end.
Program music is written for a specific film scene, with little exception it cannot be used outside of that context. Some specific themes from movie scores can and do stand on their own, but for the most part the music inside the film is just that. You’ll find (if you closely listen to the sound track of a movie) that a lot, really a lot, is just plain boring. Pity the session string players that have to play a sustained note or two for 45 seconds, or brass players that get to perform a three second fanfare and that covers the whole scene.
Classical composers wrote music that is timeless and is to be enjoyed by just listening (or in the case of opera or ballet) as a live performance with staging and choreography.