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Carter Burwell

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Carter Burwell has been a guest on The Bulwark .

Recently: “How One of the Greatest Creates Unforgettable Musical Scores” on The Bulwark (November 2026).

What They Said

“He, in the politest way, said that he felt that the score was too self-aware, that it seemed to be commenting on the film rather than being in the film, which is a very fair critique.” — Carter Burwell, The Bulwark

Carter Burwell recalls a first pass at the Three Billboards score, with a Morricone-style theme for every character, and the director's reaction. The note sent him back to find what the music should really do.

The Bulwark · 2026-11-13 Permalink → Listen →
The Bulwark
Carter Burwell

Yes, they are. And Todd Haynes, too. And Todd Haynes, right? You

Sonny Bunch

…of Anisharan and suggesting the Irish, what was something you had you've suggested to a director, and they were just like, no, that doesn't work. We're not doing this. And I'm curious how that kind of informed the rest of your work on the project to make it successful, to make the rest of it work.

Carter Burwell

Well, there have probably been many examples. I mean, one that immediately comes to mind is another Martin's film, the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, where when I read the script, and still when I saw a rough cut of the film, I thought, well, I thought it really is like an ensemble piece. You have all these very carefully drawn characters and Woody Harrelson's character, and of course, Sam and Fran, and many very strongly written characters. And it reminded me a little bit of Sergio Leone and how it'll be this ensemble of people who get all the alliances keep changing. Again, like in a Leone film, like where people, sometimes they're allies, sometimes they're enemies. You never know how it's going to end up at the end of a scene or at the end of the film. Reminded me a little of Leone. So I did a little bit of a Borricone sort of thing where every character had a theme. And I played that for Martin. And he, in the politest way, said that he felt that the…

Sonny Bunch

not even to the man who was giving the emotional heft to the movie.

Carter Burwell

No, I mean, we have those, you know, basically as a last resort, we sometimes have those conversations. So if it comes to that, that's a last resort, but it does happen sometimes. And here Martin just said, well, it's about a woman who goes to war with the police and or a mother who goes to war…

Sonny Bunch

Well, we're running up against time limit here. I always like to close these interviews by asking if there's anything I should have asked, if you think there's anything folks should know about Wild Horse Nine or about your career more broadly. What do people not know about composing for a film that…

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.
“What's the thing that's not already there that I could bring? I'm not that interested as a composer in amplifying things you're already seeing on screen. I'd like to find some subtext or something that isn't necessarily clear, even if it's at odds with what you're seeing, but that it makes the experience richer and more dramatic.” — Carter Burwell, The Bulwark

Asked how he starts working with a director on a rough cut, composer Carter Burwell gives the one question he asks himself on every film.

The Bulwark · 2026-11-13 Permalink → Listen →
The Bulwark
Carter Burwell

…And I thought that this music allowed you to feel all those different things. So that was it, basically, chronologically. I'm just trying a lot of things out and seeing what it does to the picture. And I felt that this was the best solution. I played it for Martin pretty early on, and he agreed.

Sonny Bunch

…other director? I mean, do you, I assume you get a rough cut of the film at some point, and then you start layering the music in. But, you know, there's questions about do you want music under this dialogue or do you not want music? Like, how does that actual back and forth work with the director?

Carter Burwell

…will say, can I show you a scene and you tell me what you do? And I say, I can't, there's no way I could tell you what I do with a scene because I need to know where we're going. What is the ultimate payoff for this film and for this score? But once I see a rough cut, I basically always ask myself this one question. No one else needs to ask it, but I ask myself this one question, which is, what's the thing that's not already there that I could bring? I'm not that interested as a composer in amplifying things you're already seeing on screen. I'd like to find some subtext or something that isn't necessarily clear, even if it's at odds with what you're seeing, but that it makes the experience richer and more dramatic. So I do that. I go away, come up with some answer in my mind, or maybe not even with an answer. All I have is the question. And then the director and I, in this case, Martin, we do a thing called a spotting session. So Martin's based in London. I'm based in New York. So I went over to London and we sit in a room together with the editor and we go through the film from beginning to end. And at…

Sonny Bunch

Yeah. Yeah. Again, it's fascinating too, because I had a sense we were going to have this conversation. So I was trying to pay attention to the score. And it really does blend into the background pretty seamlessly in a lot of places in the sense, you know, sometimes you hear a score and you're…

Carter Burwell

It depends on the movie. It really does. This one, I agree. It's more the music is often not making a big deal of itself. That's partly because there's so often dialogue in the film that it's, you know, it's Martin a writer. And so there's, you know, the dialogue is always in the, yeah, the, always…

Sonny Bunch

Yeah. I mean, I guess. And I just looking at your own filmography, I can't imagine raising Arizona without the, you know, kind of yodeling or the in Bruges without that kind of like brooding, almost noirish constant tune in it. I just, I, again, I rewatched In Bruges not long ago. I just, I can't…

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.

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