The Sound And Music Of 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' And 'War Horse'

Odds are if you visited a movie theater recently, you might have been there to see Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol or War Horse. The former has been deservedly sitting atop the box office charts since its release and the latter is the latest, tear-jerker live-action drama from one of our most beloved filmmakers, Steven Spielberg. And while the fact they're both currently playing in theaters is more or less the only thing the films have in common, both are undoubtedly improved by their sound and score.

John Williams' score to War Horse is one of his best in many years. It perfectly compliments the sweeping story of how a single animal can bring out the best in people at the worst of times. With Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, director Brad Bird and his team use not only Michael Giacchino's score, but a steady barrage of sound, to amp up the drama surrounding Ethan Hunt and his disavowed IMF agents.

After the jump, watch in-depth videos and interviews regarding the sound and music from both Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Steven Spielberg's War Horse.

Thanks to the always awesome SoundWorks Collection for these two videos. First up, here's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

And here's the description:

In this exclusive SoundWorks Collection video we talk with Director Brad Bird, Composer Michael Giacchino, Supervising ADR Editor Gwen Whittle Yates and Supervising Sound Editor Richard Hymns. Tom Cruise returns in the starring role as Ethan Hunt and is joined by an international cast that includes Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor and Léa Seydoux. Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates "Ghost Protocol." Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency's name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Next up is War Horse:

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of War Horse from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

The description is as follows:

From director Steven Spielberg comes "War Horse," an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, "War Horse" begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man's Land. In the exclusive SoundWorks Collection video we talk with Sound Designer and Re-recording Mixer Gary Rydstrom and Composer John Williams.

Which films has a more impressive use of sound and music?