Cops

Abstract

This work is a musical score for Buster Keaton's 1922 short film "Cops."1 The music revisits the great 'Cop Show' soundtracks of the 1960s and 1970s on American TV and is an homage to the composers of this era - e.g. Henry Mancini(1924-1994), Billy Goldenberg(1936), John Cacavas(1930-2014), Lalo Shifrin(1932), and Morton Stevens(1929-1991). The project involved a complete reimagining of the film using modern audio techniques that were not available to Keaton at the time of the film's production. Sound effects and dialog were added to further convey a 1970s 'feel'. The opening and ending credits were altered for the same reason - the body of the film remains unedited. Only the score is included in this document. This score is intended for a live performance during a screening of the film. The screening version of the film contains sound effects and dialog but no music. There is also a click track so that the conductor can synchronize the live performance with the film.2 1 The film is now in the public domain. The version used can be found at the Archive.org website and has the url . 2 To view a completed version of the film or to acquire the performance version (with a click track and no music) contact the author.