Ever since There Will Be Blood, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood has been one of the most acclaimed and sought-after film-score composers in the world. Last year, Greenwood scored The Power Of The Dog and Spencer, and he also contributed music to Licorice Pizza. Greenwood got his second Oscar nomination for The Power Of The Dog, and he and Alaina Haim accepted Paul Thomas Anderson's screenwriting award for Licorice Pizza at the BAFTAs this past weekend. And now Greenwood has scored another film. This time, it's a documentary.
River is the new doc from the Australian director Jennifer Peedom. The film aims to explore the way that rivers have historically shaped humanity and the ways that humanity has now come to control rivers. Peedom and her co-writer Robert Macfarlane also made the similarly themed 2017 documentary Mountain. River is narrated by Willem Defoe, who also narrated Mountain. It'll feature music from Radiohead and from Jonny Greenwood, as well as violinist Richard Tognetti and didgeridoo specialist William Barton.
Tomorrow night, River will premiere in theaters around the UK, and the event will feature a Q&A session with Peedom and Macfarlane. In anticipation of that premiere, Peedom and Macfarlane have shared a clip from River, which features some genuinely breathtaking footage as well as a piece of the score. That scene uses strings that are lively and maybe even playful, as well as a wordless, wailing human voice. Below, check out that scene, as well as the River trailer.
I wrote a film called River.
— Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) March 14, 2022
It's directed by @jenpeedom.
Narrated by Willem Dafoe.
Music by Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood/@JnnyG & the astonishing @didgefusion.
It's about the death & life of rivers––& how our future flows with theirs.
It's out this Friday: https://t.co/dqEdPidiif pic.twitter.com/Gl9hGpV4Qx
The UK River premiere is happening in multiple theaters tomorrow night, and you can get tickets here.






