Exclusive Clip: Music Creates Mood in 'True Detective'

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The performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in HBO's stirring True Detective made for must-see television viewing.But virtuoso acting can only carry a drama so far without an effective soundtrack. In this exclusive clip from the True Detective Blu-ray bonus features, writer/creator/executive producer Nic Pizzolatto and legendary composer T Bone Burnett detail the pivotal role music plays in the show's development.

Despite the story's location, the filmmakers did not want to employ typical Louisiana Cajun music sound or score. "That wouldn't been nearly as intriguing as the idea of creating an alternate reality, where it's not a kind of Louisiana that we've heard before," says Burnett. Pizzolatto adds, "It's seems to me to it comes more from the psychology of the place, rather than its exact musical history."


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The groundbreaking True Detective casts Harrelson and McConaughey as Martin Hart and Rust Cohle, two Louisiana detectives whose approach to work and personal life could not be more different. But when a macabre murder of a prostitute -- by a possible serial killer with disturbing occult leanings -- takes place, the two men put their lives and relationship on the line to prevent more murders from taking place. The eight episodes unfold in a series of flashbacks that take place between 1995 and 2012. Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Dunn, Tory Kittles, Michael Potts, Elizabeth Reaser, Shea Whigham, Clarke Peters, Jay O. Sanders and Lili Simmons co-star.

Out Tuesday, the True Detective Blu-ray and DVD includes deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and the featurettes Making True Detective; Up Close with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson; A Conversation with Nic Pizzolatto and T Bone Burnett and Inside the Episode.