Hurrah for Original Soundtracks!

johnny_ultimate

Someone in the house was watching Star Trek in another room last night, and just hearing the soundtrack in the background reminded me how ****ing fantastic the score to the film is. Michael Giacchino's score helps set the tone, the pace and the atmosphere throughout. The musical transition from opening scene to logo to flashback is stunning, to pick one example, and instantly pulls you into the film. Naturally, Abram's superb direction and editing helps too, but 'Enterprising Young Men' (the track in question) is the icing on the cake.

Often more so than any other type of film, an entertaining blockbuster or popcorn flick can help be defined by the music. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, Back To The Future, The Goonies, Jaws and countless others - the most memorable are often the ones you find yourself randomly humming the theme tune from. Who hasn't found themselves whistling along to the Imperial March at some point (anyone who says differently is lying :pac:).

Of course, good scores aren't limited to summer blockbusters. I'm listening to The Good the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack at the moment. Ennio Morricone pretty much helped define a genre with his contributions to Leone's Westerns. Karen O and the Kids mad, dreamlike soundtrack to Where The Wild Things Are is on frequent rotation at the moment too, and a perfect companion to the film, emphasising key themes - a mix of joy, sadness and innocence. And then the likes of There Will Be Blood - not necessarily something you can hum along to, but pivotal in defining the unusual, surreal nature of the film. Or Phillip Glass' compositions that help keep you hypnotised to the visuals in the Quatsi films.

Then there's the other kind of soundtrack, the 'mixtape'. Wes Anderson tends to divide critics with his music choices (he sure likes the Kinks, ey?) but I often find his soundtracks to be a great mix of classic rock (Search & Destroy), hidden gems and original compositions (anything by Mark Mothersbaugh). Quentin Tarantino is one of the purveyors of the mixtape style, and while he can be extremely hit or miss, reappropriating Little Green Bag or Stuck in the Middle has created some extremely memorable scenes. These pop-culture literate folk help us reevaluate and reappreciate the (often hidden) classics of the past.

And then we have the bad soundtracks. The likes of Watchmen, which at it's worst completely pulls you out of the film and makes you query 'what the **** were they thinking?' as two characters thrust to Leonard Cohen. Or the director's cut of Donnie Darko, which removes many of the inspired music cues of the first and reminds you how much of a fluke Kelly achieved the first time around.

Of course, pretty much everything I've just said is common sense, something we as movie fans take totally for granted. Yet a good soundtrack can be as important as good acting, direction, cinematography or editing: it goes hand in hand with these components to create something truly memorable. What soundtracks, songs or particular moments help emphasise the pivotal role of music in cinema for you?

I for one shall end this post on this note:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ8k6fVe25k

krudler

I thought the use of Dylan's "the times they are a-changin'" was an inspired choice in Watchmen though.

I'm a huge soundtrack/score fan, I have more movie scores than actual albums by bands on my mp3 player, always listening to them driving. Of my favourite composers theres John Williams, Thomas Newman, Elliot Goldenthal, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer (who can be very hit and miss) and James Newton Howard.

If you're a John Williams fan then take a listen to this, its from The Fury, a fairly forgotten thriller from the 70's but it has one of William's greatest pieces of music for the main titles, its such a pity its not regarded the same as Star Wars, Jaws etc as its a magnificent piece

I agree with Giacchino's score for Star Trek being brilliant as well, the main theme gave me goosebumps hearing it for the first time in the cinema, he did a brilliant job with The Incredibles and M:I 3 as well

Valmont

The music for Old Boy is my favourite and The Virgin Suicides is a close second. A great soundtrack or score can make a great film that much better.

Here are the OSTs I have on iTunes at the moment.

Virgin Suicides - Air - Original Score
Virgin Suicides - OST
500 days of Summer
Sunshine
Deathproof
Broken Flowers
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
American Beauty - Thomas Newman - Original Score
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Lost in Translation
Marie Antoinette
Control
Into The Wild

Macca3000

And more recently Kick-Ass has to be up there as a brilliant soundtrack.

Sad Professor

I love film soundtracks. Also agree about Giacchino's Star Trek score - it's fantastic.

Recently, I've been listening to James Horner's score for House of Sand and Fog. I'm not normally a fan of Horner, but this is a really great score - dark, atmospheric and understated. I may be mistaken, but it sounds quite original too, which is unusual for Horner. Excellent film as well.

I didn't care for The Lovely Bones, but Brian Eno's work on it was excellent. A lot of it seems to be chopped up and taken from from his previous albums, however, there is some new stuff in there. I hope it gets an official release eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDgx7aUlShw

I've also been listening to Cliff Martinez's score for Soderbergh's Solaris (another inferior film with a great soundtrack). Really great stuff. Quite Eno-ish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPNDrsZ2MAE

I'm a big of John Murphy's soundtracks as well, especially Sunshine. A lot of it still isn't available on disc, but is on iTunes. He's a nice guy. I wrote to him a few years ago and he posted me a few discs, including Sunshine which was still unreleased at the time. Also Miami Vice, a lot of which Michael Mann threw out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQXVzg2PiZw

Duggy747

Soundtracks are a huge make or break deal for me, if the soundtrack suits the film then I'm 100% sucked in. I listen to as much soundtracks as I do actual music, probably more when it comes to trawling YouTube for inspiration on making videos.

From the great Basil Poledouris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGHCoVzqtk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7rjLQuW2nQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPsL2WVhFCc

And some other favs:
(4:50 onwards is epic.......OO-Rah!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y78crvRirAI

(2:27 is really intense)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGSKELF6jZM

Best track from an otherwise medicore OST and film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtZ8t6L8lzE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0JDomv8ac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnywcTqsg18

I love Ennio Morricone's music in the Spaghetti trilogy but instead of lining them up I'll choose my favourite :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKhQ8ObQ7E

(1:50 onwards is ace!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-XarUUxM0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOOE7faI6xw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OPhZ6fHDDw

Love this track from Akira

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vggan7xBRoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3phUUjGFheo

Who honestly hasn't hummed these 2 at one point or another? :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8

Duggy747

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHAALE90xUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfxqZagHXbM

Kiith

Ah, soundtrack threads. How i love you. I'm also a massive fan of soundtracks, and have a ton of them on my mp3 player. I love all the classics (Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones etc...), but also love some of the lesser known classics.

October Sky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru-ho1ZZj-4

K-Pax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OTtOzaTN4s

American Beauty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eKnU2lQY5s

Monster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RtaJYFPy0

Road to Perdition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I03ECvApSeE

Lord of War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pKZr_cBR_4

Last of the Mohicans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB6S3c7f8XA

Manchegan

krudler wrote: »

I agree with Giacchino's score for Star Trek being brilliant as well, the main theme gave me goosebumps hearing it for the first time in the cinema, he did a brilliant job with The Incredibles and M:I 3 as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK_OKGELcn0

IMO Abrams has Giacchino to thank for how long Lost could be dragged out.

bonerm

Have to say I'm generally not a fan of "Soundtrack" albums. I find that they are just a cobbling together of mish-mashed tracks that feature in the movie and that the result is even less than the sum of their parts. Invariably just a hollow marketing exercise

However, give me a good original score any day or album composed entirely by the one artist. There are definetly some real gems out there!

Tabnabs

If you enjoy good movies with original soundtracks then I can highly recommend Ravenous (Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHVXAMVC53M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxkqG0gWc

I swear, any time I listen to this I get shivers.

Karl Hungus

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Of course, pretty much everything I've just said is common sense, something we as movie fans take totally for granted. Yet a good soundtrack can be as important as good acting, direction, cinematography or editing: it goes hand in hand with these components to create something truly memorable. What soundtracks, songs or particular moments help emphasise the pivotal role of music in cinema for you?

I would say that the soundtrack is an incredibly important aspect of a film, and I'd agree many would take it for granted.

By the way Johnny. Susumu Hirasawa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg3Sw3s9Wg

Manchegan

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'm a big of John Murphy's soundtracks as well, especially Sunshine. A lot of it still isn't available on disc, but is on iTunes. He's a nice guy. I wrote to him a few years ago and he posted me a few discs, including Sunshine which was still unreleased at the time.

Not forgetting this, another gem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW0RX02SeQw

jaykhunter

Yeah, I love original orchestral soundtracks to movies too. They're so timeless and classy. Films with current pop-culture soundtracks really run the risk of being dated a few years down the line (unless it's already dated, like the excellent Hot Tub Time Machine ost)

Awesome orchestral soundtracks :
American Beauty
Back to the Future
Dark Knight (although I'd only listen to a few tracks as there's not that much depth to the OST imo)
Dexter
Fight Club
Lord of the Rings
The Matrix (although these have a lot of techno songs as well)
Saw (although some of them are meh)
Silent Hill
Star Trek 2009
Star Wars (Ep III being my favourite, since it includes every big song from the franchise, plus some original awesome music)
Terminator 2
The Ring

johnny_ultimate

Karl Hungus wrote: »

I would say that the soundtrack is an incredibly important aspect of a film, and I'd agree many would take it for granted.

By the way Johnny. Susumu Hirasawa.

I've had that song as my ringtone for years now :P Best credit sequence ever!

Someone has already linked to Transformers - I'd cite that as an example of the soundtrack actually being far superior to the film. I got excited when Optimus showed up and the soundtrack kicked into overdrive, only to be bitterly disappointed when other stuff happened

A recent highlight not mentioned so far: Moon by Clint Mansell. Superb addition to the film, particularly 'Welcome to Lunar Industries'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lUgqeO1ZxM

Oh yeah, try to keep the youtube embeds to a limit. A few per post is fine, but more than that can make it a bit messy

Rowley Birkin QC

First one is pure Zimmer. Other two aren't strictly OST but I like them all the same as they fit the scenes in which they feature perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgARus5JFQY

From my favourite Kubrick film, Barry Lyndon

From Master & Commander

The Dark Knight is also pretty epic, goes on the iPod on any long car journeys.

Karl Hungus

jaykhunter wrote: »

Silent Hill

What was excellent about that was that they stuck with the music from the games, which was a large part of why the film actually captured the atmosphere of the games quite well. Now if only the script had stuck closer to the games, we would've had a much, much better film than the flawed and messy film we got.

thebullkf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pc17rXbC6c

this scene will stay with me forever......



will someone fix this if it doesn't show up please?:o

kerash

thebullkf wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pc17rXbC6c

this scene will stay with me forever......



will someone fix this if it doesn't show up please?:o

I like how music by John Brion was used in Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind but more recently I watched Babel and thought the soundtrack was fab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJl-yvWxJx4

noodler

thebullkf wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pc17rXbC6c

this scene will stay with me forever......



will someone fix this if it doesn't show up please?:o

DON!!

fillefatale

krudler wrote: »

I'm a huge soundtrack/score fan, I have more movie scores than actual albums by bands on my mp3 player, always listening to them driving. Of my favourite composers theres John Williams, Thomas Newman, Elliot Goldenthal, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer (who can be very hit and miss) and James Newton Howard.

This is me too, I have more scores than soundtracks and a lot of the music I like now is because of a song I first heard in the film/soundtrack. The soundtrack makes or breaks a film for me. My favourites in no order would be but not restricted to -

Scores
Star Wars
The Secret Garden
Three Colours Trilogy
The Piano
Ryan's Daughter
Atonement
Days of Heaven
The English Patient
The Double Life of Veronica
Amélie
Lord of the Rings
Twin Peaks
BBC's North and South

Soundtracks
Stealing Beauty
Dazed and Confused
The Virgin Suicides
The Dreamers
Pieces of April
An Education
The Graduate
Grease (!!)
Lost in Translation
Pretty in Pink

My absolute favourite composers, who create a really haunting, eerie atmosphere would be Zbigniew Preisner, Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre and Michael Nyman - all quite different but similar.

Vokes

Ooooh, a score thread - I promise not to post too many! Btw, I love that October Sky track a few posts back, and it's a great film to boot too.

Here's one of the best tracks from one my favourite films of the 90's, Gattaca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-migpeVJM

I just wish Nyman would score a few more films more often!


Here's another good example of a superb track (by Alan Silvestri) amidst an otherwise average film (Tomb Raider 2):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5E0CU6vAfk

Silvestri is a master of his craft. I guess most know him for his work on Predator, BTTF and Forrest Gump. But I particularly remember his awesomely-80s Flight of the Navigator theme


More recently, some of the original tracks from the Kick-Ass score are pretty damn good (albeit a bit short):

Marshmallows

Flying Home

Jimmy Iovine

Macca3000 wrote: »

And more recently Kick-Ass has to be up there as a brilliant soundtrack.

Couldnt agree more. The first time I saw it i was amazed. The scene

where Hit Girl comes and rescues Big Daddy in the warehouse

is beyond incredible. The strobe lighting and the music playing over it. One of the best scenes I've seen in any film ever. Pity the whole scene isn't on Youtube yet

bonerm

It's also notable that some soundtracks don't work outside of the movie.

For instance Hans Zimmers purcussive score on The Dark Knight is amazingly effective within the confines of the movie itself. However I found sitting down and listening to the scratchy, repetitive unmelodic soundtrack for an hour on its own to be an unenjoyable experience.

krudler

bonerm wrote: »

It's also notable that some soundtracks don't work outside of the movie.

For instance Hans Zimmers purcussive score on The Dark Knight is amazingly effective within the confines of the movie itself. However I found sitting down and listening to the scratchy, repetitive unmelodic soundtrack for an hour on its own to be an unenjoyable experience.

some of the tracks yeah, but Like A Dog Chasing Cars is a brilliant action cue

Bus77II

A real oldie but I think Lalo Schifrin did a great job on the Dirty Harry OST.

The Director said to him: ''I like the score but why have you put all these wailing voices in?''. Lalo says ''The guys crazy! He's hearing all sorts of things''

thebullkf

super^^

Jako8

The worst thing I find about some OST is that the main theme is normally the only track worthy of listening to as a stand alone track. I hate it when a composer writes an awesome main theme and then fills the rest of the film wih what is essentially background music. I LOVE it when a composer writes music which adds to the film. Which becomes part of the entire experience rather than just accompanying it.

There's a good few who do this these days in fairness. I can't be bothered looking for examples now. I'll be back though. Until then I'll leave ye with these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL9_P_Txx14

Mickeroo

was reminded of this while watching the Earthworks trailer for some reason. Stunningly beautiful piece of music which greatly enhanced a beautiful piece of film making.

I really think Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have been doing some great score work, The Road and The Proposition had brilliant scores, but their work on The Assasination of Jesse James.....blew me away. Here's one from that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9_9_TpdPo

My favourite soundtracks of all time have to be from Wes Anderson's movies, particularly Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums and I also loved the music in The Life Aquatic. I think he really picks each to song to hit the perfect note for the scenes they are used in, sometimes it almost feels like the songs were written especially for those scenes, I think this is very evident in Rushmore and to an even greater extent in The Royal Tenenbaums which to this day is still probably my favourite film. I could post so many scenes from it to illustrate the brilliant use of music,the Needle in the Hay scene also springs to mind, but I picked this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl6FbeoXeHQ

And just to show how important music really is.....stumbled across this by accident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYdzHjnyClc

Vokes

Zimmer looks to be on a bit of a roll at the moment (his Sherlock Holmes and Angels&Demons work was excellent). I've been listening to his Inception score all day and I reckon its the best film score this year (so far).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu_AEMwFhm0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imamcajBEJs

pappyodaniel

The soundtrack and score for This is England is great, the classical pieces by Ludovico Einaudi are beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_gRRNfljk0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oal7cwa3a3U