Average/Bad movies with great soundtracks

krudler

I was flicking through my music collection looking to make a new movie score playlist and I realised I have tons of scores and soundtracks to movies that, well, aren't very good, yet the music is excellent. Some composers seem to have a knack for writing music far better than the film its accompanying,anyone got any examples?

Jaws: The Revenge, one of the worst films ever made, easily, like not even so bad its good, just horrendously bad. A fcuking roaring shark indeed. BUT the music is excellent, its actually got the best version of the Jaws theme of the sequels. now granted John Williams can take the credit for the main theme but it got a decent reworking in this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trID2aT0_Ps

Supergirl, Jerry Goldsmith gave this turd a pretty majestic theme, not quite up there with Superman but its still better than most of the non-existant comic movie themes around today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsVD7LVYWP0

The Village, there are part of Shymalan's tale of monsters in the woods I love, its really well shot, some excellent performances, but it falls flat on its arse in the third act when the big reveal is made. The music is beautiful though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ro4FHd51t4

Transformers, stupid,loud and full of explosions it may be, but the non-robot parts are awful. This sounds like its belong to something far better than a franchise about farting robots and pointless t&a, its also by far the best scene in the trilogy.

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

Snow Falling On Cedars, so-so drama, epic,EPIC music. Was used in the trailer for The Matrix Revolutions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB1Wx7nXLYQ

Alien 3, much maligned, panned on release, Fincher wants nothing to do with it, yet I still think its underrated, Elliot Goldenthal is a really underrated composer and this is one of his best scores, from 1min50 onwards is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGZxh-NG7FA

its also got one of the best messing around with the 20th Century Fox logo themes ever, play this on headphones and loud, its creepy as hell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vic6bO14CZg

Point Break, now, I ****in' love Point Break, but most people I know hate it, so it counts, fantastic score from Mark Isham,especially the skydiving sequence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHeOM8X876Q

KeithM89_old

Speed 2 has a great soundtrack, very 'actiony' and a great remix of the originals theme. Awful movie, just really bad in almost every other aspect.

krudler

KeithM89 wrote: »

Speed 2 has a great soundtrack, very 'actiony' and a great remix of the originals them. Awful movie, just really bad in almost every other aspect.

Yes it does, the trailer for it is brilliant as well, the movie...well thats a different story, and people though Keanu Reeves was nuts passing on a payday for it. I miss Mark Mancina, between Speed, Bad Boys, Con Air and Speed 2 he scored some of the best action soundstracks of the 90's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtVMokTfBl4

Bullseye1

Forrest Gump.

I thought "Sucker Punch" was an ok/not great action film, but the soundtrack was brilliant. After seeing the film, I went straight to iTunes and got the soundtrack. Some great songs.

krudler

Judge Dredd, bit of a guilty pleasure movie for me, wasnt a fan of the comics so didnt see it as the travesty people I knew who liked the comics saw it as, Alan Silvestri (when he did get so boring?!) makes it more bearable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1WT7qfVYkM

it also has fantastic trailer music, written specially for it by Jerry Goldsmith, was also used in the trailer for the godawful Lost In Space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6quvojO664

al28283

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hP9_-DB_8

krudler

just because I love when they mess with the studios logos..

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

This is seriously like Mark Mancina was told "this movie will be awesome!" and he scored it accordingly, yay for bombastic title sequences.

Dr Bob

Right , the film was pretty bad , but the remake of the Time Machine in 2002 has an amazing soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQEXt1P0OkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVJCXVx-J98

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT3oMYVgp_o

al28283

krudler

Conan is NOT a bad movie :mad:

:pac:

al28283

krudler wrote: »

Conan is NOT a bad movie :mad:

:pac:

you either love it or hate it i guess

al28283

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqXjr46CZVw

Nervous Wreck

Dirty Dancing has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g_FD_sYazk

krudler

^James Newton Howard seems to have a thing for writing great scores for Shyamalans' movies, now I like Unbreakable, I think its his best film, but I know plenty who think its dull as hell. Signs has a phenomenal score as well, especially the opening credits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8czt8R7Z4I

al28283

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBbYAS1lh2s

al28283

krudler wrote: »

^James Newton Howard seems to have a thing for writing great scores for Shyamalans' movies, now I like Unbreakable, I think its his best film, but I know plenty who think its dull as hell. Signs has a phenomenal score as well, especially the opening credits.

Have to agree with you on Unbreakable, it's a geat movie but I don't think that's popular opinion

al28283

Rufio! Rufio!

jobucks

I want to say 'gone in sixty seconds' but how the hell do I post the vid? You'd think I'd know this by now ( wine has taken over)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187078/soundtrack

krudler

ha beat me to it, I love the Hook score, when Rufio hands Peter back the sword is my favourite part of it.

anyone who's a John Williams fan needs to hear this, one of his forgotten but brilliant scores, for The Fury, a thriller about psychics with Kirk Douglas, I havent seen the movie in years and dont remember much of it but the music is superb. Shows that Williams can do creepy as well as the magical stuff he's known for.

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

James Newton Howar continues his knack for writing great music for films that don't deserve it with The Last Airbender.

Danny Elfman's Planet of the Apes music was awesome, the film was appalling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rQjksu45wU

For some bizarre reason, some people I know don't like Face/Off, I think its one of the best action films of the 90's, despite it batsh1t crazy "science! we don't need no stinkin' science!" plot, the face swapping operation scene is a standout piece of the score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4GVb6LmB2k

krudler

Black Rain, so good Hans Zimmer ripped off entire chunks of his own score for Batman Begins. 1.15 sound familiar?

skip to 3.45 min into this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04iKnUkfMbs

I know this probably won't gain me much popularity, but I genuinely thought that Juno was nowhere near as good as other people; it was overly-pretentious, with completely unconvincing and unrealistic dialogue, that tried too hard to be cool, but it really did have quite an excellent soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaxaN0nmy9g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceV62E-c86g

This along with its cast (I do like Ellen Page and Michael Cera) were among the only saving graces for me.

Mickeroo

I used to love both these movies, not watched them in a very long time though. Either way, Randy Edelman did the scores to both of them and in both cases the scores have outlived the movies in many ways as the have been used in countless trailers for other films since.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTKSUlMbp9A

al28283

Is Krudler Skadoosh! now??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20uXjti9h4I

al28283

Skadoosh! wrote: »

Black Rain, so good Hans Zimmer ripped off entire chunks of his own score for Batman Begins.

Zimmer tends to rip himself off every few weeks. He's only slightly less obvious about it than Horner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOFZSnz9J3s

mikemac1

The Escapist had a good cast, Brian Cox, Damien Lewis, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham
Flashy and good job from the director
But I'd say it's no more then average and a very forgettable film

But the original soundtrack is brilliant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBc-P-juhB4

Matrix Reloaded was an ok film but I loved the soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFGQDdQ2lYc

krudler

Deleted User wrote: »

I know this probably won't gain me much popularity, but I genuinely thought that Juno was nowhere near as good as other people; it was overly-pretentious, with completely unconvincing and unrealistic dialogue, that tried too hard to be cool, but it really did have quite an excellent soundtrack.


This along with its cast (I do like Ellen Page and Michael Cera) were among the only saving graces for me.

I hate Juno, as in genuinely despise it, its hipster comedy at its worst.

al28283

Skadoosh! wrote: »

I hate Juno, as in genuinely despise it, its hipster comedy at its worst.

Agreed, what a hateable character

bnt

I was already a fan of Trevor Rabin's work, solo and with the band Yes, and then he switched to soundtracks. He was recently honoured for his work by ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). As well as contributing to Con Air, Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds and more, sometimes his soundtracks are the best thing about the film:

The 6th Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CU9BbogvVQ

National Treasure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvZVjpS5kT0

Remember the Titans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjW_GLOPmj0

AnonoBoy

The Fast & The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift.

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

Basq

The first two Twilight movies have some real great artists / songs on their soundtracks - Muse, The Black Keys, Sia, Beck, Vampire Weekend, Florence And The Machine, Death Cab For Cutie, Battles, OK Go, The Editors, Iron Wine etc.

Not necessarily a bad film - but I absolutely adored the Cruel Intentions soundtrack in my youth..

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKyXBHmw4A8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eMgNYnQr1I

And a damn good film really, with an even better soundtrack, is 'Garden State'..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q322n-f3FlU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz56aZDItII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsN1dmkQMBc

OldeCinemaSoz

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought "Sucker Punch" was an ok/not great action film, but the soundtrack was brilliant. After seeing the film, I went straight to iTunes and got the soundtrack. Some great songs.

Plays like WARHORSE I thought; manipulative, easily digested and in your face?

MakeEmLaugh

Deleted User wrote: »

I know this probably won't gain me much popularity, but I genuinely thought that Juno was nowhere near as good as other people; it was overly-pretentious, with completely unconvincing and unrealistic dialogue, that tried too hard to be cool, but it really did have quite an excellent soundtrack.

This along with its cast (I do like Ellen Page and Michael Cera) were among the only saving graces for me.

You're not alone. I thought Juno was incredibly overrated. You could just imagine the studio executives sitting around with a pie-chart...

"Okay, how quirky can we make this? She's a pregnant teen. And she smokes a pipe! And drinks Sunny D! And like the films of Dario Argento! And plays covers of The Moldy Peaches with her boyfriend! Audiences will love it!

Basq wrote: »

And a damn good film really, with an even better soundtrack, is 'Garden State'..

Agree about the great soundtrack. COMPLETELY disagree about the film. I disliked Garden State almost as much as Juno. Another, terrible quirky-by-numbers film.

Add to this list the 500 Days of Summer. Amazing soundtrack - The Smiths, Simon & Garfunkel, The Pixies, The Clash (last two in the film but not on the soundtrack) - awful film.

Also, Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty is gorgeous, too bad it's wasted on an indulgent, unconvincing collection of poseur characters whose fate I couldn't give a sh-t about.

[<a class="inlineAdmedialink" href="#">YOUTUBE</a>]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuGUKPaGhas[/YOUTUBE]

OldeCinemaSoz

OldeCinemaSoz wrote: »

Plays like WARHORSE I thought; manipulative, easily digested and in your face

Nice things in your face though

p to the e

Every now and again i catch myself humming the tune from the film "Casper". This bit in particular. It's James Horner.