I was getting some great advice on the World Music thread, so I thought I'd start a similar one about soundtracks.
First off, what I'm not looking for: I don't want any soundtracks that are just collections of the pop music played in the movie as an excuse to sell a soundtrack (e.g. Spiderman). Also, no collections of oldies that the director likes (e.g. the Wes Anderson films).
What I am looking for: Music of any genre composed (or at least arranged) by a single person specifically for a film. Compilations are fine also, provided that they are actually an integral part of the film's plot, AND were written for the film (e.g. Strictly Ballroom).
Here are some of my favourites:
-The aforementioned Strictly Ballroom -The Fugitive by James Newton Howard (a great mix of orchestral and jazz with legend Wayne Shorter on sax) -Twin Peaks (tv series, not movie) by Angelo Badalamenti -Superfly by Curtis Mayfield (some of the best funk/soul ever recorded) -Tomorrow Never Dies by David Arnold (not a great movie, but the techno/orchestral mix is fresh and exciting) -Charade by Henry Mancini -Pee Wee's Big Adventure by Danny Elfman -Gattaca by Michael Nyman (a recent favorite) -Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass (a landmark in minimalism) -Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Tan Dun with Yo-Yo Ma -A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guraldi (the best Christmas album ever made, and some legendary jazz in itself) -And finally, the two best Disney soundtracks of all time, "The Jungle Book" by I-don't-know-who (but performed in part by Louis Prima) and "Robin Hood", by Roger Miller.
And, although it's breaking my own rules, I have to give an honorable mention to Stanley Clarke's collection of soundtrack music called At the Movies.
Okay, that's not half of the good soundtrack music I have, but it's good to get the list started. If you agree with any of these feel free to second them. If you disagree, feel free to tell me why. And if your favorite soundtracks don't belong to movies (video games for example), so much the better. Otherwise, add your own favorites. And thanks in advance for the good leads.
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
Here we go, for a fun mix, pick and choose. All here are gems:
Legends of the Fall (James Horner) Spitfire Grille (James Horner) Princess Mononoke (Joe Hisaishi) Spirited Away (Joe Hisaishi) Raiders of the Lost Ark (John Williams) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (John Williams) E.T. (John Williams) The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams) Black Beauty (Danny Elfman) Batman (Danny Elfman) Willow (James Horner) Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris) The Postman (James Newton Howard) Unbreakable (James Newton Howard) Dinosaur (James Newton Howard) Gladiator (Hans Zimmer) As Good As It Gets (Hans Zimmer) the Prince of Egypt (Hans Zimmer) Gettysburg (Randy Edelman) Dragonheart (Randy Edelman) Gods and Generals (John Frizzel/Randy Edelman) Lionheart (Jerry Goldsmith) Alien (Jerry Goldsmith) Total Recall (Jerry Goldsmith) Forrest Gump (Alan Silvestri) Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri) Contact (Alan Silvestri) Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menkin) Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore) The Two Towers (Howard Shore)
More to come as I think of them )
-Taal
[ May 17, 2003, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: Taalcon ]
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
Ben-Hur (Miklos Rozsa) Gone with the Wind (Max Steiner) Psycho (Bernard Herrman) Vertigo (Bernard Herrman) To Kill a Mockingbird (Bernstein)
-Taal
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Great list, Taalcon. I wanted to reply to it.
As long as you got us on the topic of Jerry Goldsmith, one of the most prolific soundtrack composers of all time, I wanted to add my favorite of his soundtracks to the list, which is Papillon. It's one of his first, to an old Dustin Hoffman/ Steve McQueen prison movie. The movie is interminable, but the soundtrack is great.
And while we're on the topic of Star Trek composers (I'm sure we all know that Goldsmith composed the ST:TNG theme), I wanted to add my favorite Star Trek soundtrack, which is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country by Cliff Eidelman.
And although I have a good sized stack of John Williams, and love nearly all of it, my favorite is Schindler's List.
Finally, I wanted to second the LOTR soundtracks by Howard Shore. Good call. Those are some of the best soundtracks I've heard, and they get better every time I hear them.
That's all from me.
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
last of the mohicans labyrinth edward scissorhands nightmare before christmas rocky
[ May 17, 2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: porcelain girl ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I second the mention of last of the mohicans.
The children of dune soundtrack is also very good.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
The only sountracks I really know are anime soundtrack, but I'll mention some others.
The Rocky Horror Picture show soundtrack's hilarious... Oh Brother where art thou, it's country music but I like it! Ohmiga!!
OK, here's some anime ones.. I can't talk about the Cowboy Bebop sountrack enough... And I love Utena's soundtrack..
Posted by Beca (Member # 4340) on :
Anything by Ennio Morricone. (The Mission, Once Upon A Time In The West, Everybody's Fine, etc.)
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Wings of Desire
Faraway, So Close
Until The End Of The World (director was Wim Wenders, and I wish there were such a thing as a *full* soundtrack available for the original 6 hours of movie)
There's a bit from the score of Hedda (the only bit I've heard, as I've never seen the movie) that is very moving.
Oh, and Passage to India. The music from that is *incredible*.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Amen to the Morricone. My favorites are "The Mission", "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", and "Cinema Paradiso". Speaking of Italian composers, Nicola Piovani's soundtrack to La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) is absolutely brilliant.
Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :
One that I enjoy that hasn't been mentioned yet is Mission Impossible II (the score not the soundtrack - the soundtrack is full of music "inspired by" the movie) by Hans Zimmer. Posted by aretee (Member # 1743) on :
About a Boy by Badly Drawn Boy. I was very surprised by it.
The soundtrack to Signs is good, though I can't remember who did it.
And, though I'm not sure it meets all your requirements, I LOVE the soundtrack to The Power of One . Lot's of good African music with a hokey pop piece thrown in the middle.
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
Soundtracks are the only music I listen to these days. Some of my favorites:
The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore) The Two Towers (Howard Shore) The X-Files: Fight the Future (Mark Snow) The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files (Mark Snow)
...and, uh, yeah. That's about it. I'm sensing a theme here...
~Jane~
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
quote: The soundtrack to Signs is good, though I can't remember who did it.
James Newton Howard. Who is my current favorite practicing composer. Williams, Goldsmith, and Horner - while once at the head of their game, are losing it. JNH is still composing amazing fresh and versatile scores.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
I'd like to second Porce's Nightmare Before Christmas... man, I thought I was the only one who still had that soundtrack.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Crimson Tide by Hans Zimmer.
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
Bth Nightmare Before Christmas (Elfman) and Crimson Tide (Zimmer) are also excellent suggestions!
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
The Mod Squad Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
The Godfather - Nino Rota The Piano (especially the, um, piano solo "The Heart Asks Pleasure First") - Michael Nyman Braveheart - James Horner, a masterpiece of work, far superior to Titanic, which he won the Oscar for. The Truman Show - Burkhard Dallwitz and Phillip Glass
I sometimes wonder if soundtracks are the modern version of orchestral music; where today's Mozarts and Bachs work.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
The Peacemaker: Hans Zimmer (only good thing about the movie)
The Princess Bride: Mark Knopfler
The Godfather: Nino Rota
I'm not sure if it fits the rules, but:
O Brother Where Art Thou: T Bone Burnett
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
it totally fits the rules, mrs. m, and was already mentioned.
but i third the recommendation, i LOVE that soundtrack!
Posted by supercomplicated (Member # 5160) on :
The soundtrack to Amelie is beautiful. I've listened to it a million times and it never gets old...
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
YES! Yan Tierson's score to Amelie is, to sum up in a word, "Happy".
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Fantastic list Taalcon!
Legends of the Fall is the best soundtrack of all time. I cannot listen to it without tearing up. My other favorites:
Empire of the Sun Seven Years in Tibet Almost Famous Jerry MaGuire (SP?) Sleepless in Seattle Dying Young
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
What makes the Gladiator soundtrack so great is that Hans Zimmer had Lisa Gerrard do all the singing. You just can't go wrong with that combination.
Last of the Mohicans theme song was done by Clannad, and where Lisa Gerrard's voice is full of bravura, Maire Brennan is haunting and maudlin.
Matt B. - Michael Nyman's work in The Piano was stellar.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Walker (Joe Strummer) is a fabulous one, as is Strummer's soundtrack to Straight To Hell featuring the Pogues and many others.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
So far, my two favorites already mentioned are Charade and Sleepless in Seattle. But there are more, maybe later when I get home I can post the entire list.... hehehehe....
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
The soundtrack to Tuck Everlasting is good, too, but I'm not sure who composed it. I love the music-box theme.
~Jane~
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Thanks for replies and ideas everyone. Since someone mentioned Princess Bride (which I heartily second, except for that annoying "Storybook Story" vocal track at the end), I had to add that Knopfler's soundtrack to Local Hero is also excellent.
I'm going to add a few more I forgot.
Pat Metheny (one of the best jazz guitarists of all time) did the soundtrack to "A Map of the World", and it's unique and brilliant.
I don't know if this fits the rules, but the movie "Stop Making Sense" is the best concert movie ever filmed (and, yes, I have seen "The Last Waltz", "The Song Remains the Same", "Bring On the Night" and "Rust Never Sleeps"), and the soundtrack is one of the gems of my collection.
Speaking of Philip Glass, he did a soundtrack to the old silent film Dracula a few years ago, and it's quite good.
While we're on the subject of Hans Zimmer, I just picked up the soundtrack to The Thin Red Line and I liked it a lot. The only other one of his I have is M:I 2, and while I like most of that, Thin Red Line is a more consistently well-made album.
This may sound cheesy, but I just got "Escape From Television" by Jan Hammer, which is a collection of his Miami Vice music, and it's great. Better than you'd think.
Vangelis did many great soundtracks. My favorites are Antarctica and Blade Runner. Or if one didn't want every soundtrack he ever made, his album "Themes" is a very good sampler, and you'd even get the theme from Chariots of Fire without the thoroughly boring rest of the album.
And finally, I can't believe I didn't mention the soundtrack to The Wall my first time around.
Okay, that's it this time. Again, I have more soundtracks (and I'm sure I'll be buying more after the great leads I've been given here), but I think I've listed all the ones in my collection that are guranteed to please.
Thanks again for the good tips.
[ May 19, 2003, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by MaydayDesiax (Member # 5012) on :
My absolute favorite soundtrack is 'Spicy Stewed Doughnuts'. It's a Trigun soundtrack, anime I know, but it's strictly musical (except for the last track, which is in Japanese), and the guitarist on it is AMAZING. Trust me, you'll love it from beginning to end.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I want to get the soundtrack to the Matrix Reloaded. I really enjoyed the music in the movie, I hope the soundtrack will live up to my expectations.
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
quote:the soundtrack to The Wall
Are referring to the Pink Floyd ALBUM The Wall?
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Yes. It's an album, but it's also the soundtrack to a movie. Have you not seen it?
By the way, as long as anime came up, I forgot... I've got the soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop, and I wanted to second whoever brought it up before. The Japanese have a way with finding what other cultures (such as ours) do well, taking it, messing with it, and giving it back to us better. This album is a perfect example.
[ May 20, 2003, 01:58 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Speaking of anime music, Gundam soundtracks are consistently amazing. They contain a good mix of techno, pop, vocals, and classical music.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
The music from CHESS the Musical.
In particular, "Nobodies on nobodies side" really gets you set up for the office.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Here are two Soundtracks that standout for me:
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - Silent Running
Others I've enjoyed: - Sarafina (the Bway Musical) - Camelot - Fiddler on the Roof
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Silent Running, eh? I'd never heard of the movie or the soundtrack. But I looked it up on IMDB, and it says that it was scored by Peter Schickele. If I'm not mistaken, that's the PDQ Bach guy. That's so amazingly cool. I've never heard any serious, non-PDQ music composed by him, but it sounds very interesting. The guy's a genius. The soundtrack is not available on Amazon. Where did you get it?
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Can we do musicals too?
Kiss Me, Kate Guys and Dolls I second Chess Beauty and the Beast (Bway version) West Side Story Anything Goes Chicago Oliver! Man of La Mancha
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Silent Running is a Bruce Dern movie -- almost a solo act really. Great Sci-Fi flick.
The soundtrack has lots of Joan Baez -- I think it's her best work.
I don't have the record anymore. Lost in a move somewhere. It was old when I bought it.
But the movie is still available on DVD or video and that's a treat in itself. Icarus recently acquired a copy for Cor and we intend to watch it someday soon!
I don't remember Peter Schickele's name on it, but if so, he is indeed the guy behind PDQ Bach.
I got to see "them" in concert back in my college days. It was a hoot. My favorite was called something like "Fanfare for plastic tubing" or something like that.
Posted by dthree (Member # 5173) on :
OT: *playing* PDQ Bach music is an amazingly difficult endevor. You really have to rehearse it until you are sick of it. If not, you have the tendancy to bust out laughing in the middle of a performace. In "Suite for an awful lot of winds and percussion" it took me forever to stop laughing at the waltz section which is played by the low and high brass, played on mouthpieces.
Back on topic. Although the music of Cowboy Bebop is really good, you are missing the full impact if you don't watch it to really see how they use music to influence the mood of each scene, its masterfully done. The same musician worked on Trigun, which is also good, especially towards the end of the series.
More favorites: Ligeti's music, although not written for film, was used in "2001", "Eyes wide shut" and "The Shining" to amazing effect.
About this one, I know its mostly pre-recorded music, but it was "scored" that way, not as a showcase for pop music: High Fidelity!
Did anyone mention Blue Velvet?
Or American Beauty?
How about Platoon? Pi? Liquid Sky? The Fifth Element?
Thats all I can think of right now.
Great thread.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
I'm amazed no one has mentioned the works of Danny Elfman...
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Actually, "Batman", "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", and "Black Beauty" have been mentioned. Those are the ones I remember seeing off the top of my head. What are your favorites.
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
The Princess Bride soundtrack is good, but part of what makes it so good is the way it fits perfectly with the on-screen action. It doesn't have the same effect if you listen to it just by itself.
In terms of musicals, I absolutely love the Phantom score. Best thing about the play.
~Jane~
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
The soundtrack for Gattaca is great, but I can't remember the composer's name.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
That's Michael Nyman, the guy that did The Piano. I included Gattaca in my original post, but it's always good to have someone agree. Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Oops.
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
I second "about a boy" the soundtrack is fantastic.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I just picked up a couple of John Barry's old James Bond soundtracks for larfs, and they're much better than I'd have imagined.
Thunderball is quite good. It contains the trademark soaring brass themes, and some great subtle, ominous woodwind/ mallet percussion sections. And of course, the track "Search for Vulcan" is a lounge music classic.
However, of the two, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the indespensible one. He tries his hand at cool jazz, and it's as good as any I've ever heard. It's offset by a surprising amount of synth music, an experimental notion to be sure in 1969, but it sounds as practiced and exciting as any modern techno. And, lest we forget, the theme song "All the Time in the World" is, as far as I know, the last single recorded by Louis Armstrong. And he sounds as good as ever.
I just had to add these to the thread. They're well worth the money you'd spend on them. I'm going to go buy some more right now. I'll tell you how it turns out.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
The Little Mermaid.
Posted by Kate Emily (Member # 3409) on :
Flash! Aaaaaaaa...!
The soundtrack is so amazing that I even can stand the silly movie.
Posted by Avadaru (Member # 3026) on :
Danny Elfman was mentioned - Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands are two of his (and two of my favorites...) I'll add to that list of Elfman soundtracks Black Beauty - the music is gorgeous. Another of my recent favorites is the Red Violin - that soundtrack is phenomenal.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
How about Shrek?
Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
Avad - I mentioned Black Beauty straight up near the beginning. Quickly became one of my favorite scores.
The Shrek score doesn't make a great album. The only really memerable track is the Escape from the Dragon sequence, and even then - it works much better in the film. (I bought the score, listened to it twice, and have yet to put it back in :shrug:)
But I want to double-emphasize two scores I mentioned before: Joe Hisaishi's Princess Mononoke (think Japanese Braveheart for the sound of the score), and Spirited Away. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. And apart from his score to the live action film Kikujiro and a (also wonderful) Symphonic Suite of music from Mononoke, these are the only albums of his available stateside. Which is a shame.
-Taal
Posted by WheatPuppet (Member # 5142) on :
Props for the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. The Seat Belts rule all and Yoko Kanno is amazing. I don't know if it's out there (I havn't looked), but the Hellsing soundtrack should be good. It's anime too, so it might be hard to find.
Posted by Avadaru (Member # 3026) on :
I definitely agree with all comments on Cowboy Bebop...I'm a recent Yoko Kanno convert, and I love what I've heard thus far.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Yay!
I entirely miss a thread, and I still have something relevant to contribute when I return!
Must-have for instrumentals and culture: The soundtrack to Monsoon Wedding. It's got original score in a classical-Hindustani type marriage and some poppier dance beats and also some remixes of the Fuse Box sequence which is, if you've seen the movie, one of the scenes that makes it shine. That and the first time he sees Alice. The cinematography is beautiful, and then he eats the marigold! Ha!
But I digress. As mentioned, Amelie is merveilleux.
Something I've always tried to find is the soundtrack to A Little Romance. It has the greatest use of Vivaldi's concerto in D - a particular piece I can never find on a classical compilation but I have found on a classical guitar Sugo music Cd called A Walk in the Forest.
I'm a fan of the Beautiful Mind soundtrack, as James Hornery-Cliche as it may be. It's very soothing.
And I don't know who composed it, and I certainly don't like the movie, but the Unfaithful soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous.
If you like O Brother, might I recommend Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? Along the same lines, but more female.
Glad to be able to contribute.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Oh! And nearly forgot Million Dollar Hotel (which I'm sure you've got, Speed, but is worth mentioning nonetheless). It's a beautiful mishmash of U2, the nebulous "MDH Band" (Bono, Edge, Danny Lanois & Brian Eno) and some royally funky remixes by Mila Jojovich and even "Anarchy in the USA" to bring the liquid grooves to a screeching conclusion. "Falling at Your Feet," "Stateless," some of the reprises of "Satellite of Love" are particular highpoints, thought they all fuze nicely and fuzzily in with the score. And you can't forget "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" with lyrics by Salman Rushdie. Another proof that the 90s was what U2 was all about.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Hey. There's another soundtrack thread now, and I don't want to steal it. But, reading back over this one, I just wanted to thank the people that recommended the soundtrack to About a Boy by Badly Drawn boy. I finally got it, a couple months ago, based on your recommendations. And I love it. It's better than I expected, and I expected good things. Thanks.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"The Rivers Flow North" soundtrack by the Horse Flies.
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
dances with wolves (i wanna say john barry) second (third) last of the mohicans
there are several movies (the soundtracks of which i may not have heard, so i don't know if they're exclusively original score) that have, IMO, great main titles and/or original songs:
jurassic park apollo 13 independence day forrest gump the full monty
ok, i lied. i think jurassic park is the only one that may or may not be all original, but i still think the original music on the rest is good.
more often than not, i get too into a movie to notice a soundtrack, and if it's any indication of my tastes (believe it or not, i consider myself a musician), the last soundtrack "i just had to have" was school of rock. sue me. plus, a lot of my choices were already taken. Posted by Lime (Member # 1707) on :
Also consider Castle in the Sky and anything else that Joe Hisaishi has done.
Edit: Okay, so I'd like to give a big fat third nomination for Howard Shore, since I apparently have trouble reading and absorbing information at the same time.
And Mayday is absolutely 100% dead-on about the Trigun soundtrack. That's some great stuff.
[ October 21, 2003, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: Lime ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Okay, I'm back. I've been expanding my collection lately, so I thought it might be time to bump this thread with a few new finds.
First off, my new favorite American soundtrack composer is Harry Gregson-Williams. Apparently, Hans Zimmer gave him a foot in the door, so many of the soundtracks he's done have been the traditonal action-adventure movies. He does a good job with them, too... I have Spy Game, and I quite like it. But apparently he prefers doing quirkier movies-- cartoons and the like-- that give him some unique inspiration. For example, he did Chicken Run, which is a great album (and movie). But my favorite of his soundtracks is Antz. It was a vaguely amusing film, but the soundtrack is genius. Unique and completely swell.
I got into Mr. G-W via his soundtrack to another quirky project: the music for Metal Gear Solid 2. The album is my least favorite of his. It sounded great in the game, but the CD just didn't work. But while I was importing that, I got the original Metal Gear Solid soundtrack. That album is great. It's midi quality music, but composed so well you never even notice. I don't know if it's just because I liked the game so much, but I love the soundtrack in a way I never expected.
I've got plenty of Japanese music lately. The Cowboy Bebop music has been mentioned, and I love it. In fact, I liked the original soundtrack so much that I've got vol. 2 (No Disc), vol. 3 (Blue) and the remixes (Music for Freelance) coming to me. I also liked the Final Fantasy X soundtrack so much that I found a reasonable source for some of Uematsu's prior Final Fantasy soundtracks, and they're in the mail as well. I'll let you know if they're as good.
Finally, my favorite of the Japanese music is the soundtracks to the Silent Hill games, composed by Akira Yamaoka. Actually, I only have two of them. Silent Hill 3 (the PS2 game) came with the soundtrack. It took me a couple of listens, but after I got into it, it became one of my two or three all-time favorite albums. It's one of the ones that I have to make myself not listen to so that I won't get sick of it. It's ambient electronic music with strangely addicting and understated melodies running through it. It's even got the occasional vocal track, but it's worked into the mood so seamlessly that it doesn't break the atmosphere. I liked Silent Hill 3 so much that I ordered Silent Hill 2, and it was just as good. No vocal tracks on this one, but equally addicting and brilliant. The crazy thing about it is how different it is from what you'd expect. It's the soundtrack to a Japanese survival horror video game. But if you didn't know it was Japanese, you might never guess. If you didn't know it was horror music, you'd never guess. If you didn't know it was music from a video game, you'd never guess. In fact, it's not even that obvious that it's a soundtrack at all...it sounds more like an extraordinarily well composed album of electronic music. But at the same time it's the perfect music for the games. It works so well on so many levels that I can't even describe it.
Okay, that's my shameless bump of this thread. I don't know if anyone else has any fresh suggestions, but those are mine. Posted by JonnyNotSoBravo (Member # 5715) on :
John Williams, James Horner, Enrico Morricone, Danny Elfman...all great.
I noticed that Glory by James Horner wasn't mentioned. The music from that soundtrack is used over and over again in trailers for movies and advertisements for TV shows or the background music in the emotional scenes of biographies...
Do any of these composers have their work used more then once, on different soundtracks?
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
My all time favourite is BEN HUR, by Miklos Rosza. But a very close second is the soundtrack to McKENNA'S GOLD, a big late 60s western starring Gregory Peck. The music is by the immortal Quincy Jones, and is fantastic. Unfortunately the album's unavailable I think, which is a pain in the butt, because mine got stolen from my dorm in college!
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Got more than a few that have been mentioned (and I heartily agree that the last song on the Princess Bride soundtrack should have been left off -- I suppose we should be grateful it wasn't done in rap).
My current favorite for car listening is the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. Really gets you going, although there is a tendency to want to drift alongside boat trailers at stoplights and raise the long nines...
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
I definitely need to get some of these soundtracks. Actually, I think I have them, but I am reformatting my hard drive on Monday and need to find a way to keep all of *cough* my music. Arrgh, one of my speakers blew so I have not listened to my music for a while, but I will remedy that this weekend.
I don't know if these two movies fit in to your category Speed, but while I was growing up my favorite soundtracks were Robin Hood (the one with Kevin Costner) and Willow. They complemented Dungeons and Dragons unlike any other music I ever heard. Of course, my music collection was really small, but if you are 10-17 and into the whole role-playing thing, I highly recommend those two albums (which I have not heard for well over 10 years).
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Walker and Straight To Hell are two great movie soundtracks by the late Joe Strummer (formerly of The Clash).
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
MAGNOLIA's Score by Jon Brion is nothing short of amazing.
and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM's score by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet will have you clawing at the walls, it's that jarring and effective.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
now that i think about it MAGNOLIA's Orignial Motion picture soundtrack counts too. not just the score, but hte entire album worth of music AIMEE MANN wrote just for the film (well, fleshed out for the film). so...go buy it.
Posted by Speed 2: Cruise Control (Member # 6765) on :
I just got a new one and I thought it was worthy of ressurecting the thread for.
BT is a genius. He's been one of the most original and fresh voices in the techno/ trance scene for a while. Somebody making movies noticed this, and let him do the score for the movie Monster. I hadn't seen the movie, but when I heard that he'd done the soundtrack I bought it immediately, sight unseen (so to speak). It didn't disappoint me.
First off, it's a two disc soundtrack. There's a DVD and a CD. The DVD is actually the primary medium for the soundtrack. It was composed for surround sound, and the DVD contains the soundtrack in DTS audio, as it was meant to be heard. It also has a stereo mix. It's about 2 hours long, which is another reason it was released on DVD, and it's pretty much a single work, with tracks fading into each other. Absolutely brilliant stuff. It's hard to believe it was composed by BT--it's not trance. It's very ambient, kind of like Eno, but with fascinating melodies and rhythms coming through often enough to make it more accessable than some other pure ambient music. It's played with real instruments, but it has sounds and samples woven through it also. And the 5.1 is used to full effect, making it a completely immersive experience.
Of course, there's a CD with it as well. It contains a stereo mix of about half the tracks (mainly the more melodic ones), and it's great. Well worth the price of the disc even if you don't have the equipment to take advantage of the surround sound experience.
I'm getting a fairly hefty collection of soundtracks, and it's not often anymore that I'm really surprised by a movie score. This one did it for me. Just thought I'd share.
[ August 15, 2004, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: Speed 2: Cruise Control ]
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