Not talking about your big production musicals, but about music in films that highlight the tone and theme of the film perfectly.

 

Too new to post youtube clips on here yet, but I am thinking of the film scores to Psycho, and to Cape Fear, if anyone wants to check those out on youtube. (Both written by the same composer, by the way!).

 

Both scores sum up the menacing themes of the films perfectly.

 

Same thing applies to scores from the James Bond films, and certain sci-fi films, such as the Star Trek and Star Wars films, for example.

 

Basically any film score that fits in well with the movie is what I am interested in. Maybe its not an exaggeration to say that really well written music for films and tv programmes can turn a badly made tv drama into an interesting one. For example I recently watched "To Serve And Protect" on the True Movies channel. I found the plot for this two part tv movie somewhat predictable, but the score was brilliant!! Makes me want to watch the programme again just for the score.

 

Another example is certain Spaghetti westerns.

 

Sometimes music just lifts a film out of the doldrums, if the score is put together well enough.

Edited June 15, 201114 yr by blackcat

No one excited by this topic, it would seem! I will just sit down and watch a good film, I think!

 

Hope it has good music to go with it. :dance:

 

 

'Amelie' has one of the best soundtracks of any film ever. All original too.

'Amelie' has one of the best soundtracks of any film ever. All original too.

 

oh definitely!

 

Dancer in the Dark has the most perfect soundtrack for me. I'm not into musicals but the music in it is so vital for the storyline and make's the ending that more amazing. Also the score for 2001 is incredible too.

Two film scores I particularly like are for Akira and American Beauty.

The soundtrack for 'The Assassination of Jesse James' is fantastic. 'Run Lola Run' and it's European trance soundtrack also works surprisingly well.

Gabriel Yared's stunning soundtrack for Betty Blue is pretty hard to beat.....

I don't pay a great deal of attention to film scores. But If you actually sit down and listen I imagine they would be incredible. When you watch the film, you get lost in the world of it and I guess the music does contribute massively to that.

Gabriel Yared's stunning soundtrack for Betty Blue is pretty hard to beat.....

Doh! I had a minor obsession with that soundtrack. Absolutely beautiful especially C'est Le Vent, Betty.

Doh! I had a minor obsession with that soundtrack. Absolutely beautiful especially C'est Le Vent, Betty.

 

Agreed - it's one of the few film score albums you can actually sit down and listen to without it sounding...incidental.

 

There are a few soundtracks that didn't work at all well, too, that need mentioning here.

 

The one that stands up for me is The Matrix. Bar Rob Dougan's beautiful Clubbed To Death, the soundtrack is a turgid trawl through pretty sub-standard dated 'rawk' music.... Rammstein, Rage Against The Machine, Marilyn Manson... what should have been a hi-tech futuristic modern masterpiece is bogged down with a truly terrible, clumpy soundtrack - at odds with the whole look and feel of the film.

 

Also, whilst, in my opinion, the last 2 Bond films have been the best ones ever - they've had two of the worst-ever theme tunes.

The one that stands up for me is The Matrix. Bar Rob Dougan's beautiful Clubbed To Death, the soundtrack is a turgid trawl through pretty sub-standard dated 'rawk' music.... Rammstein, Rage Against The Machine, Marilyn Manson... what should have been a hi-tech futuristic modern masterpiece is bogged down with a truly terrible, clumpy soundtrack - at odds with the whole look and feel of the film.

 

Also, whilst, in my opinion, the last 2 Bond films have been the best ones ever - they've had two of the worst-ever theme tunes.

Even though I do love RATM I do understand your point. The soundtrack should have been sleek, fast-forwarding into the future.

 

The Chris Cornell tune was a bit meh but I really like the White/Keyes effort.

 

 

Another soundtrack I really like and stands up on its own is for Ghost Dog.

I think that I have done enough posts to start posting visual clips on here.

 

So here is that menacing Cape Fear score I was talking about:

 

 

Works a treat, I think, sums up the theme of the film perfectly.

For their use of 'contemporary' music Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Forrest Gump and particularly Natural Born Killers are superb.

For film scores, anything with Bernard Herman or Ennio Morricone. Star Wars wouldn't be the same without John Williams' scores. Clint Mansell (formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself!) is also particularly good. The Omen too is superb and iconic. And I can't leave this without a nod to John Carpenter's earlier scores for Hallowe'en and Assault On Precinct 13

Youtube link again for Cape Fear is

 

Proper youtube clip for Cape Fear!

 

(Thanks to suedehead for showing me the way!)

 

:dance:

 

 

For their use of 'contemporary' music Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Forrest Gump and particularly Natural Born Killers are superb.

For film scores, anything with Bernard Herman or Ennio Morricone. Star Wars wouldn't be the same without John Williams' scores. Clint Mansell (formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself!) is also particularly good. The Omen too is superb and iconic. And I can't leave this without a nod to John Carpenter's earlier scores for Hallowe'en and Assault On Precinct 13

 

 

I agree, all great examples, Severin.

 

And what about films like Where Eagles Dare (Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton), or The Thomas Crown Affair, or even The Great Escape.

 

In many cases, the film scores become equally, if not more memorable, than the films concerned.

I'm sure it will be a universually unpopular suggestion but long before he hit the big time with Titanic and the like James Horner was doing his best work on the 1982 Soundtrack to Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. The mere mention of Star Trek is enough to turn most people off I guess, but it really is by far the best and most cohesive soundtrack I've ever heard and watched in tandem with the film the 2 work perfectly in sync lifting both to another level of brilliance. The STII Suite gives a good idea of it but Genesis Countdown, Battle In The Mutara Nebula and Enterprise Leaves Moorings are brilliant. You can hear a lot of very familiar cues from his later work too.

 

 

He also soundtracked the next Star Trek film but it's a much more patchy affair, Stealing The Enterprise is a brilliant addition though and reworks the sound of STII for the very different story being told in STIII perfectly:

 

I see blackcat mentioned Star Trek in the opening post, oh well, I've edukated people somewhat anyway *.*

Vangelis' "Bladerunner" sound-track is the almost perfect marriage of film and music ever created IMO.... Stunning...

 

Just about anything Ennio Morricone did for Sergio Leone's films is pretty good too...