"...It's like when you put your head to the grass and you
can hear the growin' and you can hear the insects. Do you like
Beethoven?"
Stansfield (Leon, 1994)
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| Cocaine: good for back pain. |
Hey guys, just a little bit of fun for you. This isn't actually a post about the film Leon (excellent by the way). This is my way of putting right a great injustice, because I rarely bring up the subject of soundtracks. An amazing soundtrack can make a mediocre film great, yet a bad soundtrack can make an otherwise excellent film insufferable.
I was sitting with my 9 month old son watching the following clip on YouTube when I had my epiphany...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5K3AKl5qpc
It's the climax to Schwarzenegger's Conan The Barbarian- not a perfect film but it did have its moments. Here Conan prays to his warlike God Cromm for revenge before going at his opponents with a giant axe. While watching it occurred to me that my son was also hooked, and not just hooked but reacting to the clip; nervous as the evil riders approached, inspired by the speech, excited by the attack and even laughing at the violence! How could a 9 month old child, unable to speak any words, appear to follow aht was happening on the screen? Then it occurred to me (and this is a theory rather than anything I can prove as fact): he understood the music. The score was leading him emotionally through the narrative, coaxing the desired reaction, much like how a lullaby would help a toddler to sleep, or how some songs provoke laughter and others bring tears.
My epiphany? Music is the first language anybody ever understands.
So, in light of this:
What are your favorite movie soundtracks?
Yes, I have my 'geek on'.
Judge your entries on mood, atmosphere, toe tapping addictiveness and just sheer brilliance; for example, some of my favorites I'd probably never listen to in the car, yet enhance the film immeasurably with their presence.
The following are some of the soundtracks that have made the biggest impression on me, some are obvious and others not so- see what you think, and as always I value your input, but if you tell me any of these choices are poor you're clearly wrong.
I couldn't really narrow my list down beyond 19, and I still feel like I've missed some great soundtracks. Anyway, in alphabetical order (I couldn't pick a favorite);
28 Weeks Laterhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6OtF7daIPMIn a word, incredible.Alienshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn0hV53dykUPart of the magic that had me so enthralled with the film as a teenager; thrilling and exciting.Bladehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69NaSUdzzA"Frost, you're nothing to me, except another dead vampire..."Conan The Barbarianhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZY2mRG5mzg"Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!"Event Horrizonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWQA_Xedj8This excellent combination of classical orchestra and hard edged techno gave the film it's identity...Halloweenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlbCZylCH2AThe definitive slasher soundtrack, scored by the film's director John Carpenter.Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Archttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTpp8PQSogAnd I'm a child again...Jawshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYpJctAE9S4Bom bom... Bom bom... Bom bom... Bom bom bom bom bom bom... Da na na!Jurrasic Parkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RUuftOG1DQ&list=PL19E2C495074C899CStirring, if a little sickly-sweet.Kick Asshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS38-Xcn_XYIt may well have stolen from the likes of other films (such as 28 Days Later) but it's all put to excellent use...Kill Bill vol 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Rgwqa3c0oLike Kick Ass previously, Tarantino may also steal his music from other films, but his choices are usually pitch perfect.Nightmare Before Christmashttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnyigpFSai4Who can resist tapping their foot along to these tunes?The Omenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WaiX4A_QJesus, that still creeps me out...Robocophttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oNtFhMaiMA real balls-to-the wall orchestral score, by the man who bought you the Conan soundtrack.Sherlock Holmeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgRVJksQocMOne of my all time favorites, possibly my overall favorite... Jovial, exciting, witty, charming- perfect.Star Wars, Empire Strikes Backhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OJh5csDiD81:45 and my heart still breaks...The Good, The Bad & The Uglyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOr0na6mKJQ"There are two kinds of people in this world my friend..."The Thinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnFc7D0ZoCc
Another John Carpenter entry- nihilistic and suspenseful in it's simplicity.
And finally, but by no means least, The Warriors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jov7zVAR5d8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqAgbA-emk
A soundtrack sooo fun it deserves 2 links.
Honerable mentions that didn't quite make the final cut include; The Watchmen, Unleashed, The Dark Knight, Dredd, Pirates of The Caribbean, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, The Magnifivient Seven, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King and The Jungle Book.
I'll leave you with this final thought...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRM2YcGpmxg
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| Back when wearing only leather vests was for tough heterosexuals, and not gay. |
"All right now, for all you boppers out there in the big city, all you street people with an ear for the action, I've been asked to relay a request from the Grammercy Riffs. It's a special for the Warriors, that real live bunch from Coney, and I do mean the Warriors. Here's a hit with them in mind..."
D.J (The Warriors)
Good post man,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with most of those and know exactly what you mean. I think its a struggle to have a good production if the music isn't right, and in a lot of cases I think it can redeem a great deal from a shaky film, such as the village. The music here, and throughout the film gave a lot of life to a flat mood film.
I'll go through some of my favourites I can remember from when I was all young and impressionable like;
The Talos scene from Jason and the Argonauts, is one of the many great scored moments in this film, and probably the one that stuck with me the longest. Everyone always says the skeleton scene sticks with them most (and that's cool, its sword fighting skeletons!), but that scene's music doesn't feel specific to me - they may as well have been fighting swashbuckling Disney mice. The talos music is full of massive awe and wonder.
(I can't get the video links to embed in a comment so I'm just going to post the videos as links)
Talos scene from Jason and the Argonauts
How about Blade Runner? That dreamy opening that made everything seem awesome, magnificent and futile at the same time? The end titles that kind of cemented in the wieght of the dystopian vision we had just seen
Bladerunner
and for similar reasons,
Escape from New York
Flash Gordon is cheesy, but music plays through most of the film and the battle between the Hawkmen and war rocket Ajax has stayed with me because of the music. Everything from the relentless one note bassline preluding the battle, to the way camp battle music. its ace.
DDDIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEEEE!!!!
The Never Ending Story has one of my fondest childhood themes, but the music in that film that moved me the most was the close of the film when Bastion got to fly Falcor.
The track is even called Bastions happy flight!
Karate Kid? Hasn't this theme stuck with everyone of a certain age?
You're the best!
Terminator 2 was my first lucid realisation of how music could actually direct to the viewer what was happening. I remember the mechanical percussion for the T-800 appearances from the original, but only realised what they were for when I noticed the dirge for the T-1000
Escape from mental hospital
I do tend to appreciate good score in films and TV. Notables TV examples I can think of on the spot are Breaking Bad, the Vikings, and Game of Thrones, but there are many more.
Videogames have the same effect. It must be a given to have a good soundtrack to a game these days if its going to succeed, but even in the past sonics must be what made some games stick with me in that all my favourite games had awesome soundtracks or lovable beeps and whirrs.
Though provoking stuff man :)
--- Joe ---
Excellent choices.
DeleteMost John Carpenter soundtracks rock, but I tried not to include too many.
'You're The Best' is fantastic, I can't believe I missed that off my list, same with Bladerunner (even though I find the film rather dull).
I love the skeletons from JATA, but the Thanos tune is the only one I can recall- that and sailing through the rocks.
On another note, how did you make them links? I'm not a tech-head.
Its just basic html although blogger does seem to hate some tags. I couldn't get the youtube videos to embed in the text, although I think you may be able to do that in your main entries. You should try it - the emdbed code is provided in the share section of the youtube video page (unless you are doing all this on mobile, then I think its harder to grab that code).
ReplyDeleteOther than that, a good tutorial is here. It does come naturally, and make sense after a while.
I was going to stick Goonies, transformers the movie, and run lola run in there too, but i was taking up too much space. Its a subject you could just keep thinking up good examples to.
The Goonies theme is impressive, especially when during the intro Mama wins the race over the beach!
Delete