There may be a little bit of overlap as I discuss my current favourites, but ever since my youth, I've discovered so many more tremendous film scores, some oldies and others from modern films. It's a real mixed bag, with music from movies of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, drama, adventure, thriller, and western genres.
The first Star Wars (since re-titled as A New Hope) movie's soundtrack is still on my faves list. This first visit to the worlds of Tattooine, Yavin IV (the Rebel base), and the Death Star (a man-made world, right?) took us light-years away, and into the past, with its story... and the accompanying music by maestro John Williams was equally enthralling. No wonder director Lucas kept Williams on the payroll for the rest of his film series.
A Clockwork Orange remains high on my list, too, as it played such an important role in introducing me to classical music... more specifically that of Ludwig van Beethoven. Yeah, that Fifth Symphony guy. Only I fell in love with his Ninth Symphony, which is far more powerful, full of greater contrasts, and of course demonstrates both delicate and lusty operatic vocals. I'm still a fan.
Composer Bernard Herrmann wrote scores for dozens of films, most of them now classics. Like Citizen Kane, Psycho, Vertigo, Cape Fear, and Taxi Driver. But it was his genre work, of which there was a lot, that captured my imagination the most. The soundtracks I enjoy best are from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller North By Northwest; the fantasy epics The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts; the 50's sci-fi masterpiece The Day the Earth Stood Still; and the quiet tale of the supernatural The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I like all of these almost equally, with Mrs. Muir most likely my top pick.
The French comedy Amélie entertained me endlessly for several years since I first saw it - I bought it on home video and watched it repeatedly. Everything about the film is impeccable, from the actors' performances to the settings and from the cinematography to the script. The music was a key component for me because it conveyed the whimsical nature of the story and its offbeat characters. I used to play the Amélie soundtrack endlessly, never tiring of it. It's been a long time now, but I feel like I'm due to give it a spin again.
The modern thriller Drive was a dark and disturbing flight into a world of nastiness. The visuals were evocative of gloomy 80's genre films, and the retro-sounding electronic synth-based soundtrack heightened that mood... sometimes filling the listener with dread, other times with an almost wistful feeling for that decade's stylishness.
Dracula, the version by Francis Ford Coppola, contains some of the creepiest film music I've ever heard. I have often played my CD of this score while reading a horror novel during the Halloween season. The combo truly gave me chills. Composer Wojciech Kilar successfully crafted an unholy soundscape for Coppola's stylized take on the classic vampire tale.
Sticking with the work of Kilar, I'll mention his musical contribution to Roman Polanski's supernatural thriller The Ninth Gate. Again, the audio backdrop is moody and prickles at the skin like so many spiders... though there are more melodic passages here than in Dracula.
The Thing, the 80's horror gem from director John Carpenter, is among my very favourite movies of the genre. And it should go without saying that its skin-crawling music by Ennio Morricone is among my top scores. Like composer Kilar's compositions, Morricone's work for The Thing is so otherworldly and insidious that it's disturbing. It really works on your psyche while making your skin crawl... both mental and physical reactions to the music. Not every composer can accomplish that!
One of the movies that prompted me to begin a serious soundtrack collection back in the 90's was Lawrence of Arabia. The grand sweeping score transported me to exotic desert locales and then to gripping battle scenes. Oscar, Globes, and Grammy-winning composer Maurice Jarre was responsible for the timeless music that evoked grandeur for big sequences and more intimate music for quieter scenes. Definitely a must-have for a collector.
In the early stages of building my CD soundtrack collection - pretty much from scratch - in the 90's and 2000's, I made it a priority to assemble the complete set all of the James Bond movie scores. Today, I'm only missing a few, but those were conscious decisions. Dr. No and the last couple of Bond movies never impressed me much. Dr. No, the first Bond film, from 1962, contained almost no real spy music that resembled any of the signature themes that would come later. Yes, the famous guitar riff-y James Bond Theme we all know and love is there at the start of the film (and soundtrack album), but that's it. The rest of that soundtrack is dance-y Caribbean calypso music... not really what I want to listen to. That said, I did pick up the vinyl record of this to frame and display on the wall among my other Bond collectibles.
As for the other Bond scores (and there are more than two dozen of them), I have narrowed down my absolute favourites to (in no particular order):
From Russia With Love
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Diamonds are Forever
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only
John Barry composed the music for all but the last film in my little list. Bill Conti did For Your Eyes Only, and only succeeded because he captured the essence of Barry's notable Bond-isms in style and melody. Barry's 60's and 70's work for the Bond series is highly regarded, the 60's in particular, though even heading into the 80's, he popped out some amazing scores. On Her Majesty's Secret Service provided a feast of musical motifs, and those plus the rest of the Bond music canon became the template for spy films to come. Pretty impressive.
A more modern movie soundtrack - not so much a score as a collection of songs - that I immediately latched onto in the early 2000's and still love is that from the comedy-drama Lost in Translation. The pop and rock songs, both existing and re-mixed versions, play an important role in establishing the impressionistic and romantic vibe... just as vital as the actors Murray and Johansson. Lost in Translation is my favourite movie - ever - so of course, its music means something to me. I must admit, though, that I'm not always in the mood for the soundtrack on its own. Even the movie... well, it's like a bottle of fine wine... I wouldn't want to drink it all the time. It's a special thing that I save for a special time.
One of the highlights of the Turbo Kid musical score
Turbo Kid, a fun sci-fi throwback to the 80's from Quebec, Canada, boasts an insanely amazing electronic musical score. Only a few years old, the movie's apocalyptic story shows us a bleak future world where a young man struggles to survive and to master the use of his new-found super-powered "hero suit" (as I like to call it). It's full of over-the-top imagery, action and gore galore, though there are tender moments, too. And it is the electronic sounds created by Quebec musicians Le Matos that punctuates every scene with emotion, nostalgia, and excitement. The one vocal track, No Tomorrow, featuring singer Pawws, is so pretty in an 80's-sounding pop way that I can't get enough of it. And it underlines the relationship that develops alongside the killing madness in the movie.
I believe that the Turbo Kid soundtrack may be my favourite soundtrack at this point in time. If you like electro music, I highly recommend this... and even check out the far-out fantasy movie for the full effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment