What are your favorite soundtracks from the movies?

[ComposerRyan]

I just LOVE movie music and, someday, I would love to have the opportunity to compose for a movie. I realize that it is a HUGE dream, but I have a huge passion for all types of music, including movie music. In fact, my brothers and I want to make a movie someday (which would be a miracle) and I would love to compose the music to it. We always dream about making a movie and we have a huge passion for entertainment.

So, what are your favorite soundtracks/film scores from the movies?

The following movies contain my favorite film scores and compositions:

-The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones/Randy Edelman)
-The Mummy Returns (Alan Silvestri)
-Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore)
-The Truman Show (Burkhard Dallwitz)
-Dances with Wolves (John Barry)
-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Tan Dun)
-Crimson Tide (Hans Zimmer)
-Gladiator (Hans Zimmer)
-The Lion King (Hans Zimmer)
-The Rock (Hans Zimmer/Nick Glennie-Smith/Harry Gregson-Williams)
-Conspiracy Theory (Carter Burwell)
-Star Wars: Episode 1 (John Williams)
-Saving Private Ryan (John Williams)
-Home Alone (John Williams)
-Jurrasic Park (John Williams)
-The Saint (Graeme Revell)
-Ice Age (David Newman)
-The Fifth Element (Eric Serra)
-007: GoldenEye (Eric Serra)
-Batman (Danny Elfman)
-Edward Scissorhands (Danny Elfman)
-StarGate (David Arnold)
-Children of Dune (Brian Tyler)
-A Beautiful Mind (James Horner)
-Sneakers (James Horner)
-Apollo 13 (James Horner)
-The ShawShank Redemption (Thomas Newman)
-The 13th Warrior (Jerry Goldsmith)
-Speed
-Twister
-The Matrix
-The Matrix: Reloaded

[Pamadu]

That's a Very Impressive List......Hope Your Dream comes TRUE one Day Mate. Lots of Hard Work. Cheers Paul.

[Frederik Magle]

Good luck with your dream Ryan!

There are some very nice soundtracks in your list there. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Hans Zimmer - I think he can be too repetitive at times (or maybe it's rather his "Media Ventures" company), but I do recognice he has a gift!

It's hard to say what my favorites are, it depends on so many factors but on the top of my mind here are some soundtracks I like to listen to from time to time:

8MM (Mychael Danna)
Alien (Jerry Goldsmith)
Aliens (James Horner)
Alien 3 (Elliot Goldenthal)...cant' hide the fact that I like the Aliens trilogy music
Batman (Danny Elfman)
Blade Runner (Vangelis)
Escape from New York (John Carpenter, always loved the main theme for mysterious reasons...)
Event Horizon (Michael Kamen/Orbital)

...just going through my soundtrack collection in alphabetic order picking out the ones I favor (I've got 300 CD's with soundtracks...stopped at E... will continue later )

[temporaneous]

Heya

Currently a huge fan of Howard Shore Especially like the Return of the King soundtrack. Apparently (& I do mean apparently cos I'm not sure) the Panic Room soundtrack's composed by him as well, but haven't had a listen yet.

How about the Red Violin (John Corigliano)?

I like the theme from Schindler's List (John Williams), but he repeats it too often throughout the soundtrack...

Movie soundtracks are tricky though, cos it's hard to disassociate the film choreography from the music (at least for me :P)

Cheerios & may your dreams come true!
Elaine

[Frederik Magle]

Hi and welcome aboard the MIMF, Elaine!

I think you raise an interesting subject. It can be hard to disassociate the music from the film. I would still say that the best film music stands out by being able to stand on it's own. Several times I have seen a film after havng first heard the soundtrack, so the music is what got me interested. But of course it's the other way around the majority of times.

I'd like to hear what your point of view is on this, how often (if ever) have you seen a movie because of the score and what is your general take on "disassociating" the music from the film? (this question is for all members, not just Elaine )

[Priest]

Just watched "21 grams". I wouldn't call it a soundtrack, but it's more like subliminal noise.

This sort of music is often the most well functioning. For an example when we see LOTR, we know for sure that the composer is trying to tell us something with the music. We can choose between being seduced to the music or to put our guard up, and choose not to be.

But... with the sound being minimal, it just sneaks up behind you. You can't let it out. And it affects you, even if you not wish to. So sometime the most simple of nodes, can be far more effective when it comes to music, than a full scale orchestra. Depends of course if you want to give an epic feel to the movie... then the orchestra is worth considering.

[Trebbien]

Mostly I listen to soundtracks after seing the movie, and then I think it's difficult to get "objective" about whether the soundtrack can "stand on it's own" or not.

A soundtrack worth being mentioned, (and which I think is very very good ) is from the movie "Magnolia"... and actually I think the process about the movie and soundtrack is very interesting. Aimee Mann (the musicwriter) and Paul Thomas Anderson (writer of the moviescript) were working very closely together, and actually the movie took it's beginning in one of her songs. I first listened to the soundtrack, then saw the movie, and in my opinion the soundtrack was very good, but turned into perfect after I saw the movie!

Trebbien

[corno]

hmm... I think it's a difficult subject...
the ultimate movie score should contain several things... but above all it should be an integral part of the movie... - it should act in the same way cinematography visualizes the story/plot and the actors and actresses act out their parts, as an independt though firmly integrated part of the plot - enhancing - if not creating - emotions from all over the spectre from love over indefference to fear... - that's the makings of a great soundtrack...

if it should be able to stand on its own? hmm... - well, as a musician and a composer I would like to think that almost all music should be able to stand on it's own... and a whole lot of soundtracks/scores (by score I mean music composed specifically to the individual movie whereas a soundtrack can contain previously made music played in the movie) do that... but I don't think of it as a "demand" as such... - most soundtracks/scores gain a whole lot after seeing the specific movie... the feelings expressed gets more enhanced as you can compare it to the emotions expressed in the movie... and since most people today still need some "visual" reference when dealing with emotions it's not that surprising that a movie mostly will enhance any score/soundtrack previously heard...

[ComposerRyan]

Hi everybody...thank you for all of your replies! I apologize that I have not gotten the chance to post out here recently...it's just that I have been very busy, like always. By the way, welcome to the forum Elaine and we all hope you enjoy your stay here at MIMF.

Several times I have seen a film after having first heard the soundtrack, so the music is what got me interested.

That is so true...many times, whenever I see a commercial on TV for a movie, it is the music that catches my attention. A while ago, the SCI FI channel had a commercial for their TV movie "Children of Dune" and the music was so captivating and therefore encouraged me to watch the movie. I wish I owned the soundtrack to Children of Dune - by the way, the music of Children of Dune was played during the commercials for "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe.

I'd like to hear what your point of view is on this, how often (if ever) have you seen a movie because of the score and what is your general take on "disassociating" the music from the film? (this question is for all members, not just Elaine )

Hmmmmmm...this is a very interesting question. To be honest, I believe that Children of Dune was truly the first movie I have seen to have good music that captivated the audience through its commercial advertising. There is also a new movie that is in theaters called "Hellboy" and the music in its commercials has also really caught my attention several times...and because of it, I really want to see the movie. I know there are many other movie scores that have encouraged me go and watch the movie.

I think it can be hard to disassociate music from a film. For instance, whenever I hear the Jurassic Park score, I immediately think about the movie...but that is not a bad thing, especially when the movie is a good one. However, there are some cases where I never associate the music with the movie. Like, with "Saving Private Ryan" for example, I believe the score is called "Hymn to the Fallen" by John Williams...and everytime I listen to it, it brings inspiration to my heart and it is truly touching and makes in an impact. I just love it and, for some reason, I never really associate it with just "Saving Private Ryan" but instead, I associate it with all of the heroes who have sacrificed their lives just to keep this world at peace. It is one of those scores that is really deep and you can tell that John Williams poured his heart and soul into it.

I really want to talk to you all some more on this topic - but, for now, I have to go! I'll talk to you later and it is great talking with you all!
Ryan

[temporaneous]

Hello all

I guess there's nothing wrong with associating a piece of music with a visual sequence or even a story. After all we often associate music with scenery or a place. The problem comes when we try to evaluate & compare music which might have been composed for a particular visual sequence or story - then it's hard to evaluate the music without taking the movie into consideration.

I usually watch the movie first then go for the soundtrack, and personally, I find it difficult to consider the music & the movie separately, especially if the movie was a powerful one. I feel that a soundtrack is different from other types of music because while it can stand alone, it is meant to come as a 'package' together with the movie. So in a way, although you can appreciate the music without watching the movie, you don't get the full impact of the music/composition/arrangement without the movie.

Just my 2 cents

Cheers!
Elaine

[Frederik Magle]

Just watched "21 grams". I wouldn't call it a soundtrack, but it's more like subliminal noise.

This sort of music is often the most well functioning. For an example when we see LOTR, we know for sure that the composer is trying to tell us something with the music. We can choose between being seduced to the music or to put our guard up, and choose not to be.

But... with the sound being minimal, it just sneaks up behind you. You can't let it out. And it affects you, even if you not wish to. So sometime the most simple of nodes, can be far more effective when it comes to music, than a full scale orchestra. Depends of course if you want to give an epic feel to the movie... then the orchestra is worth considering.

f it should be able to stand on its own? hmm... - well, as a musician and a composer I would like to think that almost all music should be able to stand on it's own... and a whole lot of soundtracks/scores (by score I mean music composed specifically to the individual movie whereas a soundtrack can contain previously made music played in the movie) do that... but I don't think of it as a "demand" as such...

I think you might misunderstood what I meant, Priest and Corno...

Let me put it this way:
• "Great" music can be "bad" music in a film... of course!
• Music that works very well in a film (e.g atmospheric sounds, noises etc.), does not necesarily have to be worth listening to outside the film, but it's still "good" (because it does the job in the movie). Anyhow, let's not forget that what you hear on the "original score album" is never exactly what you hear in the movie - far from - for the abum you do a lot of editing, use original/cut/uncut edits, combine musical parts into "suites", different audio settings, on the album the music usually stands alone whereas in the movie there's speach, sound effects etc. etc.

• However, the very greatest of "scores/original soundtracks" works perfectly in the movie, first and foremost!!!, but can also be heard on it's own and still be interesting or "able to stand on it's own". Think about it. I'm not saying that the music rank amongst the highest when taken out of context, not at all, but it will be still be worth listening to.

Where I think you might misunderstand me (Priest) is that it seems to me you think that I would only conisder an "orchestral" score able to stand on it's own - nothing could be further from the truth. "subliminal noise" can indeed be worth listening to as well (some of Ligiti's works springs to mind f.ex. from a musicla perspective). I haven't seen "21 grams", so I can't comment on that particular "score" (definition of "score" could be any original music - including composed noises).

Basically it's really simple: What I consider "the greatest" of scores, I would like to own on a CD (or at least listen to) as well as seing them in the movie. It's the distinction between good and great in my opinion. BUT, if that music does not work in 100% benefit of the movie then I don't consider it a "greatest score" - great music perhaps, but not a great "score". Things are very seldom pure black and white.

[EDIT] Also, you mention LOTR. Imo, that's an example of music that works well in the movie but looses (my) interest when heard seperatly. It's a "good" score because it works like Peter Jackson wanted and to the benefit of the movie - you can argue that till you get blue , but it's a fact, it did what it was supposed to for the film (funny thing, in that way it is actually much closer to the "sublimical noises" than you'd think), but absolutely not a "great" score.

[Priest]

I actually found the soundtrack for LOTR, a kind of boring. It works, but adds nothing more to the film. It is very standard classic fantasy, but Peter Jackson could have found a composer that could give it some more edge... and yes.. a part from this it doesn't even stand alone...

[Muogin]

Hey Ryan,

Best wishes but you may find film composing not the greatest situation for a creative artist. Why wait for a movie company, take a great book or comic book and write your own soundtrack WITHOUT some punk director telling you to, "take out the strings here, add some fart noises from the tuba's here..."

I'm just saying don't leave it all waiting for the movies, great music to me is so much greater than any movie!

When I listen to great soundtracks from great films I realize just how much more greater the soundtrack is then the film!

So often the director has NO musical background and I listent to edits where the movie should have been reedited around teh music. (THIS IS WHERE GEORGE LUCAS WON BIG ON STAR WARS)

According to his biography book "Skywalking... We were all so beyond impressed when we first heard John's score that we ended up rediting much of the movie around his completeed soundtrack!"

The real secret behind star wars success!

Muogin

[Luke]

I was really impressed by the Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway soundtracks, both produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Not so much scores but more of collages of songs (from all types of music)that reflect what's happening in the films extremely well.
The CDs on their own are as much a journy as the films are, with peices of dialog from the films between a few of the songs which is executed perfectly.

Micky and Maloreys chaotic rampage translates well in a musical form but the Lost Highway soundtrack really is someting else.
David Bowies 'I'm Deranged' opens and closes the record. Sandwiching the rest of the album (the bulk of it being the brilliant Angelo Badalamenti) which drags you into Freds desent into madness and comes round full circle, just like the film does (those of you who have seen Lost Highway will know what I mean, or maybe not).

In short, a disturbing soundtrack for an equaly disturbing film. Probably David Lynchs most disturbing.


I listened to both these soundtracks before I saw the films, they get you thinking, that's what I like about them.

[higher than hope]

i hope that you get the chance to compose a movie soundtrack goodluck!
My favorite has to be
The Fifth Element by eric serra
the opera music is fantastice!!
Take care good luck
Lots of love
Aino