What's Your Favorite Movie Soundtracks and Scores?

[UnscreenedCaller]

There are films we all remember partly because of the brilliant soundtracks or scores. I have a lot of favorites, #1 being the score for 'Lord of the Rings' which is breathtakingly perfect in that it tells the story alongside the narrative. I think the film owes a great deal of it's emotional resonance on the score.

My other favorite is the score from 'Witness'. This is an excerpt from the barn raising scene where John Book, the detective, works with the Amish community he's hiding out in to raise a barn. The score is by Maurice Jarre who used synthesizers to tell the story of a culture without any modern conveniences, a, inspired use of modern instrumentation.


http://youtu.be/iw28_kQK1FA

'Gladiator' is another film where the music is outstanding and even surprising in capturing the mood of the battle scenes and the death of Russel Crowe's character and his reunion with his wife and son in Elysium. Music by Hans Zimmer (I'm a big fan), Lisa Gerrard, Klaus Badelt.


Gladiator Soundtrack "Elysium", "Honor Him", "Now We Are Free"

[Uncle Duke]

Man from Snowy River
Country
Clockwork Orange
John Goldfarb Please Come Home
Love and Death

[Yorkshire pud]

An opening track sung by the man who Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Vic Damone and Sammy Davis Jnr said had the best voice ever Matt Monroe. The scene is from the proper Italian Job. Perfect.


Lamborghini Miura - The Italian Job intro


The next film is total crap. Unintelligible rubbish..But the opening track is pretty good and gives a feel for the opening scene.


Where Eagles Dare - Main Theme

[Little Hater]

I thought the score from the Pierce Brosnan / Rene Russo remake of The Thomas Crown Affair was perfect.

[Grov505th]

I love the sound track for Band Of Brothers.

[Jackstar]

The Naked Lunch score is filled with horns and sax. It is very nearly the most exquisite music ever made.


http://youtu.be/BpnuPi51ksM

Honorable Mention: Blade Runner, Vangelis.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I like pretty much everything from Walter Hill movies (many have Ry Cooder doing the ST). This includes Crossroads, Streets of Fire, 48 Hours, and Last Man Standing (which somehow produced 2 different and good ST by 2 artists).

As far as picking existing music for a soundtrack Trainspotting and Full Metal Jacket pick music that suits the movies very well. To Live and Die in LA is actually pretty good as well.
I've never been a Peter Gabriel fan, but Birdy is a nice soundtrack.

[aldousburbank]

This easy, heh, for me heh.

Hair http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0079261/
directed by Milos Foreman
The best musical ever!


Hair (1979, Milos Forman): Hare Krishna & Old fashioned Melody

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

"Steelyard Blues" from 1973.  The soundtrack features some scorching blues tunes from Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Mike Bloomfield, and Maria Muldaur.

[George Drooly]

http://youtu.be/4vXkI1zYyDo

[zeebo]

scores
-------------------

Moonraker (Ok not the best Bond movie, or even the best Bond, but a cool, moody soundtrack)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0AcWZPlSHc

Ghost in the Shell (anime - haunting and evocative)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR19OEjwIV8

Children of Dune (from the tv mini-series, dramatic and mysterious)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGYiX1beDlk

Flash Gordon (c'mon, it's Queen, it's Flash, it's awesome!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVpjqT0pX5c


soundtracks
-------------------
Lost in Translation (perfect pairing with the movie)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_UGaEus53I

Until the End of the World (a lost classic from the mists of time)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFwjtk6W-H8

[ItsOver]

...'Gladiator' is another film where the music is outstanding and even surprising in capturing the mood of the battle scenes and the death of Russel Crowe's character and his reunion with his wife and son in Elysium. Music by Hans Zimmer (I'm a big fan), Lisa Gerrard, Klaus Badelt.


Gladiator Soundtrack "Elysium", "Honor Him", "Now We Are Free"

Yes, yes, yes!  I love that film.  My favorite Russell Crowe movie and probably my favorite movie.  It reminded me of the epics of old.  If only the current Hollywood would produce more entertainment such as this classic.  One of the few movies where I not only have the DVD but the soundtrack CD, as well.  A truly outstanding work by Zimmer.  Even this fellow liked it.

[albrecht]

almost all John Carpenter's movies but especially The Fog.

the fog expanded soundtrack by john carpenter

Magnolia, Aimee Mann sound track was good.

Obviously, just about every movie soundtrack by Ennio Morricone (no matter how low budget or bad or how great the movie)

MORRICONE-"Harmonica/ Man With A Harmonica/ Death Rattle" (1968)

[jazmunda]

One of my favorite soundtracks was from a movie called Singles by Cameron Crowe. It also has two of my favorite songs of all time Seasons by Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns by Mother Love Bone.


http://youtu.be/r4WfJc0FKnk


http://youtu.be/lH0gnwtSEGI

Some other good songs on it are:

Pearl Jam's State of Love and Trust and Alice in Chains' Would:


http://youtu.be/ZdMEON3iY2M


http://youtu.be/LtvenxgwNSQ

[PerfectTommy]

"Do you read Sutter Cane?"


http://youtu.be/gjJ_uFz-Z9g

[eddie dean]

Phillip Glass's music for Secret Window,
Secret Window Soundtrack (Main Titles):
http://youtu.be/gTFS-JVxtQs

and

Fog of War
Fog Of War:
http://youtu.be/j8TOJy3eO1A
Glass's musical style and use of arpeggios, intertwine and flow together in complex arrangements. amazing!
Works very well for generating tension in suspense & thrillers!

James Horner's score for 'Aliens' was well done for that genre. The scene where Riply is told she's been gone for 58 years.  The music builds & builds until an alien pushes through her stomach! Perfect use of music as a dramatic tool. Maybe a bit overboard with the staccato military drums in the latter parts of the film, but it's still great!  That could have started or influence the trend of creating overbearing scores that all sound the same. Music isn't suppose ( in my opinion anyway) to be the staring character in a film.

I can't forget the Silence of the Lambs score by Howard Shore! Another all time favorite!
Silence Of The Lambs Theme Song (long):
http://youtu.be/m_mslXVR5Mw

I can't forget Zimmer(rain man), Elfman (Big Fish), Williams (star wars) & Alan Silvestri (forest gump).
So many great composers, so little time.
Great thread idea, BTW!

[ACE of CLUBS]

'The Year of Living Dangerously' .....

[Jackstar]

One of my favorite soundtracks was from a movie called Singles by Cameron Crowe.

http://youtu.be/PE5f561Y1x4

[UnscreenedCaller]

Grandaddy of all science fiction movies, and still holds up 60 years later, the score to 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' was written by Bernard Hermann. If you listen closely to the score from 'Signs', there are similarities.


The Day the Earth Stood Still: Score - Outer Space / Radar / Gort - 1 of 2

'Signs':

End Credits Music from the movie "Signs"

'Empire of the Sun' had a great score, including the Welsh lullaby Suo Gan

Empire Of The Sun - Suo Gan Scene

[maureen]

"Slaughterhouse Five, or The Children's Crusade": the book, the film and the soundtrack played by Glenn Gould.  As Billy Pilgrim writes, "I have become unstuck in time", and ends with "Hello/Farewell"

[b_dubb]

Wim Wenders "Until The End of the World"

[yumyumtree]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Valley of the Dolls
Clockwork Orange
Easy Rider
The Graduate

And one that is not from the sixties or early seventies--
The Commitments

[yumyumtree]

I should have mentioned Betty Blue. I love that theme song, especially when they're in the piano store and begin playing.

[Kelt]

The Lost Boys, surely one of the great soundtracks of all time.


http://youtu.be/NK9aAQ_oH6k

[VtaGeezer]

Most anything by Hans Zimmer or James Horner.  But I think the themes from the classic 50s/60s westerns; e.g. Moross's "Big Country" and Bernstein's "Magnificent Seven" should have a special place.  As much as I like good pop music, I hate it in movies almost as much as I hate synthesizers. Sound tracks should be orchestral by natural law.

[Kelt]

I think it would depend on the movie.

A movie like Gladiator or Braveheart is going to demand an orchestral score, where a movie like Lost Boys or Dumb and Dumber will benefit from a more contemporary soundtrack.

You're not going to play Ace of Spades by Motorhead over the Battle of Stirling Bridge (although it would actually go pretty well, come to think of it), equally you're not playing Fur Elise while Simon Pegg batters Zombies to 'death' in a pub.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't offer 24 Hour Party People.


http://youtu.be/oEoMUFxqt9s

[Lt.Uhura]

Jackie Brown


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2730E4C4D4966116

[UnscreenedCaller]

Bernard Hermann's score for 'Twisted Nerve' is a play on Jeepers Creepers that gets under your skin in a scary way. It's been used in 'Kill Bill' and again in 'American Horror Story'.


Twisted Nerve by Bernard Herrmann

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

If you're into sci-fi soundtracks, you might like Visions in Sound, a radio show dedicated to geeky soundtracks of all kinds - http://www.ckwr.com/ai1ec_event/visions-in-sound/?instance_id=25786

It's usually soothing to listen to while reflecting and meditating after a night of self-medicating.

[eddie dean]

Bernard Hermann's score for 'Twisted Nerve' is a play on Jeepers Creepers that gets under your skin in a scary way. It's been used in 'Kill Bill' and again in 'American Horror Story'.


Twisted Nerve by Bernard Herrmann

Thanks for reminding me about the excellent soundtrack for  Kill Bill Vol. 2! A terrific collection of songs that compliment the plot and cinematography. I particularly love the use of diverse genres like: spaghetti western, Japanese guitar instrumentals  and traditional Mexican music.