Soundtracks

[Tom]

I'm starting to wonder if one of the pre-requisites of a memorable film is the soundtrack. While Master and Commander makes do with very little incidental music (which is quite nice really), many other great films (Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, Leon, Godfather) have extremely memorable music.

Is this because the music is good in itself, and makes the film 'better', or would the film work equally as well without any music? I can't imagine Dances with Wolves without the epic soundtrack accompanying the landscape photography, or The Fifth Element without Eric Serra's pumping synth music. To even think about Blade Runner without the music is quite disconcerting.

I've only been thinking about this because I've been listening to lots of soundtrack albums of late. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

 

[Vae]

Not sure I'd call Master and Commander a great film although it was very well done and I did enjoy it...

As for the others mentioned I think they would have been great films regardless and the excellent sound tracks only added to them.

Some film soundtracks (I'm talking scores really rather than compilations of songs a la Matrix etc) manage to, allbeit rarely, stand on their own as an excellent cd. The best recent example, imo, is Gladiator. I thought that soundtrack was so superb that I even bought the extra music from Gladiator cd. The only other examples of excellent film scores I can think of recently are LOTR and Harry Potter although I don't think either come close to Gladiator as a standalone film soundtrack cd.

Both LOTR and Harry Potter would have been successful/great films without the soundtrack and I suspect Gladiator would too but I think Gladiator gained far more from its soundtrack than the others and I don't think would have been as successful without that memorable score.

 

[Skyler]

There are way too many soundtracks to list.. one of my dads friends had a great deal of soundtracks from all his favourite films and it was excellent having them on as backing music whilst playing a game or doing whatever...

One classic example is that small riff from War of the Worlds... I expect sooo many people would instantly recognise it was WotW after hearing just those 2 seconds of the music... The actual WotW soundtrack CD is bloody fantastic, the fully narrated story, accompanied by the great music.. an excellent purchase. It's also worth it just for the images in the booklet that comes with it.. I remember looking at them when I was younger in the larger book that came with the Vinyl Album and they scared me to death...

Back on soundtrack subject... Gladiator does indeed have a fantastic soundtrack and it really does add to the film.. the opening sequence when they are demolishing the Barbarians of Germania is perhaps the best part of the musical score from the entire film.. Although just thinking about it now the music around the end was spiffing too...

I'm also a sucker for the main theme behind the Terminator films.. Especially the end of Terminator 2 as he lowers himself into the molten metal, the music then adds to the moment so well...

There is also a fantastic part of the Indepence Day soundtrack that I particularly like, I believe the track is called 'Evacuation'. The actual part of that track which is particularly great is played just as the first lady gets into her helicopter I think.. That's a great piece of music... Independence Day wasnt an amazing film but the soundtrack held its own...


Good soundtracks are key to a great film.. a bad choice of music in a potentially amazing scene will really spoil the film.. I think the films we know and love wouldn't be quite the same without the soundtrack. The only thing to do is find someone who hasnt seen Gladiator or Leon etc. and strip the music from them and measure their enjoyment... then find another similar person and play them the untouched article and see who rates what scenes best... obviously this test wouldn't really work but I said it anyway!

Exceptions to the 'soundtrack' description I would say are: xXx, fast and the furious, 2 fast 2 furious etc. and all those other 'hip' rnb wank films that have the most putrid 'pop' music accompanying the already dire film.. The best soundtracks are orchestral.

 

[Whipped]

Very quickly, I'd just like to say that it's always been my feeling that I'll enjoy a film more if it has a good soundtrack and that soundtrack works well.

 

[ECA]

This is one thing I prefer about anime series over LA western stuff.

The soundtrack on a good anime series is usually fantastic and there are a couple of series where the soundtrack is at least half the enjoyment factor.

 

[Frizz]

I think melancholic soundtracks (American Beauty, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind et al) are generally the best imo. Setting the scene and all that malarkey.

 

[Ivan]

Memorable soundtracks :

Godfather
Gladiator
Scooby Doo <only because of Outkast track>
Matrix trilogy
-XXX-

off top of my head

 

[Khefru]

Soundtracks are one of the most important parts of a film. Sometimes a really good soundtrack can be one that you hardly notice as u watch the film, but it subconsciously adds to the overall experience. The other example is where the music is made so prominent in certain scenes that it creates lots of emotion (Gladiator, as people have mentioned is a perfect example).

 

[Nos]

Memorable soundtracks :
....
Scooby Doo <only because of Outkast track>
....
-XXX-
off top of my head

Clueless queer

 

[Scouse]

I can answer this whole thread and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that film soundtracks are an integral part of a class-A movie in ONE word:





JAWS






Nuff said.

 

[Khefru]

I can answer this whole thread and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that film soundtracks are an integral part of a class-A movie in ONE word:





JAWS






Nuff said.

played

 

[spaz]

Tarantino seems to think it is pretty important.

 

[Taen]

The Mission
The Exorcist
Blue Velvet
Twin Peaks
The Man Who Wasnt There
Jaws
American Beauty
Gladiator
Star Wars
Koyaanisqatsi
The Shining
Unbreakable
Reqium For a Dream
Pulp Fiction
Pie
Lotr
The Matrix
Schindlers List


Just some good ones to keep an eye out for

 

[tRoG]

Can you imagine a film without sound? Euuuugh.