Best Movie Soundtracks

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

I really like The Thing soundtrack- Morricone does Carpenter, as you say, but it's got a real tense minimalist menace to it, and it's just so very different from Morricone's typical work. The main theme is terrifying; I actually nicked it for a short film me and some friends did a few years ago.

Edit to say: Halloween. Carpenter's best score; instantly memorable and as creepy as hell. Also agree about Badalamenti- The Straight Story is a particular favourite, it's so wistful and sweet, just like the film. Twin Peaks goes without saying, really.

On the subject of Lynch scores, I also really like the score for Dune- can't remember who did it but I love the big 80s pomp of it all. The Elephant Man score is similarly evocative (for different reasons, obviously). The theme to that is really weird in a dusty, cobwebby Victorian carnival way; I was really taken aback to hear it used on a BBC Sport advert for rugby a few months back.

[VegaLA]

Shaun of the Dead used The Gonk for the DVD extras.
Took me ages to link it to Dawn of The Dead. Sounded like the theme from Ground Force.

'The gonk' was'nt composed by Goblin but is in fact Library music that Romero got hold of himself. This and the other tunes not on the official Goblin soundtrack have recently been released in England by Trunk records. Yes, I have it.
I have seen Shaun 3 times but can't find the Gonk playing during the movie anywhere. In the opening titles however there is the tune from Dawn in the scene where they land the chopper at the airport and Roger is using the petrol pump (library music). The scene where shaun is planning to get his mother uses the song 'Zombie' (Goblin).

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

Speaking of Goblin, their soundtrack fro Dario Argento's Suspiria is worthy of a mention, that's got some great moments (namely the lead singer screaming "WITCH!" at regular intervals). You can tell Carpenter's been influenced by them as well, the theme to Halloween has a very Suspiria-esque keyboard riff.

[kidsick5000]

Shaun of the Dead used The Gonk for the DVD extras.
Took me ages to link it to Dawn of The Dead. Sounded like the theme from Ground Force.

'The gonk' was'nt composed by Goblin but is in fact Library music that Romero got hold of himself. This and the other tunes not on the official Goblin soundtrack have recently been released in England by Trunk records. Yes, I have it.
I have seen Shaun 3 times but can't find the Gonk playing during the movie anywhere. In the opening titles however there is the tune from Dawn in the scene where they land the chopper at the airport and Roger is using the petrol pump (library music). The scene where shaun is planning to get his mother uses the song 'Zombie' (Goblin).

The Gonk is used as the music to the storyboard section where they explain what happened to the characters offscreen.

[VegaLA]

Cheers kidsick. I think i'm due another viewing !

Goblin scored most of Dario's movies, it was Dario that got them the Dawn gig. Tenebrae is also a great soundtrack.

[VernonKaySuicideWatch]

Team America - Hehehehe...

Lock Stock and Snatch deserve a shout too - If you can block you ears through all the mockney wankery.

[The Region Legion]

Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" and Philip Glass's "Koyannisqatsi" have to be my favourites.

[chimpoo]

Perhaps too obvious to mention, but Tarantino's soundtracks are always superior to the standard American approach.  Pulp Fiction is immaculate; replicated but never beaten.

Of what I have, Lynch's best have been Blue Velvet and Lost Highway, the later works as a movie-cum-listening experience all in itself (especially when driving alone at night on a dark road, 'I'm derannjjjjjjjjjjjeeeedudududu').  Elfman's getting on a bit, so I prefer his earlier outings as Beetlejuice et al.  The Edward Scissorshands soundtrack gets me all haunty with its childlike, gothic moans.

Always wanted to get hold of the Elephant soundtrack (the Gus Van Sant film) because I'm sure there was some rare Borroughs tracks on there that sounding amazing.  Can't find it anywhere though.  And I've got to echo the nods to Aimee Mann's Magnolia collection too.  Sometimes you find the right artist in the right film and the whole mood just takes off.

My embarrasing mention goes out to Labyrinth - Bowie influenced meandering punctuated by shockingly silly songs about puppets with magical powers.  
'How do, You do, Do what? etc...'

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

Of original film scores, Danny Elfman's Batman theme is terrific, and despite my whinging, Hans Zimmer's new Batman Begins score isn't so bad, it's just not as bombastic hummable (which is surely an indication of how great a theme tune is). Elfman's is one of those themes that, though quite gothic (and perhaps slightly mock-Beethoven) and bombastic, goes from very quiet and tingly to INCREDIBLY LOUD in a very short space of time, which is always a plus for an action hero movie.

David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti did a great one for Mullholland Dr. too. Kubrick knew how to throw a soundtrack together. 2001, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket all have exemplary soundtracks - who else would put Gene Kelly and Beethoven in the same film?

This belongs in another thread, but I can't see it from here, so I'll just add here. The Inspector Morse theme music (by Barrington Phelong) is very good too, in it's entirity.

[micanio]

Neil Youngs score for Dead Man - crazy film but the soundtrack is amazing. Just NEil Young, a guitar and a slide.

[VegaLA]

Surprised that no-one's mentioned Nightmare Before Christmas yet- an absolutely joyous piece of work, Danny Elfman's finest.

Almost Famous? Spinal Tap? Bram Stoker's Dracula? Lord of the Rings? Requiem for a Dream? Just some of my faves and all worthwhile additions to any CD collection.

Nightmare before Christmas ? I wonder then if he has scored for the next film, The Corpse Bride ?

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

I'm pretty sure that Elfman's doing the Corpse Bride score (it's hard to separate him and Burton- the only exception I can remember is Howard Shore doing the score for Ed Wood, which sounds just like Elfman anyway). I also read somewhere that it'll include a few musical numbers, so it sounds like a bit of a follow-up to Nightmare.

[Maximash]

Another nomination for Best Soundtrack To Bad Film is Kill Bill Vol. 1. I absolutely love this one, only thing that lets it down is that really boombastic, trendy one, with the horns. Dreadful. Other than that I'm in heaven (particularly with Zamfir's track).

[Catalogue Trousers]

"Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels"? "Donnie Brasco"?

PAH!!!!!!!

Soundtracks are musical scores specially composed for films! NOT this "let's throw a lot of unrelated songs and hope that they stick" rubbish!

Good scores?

Oddly often found on average if not second-rate films. How about "Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat" or even "Hellraiser II: Hellbound"?

"The Magnificent Seven", "LifeForce", "Hallowe'en"...

[smoker]

ah just luuurve the song all the prisoners are playing at the army camp in the good, the bad and the ugly, so mournful and hopeless, and all the more beautiful for it

[Darrell]

I treated myself to the soundtrack CD of The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse the other day, and it really is a gorgeous bit of film scoring.

Here's a track:
http://www.qfile.de/dl/112180/Joby_Talbot_-_End_Titles_from_The_League_Of_Gentlemens_Apocalypse.mp3.html

Now buy it before they all sell out. Silva Screen only make what seems like seven copies of any given release before it disappears.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Soundtracks are musical scores specially composed for films! NOT this "let's throw a lot of unrelated songs and hope that they stick" rubbish!

I can't say I agree with that. Just look at 2001, do you honestly think it would be improved by having a specially written score? Kubrick didn't and that's why he decided to scrap the one that was being written. Although rather horribly he never told the composer, who only found out at the premier.
Has anyone mentioned the Blues Brothers?
Of course the argument against using old music in a film is that it binds the music to the meaning of the film and effectively steals the music from the people who made it. 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' probably means nothing to most people, but they would no doubt recognise the famous music from 2001.

[Sam]

As much as I like "proper" film scores, films that use songs or existing classical pieces can be just as good. Obvious examples being Kubrick, Tarrantino and Scorsese. I'd also put Malick in with those (the two last are huge admirers of his movies and as some people may know True Romance was an homage to Badlands, even lifting the music from it).

[Harold Lloyd's Safety Net]

My favourite is John Williams' score for 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark'.  Admittedly, a lot of my admiration comes from a great love of the film and an over-familiarity with it generally, but it's a near perfect film score due to Williams' ability to write instantly memorable themes.  'The Raiders March' (Dun-da-da-daaaah! Dun-da-daaaaaaah!) is suitably rousing and maybe a tad overused, but there are so many other themes and moments that are wonderful.  'Marion's Theme' is as beautiful a love theme as any other, and the Ark theme is truly sinister and dramatic, especially when used in 'The Map Room: Dawn'.
Sure, there are some campy moments, usually involving Toht (the Gestapo bloke whose face melts off at the end), but it's all very knowing and tongue-in-cheek.  There are just so many shades of dark and light - moments like'The Basket Game' or 'The Raiders March' are uplifting, 'Airplane Fight' or 'Desert Chase' are heavy and bombastic and 'The Well Of Souls' and 'The Miracle Of The Ark' are just plain scary.  In my opinion it's one of John Williams' most consistently brilliant scores.

[Borboski]

As much as I like "proper" film scores, films that use songs or existing classical pieces can be just as good. Obvious examples being Kubrick, Tarrantino and Scorsese. I'd also put Malick in with those (the two last are huge admirers of his movies and as some people may know True Romance was an homage to Badlands, even lifting the music from it).

I was just thinking of Malick when he read this - as The Thin Red Line is one of the few soundtracks I've bought - and I think it's marvellous.  Probably helps that I like the film so much, but I think I could listen to it anyway.  Google tells me its by Hanz Zimmer.  Does he do a lot - Phillip Glass loves film scores, doesn't he?

[Jebus Sabes]

I have a version of the 'Christine' soundtrack on vinyl ( listed on this page as the German Motown LP) which is mostly various artists, rather than the score. It's a wonderful collection, though - full of the rock and roll / doo wop songs Arnie liked to listen to on Christine's car stereo.

And I'd vote for the 'Animal House' soundtrack, as well.

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

A bump here for Paul Williams score for "Bugsy Malone". You'll never hear a better set of songs specifically designed for a musical film, ever. It's really underrated, but is just sublime.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I quite enjoyed the camp musical numbers on The Rocky Horror Picture Show which I watched for the first time last night (although I'd heard most of them before anyway)

[smoker]

A bump here for Paul Williams score for "Bugsy Malone". You'll never hear a better set of songs specifically designed for a musical film, ever. It's really underrated, but is just sublime.

have you by any chance just seen that cheese strings advert?

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

Hans Zimmer's are quite good. He (and James Newton-thingy) did Batman Begins which wasn't bad. Zimmer also did the atmospheric music for Broken Arrow, which aside from the irritating guitar riffs, is a really good score, and wasted on such a dumb-but-fun movie. The Rock's score perfectly matches the film; totally overblown, far too much to take seriously, but wildly entertaining.

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

Did Zimmer do Gladiator? That was an impressive score when it first came out; like the film, I'm not such a fan of it now but I loved it at the time.

have you by any chance just seen that cheese strings advert?

Can't say I have- copies the film's style does it? With kids all dressed up as gangsters etc.? I remember seeing a Bluetones video that did something similar.

[El Hozzo]

'Virgin Suicides' by Air is good, listening to that now ...

Anyone heard the 'Cold Mountain' soundtrack? I watch it last night, lots of Jack White in the actual film (well, more than I expected, with dialogue), but the music didn't seem great, even if I like the White Stripes ...

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

Howard Shore's score for Se7en is pretty good, but it doesn't beat the remix of Nine Inch Nail's Closer over the opening credits. That's the kind of music you hear as you're being flayed alive.

[The Duck Man]

It's not really a score as such, but I love the Ocean's 11 soundtrack.

Very cool, suits the mood etc.

(This is the first time I've dared venture into SE - go me!)

[Duffy]

Here's some of my favourites, though the last two are probably cheating:

Once Upon A Time in the West

Goodfellas

Crumb

Amadeus

Hard Day's Night

Also, there's a long-forgotten Ray Winstone film from 1979 called That Summer!, which has a terrific punk/new wave soundtrack (OK, and a couple of Boomtown Rats numbers too). Still got mine, on see-through piss-yellow vinyl; much cheaper that buying all the singles at the time.