The greatest film soundtrack is...

[alocispepraluger102]

when I hear the word "Soundtrack" I usually think of Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Joseph Kosma and the like.

the others are soundtracks, but not really.

[BruceH]

Seems there's at least two types of soundtrack: One is the kind that uses original music composed specifically for the film (the North By Northwest soundtrack for instance.)...when I hear the word "Soundtrack" I usually think of Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Joseph Kosma and the like.

Me too. Five years or so ago, I bought a book which listed hundreds or thousands of movie soundtrack albums and rated them, much as Leonard Maltin's books rate movies.

I noticed that an extremely high rating was given to John Barry's music for The Knack (and How to Get It), so I bought the CD. I enjoy it.

The problem with albums of this type is that the composers usually wrote three melodies for the movie (I guess you would call them motifs) and then played them over and over during the course of the film. So the albums consist of forty-five minutes of variations on only three themes.

I know exactly what you mean, but sometimes it can be fun hear those motifs or themes in various arrangements. This is one of the things I liked about soundtrack albums (the 'through-composed' type) as a kid.

[Christiern]

Miles' music for "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" is certainly among my favorite soundtracks.

I agree that Melvin Peeples' "Sweetass" is far less interesting than the history behind it is. As for the music, don't ever be fooled by a Peeples credit.

I also liked Maurice Jarre's music for the 1965 film, "The Collector"--nothing spectacular, but it was wonderfully seamless with the film, and it stayed with me for a long time.

[Christiern]

Porcy, I was under the impression that 'Vanity Fair' was culture to the American masses!

If the film soundtracks list reflects fairly on their vanity, then I'll skip even the occasional glances at their issues

Vanity Fair has timely, well-written articles, but the magazine is mostly adverts and clashing scents. Tina Brown, who did her best to wreck The New Yorker also had a go at Vanity Fair.

[MoGrubb]

Porcy, I was under the impression that 'Vanity Fair' was culture to the American masses!

If the film soundtracks list reflects fairly on their vanity, then I'll skip even the occasional glances at their issues

Maybe I am wrong, but to me modern 'Vanity Fair' is a magazine based on sensational, though accurate and well written, interviews and stories about the Star System, occasionaly they had some investigative strong stuff. I couldn't see any 'culture' in it.

I thought Vanity Fair had a bit more "class." That list is a surprise to me; hell, just the fact that they reviewed pop flicks is surprising. And, did I miss it, where's The Blues Brothers?

[brownie]

Porcy, I was under the impression that 'Vanity Fair' was culture to the American masses!

If the film soundtracks list reflects fairly on their vanity, then I'll skip even the occasional glances at their issues

Vanity Fair has timely, well-written articles, but the magazine is mostly adverts and clashing scents. Tina Brown, who did her best to wreck The New Yorker also had a go at Vanity Fair.

Very true!

What got to me about this list is that it was selected by editors of the magazine. Damn! if editors from a rather sophisticated publication can't come up with a more thoughtful list, then we do have to worry about the current state of what is supposed to be culture in the USA these days

[Van Basten II]

I like Trainspotting alot as a film, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you a single song that's on the soundtrack. Was it really that great a set of songs? I don't remember it being a blockbuster music release, like Purple Rain, Saturday Night Fever, etc.

The use of Iggy Pop's Lust for life was quite memorable.

However i think to qualify you should present an original set of songs, which was not the case for this movie.

[BruceH]

I like Trainspotting alot as a film, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you a single song that's on the soundtrack. Was it really that great a set of songs? I don't remember it being a blockbuster music release, like Purple Rain, Saturday Night Fever, etc.

The use of Iggy Pop's Lust for life was quite memorable.

Makes me think of cruise lines for some reason.

[JSngry]

Blame them damn Gen Xers again.

[ejp626]

When in the right frame of mind, I like the soundtrack to Pi, which is mostly electronica with some snippets of dialogue from the movie. Very edgy and dark.

The soundtrack to the remake of Solaris is interesting, mostly steel drums and maribas. Not as good as Naked Lunch of course.

[porcy62]

Talking about soundtracks as collections of songs I thinks that Natural Born Killers and Pulp Fiction are among the best, considering how they are edited for the release.

Badalamenti's work for Lynch's movies is not bad either.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Hey, and if this is all the work of Generation-X, how come there's no Moricone?

MG

[porcy62]

Hey, and if this is all the work of Generation-X, how come there's no Moricone?

MG

Juan Miranda: Generation X?

John H. Mallory: Duck, you sucker!

[7/4]

Badalamenti's work for Lynch's movies is not bad either.

One could take the ambient music from Lunch films - which I don't think Badalamenti anything to with - and create a real nice collection.

[alocispepraluger102]

dont forget john barry's vast body of fine work.

[alocispepraluger102]

which movie had the lovely lovely mingus soundtrack which includes a beautiful pipe organ interlude and some hot large ensemble passages?

very deep music.

Edited November 2, 2007 by alocispepraluger102

[Guest Bill Barton]

Nino Rota (fill in your favorite Fellini flick here) One of my picks is Juliet of the Spirits but they're all good.

[Chuck Nessa]

No mention of James P, Thomas Waller or others providing sounds for the silents? I can imagine wonderful stuff beyond Oingo Boingo.

Edited November 4, 2007 by Chuck Nessa

[BruceH]

Nino Rota (fill in your favorite Fellini flick here) One of my picks is Juliet of the Spirits but they're all good.

Absolutely love Rota. Good call.

[John L]

What we need here first is a definition that distinguishes "soundtrack" from "music video." Purple Rain resembles more the latter (IMO): a bunch of music videos strung together with some irrelevant talking and bad acting.

[Guest Bill Barton]

What we need here first is a definition that distinguishes "soundtrack" from "music video." Purple Rain resembles more the latter (IMO): a bunch of music videos strung together with some irrelevant talking and bad acting.

This is a very good point. And stringing together a batch of pop songs (or jazz for that matter) does not a soundtrack make in my opinion. To me a soundtrack is integral to the total effect of the film and there are composers who are masters at doing just that, several of whom have already been mentioned.

[brownie]

I'm partial to Joseph Kosma's score for Jean Renoir's 'La Grande Illusion'.

I'm partial to any of Joseph Kosma's film scores

[Kalo]

Nino Rota (fill in your favorite Fellini flick here) One of my picks is Juliet of the Spirits but they're all good.

Absolutely love Rota. Good call.

Rota's great, of course!

Nobody's mentioned George Gruntz's soundtrack for Mental Cruelty yet.

[Kalo]

No mention of James P, Thomas Waller or others providing sounds for the silents? I can imagine wonderful stuff beyond Oingo Boingo.

I would love to have heard how Waller accompanied a Keaton, Chaplin, or Lloyd film. (Would settle for James P. or even the young Bill Basie.)

[king ubu]

which movie had the lovely lovely mingus soundtrack which includes a beautiful pipe organ interlude and some hot large ensemble passages?

very deep music.

I don't think you mean this one:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075335/

But Mingus did compose a soundtrack (out on the Atlantic album "Cumbia Jazz Fusion") that wasn't used in the film.

(Great film by the way, but "Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto" is even much better - both feature stellar performances by Gian Maria Volonte!)

Nino Rota absolutely... his final march from "Otto e mezzo" is terrific! (It seems they shot the scene with some Sousa march, Rota only composed his own march after the shooting.)

The theme from "Le mépris" is great, too.

I don't tend to think in "soundtrack albums" at all... Miles' mentioned above is great to listen to, there's plenty of good moments, more motifs than you usually get. Otherwise I'm rather on the side of those who think Steiner (hey, no one mentioned him yet, I think!), Hermann, Bernstein etc. and Rota, Delerue and a few others for European cinema. Fusco's work for Antonioni strikes me as outstanding, but none of it would even remotely work without the film...

And how about "Sweet Smell of Success"!

Then what about Fred Astaire?

As for soundtracks composed of various songs, I never got the concept of buying that on CD... "Jackie Brown" was fun, and there are some other films who have that sort of compiled soundtrack and make it work in a nice way, but I'd still not get such compilations, even less so if they're filled up with generic stuff...

How about Henri Texier? He does some great stuff, too... I recently bought his disc "Lola", from the Tavernier film (which I don't know and am not interested in at all), and that's a fine disc to listen! Also his trio disc, "Remparts d'argile" was a soundtrack, I think - great disc!