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[scissorfight]

I don't know if it's the greatest ever, but the RfaD soundtrack is fantastic. Sometimes I'll just let it loop for hours, minus those 2 weird samba tracks.

 

[Alucard]

I own it too and it's pretty rad.

 

[Lord Error]

I own Requiem for a Dream soundtrack and love it, but is the main theme ("Summer Overture") really an original work? I could never confirm this as some of people I know seem confident that the song is basically a remix of some really old classical music piece.

 

[Prospero]

But my current favorite that plays nonstop on my iPod is James Horner's brilliant score to Krull. The opening track is orgasmic and it's a shame so few people have heard it.

I said something like this in another thread a few days ago, but if you like this score you really should listen to Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), since the majority of Krull's score is a direct steal from it with a few notes changed here and there at best:

As much as I like Horner for what he does, he really is one of the most shameless thieves in film score composing (for example, his score for Aliens is 1/3 Jerry Goldsmith's score for Alien + 1/3 Khatchaturian + 1/3 Horner's own recycled score for Star Trek II, which is itself mostly derived from Wagner's Ring cycle, just like the score for Krull).

Also--not enough John Barry love in this thread. The Living Daylights, Enigma, Out of Africa--all ace.

 

[Duck of Death]

It's not an original soundtrack, but its a fucking awesome collection anyway.

Trainspotting's soundtrack is really good too.

 

[marvelharvey]

The score for Donnie Darko is somewhat above excellent... listening to it late at night can send shivers down my spine!

(Mad World used to be good before everyone knew what the fuck it was)

 

[MagicJackBauer]

FTW

 

[hiryu]

I basically listen to soundtracks at work all day since they usually don't offend anyone. Here are some of my favorites.

Conan the Barbarian
Unbreakable
The Village
Signs
Braveheart
Batman Begins
The New World
Last of the Mohicans
Master and Commander
Gladiator
3 Lord of the Ring Movies
Alexander
Collateral
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind

 

[Solo]

(Mad World used to be good before everyone knew what the fuck it was)

You do realize that version in DD is a cover, right? Hence, you may fall into the same group of people you're criticizing.

 

[Peru]

Never saw/heard a Beautiful Mind but I second that Solaris recommendation. I mentioned it in a recent "what are you listening to" topic too. I don't think there has ever been as great as a disparity between the quality of the movie and the quality of the soundtrack as there was with Solaris.

Is that the original Solaris? Because if so, I don't know what you're talking about... That movie is one of the greats.

 

[FnordChan]

A few favorites that haven't been mentioned yet:

Akira - Proof positive that if you have enough voices and percussion the end results are going to sound fantastic. No matter what folks think of Akira's storyline, you have to admit that the animation is technically astonishing and the soundtrack is a kick in the teeth. The Geinoh Yamashirogumi creates astonishing harmonies thanks to their vast chorus, not to mention a suprisingly fine touch with a variety of traditional instruments and styles; their noh-inspired piece "Illusion" has particularly grown on me. Non-stop awesome, particularly the finale "Requiem". Akria is, hands down, my favorite film score.

Mishima - Yeah, okay, it's Philip Glass, and if you hate Glass's music you're just not going to care for this no matter what. However, as a fan, Mishima is my favorite of Glass's film scores, combining moments of incredible tension and intensity with somber foreshadowing and, occasionally, a suprising amount of playfulness; check out the electric guitar in "Osamu's Theme: Kyoko's House". While I love the integration of Schrader's images and Glass's score (particularly in the finale, "November 25: The Last Day"), the score stands alone beautifully, especially the mournful epilogue.

Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks - Brian Eno in full-on ambient mode may not sound like the most exciting thing you could listen to, but I guarantee you it's engrossing. While several of the tracks here weren't recorded for the film (the atmospheres as opposed to the soundtracks, as it were), most of the album is from For All Mankind, a documentary about the Apollo moon missions that uses miles of NASA archival footage and Eno's ethereal score to try to capture the majesty and wonder of space travel. Both the film (available on DVD from the Criterion Collection) and the soundtrack achieve that goal admirably. In particular, "(An Ending) Ascent" is utterly haunting; this track has been given a fair workout in other films throughout the years (partiuclarly in the ending of Traffic) but it's never been more beautiful than in the context of of the Apollo astrounats leaving the moon and returning home.

A Clockwork Orange - While Kubrick became overly caught up in his temp score and didn't use all of Wendy Carlos' score, the portions he did use were easily the most striking in the film. With the complete score now available on CD, however, Carlos' genius really shines through, both in her interpretations of classical music (no mean feat on the early Moog synthesizer, particularly when you're doing incredible things to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) and original compisitions (particularly "Timesteps", available here in it's 14-minute uncut glory). I damn near wore out my tape copy of the original soundtrack release, but that's nothing compared to the sort of play the full score has receieved.

Finally, I'm very suprised this hasn't been mentioned yet:

Blade Runner - Granted, Vangelis is a picky bastard who took his sweet time in releasing this score and, when it did come out, integrated bits of film dialogue with the songs - but, what the hell, I'll take what I can get. Yeah, I'd rather have a complete, clean copy of the score - and, thanks to a rather decent bootleg, do - but the official soundtrack release has really grown on me, particularly hearing Roy's "tears in rain" speach at the end of the disc. As for the soundtrack itself, Vangelis uses lush synth to create the sound of a bleak future that's caught up in nostalgia for a better time (particularly in "One More Kiss, Dear", written as a replacement for a temp track of the Ink Spots doing "If I Didn't Care"), brooding atmosphere in spades ("Blade Runner Blues", "Tales of the Future"), and stark electronic alienation ("End Titles"). I was a bit suprised to learn that my favorite track, "Memories of Green", was on an earlier Vangelis album, but as far as I'm concerned it's so perfect in Blade Runner that it's retroactively part of the original score. All in all, the official soundtrack was more than worth the twelve year wait and is highly recommended - just make sure you avoid the symphonic soundtrack at all costs.

I also second the scores for Taxi Driver, Brazil, and Twin Peaks. Oh, and let's not forget the reason the thread was started in the first place:

FnordChan

 

[Dr. Jade]

http://www.ibiblio.org/phil/fnordchan/requiem-gaf.jpg

thats such a sweet poster

 

[Nostrildamus]

Very good score by Tangerine Dream, though only a handful of the songs made it into the movie.

The movie would be nothing special without Yann Tiersen's awesome soundtrack.

 

[Blutonium]

Winnar

 

[TJ Bennett]

I said something like this in another thread a few days ago, but if you like this score you really should listen to Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), since the majority of Krull's score is a direct steal from it with a few notes changed here and there at best.

Thanks for the heads up Prospero, I will definitely check out Wagner.

 

[emerge]

On the second page and only one half-assed mention of Poledouris'

The whole movie is basically just a video for this awesome awesome score.

 

[Boogie]

They're called scores you man who is white, not soundtracks!

When you get a random collection of shitty pop songs, then you've got a bonafide soundtrack!

Look, someone always comes into these threads bitching about this.

But when I look at my collection of Movie Soundtracks, most of them have, "The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" written on the cover. So stfu.

Also, my contribution to this thread is: The Last of the Mohicans.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

Clint Mansell is awesome. He's apparently pretty close to Requiem's director. I loved PWEI (Pop Will Eat Itself, the band he was a part of prior to a 1995 break-up). Damn shame they broke up. They signed on Reznor's NOTHING label, put out Dos Dedos Mis Amigos (which rocked), and sadly didn't have another album after that. I really enjoy Clint's movie score work, but I miss his voice. He has such a great voice!

But aren't PWEI back together or whatever and working on new stuff now?

I also enjoyed Mansell's Doom soundtrack a lot. Heh.

 

[ourumov]

I deffinitelly enjoyed it ...but I've heard better soundtracks.

 

[element]

Pi was one of the first DVDs i ever bought, and I saw Requim in the theatre.

Clint Mansell is pretty freaking awesome.

πr² (track 1 on the Pi soundtrack) is awesome.

 

[ForzaItalia]

The Thin Red Line, Schindler's List, The Godfather, any Ennio Morricone film are all great but my fave composition is probably Barber's 'Adagio for Strings'.

 

[White Man]

I didn't even know Eno's Appllo was actually a soundtrack. I thought that was just part of the title.

 

[Mr. E. Yis]

Requiem for a Dream is good. Amelie is too.

Besides the ones mentioned, Cinema Paradiso is great.

 

[Ash Housewares]

I basically listen to soundtracks at work all day since they usually don't offend anyone. Here are some of my favorites.

Conan the Barbarian

no shit

honestly, what is going on in this thread? IT'S CONAN!!!

 

[lexy]

Is that the original Solaris? Because if so, I don't know what you're talking about... That movie is one of the greats.

No, I don't think the original Solaris even had a soundtrack did it? Anyway, for the record, we are talking about the Solaris movie starring George Clooney, directed by Steven Soderbergh and scored by Cliff Martinez.

 

[FnordChan]

I didn't even know Eno's Appllo was actually a soundtrack. I thought that was just part of the title.

Yep, most of the music is used in the documentary For All Mankind, which uses footage from all the Apollo missions to create a compositie trip to the moon. It's lovely, and Eno's soundtrack is used to great effect.

FnordChan

 

[human5892]

I agree with the original post. That was the first soundtrack I ever bought.

I also own and enjoy the soundtracks of Jurassic Park, The Truman Show, and Edward Scissorhands.

 

[RegularMK]

Requiem for a Dream: most over-commercialized theme ever.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Peter Gabriel's "Passion" (The Last Temptation of Christ)