LinhCelluloid Soundtrack; A List of Aural Pleasures
January 4th 2009 12:34
One thing that attracts your attention in a film is the soundtrack.
The original musical scores in films and the featured songs from various artists help invigorate the action and heighten characters’ emotions onscreen.
Film music is big business – financially and creatively.
There’s a category for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards, advertising agencies make lucrative offers to use the music in their ad campaigns, or karaoke versions of the films’ songs are made available for singing enthusiasts.
The following list of film soundtracks (un-numbered and in no particular order) are some of my favourites.
Dirty Dancing (1987) -
Some of the best power ballads from the 1980s featured on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, including some classics from the 1960s.
Song: Be My Baby
Performed by:The Ronettes
Song: Hungry Eyes
Performed by: Eric Carmen
Song: Big Girls Don’t Cry
Performed by: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Song: She’s Like The Wind
Performed by: Patrick Swayze and featuring Wendy Fraser
Song: The Time of My Life
Performed by: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Fantasia (1940) -
A classic Disney animated film which integrates exhilarating classical music compositions with orgasmically sublime animation. Fantasia is a kaleidoscope of colour, contrasts of light and dark, acrobatic animals and mythical beasts. It is visually stunning and aurally superb.
Music: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Composer: Paul Dukas
Music: The Nutcracker Suite, Opus 71A
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Music: Rite of Spring
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Music: Dance of the Hours, from the opera ‘La Gioconda’
Composer: Amilcare Ponchielli
Music: Toccata and Fugue, in D Minor, BMV 565
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Music: A Night on Bald Mountain
Composer: Modest Mussorgsky
Music: Ave Maria, Opus 52 No. 6
Vocals: Julietta Novis and chorus
Composer: Franz Schubert
Music: Symphony No. 6, (Pastoral) Opus 68
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) –
One of director Stanley Kubrick’s most profound and astounding works. The film consists mainly of spectacular visual effects and minimal dialogue, with long moments of silence. It explores how humans are dwarfed by the technology and the vastness of space, using classical compositions presented in movements like a symphony.
Some consider 2001: A Space Odyssey as rather boring and others believe it’s an epic sci-fi film providing an extraordinary visual experience.
Some of the music featured in the soundtrack include:
Music: The Blue Danube, An der schönen, blauen Donau, opus 314 (The Blue Danube)
Composer: Johann Strauß (as Johann Strauss)
Music: Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also Sprach Zarathustra)
Composer: Richard Strauss
Music: Atmospheres
Composer: György Ligeti
Music: Gayaneh Ballet Suite
Composer: Aram Khachaturyan
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) –
It’s weird, it’s wacky and it’s wonderful. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic which continues to gain new audiences at its midnight cinema screenings across the US and the musical version is still being performed on stage.
All the songs are composed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show creator Richard O’Brien, who appears as Riff Raff in the film version and in the original stage musical.
The songs are a blend of rock, pop, humour and fun.
MTV has commissioned a telemovie of The Rocky Horror Picture Show due for release on the Halloween weekend in the year 2010.
Song: The Time Warp
Performers: Richard O'Brien, Nell Campbell (as Little Nell), Patricia Quinn and Charles Gray
Song: Dammit Janet
Performers: Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
Song: Sweet Transvestite
Performers: Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn,
and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
Song: Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me
Performers: Susan Sarandon, Patricia Quinn, and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
The Sound of Music (1965) –
The Sound of Music has an unforgettable opening sequence featuring spectacular views of the snow-covered mountains, green valleys, and the majestic peaks of the Austrian Alps as we see the Austrian nun, Maria dancing open-armed and twirling as she sings, “The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years.”
The Sound of Music is one of Roger and Hammerstein’s best musical collaborations, and a timeless classic. Its memorable songs continue to enchant audiences of all ages.
Some of the songs included in the soundtrack are:
Song: The Sound of Music
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performer: Julie Andrews
Song: My Favourite Things
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performer: Julie Andrews
Song: Maria
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performers: Peggy Wood (dubbed by Margery McKay), Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon, Evadne Baker
Song: Something Good
Music and Lyrics: Richard Rodgers
Performers: Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer (dubbed by Bill Lee)
West Side Story (1961)
Music: Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
My Fair Lady (1964)
Music: Frederick Loewe
Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner
Mary Poppins (1964)
Composers: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
Singin' In The Rain (1952)
Music: Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics: Arthur Freed
Star Wars (1977)
Composer: John Williams
Grease (1978)
Composers: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and various artists
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Music: Harold Arlen
Lyrics: E. Y. Harburg
Hairspray (2007)
Music: Marc Shaiman
Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Enchanted (2007)
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
The Graduate (1967)
Composers: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Dave Grusin
The King and I (1956)
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Composers: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Beauty and The Beast (1991)
Composers: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Chicago (2002)
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Composers: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
The original musical scores in films and the featured songs from various artists help invigorate the action and heighten characters’ emotions onscreen.
Film music is big business – financially and creatively.
There’s a category for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards, advertising agencies make lucrative offers to use the music in their ad campaigns, or karaoke versions of the films’ songs are made available for singing enthusiasts.
The following list of film soundtracks (un-numbered and in no particular order) are some of my favourites.
Dirty Dancing (1987) -
Some of the best power ballads from the 1980s featured on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, including some classics from the 1960s.
Song: Be My Baby
Performed by:The Ronettes
Song: Hungry Eyes
Performed by: Eric Carmen
Song: Big Girls Don’t Cry
Performed by: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Song: She’s Like The Wind
Performed by: Patrick Swayze and featuring Wendy Fraser
Song: The Time of My Life
Performed by: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Fantasia (1940) -
A classic Disney animated film which integrates exhilarating classical music compositions with orgasmically sublime animation. Fantasia is a kaleidoscope of colour, contrasts of light and dark, acrobatic animals and mythical beasts. It is visually stunning and aurally superb.
Music: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Composer: Paul Dukas
Music: The Nutcracker Suite, Opus 71A
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Music: Rite of Spring
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Music: Dance of the Hours, from the opera ‘La Gioconda’
Composer: Amilcare Ponchielli
Music: Toccata and Fugue, in D Minor, BMV 565
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Music: A Night on Bald Mountain
Composer: Modest Mussorgsky
Music: Ave Maria, Opus 52 No. 6
Vocals: Julietta Novis and chorus
Composer: Franz Schubert
Music: Symphony No. 6, (Pastoral) Opus 68
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) –
One of director Stanley Kubrick’s most profound and astounding works. The film consists mainly of spectacular visual effects and minimal dialogue, with long moments of silence. It explores how humans are dwarfed by the technology and the vastness of space, using classical compositions presented in movements like a symphony.
Some consider 2001: A Space Odyssey as rather boring and others believe it’s an epic sci-fi film providing an extraordinary visual experience.
Some of the music featured in the soundtrack include:
Music: The Blue Danube, An der schönen, blauen Donau, opus 314 (The Blue Danube)
Composer: Johann Strauß (as Johann Strauss)
Music: Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also Sprach Zarathustra)
Composer: Richard Strauss
Music: Atmospheres
Composer: György Ligeti
Music: Gayaneh Ballet Suite
Composer: Aram Khachaturyan
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) –
It’s weird, it’s wacky and it’s wonderful. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic which continues to gain new audiences at its midnight cinema screenings across the US and the musical version is still being performed on stage.
All the songs are composed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show creator Richard O’Brien, who appears as Riff Raff in the film version and in the original stage musical.
The songs are a blend of rock, pop, humour and fun.
MTV has commissioned a telemovie of The Rocky Horror Picture Show due for release on the Halloween weekend in the year 2010.
Song: The Time Warp
Performers: Richard O'Brien, Nell Campbell (as Little Nell), Patricia Quinn and Charles Gray
Song: Dammit Janet
Performers: Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
Song: Sweet Transvestite
Performers: Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn,
and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
Song: Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me
Performers: Susan Sarandon, Patricia Quinn, and Nell Campbell (as Little Nell)
The Sound of Music (1965) –
The Sound of Music has an unforgettable opening sequence featuring spectacular views of the snow-covered mountains, green valleys, and the majestic peaks of the Austrian Alps as we see the Austrian nun, Maria dancing open-armed and twirling as she sings, “The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years.”
The Sound of Music is one of Roger and Hammerstein’s best musical collaborations, and a timeless classic. Its memorable songs continue to enchant audiences of all ages.
Some of the songs included in the soundtrack are:
Song: The Sound of Music
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performer: Julie Andrews
Song: My Favourite Things
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performer: Julie Andrews
Song: Maria
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Performers: Peggy Wood (dubbed by Margery McKay), Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon, Evadne Baker
Song: Something Good
Music and Lyrics: Richard Rodgers
Performers: Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer (dubbed by Bill Lee)
West Side Story (1961)
Music: Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
My Fair Lady (1964)
Music: Frederick Loewe
Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner
Mary Poppins (1964)
Composers: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
Singin' In The Rain (1952)
Music: Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics: Arthur Freed
Star Wars (1977)
Composer: John Williams
Grease (1978)
Composers: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and various artists
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Music: Harold Arlen
Lyrics: E. Y. Harburg
Hairspray (2007)
Music: Marc Shaiman
Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Enchanted (2007)
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
The Graduate (1967)
Composers: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Dave Grusin
The King and I (1956)
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Composers: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Beauty and The Beast (1991)
Composers: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Chicago (2002)
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Composers: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
| 64 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Some great ones cited here, also some I despise but that's eccentricities for you.
I would add most of John Williams (Star wars, Raiders, jaws etc)work in the 70's.
Lilo Schiffrin (Dirty Harry, Enter The Dragon etc) too.
Ennio Moricone (Once Upon A Time in The West, The Good The Bd and The Ugly etc) must be mentioned.
Vangelisis' music for Blade Runner certainly adds to every atmospheric moment.
Elmer Bernstein (magnificent 7 and The Great Escape etc) really effected me in my younger days.
As for musical soundtracks with song The Blues Brothers, American Graffiti, All that Jazz, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Diner, Jackie Brown, Lost Highway and Vanishing Point all jump to mind.
Sorry for the stream of consciousness thing but i only have a short time so just spewed out a few that jumped into my head.