OK after listening to quite a few film soundtracks of late I thought, just for a change I would do a list of my favourite original film soundtracks. Now this is going to be difficult to pare down given that there are so many good ones out and it might even beg a top 5 of some other great soundtracks at some point.
Anyway the point of this list will be based on the score itself and not necessarily an indicator of it being my favourite film (although occassionally the two can go hand in hand!) but I will mention some of the best tracks in relation to certain scenes from the relevant film (if I can remember them!).
Sooooooo without further ado's let's get this list started........(this is going to be tough!)
10. Batman (1989) - composer Danny Elfman
Rrrrrright so at No.10 is Batman, which for me is still arguably Danny Elfman's best score and it just had to be in this list somewhere as its frankly marvellous and it manages to be both dark and menacing but also playful at times aswell. The Batman theme itself is just terrific and the way it slowly builds up works brilliantly along side the film's opening credits.
And some of the other noteworthy tracks include "Batman to the rescue" where Batman rescues Vicky Vale from the Joker and "Descent into mystery" where Batman takes Vicky to the Batcave (which is probably the single best piece of music in it!). Other great tracks include "First confrontation" which is used when Jack Napier and his men are ratted out to the police by his crime boss, Carl Grissom and Jack has his first encounter with Batman, which for him, ends badly! And lastly there is there "Waltz to the death" which is wonderfully operatic and is used in the scene when Batman fights his way up the tower to get to the Joker who has Vicky captive.
It was a score that was bigger than anything that Elfman had worked on up to this point in his career and he was at the time concerned that he can pull it off. Well I'm glad to say that Elfman sured pulled off this one as its easily one of the best ever written scores for a superhero film and it stands head and shoulders over its forgettable Prince soundtrack that is along side it. Its also a score that is regularly re-used in the Lego Batman games and is often heard in various adverts, trailers and frankly its one that should be heard and worthy of any top 10 list.
9. The Untouchables (1987) - composer Ennio Morricone
Ok
so at No.9 is The Untouchables which was composed by Ennio Morricone, which for me is one of his very best scores in what has been a very long and successful career (Morricone is still working to this day as he composed the score Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful 8).
And The Untouchables theme tune is one of the best out there as it is really catchy but its also really suspenseful and captures the era very well and give the underlying theme of the criminal menace in Al Capone. It features plenty of other excellent tracks that are included on the full soundtrack album such as "Waiting at the border" where Elliot Ness and his team await Capone's men to arrive at the Canadian border so they can ambush them. Then there is the "Death theme" which is a poignant track which is used in certain scenes in the film such as (SPOILER) Malone's death and also the death of Wallace (two of Ness's team).
Another fine track is "Victorious" which is played during the scenes where Ness, Malone and the others go on their first liquor raid over Capone aswell as the scene where Ness and his team charge on the Capone's men at the border. "The man with the matches" is quite a chilling, suspenseful track which builds up the tension in the scene where a man is sent to Malone's apartment to kill him. "Machine gun lullaby" is yet another great track that racks up the tension during the scene when Ness and Stone await the arrival of Capone's book keeper at the train station, which leads to a tense shootout.
And the last track I will mention is "On the rooftops" which is one of the score's highlights used when Ness chases after Frank Nitti in the film's climactic action sequence. And the one piece of music that stands out really well in this track is when Ness stands over Nitti who dangles on a rope below him and Ness aims his gun at him, ready to shoot but he eventually changes his mind. Its one of the great examples of musical suspense that you will likely hear in any cinema score.
So there we have it, The Untouchables is a terrific score and one of Ennio Morricone's best and it really deserves a place on here at No.9.
8. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) - composers Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman
OK I put this score at No.8 because let's face it, its just too damn good not be on a top 10 list and TLOTM (abbreviated the title!) has just about everything a great score should have as its packed with emotion, awe, atmoshphere and suspense. Its main theme is also just so instantly memorable as soon as you hear it you know are listening to something pretty special.
The score features so many highlights that include not just main theme but also its other themes such as the one for Cora (played Madeline Stowe and the main female character of the film) which is nice and mellow. Other great tracks include "River walk and discovery" which is in the scene where Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) and the others find the cabin belonging to their friends has been burned out and they have been murdered by Huron warriors, its quite poignant and emotional aswell as dark and malevolent. Then there is the "Fort Battle" which is another great track where Hawkeye, Cora and the others make it to Fort William Henry that is very dramatic and also incorporates in the film's main theme. Another highlight is the "Massacre-Canoes" track when the Huron war party attack the British troops as they leave the fort. The score also features a song "I will find you" performed by Clannad, which is pretty good and quite atmospheric.
In short this score is terrific and packs quote an emotional wallop as it should and helps make The Last of the Mohicans a great film, which is packed full of action itself (even if it is lacking in characterisation but hey that's not sticking to critiquing the score so I will leave that one alone!).
So here it is at No.8.
7. Blade Runner (1982) - Composer Vangelis
Right this one is a bit of a no brainer as Blade Runner is a superb film and it needed to have a superb score to go with it and thankfully it had just that as the score by Vangelis is just tremendous. The score itself is haunting, suspenseful, futuristic and above all atmospheric and it frankly should not be missed.
The score has so many highlights starting with its incredibly atmospheric opening credits with the synthesizer coming in as the spiel about the replicants comes up. Then it cuts to the stunning opening scene of the Tyrell corporation headquarters and the music rises up as the flames appearing around the building. Other tracks that are noteworthy include "Blade Runner Blues" which features in the scene where one of the replicants, Pris (Daryl Hannah) turns up at the apartment of Tyrell coporation employee Sebastian. "Tales of the future" is another great track that is quite atmospheric and menacing and features in the scene where Deckard (Harrison Ford) tracks one of the replicants, Zhora (Joanna Cassidy) to her place of work (an exotic dancing bar). Then there is the track where Deckard enters the Bradbury building to take down Roy and Pris, which is again terrific and atmospheric. And second to last is the track when Deckard is chased over the rooftop of the Bradbury building by Roy and he tries to jump between rooftops but ends up missing and just clinging onto the edge for dear life as Roy stands over him, its terrific and suspenseful. And last of all is the "End Titles" music which is also great and a fine way to finish off the film.
So Blade Runner as a film score and as music in general is just superb and it should be in anyone's top 10 and as such it richly deserves its place on this list.
6. Jaws (1975) - Composer John Williams
OK let's get this out of the way, this will NOT be the last John Williams score to feature on this list but it sure deserves it place here without any doubt and that score in question is of course Jaws.
And Jaws is one of those scores you will never likely forget as it is instantly memorable with its "dum dum dum dum!" theme tune which still to this day is capable of putting a shiver down your spine. But the score (which won John Williams his first Academy award) is much more than just its theme and as a whole it is terrific and there are plenty of good tracks to choose from.
And as a few examples there is the "First victim" track (combined with the title theme) which very subtly builds up its suspense and then explodes into action when the shark attacks the girl at the start of the film. "Father and son" is another great track and it is also very evocative and it nicely echoes the feel of Brody's relationship with his younger son, yet it has a slightly sinister tone to it. "Out to sea" is also a great track which has an adventurous feel to it as Brody, Quint and Hooper embark on their journey to find the shark and it is also quite suspenseful as it appears in the scene where Quint straps himself with his fishing rod. "Man against beast" however is one the great standout tracks of score as it starts in the scene where Brody delivers that classic line "You're gonna need a bigger boat!" and sees the men start their pursuit of the shark in the waters and it builds up brilliantly as it goes on.
But my absolute favourite track of the score is "The Great Shark Chase" which is just brilliant and again another very suspenseful piece of music, which has probably the best ending to any piece of film music I've heard and is used superbly in one of the film's best moments where Quint sees the shark has gone under with three barrels attached to it and he says "Its incredible!". Its class from start to finish. And lastly there is the track of which the name gives away the ending, "Blown to bits" where Brody fights off the shark for the last time and manages to blow it to smitheerens using Quint's rifle as he shoots the oxygen tank in its gub.
So there is little doubt that Jaws deserves a place on here, its a terrific John Williams score and it was the one that really kick started his highly successful career in Hollywood and he has been churning great work ever since.
And that's it for part 1 and I will be back soon with part 2.....
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