Jonny Trunk from the marvellously esoteric Trunk Records label has provided us with an ultimate top 10 soundtracks to really show off your home theatre.
1. Vertigo
There simply can’t be a list of any cinematic music without Herrmann somewhere. Could have plumped for Psycho, Taxi Driver, but went for this today as it is extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably powerful, very distinctive and has just been used in The Artist.
2. Superfly
Part diegetic, part non-diegetic, this flawless, funky score makes death, drugs and the seedy gangster life in Harlem positively hip.
3. The Big Silence
A Morricone spaghetti western score, but one of the more obscure ones. It has an unforgettable opening theme that is just devastating and magnificent all at the same time.
4. Bladerunner
Vangelis the genius, just being a genius. With a bit of Peter Skellern thrown in just when you’re not expecting it.
5. Lift To The Scaffold
Miles Davis improvising for film noir and showing everyone how jazz in film should be done properly.
6. Dr No.
The first Bond score and certainly the strangest, mixing Jamaican folk numbers with the avant-garde, and of course including the first ever recording of the James Bond theme.
7. The Conversation
One of the great films about “sound” has one of the most fabulous, stripped back scores of the 1970s. David Shire was a master of complex but very simple sounding melodies, and this is unquestionably one of the greatest.
8. Vergogna Schifosi
One of many Italian erotic scores by El Maestro and possibly the shortest too, with the wordless voice of Edda, sensuous melodies and addictive rhythms painting delightful imaginary pictures of experimental love.
9. Hans Christian Andersen
Over 60 years old now, but these charming, bewitching cinematic songs will stay with you forever. And “Inchworm” has just been covered by Paul McCartney.
10. Midnight Cowboy
A totally flawless, groovy and strange album that mixes comedy with tragedy, hope with death and keeps you coming back for more.
i must say i agree with just a few on there. here would be my top 10 in no order.
Tron Legacy
King Kong (2005)
Stargate (The Movie)
The Place Promised In Our Early Days (Beyond The Clouds) – this here is an anime OVA which is classed as a movie
any Starwars Movie OST
and Jurassic Park I
Batman – Danny Elfman (it just told the story with the music) (1989)
Tarzan (Disney)
Alien (the Movie was scary and it was all just in the suspense of the sound)
Fantasia (Disney) one of the best pieces of music and film ever, and is such a beautiful blu-ray in DTS sound
and one movie i know you guys wouldn’t have listened to. Pokemon the first movie, the score was just wonderful. and you can always grantee a good score in that franchise.
What i Would like you guys to do is a Top 10/20 in Game Scores. ?
Posted: Friday, 17 February 2012You could have added a few of Hans Zimmer’s works…Inception,The Dark Knight,Sherlock Holmes,Hannibal are all phenomenal Soundtracks!
Posted: Saturday, 18 February 2012One of the best for testing a system is the Soundtrack “American Beauty” by Thomas Newman. It has tracks that are subtle and others that are in your face. It tests the highs and lows very well.
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012Almost all of Thomas Newman’s Movies are good and are a good test because they are almost all HDCD. I don’t know why the two extra bits of information help so much but HDCD’s always sound good to me where as regular cd’s are hit and miss. The wierdest thing is….you dont need an HDCD decoding player to enjoy the diffrence.
Best Composers:
Thomas Newman
Danny Elfman
Hans Zimmer
John Williams
James Horner
Also….for those of you looking for a great demo disk….try the 25th annaversary disc set of Manheim Steamroller. Its not quite the flavor of music I like, but this recording is increadible…one of the best I’ve ever heard.
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012Hi folks! It really isn’t fair. May I add a few greats of my own to your list of best soundtracks. I would never let go of Quincy Jones’ The Color Purple, but any list of this kind should include geniuses such as Alex North, Maurice Jarre, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Tiomkin, Henry Mancini, Andre Previn, Alfred Newman, Max Steiner… Wow! Now I see there’s a lot to listen to in that field. Thanks for the reminder.
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012I would add my favorite movie score to the list – The Mission. It’s just beautiful music.
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012Try some Michel Legrand, like the Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and so many others, before and after that one. Played, and/or sung by huge artists like Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, etc…
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012No Korngold? Captain Blood, Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex, The Adventures of Robin Hood. A Golden Age in Hollywood.
Posted: Thursday, 23 February 2012Michael Giachino and his Incredibles soundtrack is, well, incredible.
Posted: Friday, 24 February 2012