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Shake Your Groove Thing @ the Cinema – Fave Music From the Movies

An integral part of any movie going experience is the music that accompanies the film’s action. After the high of the wonderfully-tracked Guardians of the Galaxy, I started to think about some of my favorite soundtracks. I was certain that in digging around my site I would find a post/list. On the contrary, I was frankly quite surprised that a comprehensive post did not actually exist; sure I have alluded to some of my favorite bits of movie music from time to time, but never have I really fully fleshed it out. But no time like the present, eh?

Movie Music

On my list, you will not find much rhyme, reason or a discernible pattern as per my musical tastes, save for a slight penchant for 70’s disco. But overall, this is an eclectic mix of song and score spanning a host of genres. Good music is good music, I say. And when that music bolsters the story to be told on screen, double wow!

Also bear in mind, no particular order was considered; it was whatever came to the top of my head, with an assist of the internet in the event that I missed anything I would want to mention. At the conclusion of the post, feel free to share your faves in the comments section below.

A final note: I know there are a lot of great soundtracks out there for movies that I have not seen. To be fair, it would make no sense if (even knowing those songs) I included them on this list without seeing the completed film. In other words you will not be seeing Help, Hard Day’s Night on this list.

  1. Star Wars: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – the film is an integral part of my cinematic life, and so is the music.
  2. The Sound of Music – 45th Anniversary Edition – an important part of my youth and related school productions. I know all the words by heart and sing/hum along whenever I watch the film (which is not as often as it deserves to be watched).
  3. The Third Man (Original Score) [Bonus Track Version] – that haunting zither ….
  4. The Sting: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – great introduction to the ragtime music that fits the magnificent film to a tee.
  5. Best Of James Bond – from the Barry score to the titular songs sung by the eminent pop artists of the day, this is one where I cannot point to a singular movie but rather the collective.
  6. Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Music From The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1988 Re-recording of 1938 Score) – the compositions of this Errol Flynn classic are as bright and boisterous as the poppy Technicolor film.
  7. Pulp Fiction – the film has not stood the test of time for me, but this soundtrack certainly has.
  8. Walt Disney’s Fantasia – introduced to this film by my dear dad, I was immediately entranced by the use of classical music and animation.
  9. Starter for Ten – a deserves-to-be-seen gem of a film with a fantastic not-to-miss soundtrack, featuring music of Kate Bush, The Cure, and The Smiths.
  10. Psycho/Vertigo – I cannot really decide between the two, but these here are examples of the Herrmann/Hitchcock partnership at their peak.
  11. Love Jones – neo-soul and jazz make for a wonderful musical mix.
  12. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1 🙂
  13. Love & Basketball – a rhythmic musical journey through the 80’s and 90’s.
  14. High Fidelity – a movie essentially set in a record store better have a good soundtrack.
  15. Love Actually – love(ly) music is all around. Sorry, I just had to do it.
  16. Saturday Night Fever – basically a Bee Gees album. A classic.
  17. Boogie Nights – another harmonious time capsule that excellently accompanies its film.
  18. Grease – a sing along favorite of mine and I suspect many others!
  19. Muriel’s Wedding – ABBA sings the songs of Muriel’s life.

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Loved the Movie, REALLY Loved the Music (An Appreciation of “High Fidelity”)

Over the past years there has been a spattering of mention of my appreciation for the 2000 Stephen Frears feature High Fidelity here on my blog. Now I would like to pause to mention some of my favorite bits from the film.

For the uninitiated, here is the logline:

When his live-in girlfriend walks out on him, a Chicago-based music store owner with a penchant for top-five lists, goes on a path of self-exploration.

Source: Wikiscreenplay

The ensemble cast, lead by John Cusack, features Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Todd Louiso, Lisa Bonet, Sara Gilbert, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tim Robbins.

While I have not read the Nick Hornby book on which the film is based (set in London), I look forward to reading it (someday). To date, I have read one of Hornby’s autobiographical books (31 Songs) and am currently reading his most recently published novel, Juliet, Naked, published in 2009.

For me what makes High Fidelity an enjoyable watch is … frankly everything! From the witty dialogue to the effective use of the pieces to camera, I can watch this film over and over again. But above all else, the use of music throughout the movie sends this film to another level for me. In fact, whenever I catch the film, I watch it all the way through to the end credits so I can hear one of my favorite Stevie Wonder tunes (Note: do not watch if you have not seen film — possible spoiler):

 

As hard as it was to do, I have narrowed down the list of some of my favorite scenes from the film (WARNING: Some clips contains explicit language):

 

LET’S GET IT ON

 

“MUSICAL SNOBS”

 

TOP 5 SONGS ABOUT DEATH

BONUS: “Stevie Wonder/Cosby Sweater”

Now for the bad news – as with any soundtrack that you may decide to purchase there will be notable and disappointing omissions. Take a look at this Wikipedia entry about the soundtrack, which includes music played in the film, but not on the purchasable soundtrack.

Go ahead; make your own mix tape.

What did you think about this film? Are there any films in your library that resonate the same way for you?

 

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Hitchcock and His Music

Even if you have not seen Psycho, this music must ring vaguely familiar. For me, this is the ultimate example of the importance of musical scoring in the motion pictures. And no more do I feel the impact of the score then when I watch the films of one of my favorite directors, Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

13 years ago (goodness, me!) I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City and going to the Alfred Hitchcock exhibition, its arrival coinciding with the auteur’s centenary.

Among my mementos of the trip were a museum print and a compact disk, Alfred Hitchcock: Music from his Films. All these years later, the music from this CD still gets constant rotation on my iPod.

While the composer most closely aligned with Hitchcock is Bernard Herrmann, over his career he also collaborated with the likes of Miklós Rózsa, Franz Waxman and John Williams. Here is a really cool interview in which Williams talks about his collaboration with Hitchcock:

Although this music is not on the disk, I thought it was just lovely; it is a score by Neil Brand, which he composed to accompany the British Film Institute’s restoration of Hitchcock’s 1929 film Blackmail.

I close with the words of Bernard Herrmann himself, talking about music and its importance in cinema.

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