This site was conceived as a side project by a "tekkie" friend of mine who suggested I use my journalistic experience to write about something I love. We bandied about some ideas before settling on this one - largely because I had collected movie soundtracks for much of my life and thought I could write about them. We wanted the site to be user friendly, well-written and reliable.
Over time, I hope to attract other writers keen to contribute to the site, who don't mind foregoing the financial benefits they may be used to in the short-term for something that may, or may not, be profitable further down the line.
The gradual demise of the cd format, re-emergence of vinyl, along with the expansion of blu-ray dvd and downloads translate to an ever-changing market place; despite this, most of us still buy cd's and dvd's and I hope that you will use the Amazon links on this site to buy online.
We have also included mini YouTube video links that accompany the reviews, so that you can listen to your favourite theme music while watching a related trailer or clip from the movie; because film is a visual medium, there seems no better way of presenting it.
Finally, a note on the type of soundtracks featured. Though purists generally view albums such as "Top Gun", "Flashdance" and others like them, as unworthy of coverage on a film soundtrack site, preferring instead to focus on orchestral scores, we have taken the view that these albums have earned their place based on their continued saleability and affection with a large section of cinema-goers. We wanted to reach as broad an audience as possible and have developed the site with this in mind, without forgetting those fans for whom composers such as Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith, among many others, are considered on a par with the master composers. We hope you can find your best movie soundtracks on this site.
To Kill A Mockingbird.
1962, Universal.
Elmer Bernstein.
Verese Sarabande, CD, 1998, VSD-5754. Rating:
Elmer Bernstein’s outstanding score to the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s highly thought of novel, is a master class of a movie score, perfectly in sync with the film’s central theme about two youngsters coming of age in the American deep south, as their lawyer father (Gregory Peck) defends a black man charged with rape. Bernstein claimed that he used instruments such as piano, bells and harp to evoke memories of childhood (‘Main Title’); his ability to incorporate the films darker undertones (‘Lynch Mob’) is just as masterful. Despite this, the score has been unavailable for many years and its first CD release was marred by poor sound quality; this re-recording puts this right, with crisp sonics and expanded liner notes. Excellent. To Kill A Mockingbird Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title.
2. Remember Mama.
3. Atticus Accepts The Case/Roll In The Tire.
4. Creepy Caper/Peek-A-Boo.
5. Ewell’s Hatred.
6. Jem’s Discovery.
7. Tree Treasure.
8. Lynch Mob.
9. Guilty Verdict.
10. Ewell Regret It.
11. Footsteps In The Dark.
12. Assault In The Shadows.
13. Boo Who?
14. End Title.
Misfits.
1961, United Artists.
Alex North.
Ryko, CD, 1998, RCD 1073 Rating:
Alex North’s highly engaging score, written to accompany director John Huston’s intelligent anti-western, is a surefooted mix of melodrama, jazz and even rock n’ roll. Celebrated playwright, Arthur Miller - who first met North when he scored Miller’s ’Death Of A Salesman’ - wrote the script, about three emotionally flawed ‘Misfits’, getting by at the tail-end of the old frontier. The movie, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, in their last movie roles, alongside Montgomery Clift, gave North the perfect opportunity to write for characters who went beyond the usual two-dimentional all-action no-brainers. The effective ‘Main Title’, brimming with human high drama, largely sets the standard, resurfacing in cues ‘Roslyn’, an energetic big band number written for Marilyn Monroe’s character and the understated ‘New Life’. While much of the score accents the character’s emotional lives, the fifteen minute ‘Round Up Suite’ provides a welcome taste of the film’s ranching backdrop in ‘The Chase’ and ‘Tension’ segments. Meanwhile, rock ‘n roll number, ‘Paddleball’ and the spirited ‘Reno Bar Dance’ are light and melodic without being lightweight. Highly recommended. The Misfits Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Theme
2. Rendezvous
3. New Life
4. Roslyn (Misfits Theme)
5. Love’s Reverie
6. Love Idyll
7. Paddleball
8. Reno Bar Dance
9. Compassion/Compassion for Guido
10. Help
11. Round up Suite: Disagreement/Round-Up/Chase/Tension
12. Trying for Freedom
13. Resolved, Pt. 1
14. Resolved (End Title)
Sorry, no high quality YouTube clip exists. Will attempt to track one down.
Planet of The Apes.
1968, 20th Century Fox.
Jerry Goldsmith.
Intrada, CD, 1992, FMT 8006D. Rating:
Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, about a planet populated by a tyrannical army of talking, testosterone-fuelled apes, Franklin J. Schaffner’s film is both effective and intelligent; Goldsmith’s Academy Award nominated landmark score however is an avant garde masterpiece, overflowing with atmosphere and intensity. Though much has been made of cue ‘The Hunt’ (which debuts on this cd) with its interesting use of a ram’s horn, signifying the first appearance of the apes on horseback, this score is full of high points, most notably ‘Main Title’ that depicts the vast, barren planet landscape and ‘The Clothes Snatchers’, a mischievous, playful cue full of detail. The experimental nature of the score – Goldsmith had French horn players reverse their mouthpieces and used stainless steel mixing bowls to create various effects – is both highly engaging and full of unexpected moments. While Goldsmith would produce many fine film scores, such as (the equally experimental) ‘Alien’, released thirteen years later, ‘Planet Of The Apes’ remains one of his masterworks. Stunning. Planet Of The Apes Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title.
2. The Revelation.
3. The Clothes Snatchers.
4. The Hunt.
5. New Identity.
6. The Forbidden Zone.
7. The Search.
8. The Cave.
9. A Bid For Freedom.
10. A New Mate.
11. No Escape.
