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.
Jerry Goldsmith’s impressive score to Paul Verhoeven’s steamy thriller is a sedate affair; rather than go for the jugular (or the ice pick!), he has used a fair amount of restraint (and you could argue, intelligence), exploiting the sensual, mysterious elements in the story, while playing down the sleazier side show, to classy effect. When he does up the excitement a notch, most impressive in ‘Night Life’, the result is sleek, stylised and full of atmosphere. ‘Roxy Loses’, pulls out all the stops, with full string and brass sections, reminiscent of Pino Donaggio’s score for ‘Blow Out’, while ’Catherine’s Sorrow’ weaves the (rather over used) main theme into an effective new one. Despite being re-released in complete form in 2004, with additional, rather brief cues and expanded liner notes, this original release remains the most cohesive version available. Seductive. Basic Instinct Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
1. Main Title (Theme From Basic Instinct).
2. Crossed Legs.
3. Night Life.
4. Kitchen Help.
5. Pillow Talk.
6. Morning After.
7. The Games Are Over.
8. Catherine’s Sorrow.
9. Roxy Loses.
10. An Unending Story.
Other Versions Available:
Basic Instinct Soundtrack CD
Promethius, CD, 2004, XPCD 154. Rating: Track Listing:
1. Main Title 2:13
2. First Victim 1:39
3. Catherine & Roxy 5:14
4. Shadows 0:41
5. Profile 0:49
6. Don’t Smoke 2:26
7. Crossed Legs 4:49
8. Beth & Nick 2:21
9. Night Life 6:03
10. Home Visit 1:13
11. Your Wife Knew.
12. Untitled.
13. That’s Real Music.
14. One Shot.
15. Kitchen Help.
16. Pillow Talk.
17. Morning After.
18. Roxy Loses.
19. Catherine’s Sorrow.
20. Wrong Name.
21. She’s Really Sick.
22. It Won’t Sell.
23. Games Are Over.
24. Evidence.
25. Unending Story / End Credits.
26. First Victim (alternate version).
An offbeat, contemporary film noir, ‘The Grifters’ stars John Cusack as a petty conman, drawn into the complex and dangerous life of his estranged mother (Anjelica Huston) who works for the mob. Elmer Bernstein created an offbeat score, with woodwind and piano and punctuated it with electronic high notes, particularly effective in the film’s main theme ‘The City’ and the darker ‘To The Hospital’. ‘School For Grifters’, melancholic and lonely, flickers with underlying threat, while ‘Roy Gambles’ is a jaunty reminder of the films darkly comic origins. Arguably one of Bernstein’s finest later scores, if you discount the terrible pop track tacked on the end. The Grifters Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. The City.
2. The Racetrack.
3. Roy In Trouble.
4. School For Grifters.
5. To The Hospital.
6. Troubadour Race.
7. Lilly’s Argument.
8. Bobo.
9. Carhumba.
10. Roy Gambles.
11. Madness.
12. Myra’s Blues.
13. Roy And Lilly.
14. Chase.
15. Fright And Flight.
16. Endings.
17. Credits.
18. Do Ya, Do Ya Love Me? (Dream World).
Little Man Tate.
1991, Orion.
Mark Isham.
Verese Sarabande, CD, 1991, VSD-5343 Rating:
Jodie Foster starred in and directed this off-beat tale of a super-brainy kid, Fred Tate (Adam Hann-Byrd), whose enrolment in a school for the gifted brings his working class young mother (Foster) into conflict with his middleclass, psychologist tutor (Dianne Weist). Mark Isham has written a catchy, jazz influenced score full of strong melodies that reflects Fred’s (and his mother’s) quirky, sometimes disorganised behaviour, headlined by the infectious ‘Little Man Swing‘. While there are plenty of uplifting moments here, including the playful ‘Fred And Dede’, the summery, ‘A Walk On The Cool Side’ and the energetic, ‘The Combustion Bounce’, these are off-set by more melancholic cues that reflect the lonelier side of being a child prodigy in a world of adult academics; ‘Shadowplay’ and ‘White Iris’, covey this well, while the standout, ‘Clipper Ships’, effectively combines the isolation of Fred’s predicament with the heightened, almost manic thirst for knowledge that accompanies it. A breezy, highly accessible summer score. Little Man Tate Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Little Man Swing.
2. Little Man Lost.
3. With And Without Science.
4. A Walk On The Cool Side.
5. Fred And Dede.
6. Shadowplay.
7. Missing You Too.
8. Clipper Ships.
9. White Iris.
10. Kids And Grownups.
11. The Combustion Bounce.
12. Books, Dreams And Shadows.
13. Home And Not Alone.
14. The Little Man Swing (Reprise).
