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.
Flashdance.
1983, Paramount.
Giorgio Moroder/Various.
Casablanca, CD, 1998 Rating:
Looking like an elongated MTV video, complete with shallow characterisation and minimal plot, ‘Flashdance’ should by rights have been an almighty flop at the box office; but some energetic dance sequences, a pop soundtrack and glossy visuals from ex-advertising director Adrian Lyne, lift it above the sum of its parts, making it an entertaining, if ultimately empty vessel. The soundtrack album sells largely off the back of its infectious theme tune ‘Flashdance (What A Feeling), performed by Irene Cara (‘Fame’) and Michael Sembello’s ‘Maniac’ that top and tail it. Tracks, ‘He’s A Dream’ and ‘Lady Lady Lady’ (unknowingly) play the kitsch card with a certain charm but are seriously dated. Master of the electronic keyboard, Giorgio Moroder scored the film and wrote a handful of songs on the album, including ‘Love Theme from Flashdance’, performed by Helen St. John and the film’s title song; meanwhile ‘Manhunt’ with its lady’s night lyrics and the film’s welder turned stripper theme (though based on a true story), leaves you in no doubt that while ‘Flashdance’ may have been made for women, it was most definitely written by men. Flashdance Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Flashdance (What A Feeling) (Irene Cara).
2. He’s A Dream (Shandi).
3. Love Theme From ‘Flashdance’ (Helen St. John).
4. Manhunt (Karen Kamon).
5. Lady, Lady, Lady (Joe Esposito).
6. Imagination (Laura Branigan).
7. Romeo (Donna Summer).
8. Seduce Me Tonight (Cycle V).
9. I’ll Be Here Where The Heart Is (Kim Carnes).
10. Maniac (Michael Sembello)
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).
Based on writer Truman Capote’s investigation into the murder of a family in America’s Midwest in the 1960s, Capote, the movie, is an insightful exploration into the relationship between Capote and killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, who hanged for the crime. Hailed as the first ‘non-fiction novel’, combining fact presented as fiction, the book ‘In Cold Blood’, published after the murders, explores the glaring polarities between the lives of the murder victims and those of the murderers; the American dream gone sour. Capote, the album, is less a soundtrack, more a reminder of just how powerful the book was and remains. Made up largely of readings from it, recorded by Capote himself in 1966, supplemented by Mychael Danna’s understated score, the album tells the story of the film via the book in chronological order. Meanwhile, Danna’s score punctuates the story, though running to only fifteen minutes it never manages to get a foothold. ‘Not Much Time Left’ and ‘Epigraph’ are stand out cues but the album is entitled ‘Capote’ for a reason, and Mychael Danna is very much in the supporting role. Capote Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listings:
1. Out There (Mychael Danna).
2. “The Village Of Holcomb…” (Truman Capote).
3. “The Two Young Men Had Little In Common…” (Truman Capote).
4. Spoon Feeding (Mychael Danna).
5. “This Is It, This Is It, This Has To Be It…” (Truman Capote).
6. “Holcomb Is Twelve Miles East Of The Mountain Time Zone Border…” (TC)
7. N.Y. Reading (Mychael Danna).
8. “Eight Non-Stop Passenger Trains…” (Truman Capote).
9. If One Bird (Mychael Danna).
10. “It was Midday Deep In The Mojave Desert…” (Truman Capote).
11. “It Was Late Afternoon…” (Truman Capote).
12. “Perry Noticed Them First…” (Truman Capote.
13. “At Five That Afternoon…” (Truman Capote).
14. Not Much Time Left (Mychael Danna).
15. “Dewey Had Watched Them Die…” (Truman Capote).
16. I Thought He Was A Very Nice Gentleman (Mychael Danna).
17. Epigraph (Mychael Danna).
18. Answered Prayers (Mychael Danna).
