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.
This well crafted psychic chiller, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, about a couple whose grief for their dead daughter is derailed by a psychic’s disturbing premonitions, is an atmospheric tour de force of visual tricks and twists. Pino Donaggio’s beautifully understated score largely hangs on the simplicity and versatility of its main theme (‘John’s Theme’) which features first as a childlike motif at the beginning of the film (‘John’s Theme: Children Play’) before maturing into a fully fledged love theme (‘John’s Theme: Love Scene’). Donaggio’s trademark staccato strings, here combined with woodwind, percussive and some electronic effects, as the horror elements kick-in, (‘Christine Is dead’) are given a less glossy, pre-Brian De Palma edginess (Donaggio composed scores for many of the director’s slick thrillers, including ‘Body Double’, ‘Carrie’ and ‘Dressed To Kill’) that plays well alongside the film’s decaying Venetian settings. Though most of the score is written to convey the thoughts and feelings of Sutherland’s character, who takes a more integral role in the story, cues written from Laura’s (Christie) perspective are beautifully judged, with soft strings and Spanish guitar. An atmospheric and extremely European sounding score with plenty of panache. Don’t Look Now Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. John’s Theme (Children Play)
2. Christine Is Dead
3. Candles for Christine
4. John’s Theme (Love Scene)
5. Strange Happenings
6. John’s Theme (Laura Leaves Venice)
7. John’s Vision (Laura’s Theme)
8. Searching for Laura (Laura’s Theme)
9. Through the Streets of Venice
10. Laura Comes Back
11. Dead End
12. Laura’s Theme (The Last Farewell)
The Exorcist.
1973, Warner Bros.
Various.
Warner Bros, CD, 1998, 16177-00-CD. Rating:
Unsurprisingly, given the disturbing subject matter, the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty is a pretty unsettling experience; not least because Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ has been omitted in favour of darker material. Though Lalo Schifrin wrote an original, rejected, score for the film, some of which is featured here, Friedkin instead opted for a selection of modern classical compositions from the likes of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and Austrian Anton Webern which are sometimes little more than barely audible sound effects outside the movie – disappointing considering this is a restored and remastered edition. ‘Beginnings From Wind And Harp’ progresses almost silently for nearly fifty seconds before slowly coming alive. ‘Polymorphia’, running to nearly twelve minutes covers the gamut from silence to staccato strings and clattering percussion and ‘Kanon For Orchestra And Tape’ offers much the same blend. Luckily, Henze’s ‘Fantasia For Strings’, which ran over the film’s end credits, offers up a powerfully dramatic finale (save Lalo Schifrin’s unused and ineffective offerings) to an interesting, if ill-conceived album. The Exorcist Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Iraq.
2. Five Pieces For Orchestra (Webern).
3. Polymorphia (Penderecki).
4. String Quartet No. 1 (Penderecki).
5. Beginnings From “The Wind Harp” (Bee).
6. Kanon For Orchestra And Tape (Penderecki).
7. Fantasia For Strings (Henze).
8. Music From The Unused Trailer (Schifrin).
9. Suite from the Unused Score To ‘The Exorcist’ (Schifrin).
10. Rock Ballad (Unused Theme From ‘The Exorcist’ (Schifrin).
Final Conflict.
1981, 20th Century-Fox.
Jerry Goldsmith.
Verese Sarabande, CD, 2001, VSD-6289. Rating:
The third instalment in ‘The Omen’ trilogy was always going to be a tricky project; the success of the previous two movies, along with an Academy Award winning score for ‘Ave Satani’ (for ‘The Omen‘) meant that there was a lot riding on its success. While it ultimately failed to deliver the expected box office returns, Jerry Goldsmith’s majestic score turned out to be better in many respects than the previous two, completing a cycle that began with the birth of the anti-Christ and ends with not one but two highly significant events: the death of the anti-Christ and the re-birth of Jesus Christ. Damien Thorn is now President of his Father’s company and heading for Ambassador status with an eye on the Whitehouse. The excavation of the Thorn Museum, destroyed by fire at the end of ‘Damien: Omen II‘, unearths the daggers of Meggido, which are stolen, auctioned and bought by a monastery in Italy where Father De Carlo (Rossano Brazzi) plans to use them to destroy Damien.
Though Goldsmith’s previous Omen scores concerned themselves with the more terrifying aspects of the story, ‘The Final Conflict’ combines these with an epic spiritual element representing the Second Coming. Goldsmith’s new theme featured in ‘Main Title’ and in various forms throughout, is a powerful cue led by horns and underpinned by a deep sense of foreboding. ‘Trial Run’, presents for the first time the more spiritual elements of the score. ‘The Monastery’ introduces the theme representing the Second Coming of Christ, which is expanded upon in ‘The Second Coming’ and adapted for ‘The Final Conflict’. However, the highlight of this score is ‘The Hunt’ an amazing equestrian event of a cue that combines the exhilaration and excitement of the chase with the darker aspects introduced in ‘Main Title’. While its chilling subject matter may not be to everyone’s taste, ‘The Final Conflict’ marks a high point in Goldsmith’s career and remains one of his most accomplished film scores. This re-mastered, deluxe edition also includes cues not featured on the original soundtrack LP release and vastly improved sound quality, along with extensive liner notes. A classic.
The Final Conflict Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title.
2. The Ambassador.
3. Trial Run.
4. The Monastery.
5. A.T.V. First.
6. The Statue.
7. The Second Coming.
8. Electric Storm.
9. The Hunt.
10. The Blooding.
11. Lost Children.
12. 666.
13. Parted Hair.
14. The iron.
15. The Final Conflict.
