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.
Boy’s From Brazil Movie Soundtrack.
1978, 20th Century Fox.
Jerry Goldsmith.
Intrada, CD, 2008, Special Collection Volume 75. Rating:
Originally released in 1978, the LP version of ‘The Boys From Brazil’ was an effective, if incomplete offering; its high point, a well executed suite running for nearly twenty minutes incorporating many of the highlights. This double CD release takes one of Goldsmith’s best ever scores to new heights with a wealth of material not included on the original. Written for Franklin J. Shaffner’s Nazi thriller about notorious Dr. Josef Menegle’s plans to restore the crumbling fascia of the Third Reich by cloning Hitler from his South American hideaway, is an interesting if ultimately overbaked production, filled with grand performances and well known stars, including Lawrence Olivier and Gregory Peck as Mengele. Underpinned by a beautiful Viennese waltz that intermittently subverts into a dark Wagnerian nightmare, Goldsmith’s score plays up to the films sometimes melodramtic nature, while providing it with added ballast in the form of some understated character motifs, such as those written for Olivier’s character, Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman. The second CD features the original album, along with source music: both have cleaned-up sound. Detailed liner notes and plenty of film artwork make this one of the most impressive releases this year. Limited edition of 5000. The Boys From Brazil Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Disc One:
1. Main Title.
2. The Killers Arrive.
3. What Does He Want.
4. Find It / Don’t Believe Me.
5. Kill Him.
6. Reuters News.
7. Broken Bottles.
8. We’re Home Again (Film Mix).
9. S29 (track details unknown).
10. Without Hope / Frau Doring.
11. Do Yours.
12. The Dam.
13. Over The Top / Frieda Maloney.
14. December 11th.
15. The Hospital (Revised).
16. Jungle Holocaust.
17. Old Photos.
18. You!
19. The Right One.
20. Print! / The Dark Room / End Title.
Disc Two:
1. Suite from ‘The Boys From Brazil’
2. We’re Home Again (Album Mix).
3. Frau Doring.
4. The Dogs & Finale.
5. Siegfried Idyll [excerpt] (Richard Wagner).
6. The Blue Danube [excerpt] (Johann Strauss II, adapted by Arthur Morton).
7. Ismael’s Samba [radio source] (Arthur Morton).
8. The Hospital.
9. The Killers Arrive [without percussion overlay] .
Sorry! no clips of the score itself were available on YouTube. Here is the trailer instead.
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)
Eyes of Laura Mars.
1978, Columbia.
Artie Kane/Various.
CBS, LP, 1978, CBS 70163. Rating:
This psychic thriller stars Faye Dunaway as a high-flying fashion photographer in Helmut Newton mould, whose ability to ‘see’ a series of murders through the eyes of the killer puts her in personal danger. While the use of Newton’s violent sexploitation pics and Dunaway’s high end glamour, burden the film with a superficial, glossy veneer, reminiscent of the Margeaux Hemingway vehicle, ‘Lipstick’, beneath it all is actually a pretty effective thriller, with strong support from Tommy Lee Jones in an early role. Unfortunately, the soundtrack, while benefitting from a classy theme tune, ‘The Prisoner’, performed by Barbra Streisand, is generally a second-rate collection of disco efforts, penned by the likes of Michael (‘Let’s All Chant’) Zager and Michaelski & Oosterveen with tracks by Odyssey and K.C. And The Sunshine Band. The score by the accomplished Artie Kane does the job in the movie but is neither original, or entertaining enough to defend its position on a soundtrack album that is as unsure of its identity as the killer turns out to be. Lacklustre. Eyes Of Laura Mars Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
Side One:
1. Love Theme From ‘Eyes Of Laura Mars’ (Prisoner) (Barbra Streisand).
2. Laura’s Nightmare (Artie Kane).
3. Burn (Michaelski & Oosterveen).
4. Elaine (Artie Kane).
5. Laura And Neville (Artie Kane).
6. Medley: Native New Yorker – (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Body – Prisoner (Disco Instrumental)
Side Two:
1. Laura – Warehouse (Artie Kane).
2. Let’s All Chant (Michael Zager Band).
3. Laura And Neville (Dialogue And Vocal). (Artie Kane).
4. Lulu And Michelle (Artie Kane).
5. Love And Pity (Artie Kane).
6. Love Theme From ‘Eyes Of Laura Mars’ (Prisoner) (Reprise).
