critics’
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W
hether it’s a sweeping orchestral score or sublime compilation of indie songs, great music can transcend a movie, rouse the emotions of audiences and provide audio cues that prove invaluable. What would The Godfather be without its haunting horns or The Graduate absent of the masterful works of Simon & Garfunkel? Musicals such as West Side Story, Rent and even the more recent understated gem Once are peppered with tunes of joy and
sorrow that push the movie along in an entertaining, unobtrusive way. Pulp Fiction and High Fidelity cross over musical eras to create soundtracks that mimic a wellloved mixed tape and get almost as much attention as the on-screen performances. The best-selling soundtrack of all time is The Bodyguard, which features Whitney Houston’s megahit, “I Will Always Love You,” and has sold 17 million copies. But what would the Club’s film connoisseurs select as their supreme soundtrack? o
“With artists ranging from Bing Crosby to David Bowie to Amy Winehouse, and one of my favorite songs, ‘Story Problem’ by The Envy Corps, Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007) has a great all-around soundtrack. A movie that might go unnoticed on the shelf, it’s a solidly funny adventure about Dennis (played by Simon Pegg), who is chasing his lost love after jilting her on their wedding day five years earlier. The odds are stacked against him as he attempts, with the help of his friends, a spectacular feat to fight off a richer, better-looking rival. You will soon find yourself wrapped up in the story and rooting for the underdog.”
“Seldom have I seen the audience applaud at the end of a movie, but one such occasion was when the credits rolled on The Commitments (1991). One of the unlikeliest stories in cinema history was paired with a brilliant soul soundtrack, with all songs performed by the largely unknown cast. Imagine trying to pitch this film: ‘There’s this bunch of kids in Ireland and one lad hates all the music he hears, so he forms a soul band based on the fact that the people in north Dublin are very like AfricanAmerican people from 1960s Detroit (only they live in Europe and are all white), and they get successful and then fall apart.’ Mad. But it worked. The actors put heart and soul into the soul. If you could wear out the grooves on a CD, I’d have done it.”
“There are so many songs that instantly bring a movie to mind. ‘Danger Zone’ conjures up an image of Maverick and Goose flying over the Pacific in Top Gun, while those two haunting tuba notes strike up and the search begins for the shark from Jaws. As for complete soundtracks, there are great ones like The Big Chill and St. Elmo’s Fire. But for me, it comes down to musicals like Annie, Chicago, Grease, High School Musical and The Phantom of the Opera. The musical that seems to cross over generations is the one played every Thanksgiving in my house: The Sound of Music (1965). Sister Maria taught us that the musical scale starts and ends with ‘do.’ And every time I hear the elevator music version of ‘Favorite Things,’ I smile.”
Supreme movie soundtrack: Run, Fat Boy, Run
Supreme movie soundtrack: The Commitments
Supreme movie soundtrack: The Sound of Music
Club critic: David Hunter
Club critic: Nick Johnson
Club critic: Abby Radmilovich
The Sound of Movies
All titles mentioned are either available at the DVD Library or on order.
14 March 2011 iNTOUCH