Soundtrack: Death Proof
Supervisor(s): Quentin Tarantino
Released: 2007
Genre(s): Funky, Score, Classical, Rock'n'Roll




DOWNLOAD -- Death Proof

A Soundtrack of Soundtracks. From Morricone to Jack Nitzsche, Tarantino compiles another homage of goodies. Only this time, suspense weighs in even heavier.

Soundtrack: Being John Malkovich
Composer(s): Carter Burwell
Year: 1999
Genre(s): classical


DOWNLOAD -- Being John Malkovich

Here is a really beautiful "minimalist" score by Carter Burwell from Spike Jonze's 1999 film Being John Malkovich. Like the film, the score captures moments of sadness, intensity and awkwardness into a fairly dramatic package. The lingering string arrangements, solo piano and at minimized percussion compliment the dark style of the film. Great for a lonely night or a rain storm.

Soundtrack: Marie Antoinette
Supervisor(s): Brian Reitzell
Year: 2006
Genre(s): new wave and post rock

DOWNLOAD -- Marie Antoinette Disc 1
DOWNLOAD -- Marie Antoinette Disc 2

Following two amazing soundtracks for Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola again enlisted Brian Reitzell to compile another wonderful audible palette. This record spans two discs and stretches further than any of her other films. 1980s New Wave and post-punk artists such as New Order, The Cure, and Bow Wow Wow represent the music that accounts for the bulk of the soundtrack. Coppola's choice of modern music for use in the film's soundtrack is unusual, as the film itself is set in 18th century France. The soundtrack also contains several period baroque pieces, including works by Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Domenico Scarlatti.

Soundtrack: Vertigo
Composer/Artist(s): Bernard Herrmann
Year: 1966
Genre(s): Suspense

DOWNLOAD -- VERTIGO

After reading Turbo Dream's Hitch post on Vertigo, it inspired me to not only rent the film for the weekend but to post the amazing original score by Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann is without a doubt one one my all-time favorite composers in cinema. In his lifetime he composed nearly 80 films beginning with Citizen Kane and ending with Taxi Driver (he completed the score the night before his death!). He is THE legend of film composers. I hope to post more Bernard Herrmann scores in the near future...

Soundtrack: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
Composer/Artist(s): Lubos Fiser
Year: 1970 (original film release), 2007 (soundtrack release)
Genre(s): Psychedelic Folk

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DOWNLOAD -- Valerie & Her Week Of Wonders

After two weeks of posting 80's Films, I thought I would change things up a bit and post a hallucinogenic surrealistic Czech folk piece...

Lubos Fiser creates an alternate universe for character exploration in this bizarre and magical world of wonders. The score samples a variety of acoustic instruments and integrates them into songs of mystery, paranoia and romance. Much like the film, the score leaves a vivd tone of intrigue.

Apparently it was Finder's Keepers that much of the credit goes to for this soundtrack finally seeing the light of day. According to this press release it wasn't until last year that a virgin release of this gem on black vinyl and CD was made available. It took 12 years of Eastern European phone calls & digging through record crates that made it possible for the release. I heard the title track on WFMU's record blog last year while photoshopping dog clothing for this website (worst freelance job ever!) and was immediately drawn into the intrigue and beauty of the score. Soon, I added it to my queue and had no idea what to expect. The film is amazing. It's basically a Czech new-wave surrealistic film about a teenage beauty confronted by her sexual awakening in her sleep. These subconscious and surrealistic moments are haunted by varying degrees of Lewis Carrol inspired (?) hallucinations.

VALERIE SHORT SCENE


Some cool quotes I found...
"Lubos Fiser provides what is perhaps the greatest musical score of all the maligned Czech New Wave feature-films with a gossamer-fragile blend of pastoral-orchestral folk songs and clockwork harpsichords. From the very first delicate chord to the final crescendo this joyous sound is as addictive as the bizarre imagery seen in this seldom celebrated cinematic gem." -Finder's Keeper's



"It was like a door had been opened in my subconscious and fragments of memories and dreams rejoiced right there in my living room. I became very possessive over my copied version, a VHS to cassette copy which hissed like it had been captured from another world. I would surprise friends with snippets of the theme, it never failed to get a curious "Who's this?" I was continually asked to make a copies but I had no intentions of making copies for anyone. The ritual chanting, the sections of catholic mass, the czech hymns were mine, the cogs sequence, the acoustic love song, the room of cogs all mine." -Trish Keenan



If you are desperately interested and don't have Netflix or a decent video store, search 'Valerie and her week of Wonders' on You Tube... the whole thing is up (in ten parts!) but its censored. Nudity and Violence taken out. I would recommend watching it on DVD or VHS over YouTube.

Soundtrack: Diva
Composer/Artist(s): Vladimir Cosma
Year: 1981
Genre(s): Opera, Classical, Pop



DOWNLOAD -- DIVA: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
download note: file compressed .rar -- if neccesary, mac users can use this program to uncompress it.

A beautiful soundtrack combining opera, classical and some 80s electronics into a compelling palate of sophisticated musical balance. Worked into the plot, tone, pacing and characters, this record is the score or scores for post-new wave French cinema.

DIVA OPERA SCENE


Vladmir Cosma scores and composes a variety of piano ballads, electro-interludes and chillingly sentimental operatic experiments.

The record is fairy easy to find, often I see it randomly in the bargain bins. While the film did very well critically, I think the film only had average success in the states due to the pace and plot. In the film, the protagonist bootlegs a divas operatic masterpiece. The tape itself becomes of value, since the diva has never released a recording. Caught up in a mix of bad luck, the young man has do everything to avoid having the tape fall into the wrong hands.

DIVA SUBWAY CHASE (mini cooper and vespa)



The film was just re-released and re-transfered. It is a stunning film with romantic obsession, action (an amazing moped race!) and conspiracy.

I highly recomend adding the film to your queue and downloading the soundtrack now. For those that have cable, set your tivo--> on TCM next Wednesday January 30th at 8:30am and again at 6:00pm.

Soundtrack: "2" I, A Woman
Composer/Artist(s): Sven Gyldmark
Year: 1969
Genre(s): Classical, Experimental, Jazzy



DOWNLOAD -- "2" I A WOMAN by Sven Gyldmark

(special thanks to iluvmyturntable)
download note: use one of mirrors like MegaUpload, that one seemed the quickest.

After reading Mr. Mudd's 2007 roundup on favorite records heard last year, I got inspired to beginning posting what I would like to be a recurring post for me... Attack of the Soundtracks! I've got a few in mind already after scoring deep in Midwestern Record Stores over my holiday break. What better way to start then with this amazingly different and experimental take on classical & jazz.

This soundtrack features the compositions of Sven Gyldmark, a prolific danish composer who died only a few years before most of us 'ledgers were born. This guy composed 189 soundtracks between the 1920's & mid 1970's! Unfortunately I have found little to no biographical information on his pieces. Most of his films are Scandinavian and extremely hard to find. This soundtrack seems to be the only distributed record of his that was in small run and was released on MGM's Music Division in 1969. I heard the record spinning in a record store in New York a few years back in 2004. While browsing for some Dylan bootlegs, this wild rhythm-enhanced flute and horn melody was colliding like a train wreck and them seemingly into this phantasm of eastern-classical strings. It was amazing. It is so sexually charged. It seemed like a Scandinavian reaction on American Jazz of the late 60's. Easily pushing boundaries and reacting to a counter-culture of American pop, obviously Jazz was going into realms never-before-heard. I ran to the clerk and shelled out $25 for the record. This seems worth it I thought. The record is on musicstack for around $200, so I felt lucky for stumbling across this one.



As for the film, it's been on hold in my Netflix account for over two years. I guess the DVD was released on some weird B-Movie Distributor as part of a sexploitation collection. As much as I am dying to see this film and how the music is incorporated, there is NO way it is going to live up to the dream-like imagery I imagine in my head. I just recently found this trailer, and it does look like it might be worth seeing...