3 parts solid songs
1 part proper mood
1 part emotion
A pinch of timing (the music’s got to compliment a scene, not distract from it)
So how are we going to create the perfect score for With Her? Hopefully with YOUR help! We’re calling out to singers, songwriters, musicians, bands, orchestras, etc…if you’ve ever wanted to be included on a score, why not try your hand at writing the With Her title track? That’s right, we’re asking you to submit a song that captures our story (find an outline in the Film section). Send an .MP3 or .WAV file with your interpretation of “With Her” to withherthefilm@gmail.com. We’ll post our favourites and then announce the winner, who will be included in the film.
To help get you in the mood, here’s a list of my Top 10 Cine Soundtracks:
- Dazed and Confused
- Dirty Dancing
- Juno
- Forrest Gump
- The Big Chill
- Once
- Once Upon a Time in Mexico
- Monsoon Wedding
- In the Name of the Father
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
N.B. the above are in no particular order, and even though I’m a HUGE fan of musicals, I refrained from including them...and to anyone who disagrees with my selection, bring it on, there's a comment box to debate below :)
Emer Schlosser
Associate Producer
As the writer and director of the film, you know I had to come at you...first of all you can't even begin a discussion about film soundtracks without mentioning the filmmaker who first did it...Martin Scorsese, he was the first to use music (when I say music I mean actual songs not instrumental scores (ie John Williams). So right off the bat...
ReplyDelete1. Goodfellas (not only the greatest mob film ever but the soundtrack to this film is perfectcly chosen and each track completes it's respective scene)
You also have to mention the filmmaker who's films (which are incredible) have a soundtrack that undoubtedly are always always on point and he goes number two and three respectively...Quentin Tarantino.
2. Pulp Fiction (one of the best soundtracks ever!)
3. Resevoir Dogs (a cop getting his ear cut off to "Stuck in the Middle with You" fantastic!)
Next we gotta mention a definite number four and one of the best films of the 90's...that's right I'm going...
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ( a fantastic mix of great hits from when rock was at it's best! This is bat country!)
My fifth comes from a Wes Anderson film as well I debated between two of his films and I chose the one I liked more...personally anyway)
5. Rushmore (Wes always is great at being the selector as well, I think he learned from Marty Scorsese actually)
I can't mention soundtracks without going back to the 80's and there you can't do better than the master of the teen film...John Hughes and he goes back to back as well.
6. The Breakfast Club (Don't You Forget About Me)
7. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Singing Wayne Newton in a downtown Chicago parade, you gotta love that!)
At number eight I have to go with the filmmaker who let me know that if you want to make a film you just do it! Robert Rodriguez and it's his second feature, which I saw in the theatre was one of only two people laughing at the jokes in Spanish (the other was my friend Carlos who I was with at the time)
8. Desperado (Banderas playing the guitar and the killing people, badass!)
If you don't I love basketball...absolutely love the game and one of my favourites from the early 90's is my ninth pick, it was funny and cool and if you don't love this film, what's wrong with you? It stars a duo that would have some pretty good success together. Wesley & Woody!
9. White Men Can't Jump ( "A Closer Walk With Thee in acapella by the Venice Beach Boys...amazing and the rest of the soundtrack is on point too)
In the ten spot, I decided to go with one of the coolest films of the decade. I could have thrown in a few other films in this spot but I thought why not throw in a film with a "true" score. It's a beloved French film, that is visually stunning with great acting and just a fun ride and the soundtrack is no different. Yan Tiersen encapsulates the essence of the film (love, heart break, sadness, drama, and comedy). Here it is my number ten..
10. Amelie (I said everything I had to say above about the soundtrack of this film)
These are my top ten soundtracks...debate me if you dare :P
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ReplyDeleteTop Ten Best Film Soundtracks (1990-2000) : not including musicals, and not including films with ‘Music’ in the title. I had to limit myself to a decade otherwise it would have been my Top 50 all time… too many great films to narrow it down.
ReplyDeleteThe first film I’m listing is one who’s very premise is music snobbery and quite fittingly, top ten lists. The filmmakers had a responsibility to have ‘snob worthy’ music in the film and especially for the Soundtrack. They listened to 2,000 songs and picked 70 song cues for the film and what they picked is nothing short of incredible! I wanted to put this film a little higher up in the rankings, but I realized that it actually has a much higher purpose (to be the segue for the rest of the list, and set the bar high!). My first pick for Best Soundtrack (1990-2000) comes from Stephen Frears and I still love to listen to the music that they settled on.
10. High Fidelity (2000)
9. Singles (1992) – Not only is this one my first Cameron Crowe film, but it’s crammed full of nearly every musical hero I had back in 1992! Cameo’s from Chris Cornell and Soundgarden as well as members of Alice in Chains, along with it’s killer cast of Bridget Fonda., Kyra Sedgwick, Matt Dillon, Bill Pullman, Jeremy Piven, Eric Stoltz, Paul Giamatti, Tim Burton, and Cameron Himself. The iconic period piece that this is was nearly ‘main staged’ but the films Soundtrack. Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and others came together to encapsulate ‘grunge’. I think they did it, and so, numba nine is ‘Singles’.
8. The Virgin Suicides (2000) – Although the released Soundtrack is very good, featuring songs from a bunch of great artists including Toronto’s own ‘Sloan’, the score for the film was commissioned to ‘Air’. Air has always made very cinematic music, and given that Sophia Coppola made a very emotive and dreamy first film; the score fit perfectly. Air’s score is an album all it’s own and for this reason… the film had to be in the list!
7. Se7en (1995) – This one is like a film Soundtrack sandwich. Beginning with an obscure pre-track for ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails, filled in the middle with great Jazz and a score by Howard Shore it then ends with Bowie’s ‘The Heart’s Filthy Lesson’. I like nearly everything about this Fincher film, most of all the soundtrack. Brilliant! (and it fits nicely into #7 don’t ya think?)
6. Finding Forrester (2000) – I’m very hot & cold when it comes to Gus Van Sant. Some of his films I loathe, others I adore. This one is the latter. The film score and soundtrack is saturated with magnificent Jazz. It’s remarkable because they were somehow able to select songs that match the tone of the scenes… when I hear a classic typewriter clicking away under furiously typing fingers I hear horns calling out and walking baselines keeping cadence with Sean’s voice calling out ‘You’re the Man now Dog!!’. The film closes with "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) and since this film… it’s been used in many others. I hear it and think of good ‘ol JD Salinger… out there somewhere… over the rainbow. Double rainbow? Oh my god!
5. Rushmore (1998) – To say I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan is an understatement! And one of the reasons I like his films so much is his attention to selecting great music for his films. Originally he wanted the entire Soundtrack to be Kinks songs… but films being what they are, there were changes as they went, and they ended up only having one Kinks song in the film. The aura remained, and it ended up being a very moving and energizing soundtrack of brit-rock tunes slated for micro-revolution. Rushmore was the first Wes flick I saw, and thanks to the Soundtrack, whenever I hear ‘Making Time’ by The Creation I think of Rushmore. There’s a reason Gerson and I both picked it as #5… it’s amazing!
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ReplyDelete4. Jackie Brown (1997) – I was a fan of this story early on, because I like reading Elmore Leonard’s books. Then I heard Quentin was going to direct it and I got really happy! Fans of his say it’s his worst film… and I couldn’t disagree more!! Great acting, fun story, and on top of it all a great great great soundtrack. Quentin doesn’t really do ‘scored films’, he often dives into his own music collection in order to find the rhythm for the film. There’s an enthralling scene in the film where Pam Grier introduces the audience to the ‘Delfonics’. I began liking them from then on and because of this… Jackie Brown slides in at #4.
3. Natural Born Killers (1994) – Some consider this the last of the great Oliver Stone films… but the main reason I’m putting it in here is the nearly un-matchably ‘cool’ Soundtrack. Produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails while he was on tour with his group he wrote a song for the film, and found interesting versions of songs for the Soundtrack. Kudos to him for picking our fellow Canadian Leonard Cohen’s ‘Waiting for the Miracle’, who’s deep melody and hauntingly poetic lyrics echo the films more shadowy undertones. I don’t think Trent would have done such a phenomenal job with ‘The Social Network’ Soundtrack if he hadn’t already knocked it out of the park with this one. Numba 3 is the NBK.
2. Romeo + Juliet (1997) – So… this Baz Luhrmann film’s Soundtrack is the thing of legend! It was released in two volumes… one being the musical Soundtrack, the other being the commissioned Score. The film won the BAFTA award for best film score that year and the Soundtrack produced three number one singles including "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. Radiohead gave them their newly recorded (and at that time
unreleased) "Exit Music (For a Film)" … arguably my all-time favorite end credits song. The film (as if you haven’t seen it), does the classic Romeo and Juliet story in a modern time… in a new light. The music solidified the modernity of the story without making it intentionally dated. I loved nearly everything about this film too… it’s an easy choice as number two.
1. Dazed and Confused (1993) – There’s a very specific reason why this is my number one Soundtrack from the era. It’s my first favorite film, the first Linklater film I really liked, the first film that I wanted to own the Soundtrack immediately after watching it, and it’s the Soundtrack that I was playing when I had my first kiss. So although it has a seemingly obviously good Soundtrack filled with classic rock tunes and bring back memories of the film long after a viewing. I can’t hear ‘Hurricane’ by Bob Dylan without thinking of the boys entering ‘The Emporium’. This is a film I can throw on anytime and enjoy, and the same goes for the Soundtrack.
This is it! I’m sure I’ll want to make changes as soon as I post this… that’s the problem with watching a ton of movies.
Thanks for the trip down music lane… till next time,
Kristopher Finnigan