Tuesday 25 March 2014

Top 20 Film Themes

Music featuring an orchestra created primarily for that movie. The only rule is no main stream Hollywood.


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20


5 Centimetres per Second - Tenmon
To get us started (even though you're just going to skip to number 1), here is some relaxing piano music.

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19



Day for Night - Georges Delerue - Grand Choral
Grand theme from a fantastic film.

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18


Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence - Ryuichi Sakamoto
The piano version is far superior and would place at around 5. The original is not as good, but still good.

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17


Providence- Miklos Rozsa- Valse crepusculaire
Beautiful accompanying piano music.

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16

The Naked Island- Hikaru Hayashi- L'lle Nue
The most recent addition, is from the highest reviewed film on the blog (as of March 2014). The video also features a French cover, which isn't in the film, but is also good.

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15


Satantango - Mihaly Vig - Rain II
Occasionally the film would go silent, and this music would play. On screen, is people walking or a shot of a field, but this music makes it so epic.

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14


Amelie - Yann Tiersen - La Valse D'Amelie
I think everyone knows this one.

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13


A Woman Under the Influence - Bo Harwood
They never released the OST, so this is the only song available. It's short, but that just means you can replay it more.

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12

This is just a free space in-case I think of anything. Ignore it and move on. It's not worth it.

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11


Happy Together - Astor Piazzolla - Final Tango Apsaionado
A moody piece of music, which about half way through changes completely. The first half is anticipation for the second half, which is glorious.

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10


Berlin Alexanderplatz- Peer Raben
When I saw the mini-series, I always looked forward to the end credits of each episode, to hear a different version of the theme song.

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09


My Neighbour Totoro - Joe Hisashi
A musical adaptation of the Totoro theme song, jumping from piano, to violin, to alternating violin and (I would guess) flute.

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08


Siberiade - Eduard Artemyev
Epic Russian music at it's peak, but probably better if you watch the film.

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07


The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand in Mine
This was homework music for months after release. The chilled out guitar with the song constantly going into different choruses, make the song relaxing and refreshing.

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06


Kikujiro - Joe Hisaishi- Summer
Joe Hisaishi is more known for his Ghibili soundtracks, but this film has the best. It's joyous and filled with contempt, much like 'Kikujiro'.

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05



Werkmeister Harmonies - Mihaly Vig - Valuska/Old
Two pieces from Werckmeister Harmonies as they are both as good as each other. Ideal for homework music.

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04


The Draughtsman's Contract- Michael Nyman- Chasing Sleep is Best Left to Shepards
Nyman is a vital part of Greenaway's films. I believe this to be his greatest piece.

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03


8 1/2 - Nino Rota - La Passarella di Addio

Anyone who has seen 8 1/2, will say the last scene is the best. This song plays during that scene, and has inspired everything from 'Day for Night' to 'The Great Beauty'.

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02


A City of Sadness- S.E.N.S
You have to wait a while before the chorus enters but when it does, things get epic.

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01


The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Ennio Morricone- The Ecstasy of Gold
Maybe not my favourite, but Ennio Morricone has done many good themes, it would be a shame not to put the best one at number 1. It's more of a safe bet, but the song is excellent. The Oboe at the beginning is music to my ears, continuing to the sound of an opera singer, before the whole orchestra joins in.

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