Top 7- Soundtracks better than their films
I love music in films, as has been well documented and sometimes, I think to myself how much better the soundtrack to the film is than the film itself. That thought came up quite a lot and led to me making this list. There's some songs from each soundtrack here for your pleasure as well if reading is just too much for you today.
7. Drive
The fact that Drive is on here is not an insult to the movie. Drive is a great film and I'd recommend it for many reasons. What Drive being on this list actually means is that the soundtrack is phenomenal. Not only is the soundtrack perfect for the slow burn mood of the film as we watch the Driver move around the city, it's also one of those soundtracks that is a good life soundtrack. By that, I mean that you could listen to the soundtrack throughout your day to day life and feel awesome, whether walking or eating Cheerios. With songs like Nightcall, Under Your Spell and the terrific A Real Hero, this is a soundtrack that fits the film so well, it becomes the most memorable things about it
6. Flash Gordon
Like Drive, Flash Gordon is a good film. Well, technically not that great but it's cheesy, silly pleasure that you can keep returning to. What excels the film up from a B movie to what I guess would be a B+ movie is the soundtrack, performed by the legendary rock band Queen. Watching Brian Blessed hoisted into the air as he wears tight leather pants and strange wings, all while screaming, is an amazing sight anyway but you would not believe how much it is elevated by Freddie Mercury's vocals and Brian May's epic guitar riffs. A silly film that's somehow given classic status by a legendary soundtrack.
5. Paper Towns
As a huge fan of the book, I was gutted when Paper Towns was made into a fairly mediocre film. The plot wasn't as compelling as the book, the humour was off and Margo Roth Spiegelman of the film was very little like how I'd imagined her while reading. Still, it wasn't all lost as, like fellow John Green adaptation The Fault in our Stars, the soundtrack is fantastic. It's mainly made up of new songs from newish bands and they make up a regular part of my playlist. If the film let me down, the soundtrack was more than I could have wished for, even if the standout Smile from the trailer was missing from the actual film.
4. Boyhood
Critics love Boyhood but the film just didn't stick with me. What really stuck though was it's soundtrack and it managed to do exactly what the film did, only through music in a very pleasant way. It follows Mason through his childhood and each new year of the film has songs from that year. The film opens on Coldplay's beautiful Yellow and zips around from there, covering most bases of popular music. Music is so good in this film that the most powerful moment for me was one with no dialogue, just the song "Hero" playing. The song is powerful and it's a single moment that is so pure and beautiful, the film deserves to be here just for that.
3. Iron Man 2
Personally, I didn't hate Iron Man 2 like most others but it's hard to deny that it's one of the weaker films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where the film unquestionably rocks (and the pun is intended) is with it's soundtrack. It's entirely compromised of songs from rock legends. Ozzy Osborne is on there but the main artist is AC/DC who have loads of their best songs just lying around the film. I am Iron Man is a great song and it is highly appropriate but it's also worth mentioning Highway to Hell and Thunderstruck as songs that elevate a mediocre film.
2. Me Before You
Fans of rom-coms, I'm sorry this film made it so far down the list but it has a huge disparity between the quality of the film and the quality of the soundtrack. I didn't mind the film too much and felt it was fine but it's most powerful moments came from the excellent soundtrack. Romantic films often have good soundtracks as with good songs, you don't have to use film making techniques to make the audience feel things and this film was no exception. It ends on a rather lovely song from Imagine Dragons and has many songs from the fantastic Ed Sheeran but the highlight was the song Unsteady, which really brought me the feels. The film is fine but the soundtrack is really worth looking into for this.
1. Casino
Oh Casino. You disappointed me so much when I laid eyes on you and our relationship hasn't improved much. It's so impressive for a director to make a film that feels like a knock-off of his own work but Scorcese managed it. The only thing it has going for it is a stellar soundtrack. It has many Scorcese soundtrack hallmarks including a personal favourite of mine, The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter. The film also opens on a beautiful orchestral score and the soundtrack keeps that beauty going. Shame the film doesn't. Possibly the best song from a great bunch here is the heartbreaking use of Harry Nielsen's Without You which made for an odd moment paired with the action onscreen but the song is wonderful. If the film was nearly as good as the soundtrack, then this film would be great but instead, it's Casino.
7. Drive
The fact that Drive is on here is not an insult to the movie. Drive is a great film and I'd recommend it for many reasons. What Drive being on this list actually means is that the soundtrack is phenomenal. Not only is the soundtrack perfect for the slow burn mood of the film as we watch the Driver move around the city, it's also one of those soundtracks that is a good life soundtrack. By that, I mean that you could listen to the soundtrack throughout your day to day life and feel awesome, whether walking or eating Cheerios. With songs like Nightcall, Under Your Spell and the terrific A Real Hero, this is a soundtrack that fits the film so well, it becomes the most memorable things about it
6. Flash Gordon
Like Drive, Flash Gordon is a good film. Well, technically not that great but it's cheesy, silly pleasure that you can keep returning to. What excels the film up from a B movie to what I guess would be a B+ movie is the soundtrack, performed by the legendary rock band Queen. Watching Brian Blessed hoisted into the air as he wears tight leather pants and strange wings, all while screaming, is an amazing sight anyway but you would not believe how much it is elevated by Freddie Mercury's vocals and Brian May's epic guitar riffs. A silly film that's somehow given classic status by a legendary soundtrack.
5. Paper Towns
As a huge fan of the book, I was gutted when Paper Towns was made into a fairly mediocre film. The plot wasn't as compelling as the book, the humour was off and Margo Roth Spiegelman of the film was very little like how I'd imagined her while reading. Still, it wasn't all lost as, like fellow John Green adaptation The Fault in our Stars, the soundtrack is fantastic. It's mainly made up of new songs from newish bands and they make up a regular part of my playlist. If the film let me down, the soundtrack was more than I could have wished for, even if the standout Smile from the trailer was missing from the actual film.
4. Boyhood
Critics love Boyhood but the film just didn't stick with me. What really stuck though was it's soundtrack and it managed to do exactly what the film did, only through music in a very pleasant way. It follows Mason through his childhood and each new year of the film has songs from that year. The film opens on Coldplay's beautiful Yellow and zips around from there, covering most bases of popular music. Music is so good in this film that the most powerful moment for me was one with no dialogue, just the song "Hero" playing. The song is powerful and it's a single moment that is so pure and beautiful, the film deserves to be here just for that.
3. Iron Man 2
Personally, I didn't hate Iron Man 2 like most others but it's hard to deny that it's one of the weaker films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where the film unquestionably rocks (and the pun is intended) is with it's soundtrack. It's entirely compromised of songs from rock legends. Ozzy Osborne is on there but the main artist is AC/DC who have loads of their best songs just lying around the film. I am Iron Man is a great song and it is highly appropriate but it's also worth mentioning Highway to Hell and Thunderstruck as songs that elevate a mediocre film.
2. Me Before You
Fans of rom-coms, I'm sorry this film made it so far down the list but it has a huge disparity between the quality of the film and the quality of the soundtrack. I didn't mind the film too much and felt it was fine but it's most powerful moments came from the excellent soundtrack. Romantic films often have good soundtracks as with good songs, you don't have to use film making techniques to make the audience feel things and this film was no exception. It ends on a rather lovely song from Imagine Dragons and has many songs from the fantastic Ed Sheeran but the highlight was the song Unsteady, which really brought me the feels. The film is fine but the soundtrack is really worth looking into for this.
1. Casino
Oh Casino. You disappointed me so much when I laid eyes on you and our relationship hasn't improved much. It's so impressive for a director to make a film that feels like a knock-off of his own work but Scorcese managed it. The only thing it has going for it is a stellar soundtrack. It has many Scorcese soundtrack hallmarks including a personal favourite of mine, The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter. The film also opens on a beautiful orchestral score and the soundtrack keeps that beauty going. Shame the film doesn't. Possibly the best song from a great bunch here is the heartbreaking use of Harry Nielsen's Without You which made for an odd moment paired with the action onscreen but the song is wonderful. If the film was nearly as good as the soundtrack, then this film would be great but instead, it's Casino.
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