movie soundtracks – The Red Pen of Doom

Movie soundtracks are typically (a) silly pop songs by whoever is hot at the moment or (b) orchestras cranked up to 11, whether you can afford John Williams, Hans Zimmer or some dude you know who owns a synthesizer.

Sidenote: That last method actually worked with the soundtrack for the Terminator movies.

But we are here to talk about a little snippet from the soundtrack of GREAT EXPECTATIONS, one of five zillion deep romantic dramas that Ethan Hawke has starred in.

Here’s the music video with footage from the actual motion picture and such:

See? Sometimes, you don’t need words.

You don’t even need images for this music to make you feel something.

Most soundtracks are repetitive. The theme from the Terminator movies is well-known because it’s simple and repeats itself five zillion times. Dah-don-don-don-DON.

This bit of music works for me because it ebbs and flows, changes and grows. I’ve heard it a hundred times and it hasn’t gotten boring. And it arouses different emotions in different parts. Subtle ones that silly pop stars and Hans Zimmer can’t touch, though I do love myself some Zimmer craziness.

So: Patrick the Doyle, who I’ve never heard of, I salute you, not only for this piece of musical gold, but for having the guts to also have piano goddess Tori Amos do the song SIREN on this same soundtrack.

There are certain movies that simply have the Most Glorious Soundtracks Known to Man.

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is one such movie.

It didn’t break records at the box office, and may be best known for featuring an all-star cast of A-list actors, and if half of them had names starting with A, hey, we’d be riding the alliteration train all the way to Texas. But they don’t. A few of the actors: Uma Thurman, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rappaport, Rosie O’Donnell and some little girl named Natalie Portman.

Here’s a great clip from that movie, which you are required by law to fire up on Netflix and such: