I've been in a bit of a music-centric headspace lately. I started working on this post shortly after publishing My Favorite John Williams Scores and now Hamilton has got me back in the mood. I wanted to cover some of my favorite movie soundtracks. I've decided to split my favorites into two parts - the first part covering the soundtracks with the best music actually sung onscreen by the characters and the second covering those with non-diegetic songs, the more commonly used soundtrack. Additionally, I will have a separate post for My Favorite (non-John Williams) Scores at a later date.
Music is one of the most important aspects with movies, something that can make a good movie great or a great movie an all-time classic. It's one of the more underrated (by general audiences, at least) components of film making, right up there with cinematography and editing.
The choices below are just based on how much I enjoy the songs/performances themselves, not the movie as a whole.
1. Sing Street
Sing Street was a revelation for me - an unexpected gem that I completely fell in love with and watched three or four times in about a month. In between viewings, I would listen to the soundtrack. Like the best movies about music, the songs work equally well within the confines of the movie and on their own while driving, working out, or just puttering around the house. The movie is set in the 1980's and centers around high school students who start a pop band, so bands like Duran Duran, The Cure, and Hall & Oates play a big influence on the characters. The music those characters create, however, is significantly better than anything those bands ever churned out. Songs like "The Riddle of the Model", "Up", "To Find You", and "Girls" are all wonderful and infinitely re-listenable, but my favorites are definitely "Brown Shoes" and "Drive It Like You Stole It". Both of these performances were among my favorite scenes of 2016 and I've watched them probably 50 times on YouTube.
2. Chicago
I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but Chicago is one that I absolutely adore. The Broadway songs transfer very well to the big screen and the cast is damn near perfect. Renee Zellweger ("Funny Honey", "Roxie", "Nowadays"), Catherine Zeta Jones ("And All That Jazz", "Cell Block Tango", "I Can't Do It Alone"), Richard Gere ("All I Care About", "We Both Reached for the Gun", "Razzle Dazzle"), Queen Latifah ("When You're Good to Momma") and John C. Reilly ("Mister Cellophane") all perform their songs pitch perfectly. If I had to pick one cast member to single out, it'd probably be Richard Gere simply because he surprised me so much. I never knew he had such talent - his singing and tap dancing astounded me. It doesn't hurt that he has one of the best characters, either. My favorite song from the film is hard to narrow down, but, if pressed, I'd go with "We Both Reached for the Gun". It's a great song - fun and catchy - plus the performances by Gere and Zellweger are sublime.
3. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother is my second favorite movie of all-time and I've watched it probably 20 times in the last 20 years. It never fails to entertain me and much of my enjoyment stems for the songs. While "Man of Constant Sorrow" is the obvious standout, the whole soundtrack is very good. "Down to the River to Pray" is a fun, sexy, and catchy song performed (on the soundtrack) by Alison Kraus and (in the movie) by a trio of beautiful sirens. "You Are My Sunshine" has always been a favorite of mine - my mom sang it to me when I was a kid and to my son when he was little - and seeing the fantastic Charles Durning perform it here is a treat. "In the Jailhouse Now" not only features Tim Blake Nelson's surprisingly solid singing voice, but also his (and John Turturro's) playful dancing. "O Death" by Ralph Stanley is a haunting, almost spiritual experience. Stanley's deep baritone singing a cappella while the three main characters are about to be hung is a rare somber moment in an otherwise hilarious and upbeat movie. "Man of Constant Sorrow" is repeated a few times throughout the movie, but my favorite is definitely at Homer Stokes's rally where we get to see a fun, joyful performance from George Clooney, Nelson, and Turturro (overdubbed by Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen, and Pat Enright) plus some fabulous dancing from Durning! It's a scene that makes me smile from ear to ear no matter how many times I watch it.
4. Walk the Line
Johnny Cash is one of my favorite musicians and Joaquin Phoenix is one of my favorite actors working today, so the combination of the two made for a movie right up my alley. While I don't love it quite as much as I used to, the music is still excellent. Phoenix captures Cash's on stage essence just perfectly and his singing voice is very good, too. He can't quite match Cash's distinct voice, but I don't think many people could. Phoenix's renditions of "Get Rhythm", "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire", "Cry Cry Cry", "Folsom Prison Blues", and (my personal favorite) "Cocaine Blues" are rollicking good fun. Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter Cash, and for good reason. While she doesn't embody June with the same precision as Phoenix, she's outstanding in the role and her performances of "Wildwood Flower" and "Juke Box Blues" are great. Witherspoon and Phoenix duet on several memorable songs, as well - the standout is "Jackson" - and their on screen chemistry is electric. Added to all of these songs are "Lewis Boogie" (by Waylon Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis), "You're My Baby" (by Jonathan Rice as Roy Orbison), "That's All Right" (by Tyler Hinton as Elvis Presley), and "I'm a Long Way from Home" (by Shooter Jennings as his dad, Waylon Jennings). It's a phenomenal soundtrack of rockabilly cover songs and something any 50's Memphis fan would surely love.
5. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka was a childhood favorite and something that has endured well into my adulthood. I never really think of it as a "musical" but I don't know why - it obviously is one and the songs are some of the best moments of the entire film. All the songs were written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and performed by the various cast members including Aubrey Woods ("The Candy Man"), Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum ("I've Got a Gold Ticket"), Julie Dawn Cole ("I Want It Now!"), and Gene Wilder ("Pure Imagination"). The Oompa Loompa characters have fantastic and insanely catchy songs after each child is dispatched of. They're not only fun songs, but could teach naughty kids some valuable lessons! Wilder's selection is by far my favorite of the soundtrack, though. It's usually is the first thing I think of when the movie comes to mind. The song itself is very good, but I think Wilder elevates it nicely, with his singing voice and - more importantly - his character as Wonka. Seeing this odd man is his garish costume singing such a sweet and tender song is just such an interesting concept.
6. Hairspray
Hairspray is just a big ball of fun. There are fun characters, fun performances, a fun plot, and fun songs. Nikki Blonsky plays the lead and she gets to sing some of my favorite songs, including the infectious opening number "Good Morning Baltimore". John Travolta returns to what he's best at - singing and dancing - and has duets with Blonsky ("Welcome to the 60's"), Christopher Walken ("You're Timeless to Me"), and Michelle Pfeiffer ("Big, Blonde, & Beautiful"). Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Amanda Bynes, and Brittany Snow all contribute to the overall greatness of the soundtrack, as well, either with songs of their own or in group efforts. James Marsden was probably the biggest surprise of the whole movie for me, though. I never knew he had such a talent for singing! His work on "Nicest Kids in Town" and "It's Hairspray" almost steal the show. The highlight of the soundtrack is the climatic number "You Can't Stop the Beat" where most of the main cast gets to join together to defeat the bad guys and dance off into the sunset. It's a rollicking good time and a perfect way to end such a delightful movie.
7. Begin Again
Director John Carney has a way with movies about music. He also directed Once - which was on my preliminary list of movies for this countdown - and Sing Street, my number one pick. Most of the songs are in regular rotation on my Pandora and I never get tired hearing them, even though Pandora plays them at least once a day, everyday. The movie stars Keira Knightley as an amateur singer-songwriter and Knightley performs all of her songs herself. Now, I've long been a fan of hers as an actress, but she really surprised me with a wonderful singing voice. Almost all of my favorite songs - including "Tell Me If You Want to Go Home", "Like a Fool", and "A Step You Can't Take Back" - from the soundtrack are sung by Knightley. Adam Levine co-stars and, surprisingly to me, isn't too bad. I don't like his music with Maroon 5 very much at all, but "Lost Stars", "A Higher Place", and "No One Else Like You" are all very good. My favorite song from the soundtrack is Knightley's "Coming Up Roses" and it's just not me who enjoys it - I've had several Uber passengers comment on it when it comes up on my Pandora.
8. Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is widely considered one of the best movie musicals of all-time. There's good reason for that sentiment as the film is filled with wonderful characters, great songs, and impressive dance numbers, not to mention a stellar script and top notch direction. It's hard to separate the songs from the dance numbers in my mind, since this isn't a soundtrack that I've listened to on its own. There are several memorable numbers including duets from Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor ("Fit As a Fiddle" and "Moses Supposes"), solo efforts from Kelly ("You Were Meant for Me" and "Singin' in the Rain"), O'Connor ("Make 'Em Laugh"), and Debbie Reynolds ("All I Do Is Dream of You"). While the titular song is by far the most famous, it's not quite my favorite song from the movie. That honor goes to "Good Morning" which is sung (and danced) by all three leads in a showstopping performance that might be one of the best musical moments of any film, ever. The combination of singing, dancing, and physical humor adds up to something really special.
9. Black Snake Moan
This is probably the least seen movie on this list, but I've been championing it to friends and internet strangers alike since I first saw it in the summer of 2007. Black Snake Moan is a steamy, intense movie about a Southern bluesman - a never better Samuel L. Jackson - who attempts to rescue a provocative, wayward Christina Ricci. Jackson's Lazarus uses his soulful music as his main tool to win Ricci's Rae over and the songs - and Jackson's guitar playing - are very good. I don't have a lot of experience with blues music, but what I've heard, I've liked. Jackson is a surprisingly good singer and guitar player and his five songs are the highlight of the soundtrack for me. "Just Like a Bird Without a Feather" and "Alice Mae" are both great, but the title track is my favorite of the bunch. While Jackson plays "Black Snake Moan", lightning and thunder crash in the background and it all adds up to a perfect little movie moment. It's been years and years since I last watched the movie, but that scene is still fresh in my memory.
10. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
I will freely admit to not being a big South Park fan. I've probably seen a dozen episodes (out of the 300+ total episodes from the last 23 years) and I've liked maybe half of them. I don't particularly love the movie either, but it's got some great songs. Like everything South Park related, Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote most of the songs (some along with Marc Shaiman) and provide most of the vocals. It's impressive to know that two guys are almost wholly responsible for such a large, intricate work. "Mountain Town", "Uncle Fucka", "It's Easy, Mmmkay", "Kyle's Mom's a Bitch", and "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" are all fun and catchy songs. The Oscar nominated "Blame Canada", though, is the highlight of the movie for me. It's a rousing epic of a song, like something out of a perverted version of Les Mis. Actually, the whole movie works like a traditional musical, just one populated with foul mouthed, animated pre-teens and their equally offensive adult counterparts.
Well, there's my list! Did I leave any of your favorites off? Are any of my choices "new" to you? If so, I'd highly recommend them all and would love to hear your opinion of them.
Thanks for reading!
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