1. Control - £15.29
As atmospheric and claustrophobic as the film, the Control soundtrack mixes early glam-rock and punk with a brooding set of Joy Division tracks. Ian Curtis would have adored this collection...had he ever been crass enough to enjoy himself.
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2. There Will Be Blood - £15.29
Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood leaves rock’n’roll behind in his score for There Will Be Blood. Strings slash across sparse piano arrangements creating a sinister, manic atmosphere perfectly in keeping with the brutal desperation of the film.
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3. The Harder They Come - £15.99
Reggae was at the core of the 1973 film The Harder They Come, a gritty Jamaican saga about a renegade singer who becomes a modern-day Robin Hood. Vital for anyonewho thinks Jamaican music begins and ends with Bob Marley.
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4. Taxi Driver - £7.99
One of the truly great film scores, Bernard Herman’s soft, smoky jazz lilts like an aural anti-psychotic. The seediness of a 1970’s New York is captured perfectly, giving Travis Bickle’s dreamlike descent into mental illness a convincing accompaniment.
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5. Enchanted - £14.99
The Enchanted soundtrack restores the huge orchestral arrangements, overblown sentimentality and note-perfect vocals that was a key component of Disney’s success in the late Eighties. If you pine for TheLittle Mermaid and Aladdin, you’ll love this.
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6. Juno - £11.99
Full to the brim with wonderfully twee modern folk, Juno’s soundtrack was intended to be a collection of songs that the eponymous main character would listen to. As such, it’s as awkward, warm and heartfelt as any teenage romance.
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7. I’m Not There - £14.99
Does theworld need another collection ofBobDylan interpretations? If it’s as varied and unexpected as this, then the answer is yes. Hearing several slacker rock icons redesign the songs, rather than rehash them, makes this worth every penny.
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8. Little Miss Sunshine - £15.99
The unlikely pairing of Canadian film scorer/new age artist Mychael Danna and unknown Denver band DeVotchKa created a strangely evocative soundtrack that perfectly matches the off-beat nature of the dysfunctional family road movie.
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9. The Assassination of Jesse James - £15.79
Not usually known for his subtlety, Nick Cave’s astonishingly simple score mixes emotive blues and country guitar playing with lush string arrangements. The result is a gorgeous portrait of early Americana that far outshines the film.
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10. Pulp Fiction - £14.29
Is this the coolest movie soundtrack of all time? A truly iconic cocktail of rockabilly, disco and surf that was hand-picked by director Quentin Tarantino, the Pulp Fiction soundtrack set a new standard. Often imitated, it has never been beaten.
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2 April 2008, Chosen by John Hall
