January 2024-February 2025: Favourite Film Soundtrack

Conan The Barbarian (1982) | Directed by John Milius | Reviewed by Jason Lépine

Conan the Barbarian (1982) Score by Basil Poledouris is an absolute epic and the pinnacle of Fantasy film scores. Every section of the score, from the rousing percussive introduction of "Anvil of Crom", which sets the pace of the violent horror of this harsh world, to the revelatory calm and stirring emotion of "Atlantean Sword" which perfectly captures the prophetic moment that connects Conan to his blade. The sweeping emotional conundrum of "The Search" as Conan forgoes his newly found love and happiness to reclaim the blood debt that has motivated him up until this point. Conan, a stoic figure, seemingly void of emotions, yet every ounce of his pain is felt during “The Funeral Pyre” through the score. The mix of playful setup and exciting build-up of the “Battle of the Mounds” braces us for the penultimate encounter. Every track is as fundamental to the film as the action on screen. The score elevates an already remarkable film to a classic, legendary, status. There is no overlap in these works of art; each section of the score is unique, yet wholly feels a part of the collective. The score will follow you long after the screen fades to black.

The Wild Robot  (2024) | Directed by Chris Sanders | Reviewed by Jowy Moss

​In my opinion, The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders, 2024) features the most memorable and emotional soundtrack of the year. Not only has the film's story lingered with me since my very first, very tearful viewing, but the score has also left a lasting impact. Whenever I see a frame from the film, I immediately hear Kris Bowers’ score echoing in my head. The score uses methodical, mechanical beats to connect to the main character, a robot named Roz. But as she learns from her experiences in the wild, and from raising a young gosling named Brightbill, the score opens up into soaring and lyrical melodies. The most impactful use of this incredible score comes in the song “I Could Use A Boost.” In the scene where this track plays, Brightbill has to leave Roz his mother behind to migrate for the winter. The theme expertly blends his excited nervousness of leaving with her bittersweet goodbye. The song swells in intensity as Roz helps Brightbill take off, finally building into a surprising pause as she reflects on Brightbill flying away. Suddenly the melody comes back, building once more as Roz runs after him, to see him one last time for a silent “goodbye.” Just like that, he’s gone abruptly taking the soaring theme with him and leaving Roz with the slow, lone piano as she contemplates the bittersweet reality of raising a child; to eventually let them go off into the world on their own. From that scene onwards, anytime I see anything related to The Wild Robot, I remember this moment and get all teary-eyed. It has connected with me on an emotional level which I will never forget. Such a memorable, and beautiful score is truly something special. Kris Bowers definitely deserves this year's Best Score Oscar nomination and hopefully, the Academy Award itself!

Challengers  (2024) | Directed by Luca Guadagnino | Reviewed by Lucy Schwindt

In lieu of the Oscars nominees being released, and Challengers not receiving a nomination for score, I felt like I had to write on this film. The Challengers score is nothing less than monumental to me. In a movie that already utilizes tension (sexual and otherwise) to create an engaging story, the score enhances the tone perfectly. Using a score that is almost exclusively composed of electronic dance music, the beats of the tennis matches are transformed from simply a sport that is a point of conflict, into an arena where movement and competition take a whole new meaning. Tennis is transformed from a competition into a dance between Art and Patrick that holds the same kind of sexual tension that is emulated by two people dancing at a club. The energy becomes electric, and suddenly a movie that is almost entirely about relationships that are a metaphor for tennis, takes the actual act of playing tennis and makes it about the only other subject on the characters minds, sex. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross absolutely killed it with this score, and in my heart took home the Oscar for best original score this year. 

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) | Directed by Peter Jackson | Reviewed by Arvin Farahbakhsh

2003 was the year I was born and it also happens to be the year that one of my favourite films ever released, that film of course being Peter Jackson's third Lord of the Rings film. Return of the King is a film that's been talked to death by virtually everyone so I don't think I need to elaborate much on just how impactful it's been to our cultural landscape, however, its score is something that I often see kinda forgotten in the grand scheme of things with this magnificent piece of art. Howard Shore composed the scores for all three films in this trilogy and while his scores in both the other films do stand out as groundbreaking and larger than life, his Return of the King score in particular stays with me far more. The way that Shore manages to capture this perfect blend of the maximalist spectacle of 2000s blockbusters while also keeping the same softness and sentimentality that the earlier scores in the trilogy possess is a remarkable level of genius that I don't think many other composers are capable of. I will be frank, if it wasn't for Shore's score, I highly doubt that this film would be as big of a moment in our cultural lexicon. The way the beautiful strings soar over the lighting of the beacons, the way the choirs announce the ride of the Rohirrim and even Pippin's song intercut beautifully with the barely hidden pain of Denothor and Faramir's strained relationship. These kinds of moments are as memorable as they are not in spite of the score, but because of it. That's honestly what I look for in scores as at the end of the day, the most powerful scores are the ones that can speak a language of their own. Scores that are completely un-divorceable from their origin and come to mind almost instantly when thinking of a specific moment in a film. That for me is what it's all about.

Oppenheimer (2023) | Directed by Christopher Nolan | Reviewed by Hunter Demers

Even though its a relatively recent film, when I think of incredible soundtracks in film, I think of Ludwig Goransson's score for Oppenheimer. The score adds so much to the intensity and pacing of the film, elevating it from the typical biopic seen often in modern filmmaking. 'Can You Hear the Music,' for example, underscores the feeling of early wonder in Oppenheimer's curiosity of the sciences and studying the details of world around him. This is shockingly important as one of the first pieces of score used in the film as it works alongside Christopher Nolan's direction and Cillian Murphy's character work to set the stage of where we find Oppenheimer at the beginning of the film. The score then becomes increasingly ominous and intense as the film continues, following Oppenheimer's increasing development of the nuclear bomb and increasing dissuasion he has towards his work. Such an interesting musical accompaniment to the film and one of my personal favourite film scores in recent memory!

Freddy Got Fingered (2001) | Directed by Tom Green | Reviewed by Ali Zakreski

Freddy Got Fingered (2001) turns “trolling” into an art form. It’s not a movie it’s a giant middle finger to the studio that sunk $14 million into its production. It defied the expectations of audiences and critics who thought Green would just give them a feature-length version of The Tom Green Show (1994-2000). All great artists defy expectations or risk stagnation, and this movie is just as bold as Bob Dylan going electric. Freddy Got Fingered is an absurd parody of the cliché and cheesy films about struggling artists. The soundtrack brilliantly contributes to its satirical intent. The movie opens with the protagonist, Gord, driving to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an animator. As Gord nears his big dream, Garry Numan’s Cars (1979) plays in the background. It’s the most cliché song that a director can use for that moment, and that’s why it’s brilliant. The song not only serves Green’s parody intent; he uses it to lull his audience into thinking this is just another conventional movie. The tone changes when Gord sees a stud farm, the music going from a licenced song to a jaunty instrumental score. He sees a horse being masturbated and blurts he “wants to try the horsey.” Gord proudly proclaims, “Look at me, Daddy, I’m a farmer!” as let’s just say he makes friends with the horsey. Gord is a character that reacts to every situation on pure impulse, no intrusive thought goes unacted upon. Green directed the film with the same ethos, acting on every creative impulse. The soundtrack matches the chaotic energy of Gord and the man who created him.

Marie Antoinette (2006) | Directed by Sofia Coppola | Reviewed by Hazel Cochrane

Marie Antoinette recreates my own junior high mp3 player listening patterns (which happened to be quite influenced by one particular Sofia Coppola soundtrack CD, Lost In Translation): danceable post-punk songs in the morning, and dreamy, sad indie songs all night. Coppola shapes the experience of her teen protagonist through the emotional realism of a dominating and evocative soundtrack. Marie Antoinette is portrayed as this wild, reckless, nihilstic, inspired girl, these traits complimented by tracks from Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow. For her and her young royal friends, important life changes occur too suddenly and work with intensity on their emotional states: so of course Antoinette’s life soundtrack is dominated by New Order, The Radio Department, The Strokes, and Vampire Weekend. Everything she feels overwhelms her, and she’s stuck in her own privileged world despite the situation outside: but the viewer becomes stuck, too, in a fantasy-world of first loves and sweet sad music.