Music in International Movies
Finding foreign films with foreign soundtracks was harder than I expected. I had to do some digging to figure out if some of my favorite film scores were British or American. According to BFI (assuming it's British Film Institute) they're British.
Goldfinger (1964) Theme - Shirley Bassey
The work of John Barry would define the sound of the James Bond franchise. The second
of eleven Bond films that Barry would score, and the first where he would write the title
song (lyrics by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse), Goldfinger is still one of the best
Bond scores. The soundtrack album became so successful that it knocked the Beatles' Hard
Day's Night off the number one spot in the U.S. charts.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - Main Theme - Maurice Jarre.
Mary and Larry both submitted Lawrence of Arabia! Mary also submitted some text, which follows.
Bernard Herrmann was one of at least seven composers who were approached to write the score for David Lean’s monumental First World War epic, but those composing duties finally fell to Maurice Jarre, a composer who had initially been contracted as a music co-ordinator. While this was the fourth English-language film Jarre would score (he had worked in French cinema since 1952), it was, without doubt, the one that placed him firmly on the international map, rightly winning him the first of three Academy Awards. It remains one of the greatest of all film scores.
The Mission - On Earth As It Is In Heaven - Ennio Morricone.
Listen from 01:06 to 02:00, more if you like.
Miles Davis - "Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud" OST - Louis Malle 1958.
Listen from 01:06 to 02:35, more if you like.
What could be better suited to the new loose, improvisational acting style that characterized French new wave cinema than an entirely improvised film score? The origin story of how
Miles Davis
met French director Louis Malle differs but the result is inarguably one of pure cosmic fate, with Davis and a slew of French session musicians improvising this seminal cool jazz score live to projected film sequences. A key piece of work in Davis’ artistic development (it marked his first foray into modal jazz, en route to recording the seminal Kind Of Blue), it also remains one of the best film scores to come out of the jazz world.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) - Night Fight Theme Music
The score was composed by Tan Dun, originally performed by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, and Shanghai Percussion Ensemble. It also features many solo passages for cello played by Yo-Yo Ma. China Film Co-Productions Corporation, Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, Edko Films, Good Machine International, and Zoom Hunt Productions. With dialogue in Mandarin, subtitled for various markets, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success, grossing $213.5 million worldwide. It grossed US $128 million in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film produced overseas in American history. The film was the first foreign-language movie (it was filmed in Mandarin Chinese) to break the $100 million (£51 million) mark in USA. An overwhelming critical and commercial success, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won over 40 awards and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2001, including Best Picture, and won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography, receiving the most nominations ever for a non-English language film at the time, until 2018's Roma tied this record. The film also won four BAFTAs and two Golden Globe Awards, one for Best Foreign Film. Along with its awards success, Crouching Tiger continues to be hailed as one of the greatest and most influential non-English language films. The film has been praised for its story, direction, and cinematography, and for its martial arts sequences.
La Vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful; 1997) - Nicola Piovani (composer)
Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless
from 1960. Music by Martial Solal. French New Wave.
Olympia - Festival of Nations
(1936 olympics film). Directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Music by Herbert Windt.
Beyond the Clouds — Beach Sequence — U2-Eno
Michelangelo Antonioni/Wim Wenders,Italy.
Ito Okashi — Something Beautiful — Performed by Rita Takashina
Miss Sarajevo — Performed by Luciano Pavarotti/Bono
Music begins at 01:00. Music by Michael Giacchino.
[Bob also joined the ranks of those who thought up Lawrence of Arabia.]
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