John Hughes

24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CDT

Thu, 26 Nov 2009

Beethoven (John Hughes as Writer )

6:30 PM ET | Encore

Listen, Don't Watch: 10 Soundtracks Better Than Their Movies

REELZCHANNEL STAFF — 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CDT

Seven months ago, the movie formerly known as The Boat That Rocked had its UK theatrical release, followed up two months later with the DVD. Reviews at the time were so-so. Now the pic gets shipped state-side, renamed Pirate Radio and apparently with all the good parts taken out.

That said, the soundtrack contains 32 '60s classics from The Kinks to The Who to David Bowie — sending it straight to the "Soundtracks Better Than Their Movies" category. Here are our top 10 on that list.

Movie

Soundtrack Highlights

Music vs. Movie

"We're Feelin' Ya"

1.	Purple Rain

Let's Go Crazy
Take Me With U
Darling Nikki
When Doves Cry
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm a Star
Purple Rain

Prince's concert movie/biopic is nearly unwatchable when any "acting" happens offstage (except, of course, for the unforgettable "purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka" scene featuring Apollonia). Meanwhile, the soundtrack is the third best-seller of all time, won an Oscar, and still holds up 25 years after its release.

"It's probably best to think of the film as an extended music video, a watershed moment for movie sound tracks, and not much more."

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

2.

Twilight

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
I Caught Myself - Paramore
Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation
Never Think - Rob Pattinson

Some Twilight fans have complained the movie's soundtrack didn't really "fit" the Bella-and-Edward love story or the Forks, Washington, setting. As if that's a bad thing! Forget for a moment that it's based on a popular book, and the movie would barely make the cut for the CW. Meanwhile, the soundtrack is first-rate, including a moody ballad by star Robert Pattinson.

"There's nothing transporting about the visuals. Twilight was a famously low-budget production compared to most traditional blockbusters, but this is ridiculous."

Christy Lemire, Associated Press

3.	Marie Antoinette

Plainsong - The Cure
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam & the Ants
Ceremony - New Order
Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie and the Banshees

Maybe Sofia Coppola would be considered a better filmmaker if her soundtracks didn't always trump her movies. Marie Antoinette isn't bad, but when you set "Hong Kong Garden" to an 18th-century French costume ball, it's Siouxie and the Banshees who steal the show.

"The result is a silly piece of costume jewelry called Marie Antoinette, and no, the soldering of a new-wave-revival soundtrack with 18th-century Versailles is not interesting enough to save this bauble."

Michael Booth, Denver Post

4.	Lost Highway

I'm Deranged - David Bowie
This Magic Moment - Lou Reed
Mr. Eddy's Theme 1 and 2 - Barry Adamson
Anything - Angelo Badalamenti

David Lynch has made some of our favorite movies ... but this ain't one of 'em. Bill Pullman was a musician who morphed into a mechanic, or something. If you figure it out, let us know. Anyhow, the Lou Reed music still sounds great and Lynch's composer Angelo Badalamenti was still at the top of his game.

"If one wishes to make sense of this film, it would have to be done on a metaphorical level."

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

5.	Garden State

Caring Is Creepy - The Shins
In the Waiting Line - Zero 7
One of These Things First - Nick Drake
Winding Road - Bonnie Somerville
Let Go - Frou Frou

Director and star Zach Braff's pale cover of a Wes Anderson movie somehow manages to have less drama and emotional connection than the movie's music, which includes tracks from Zero 7, Nick Drake, and of course Frou Frou. Oh, yes, and the Shins get a couple ditties in there, too.

"This comedy works so diligently at being idiosyncratic, it comes off as artificial and forced."

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

6.	O Brother, Where Art Thou?

You Are My Sunshine - Norman Blake
Down to the River to Pray - Alison Krauss
Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby - Emmylou Harris
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys
I'll Fly Away - Gillain Welch

It's not that we hated this update of Homer's Odyssey by the Coen Brothers. But let's face it, it's impossible to follow up The Big Lebowski with a movie that won't disappoint by comparison. The catchy American folk music soundtrack, on the other hand, turned millions on to bluegrass, gospel, and blues — people who otherwise are predisposed to indie rock and music from those Apple commercials.

"After making what are still probably their two best features, the Coen brothers came up with their worst, a piece of pop nihilism."

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

7.	Saturday Night Fever

Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
Night Fever - Bee Gees
If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
Boogie Shoes - KC & the Sunshine Band
Disco Inferno - The Trammps

The movie is dance-off cheese with a dollop of bad Brooklyn accents, yet it did — thanks primarily to the music — turn disco into a worldwide phenomenon we're still coming to grips with almost 30 years later. It's still the number two best-selling soundtrack of all time, two million units behind The Bodyguard (seriously).

"John Badham's film (his best to date), a zeitgeist picture that captures the disco subculture of the 1970s like no other work, features a star-making performance from John Travolta who dominates every frame."

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com

8.	Pretty in Pink

If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Do Wot You Do - INXS
Bring on the Dancing Horses - Echo & the Bunnymen
Wouldn't It Be Good - Danny Hutton Hitters

Maybe if John Hughes had written and directed Pink it would be up there with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club in the "Brat Pack" filmography. Instead, its soundtrack is what's most memorable, an almost perfect collection of mid-80s alt-rock tainted only slightly by Suzanne Vega's "Left of Center."

"This is like every other Hughes film, just a little shoddier."

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

9.	The Life Aqautic with Steve Zissou

Life on Mars? - David Bowie
Rebel Rebel - Seu Jorge
Gut Feeling - Devo
The Way I Feel Inside - The Zombies
Queen Bitch - David Bowie

Every Wes Anderson movie is a little bit worse than his last (starting with the brilliant Bottle Rocket and ending with The Darjeeling Limited), but the soundtracks are always top notch. Previous to Darjeeling he made the snoozer Aquatic, redeemed significantly by Seu Jorge covering David Bowie ... and David Bowie singing David Bowie.

"Why is it that so many people think this filmmaker is the voice of their generation? Is their generation that vacuous?"

David Edelstein, Slate

10.

Xanadu

Magic - Olivia Newton-John
Suddenly - Olivia Newton-John
I'm Alive - Electric Light Orchestra
All Over the World - Electric Light Orchestra

In spite of featuring Olivia Newton-John at the peak of her beauty, this 1980 flick about a Greek muse who inspires a guy to build a disco roller rink — we didn't just make that up — doesn't even qualify as a guilty pleasure. The movie bombed. The soundtrack, however, contained five Top 20 singles, three from ONJ and two from ELO.

"Xanadu is a mushy and limp musical fantasy, so insubstantial it keeps evaporating before our eyes."

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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