Soundtracks have long gone beyond the confines of musical accompaniment for films. Some of them became more popular and famous than movies, some celebrated films and vice versa, and some famous tracks changed the context of films.

Since the time of the silent film, the musical accompaniment of scenes has been an extremely important component of cinematic enjoyment. Whether it emphasized the dramatic character of a particular sequencer or scene, the soundtrack plays a key role. So big a role that it has transcended film in contemporary cinema and become a subgenre for itself. After all, how many times did the movie you watched look bad and the music was great, so did you keep listening and when was the movie forgotten?

The first motion picture with composed music, composed of original and adapted compositions, is “The Birth of a Nation” composed by Joseph Carl Breil, one of the first composers of film music. It was performed in all cinemas where the movie was screened, while piano players were given tracks and a list when played. Not only did the playing of music during silent films give a more realistic cinematic impression and draw viewers into cinematic magic, but there is also a specific reason: cinema projectors of the time were so noisy that it would be almost impossible without it.

The first soundtrack originally composed was Merian C. Cooper’s “King Kong” from 1933. It was composed by the famous Max Steiner, one of the greatest movie composers of all time, the author of music in over 300 films, the most famous of which were “Gone by the wind”,“ Casablanca ”,“ Treasure of the Sierra Madre ”and others. This timeless hit was marked by the famous dramatic music that has entered the history of film.

We will present to you some of the most important and best soundtracks of all time. So, turn on your chillout radio, relax and make sure to check every song you read here!

THE GRADUATE (1968)

The masterpiece of famous Miles Davis producer Teo Macero combines the work of Simon and Garfunkel and jazz-pop instrumental Dave Grusin, bringing the incredible success of a Queens folk-rock duo to capturing a song from the movie, “Mrs. Robinson, ”as a general symbol of the counter-cultural revolution of the 1960s.

For their work on it, Simon and Garfunkel received 2 Grammys, while Mike Nichols’ dramedy became a symbol of young upper middle-class struggles against conservative America without escaping into hippie communes. The combination of S&G film narrative and music that fits in ideally and symbolically with Nichols’ movie idea has given the first soundtrack to be named best record of the year.

ENNIO MORRICONE WITH SERGIO LEONE

One of the greatest composers with over 500 television and film projects, Ennio Morricone, has composed such memorable ones for Sergio Leone’s films as “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” “Once Upon a Time in America” or “For A Few Dollars More”.

Because there are many compositions, they are placed under one spot on the list.

Morricone made the orchestral music an old, good method: he introduced elements of Mexican and Italian traditional music into the westerns, and the tracks themselves followed the dramaturgy of the scenes in which they were heard, so the tension or upheaval was accentuated to the audience with appropriate music.

How well Morricone has done a job is evidenced by the general acceptance and prevalence of the main, whistling, theme from the movie ” The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ” The two-tone tune is reminiscent of the coyote howl, and for all three main characters (Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach), another source is used to perform the main tune: flute, ocarina, and human voices. This, of course, goes with the characters and their meanings, and it is not surprising that Morricone’s themes can still be heard today.

JUDGMENT NIGHT (1993)

There is no soundtrack that has achieved so much success over the film itself as the first example of rap-rock originally composed for a 1993 Stephen Hopkins motion picture.

The collaboration of hip hop and rock artists from all subgenres, from grunge to thrash metal, was initiated by Happy Walters, a promising Hollywood movie producer. The soundtrack has been on Billboard’s best-selling album list for weeks, earning 17th place and evoking the popularity of both musical trends at the time.

No single singles stood out as a hit, but the entire album stands as the most revolutionary soundtrack of all time. And how not, when you look at the list of bands and musicians on the same: Pearl Jam, Boo-Yaa TRIBE, Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Faith No More, De La Soul, House of Pain, Ice T, Slayer, Teenage Fanclub, Mudhoney, Living Color, Dinosaur Jr and others. You must listen to this soundtrack if you have not done so before.

TRAINSPOTTING (1996)

There are no movie characters that have so much entered popular culture in the last 30 years as Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, Begbie, the main protagonists of Danny Boyle’s movie about Scottish heroin addicts. There are also no movie anti-heroes that have received so much general acceptance to the level of imitation among viewers.

The combination of post-punk and rave electronic captivates not only the atmosphere of Trainspotting and, most of all, its characters, but also the spirit of the time in which it was created.

The soundtrack brought the rave anthem of “Born slippy” Underworld and the already famous tracks like Iggy Pop’s “Lust for life”. For some, it has sealed the place in popular culture, and for others, it has completely changed the context. Whatever the Trainspotting soundtrack is you can listen to it every day. At every occasion. And feel lust for life.

PULP FICTION (1994)

Speaking of launching tracks into the history of popular culture, no movie has done as well as Quentin Taratino with Dick Dale’s “Misirlou”, Lively One’s  ” Surf Rider” or bringing back Chuck Berry’s rockabilly hit “You never can tell, ”which most of us can no longer imagine without the dance of John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

The surreal Taratin aesthetic celebrated the aforementioned other tracks from the soundtrack (let’s not forget Urge Overkill’s rendition of Neil Young’s Girl You Will Be a Woman Soon) and blended the musical expression with the movie’s visual and narrative aesthetics. Just hear “Mirslow” in the movie’s intro with Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer), and you will immediately understand why this is one of the best soundtracks of all time.

BLADE RUNNER (1982)

Vangelis’ work, which entered the history of electronic music as the first combination of a symphony orchestra and synthesizer, was the basis for the emergence of the techno – dub techno subgenre as well as one of the best instrumental soundtracks.

Dark and melodic, spiced up with futuristic synth, it paints Ridley Scott’s sci-fi neo-noir in an imposing way, and themes from the album that came out in 1994 became the best examples of instrumental ambient electronics. With that said, there is probably no soundtrack that fits better with the visual expression of a motion picture than Vangelis’s most famous work.

Conclusion:

To mention everything, we would have to write a book. We’ve listed some of the most famous ones, but don’t forget to hear Hans Zimmer’s works, especially for “Interstellar” or Nick Cave’s masterpiece composed for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”