By now, everyone knows that Guardians of the Galaxy was a pretty great film.
However, what seemed to separate it from basically any other superhero action flick was the film’s killer soundtrack.
When the first round of college exams start, it’s nice to have a decent album playing in the background to prevent deafening silence.
With Guardians of the Galaxy in mind, what are some other great movies featuring an amazing soundtrack? (Disney movies, musicals or similar features will be excluded. If they weren’t, this would be a list of Disney movies from the ’90s, let’s be real.)First up is the latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). Any film of his is bound to be equal parts cinema and dramatic party. The novel is adapted quite well, but it’s rounded out with great music, specifically Fergie’s “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” and Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful.”
The ever iconic cult classic, Pulp Fiction, also has some great tunes. Heroin overdose will forever be equated with “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” by Urge Overkill. Not that it’s played often, but still. Also, “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield is a timeless hit.
Trainspotting, starring Ewan McGregor, is another cult classic that features a strong, eclectic song selection. It’s one of those films where no individual song is important on its own because, aside from Iggy Pop, most of the artists aren’t’ well known to this generation. It’s hard to describe, but every song just seems to hit the mark. Maybe just listen to it when you’re feeling high levels of teen angst.
Lastly, Juno covers all the indie hits you loved before they were cool. Featuring artists like Belle and Sebastian and Sonic Youth, this soundtrack covers everything a heartbroken teen who’s too cool for school needs. It also features a song by Ellen Page and Michael Cera, so that’s cute.
Great movies are often formed on the backbone of having great songs. Basically any Oscar nominated film is likely to have a great soundtrack. This is just a small sample to remind yourself to listen to a film’s music as well as the visual cinema. Or maybe you could just listen to the Frozen soundtrack now. It’s your call.
(Feature Photo via Comic Book Resources)