Favorite soundtracks? Oh my. That will be hard.
I love Tron, the new one. That's probably my very favorite soundtrack of all time - it's definitely not relaxing, but it's amazing and I love it. I like the stuff from the Lord of the Rings (I usually play it and sing it more than I listen to it, though. ). And I really like the stuff from the Village (the songs that aren't creepy, that is).
But I'm not a huge soundtrack fan, actually. *cringes*

FK, I usually can isolate the score from the film and thus enjoy soundtracks to rather horrible films (either in content or just bad filmmaking ). Several of my favorite scores actually belong to movies that I either WILL NOT watch or that are merely "ho-hum" in quality.

I'm rather glad I can separate the score from the film, because I would have missed out on a TON of great music otherwise.

So here's a question for you all....
A few weeks ago Johobbit and I were discussing soundtracks and she said that if she sees a movie and doesn't like it, the soundtrack is more or less ruined for her. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what she said ). I on the other hand tend to separate soundtracks from the movies and whether or not I liked the movie, I can form a different opinion on the soundtrack. So I'm curious how that works for everybody else?

Ah, fantasia_kitty, you have read my mind. I was just contemplating this "theory" the other day.

I'm definitely one of those who separates a movie from its soundtrack. For the most part anyway, I tend to like only a few songs off the score rather than an entire soundtrack, so I suppose that's a factor as well. I can't really think of any films that I enjoy, but rather detest the soundtrack. However, I do have a couple of examples of soundtracks that I enjoy, but don't care for the films. i.e.: I cannot even sit through any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films (I find myself getting bored), but I do enjoy such themes as He's a Pirate, Up is Down, and One Day composed by Hans Zimmer. I couldn't even tell you what they are for in the films, but I like 'em. Another example is Buckbeak's Flight by John Williams and Professor Umbridge by Nicholas Hooper, both for the Harry Potter films (I'm just one of those people who couldn't care two cents for the Harry Potter francise, but I do enjoy these themes).

So my husband decided to go all Spaghetti Western on me tonight talking about the awesome music from those movies, so we've been listening to a lot of Ennio Morricone. That was pretty fun because aside from The Mission, I wasn't terribly familiar with him (though I did know the brief theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). We also listed to the main theme of The Magnificent Seven a few times.

So here's a question for you all....
A few weeks ago Johobbit and I were discussing soundtracks and she said that if she sees a movie and doesn't like it, the soundtrack is more or less ruined for her. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what she said ). I on the other hand tend to separate soundtracks from the movies and whether or not I liked the movie, I can form a different opinion on the soundtrack. So I'm curious how that works for everybody else?

That is a very good question, and I'm gonna have to say I have no clue because my first experience with most of the soundtracks is when watching a movie, and generally its then that I decide if I want to listen to more or not I will say however that my favorite films list and my favorite soundtracks tend to coincide, but that might just as easily work in reverse of what you are suggesting as it would in the forward. (Ie a bad soundtrack would ruin a good movie just as much as a bad movie would ruin a good soundtrack.)

FA, if you haven't already, you NEED to give Cera Una Volta Il West (1968) a spin. It's everything that made Ennio Moricone's Western scores so great distilled to their very essences. Needless to say, it's amazing and my favorite of his works for Sergio Leone.

I've been listening to the Three Musketeers soundtrack after seeing the movie last week. Some tracks are decent but there are some that for a fencer are just downright epic, especially the score for the final duel between D'Artagnan and Rochefort. I'm planning on seeing the movie again.

I finally got around to listening to the "I Am Number Four" soundtrack and wow! it's amazing!

here are a few tracks:

"Getting To Know Sarah"

"Commander Mog Explodes"

"Henry Dies"

"Water Vision"

"Pack Your Things"

I've been listening to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Soundtrack (video game)!
Uncharted 3 is the greatest game ever!!!
The music is beautiful and matches the story of the game so perfectly!
The game takes place around a couple of different places in the world, but the focus of the game is in Yemen and the The Rub' al Khali Desert, so the game carries a lot of Middle Eastern sounds and vocals, which I Love!!!!

The Setup

Museum Bust

... 8DB960FCEA

Bazaar Brawl

Mind Games

The Caravan

The Rub' al Khali

The Streets of Ubar

The Empty Quarter

A few weeks ago Johobbit and I were discussing soundtracks and she said that if she sees a movie and doesn't like it, the soundtrack is more or less ruined for her. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what she said ). I on the other hand tend to separate soundtracks from the movies and whether or not I liked the movie, I can form a different opinion on the soundtrack. So I'm curious how that works for everybody else.

I'm kind of half-half on this one: it depends how awful the movie is, lol. For instance, I came upon something by Alexander Desplat while listening to TKS soundtrack, and I really enjoyed the music, but I found out it was from Twilight's soundtrack. ... My mom told me it wasn't wrong to listen to it, but I just don't know if I want to go back and listen to it, because it's associated with Twilight. On the other hand, I did not really like the movie Howl's Moving Castle, but I love the soundtrack and listen to it from time to time. But I won't say that a movie's bad qualities (for me) don't taint the soundtrack just a little bit, for me. So, it really depends: I do diffrentiate movie and soundtrack, but sometimes they're interrelated which makes me unable to appreciate the music. Then there are some soundtracks I listen to whose movies I haven't watched -e.g. I enjoy the Miss Austen Regrets soundtrack, but I know very little about and haven't watched the movie... I just enjoy the music. (but I did do some research to make sure it wasn't a bad movie)

Since I've never been in this thread, my favourite composer: probably Hans Zimmer. I love the Lion King soundtrack, amongst his many works... but it's hard to pick a favourite.
For Pixar movies, I am floored by Michael Giacchino's talent with composing, but I think Thomas Newman is my favourite composer because of the magical aspect to his music--it's so simplistically beautiful.
Soundtracks are among my favourite music. My favourite soundtrack, currently, would probably be The King's Speech soundtrack. And my favourite track is "My Kingdom, My Rules" and probably anything with that theme.
And I just discovered the Anne of Green Gables soundtrack which = happiness.

Well, recently I've been getting hooked on Matt Smith seasons of Doctor Who thanks to Lady Arwen and of course with a great show comes... a great score! I was quite taken aback and just good and robust the score by Murray Gold was for the 5th season. I'm used to hearing easily forgettable TV scores for American TV shows, but this... Wow.
The best way I can describe it is like a combination of Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman and James Newton Howard along with Mr. Gold's own sensibilities.

I have yet to get through season 5 or even start season 6 ( ), but I'm simply LOVING what I've seen and, of course, heard.

Below are some of my favorite tracks from the season 5 album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D-QPDGhCtM&feature=related

^^ "I Am the Doctor"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g04jyyuXXSg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

^^ "Mad Man with a Box"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QGTyxtdd2Q&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

^^ "Amy's Theme"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxZ_VS8QkJM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

^^ "The Silurians"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVv37qpAZaA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

^^ "Beneath Stonehenge"

I've been meaning to post in this since late last summer!

Granted, the Complete Recordings are the true definitive albums of LotR.

*awaits Jo to stop by and ramble on and one about the beauty of the CC.... *

Yes, indeed! PC knows my tastes well. 'Tis true: my all-time favourite score is Howard Shore's genius work from The Lord of the Rings, particularly the Complete Recordings, although there are a few choice sections—albeit short—that are only in the theatrical, which I sorely miss in the CRs. (Can hardly wait to hear what Shore is going to to with The Hobbit score!)

C.S. Lewis talked about an inexplicable feeling of longing and an "unsatisfied desire" for what he came to know as "Joy" that he first got as a youngster when gazing at the "Green Hills" (the low line of Castlereagh Hills which he and Warnie saw from their nursery window), and from the memory of his brother's 'garden' in the biscuit tin lid, which eventually led to his beloved quote "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."

I say all that to say that that is the emotion that comes over me when listening to the LotR music—certain parts (and those are many) more than others. For example, the Dwarrowdelf, the Fellowship theme, the Shire music, the lighting of the Beacons, Forth Eorlingas, Samwise the Brave, the Leavetaking, the Breaking of the Fellowship, among many more: music like this actually makes my body ache with the beauty of it. And woe betide anyone who speaks to me when such glory is present. It's like Tolkien wrote in The RotK, that, after hearing the Minstrel sing, their hearts were "wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness". This is what Shore's score does for me. And even though I have been listening regularly (almost daily) to them for ten years now (well, 9 for TTT; 8 for RotK), they only increase in beauty and meaning, rather than me tiring of them.

Or, from Martin Luther:

Beautiful music [soundtracks ] is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.

*pauses in a moment of respectful and poignant silence*

Okay, other than LotR, I have some well-loved soundtracks, among which are:

*The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (I would love to get the sheet music *for this!)
*Sullivan's poignant and perfect Anne of Green Gables score *pokes Bella
*The BBC Chronicles of Narnia music (♥ the French Horn, which, if Lewis could translate that "Joy" into an instrument, would be the French Horn for me)
*The Village
*the Harry Potter soundtracks
*the Bourne trilogy music
(EDIT)*Apollo 13 (sans the pop songs ) (End EDIT, thanking fk for the nudge )

Some others I very much enjoy are:

*Inception
*Amazing Grace
*War of the Worlds
*The King's Speech *pokes Bella again
*Hidalgo
*The Passion of the Christ
*some of the Pirates' tracks

Being a huge fan of Michael W. Smith's instrumental music (particularly Freedom), I think he would make an excellent score composer. Just sayin'.

A few weeks ago Johobbit and I were discussing soundtracks and she said that if she sees a movie and doesn't like it, the soundtrack is more or less ruined for her. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what she said ). I on the other hand tend to separate soundtracks from the movies and whether or not I liked the movie, I can form a different opinion on the soundtrack. So I'm curious how that works for everybody else?

Yep, that's what I said. It's been that way for me for a long while now. I wish I could separate them, but I can't. The story and music are that integrally intertwining for me. It's been interesting reading others' thoughts on this.

... but that might just as easily work in reverse of what you are suggesting as it would in the forward. (Ie a bad soundtrack would ruin a good movie just as much as a bad movie would ruin a good soundtrack.)

I was thinking about this too, and realize that I cannot enjoy an otherwise good movie to its full extent if the soundtrack doesn't resonate with me.

*:D at Jo's pokes* The King's Speech soundtrack just astounds me, with its beautiful simplicity. It's one of those soundtracks I'd like to get on an mp3 player and walk around the city on a gloomy, rainy day and pretend I'm in the mid 1900's.

*The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (I would love to get the sheet music *for this!)

*wistful sigh* Ditto!

I've been interested in the soundtrack for Hotel Rwanda when I saw that Rupert Gregson-Williams had a hand in it, too. I watched the very sobering, moving film quite a while ago, and so I don't recall the soundtrack, but have been meaning to hear it one of these days.... has anyone else heard it?

There are so many movie soundtracks that I enjoy. Pretty much anything by John Williams, like Jurassic Park, Star Wars (originals and prequels), Indiana Jones, and the more recent The Adventures of Tintin. But I'd like to share some tracks from a videogame this time. I received The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Christmas last year, and as I've said in the videogame forum, it is a masterpiece in many ways. The fully orchestrated soundtrack is certainly one of them.

Here are a few of my favorites:
Ballad of the Goddess

Wing Ceremony

Final Battle (Demise)

Ending Credits

And this next little bit is my favorite in the game, even though it's less than a minute long.
Song of the Hero

I am currently obsessed with both the "Tangled" soundtrack and the "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" soundtrack

the "Tangled" soundtrack is so awesome I sing the songs almost every day

here's a few clips:

"When Will My Life Begin?"

"Flynn Wanted"

"Kingdom Dance"

and I totally am in love with the "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" soundtrack - it's amazing

here's a few clips:

"Who's Up For An Adventure"

"Mysterious Island Main Titles"

"Campfire"