By Gabi

(Heckman/Studio Binder/Source)

The first thing that most register when they enter a movie screening, the moment they truly know they’ve been transported into a beautiful literary world (if only for an hour or two), is when the music begins to play. Perhaps it is a gentle piano that draws you into a beautiful romance feature, or an anxiety-inducing violin that pulls your heart into a horror film, but nonetheless, it is through sound that many realize they have surrendered themselves to an exciting plot, stunning visuals, and an absolutely smashing score. In particular, I am going to cover a few film soundtracks that I define as otherworldly in their effect on people (aka me). 

To begin, it is undeniable that Interstellar (2014) is considered a masterpiece by many filmgoers. Some attribute its success to the highly advanced visual effects that won the production an Academy Award, while others say the brilliant cast and crew headed by Christopher Nolan were a recipe for success. For me, the love of this film began before I had ever watched it. It started with a score created by the brilliant mind of Hans Zimmer. It began with “Cornfield Chase”, a piece that inspires feelings of searching, for what is out there, for who you are, and for the meaning behind your life, all in under three minutes. “Cornfield Chase” is a two-minute and six-second auditory encapsulation of the film, a beautiful yet haunting expression of lost family and time. Despite this song’s beauty, however, it would eventually be eclipsed by the even more dramatic “Mountains” that plays as Cooper (Matthew McConaughey’s character) and the rest of the team realize that the mountain they had been seeing on a water-covered planet was in fact an enormous wave that was rapidly approaching them. It is in these moments that a viewer can only sit back and be blasted with such a wave of sound as the tempo quickens and the scene reaches its climax. This striking feeling of being so small and insignificant perfectly backed the film’s visuals and began my obsession with film soundtracks and the power that they carry.

In 2010, four years before the sounds of Interstellar could wow the world, Gen Z was collectively obsessed over John Powell’s music for the Motion Picture, How to Train Your Dragon. The movie started powerfully with “This is Berk”, not only as an introduction to the world of Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the Third but to the fantastical theme that would carry us through three films, multiple television shows, and the reading (and the subsequent disappointment) of the novels. Powell played around with Scottish elements, with the recognizable sounds of flutes, bagpipes, and fiddles to create this nostalgia-inducing monster of a soundtrack. Even nowadays, teens and young adults still obsess over this film’s soundtrack, creating remixes of “Test Drive”, the film’s most recognizable theme with any other song they can. From Disney’s Tangled “Kingdom Dance” to the more contemporary Codefry’s “Eleanor Rigby”, many find that the true power of this music comes from how adaptable it is. Not only does it elicit feelings of discovering a new side of yourself, of imagining Hiccup and Toothless’ unending bond, but it also features many instrumental ups and downs. Starting with a more pipe-heavy introduction, the song strengthens only to be harshly cut by a darker-sounding piece of approx. 25 seconds in length before ending in the iconic light–hearted theme that makes this movie so beloved. And why shouldn’t this movie be so well-liked? It is a film that could bring dragons to life and that is irrevocably powerful to the young minds it inspired. 

I would also be remiss if I did not mention, non-film soundtracks that have just as strong an effect on their viewers. Though some television shows have wonderful music within them, such as Game of Thrones, I tend to find the highest abundance of musical works of art can be discovered through anime. In particular, most animes I’ve watched have certain regular musical clips that they utilize throughout the plot, just as they would a character. From foreshadowing to directing the viewer’s emotions, most fans can recognize their favorite shows simply from the iconic first five seconds of the show’s opening. This is how shows like Ouran High School Host Club have themes that one can imagine the instrumental accompaniment by just hearing the lyrics (An example being the iconic “Kiss Kiss, fall in love” and cue guitar strumming). 

Some more dramatic shows like Attack on Titan create music that we attach to characters, themes that insinuate death or battle, and carry the viewer off into the land of Titans, Eren Yeager, and more OSTs than they could shake a stick at. While other shows with less beloved soundtracks like Kill La Kill and the power of “Blumenkranz” and “Before My Body is Dry” are less known, they still have wowed their respective fandoms with their intensity and ability to increase the excitement of their favorite shows. A personal favorite for me (ignoring the later seasons) is the transportive music of Seven Deadly Sins and how I could always find the “Perfect Time” to envelop my ears with its soundtrack. Regardless of my bad puns, Hiroyuki Sawano, a Japanese composer of show themes like AOT, 7DS, and Guilty Crown is a gift to this world. His music is exciting, energizing, and a little playful, and it makes it unsurprising that animes continue to hire him to create magic for them. 

Next, we fast forward back to the soundtrack that has taken over this new year, and re-established Ludwig Göransson as a top-rate composer, more than Black Panther (2018) or Creed (2015) ever could. In a way, one might even say “[we are] become death, destroyer of worlds” as people listen to the soundtrack of Nolan’s 2023 film, Oppenheimer (2023). A non-chronological biographical storytelling of the titular character’s life, audiences were swept away this summer by Göransson’s incredible tracks. The 24-song album has in many ways, ‘lived rent-free’ in the heads of many with the enormity of feelings it gives the listener. Some of the songs, like “Can You Hear the Music” feel like an existential crisis, like our mind is both imploding and exploding with ideas, and that our world is moving so much faster than we could ever hope to catch up to. For me, it was not the intricate plot nor the incredible visual effects of scientific discovery that made this movie amazing, but rather the auditory impact it caused. Many people upon leaving the theatre commented on how loud and jarring the bomb explosions were, the deliberate pauses between visuals and sound working expertly to transport the viewer into Los Alamos and I loved it. This film’s soundtrack felt so much bigger than background music. Instead, it was a tale-crafting tool, used to add emotion and nuances that only made this movie better. 

In conclusion, I recommend listening a little more closely to the music that backs some of the next movies you watch. See if you can identify the themes that are being translated, and if the soundtrack itself can stand independently from this film and can be applied to your personal thoughts. No matter how you consume films, it is usually very clear to see how the auditory tale behind it is just as essential in storytelling and can be more impactful than the visuals themselves if you listen closely enough.