Tag Archive: philip glass


What makes a great soundtrack?

The marriage of action with visuals?

The creation of a unique atmosphere?

The use of familiar music in an unexpected way?

The introduction to a genre or artist you’ve never heard before?

Any of these would work for me – you will very rarely find all in one movie but any one can make the difference between a good movie and an out-and-out classic.
Here is a list (with a few clips) of sixteen of my favourites in A-Z order.

Note : not one of them is by the ubiquitous Hans Zimmer!

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A LIFE DISINTEGRATING

movie still

The 1982 movie ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ is a movie where the combination of stunning visuals and a pulsating Philip Glass soundtrack make the need for commentary redundant.

It is a nightmarish vision of a world spiralling out of control.

The movie’s arresting title comes from the Hopi language and an on-screen translation of the word tells us that this can be translated either as “a state of life that calls for another way of living” or even more starkly “a life disintegrating”. Continue reading