Can a Soundtrack make a film?

Well heres the question, Soundtracks are now one of the ways of hooking us general public into buying into a film whether we like it or not!

Soundtracks are not an old hat trick oh no... with scores such as Jaws being only two notes being one of the most identifiable villain tracks in the world... and all for a shark. Or when Darth Vader appears that score is instantly etched into our sub conscious.

It's only when music stars get involved that it gets interesting, some films can sometimes claim their success not only on the craftsmanship of  the film itself but the track. Sometimes you can't remember the name of the film the track comes from but can remember the song and who sang it. For example... The Song by Aqua Turn Back Time can you actually remember the film that Soundtrack came from???  Well the film was Sliding Doors (1998) staring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah. The film centres around a woman's love life and whether she catches a train on the London Underground or not.  Interestingly I haven't seen this film but absolutely love the song that accompanied it.  Other tracks that have made it big along with the films that they accompany are I See You- the X-Factor (UK) winner Leona Lewis known for her big voice and a nack for singing ballads sang the song that was specially written for the 2010 blockbuster and one of my personal favourite films ever Avatar!!! With a love story that captivated the hearts of it's audience, a man falling in love with a 10ft alien as well as the life of the Na'Vi it was no surprise that this song was huge!!!

Other songs that made it big was Lovefool by The Cardigans (big 1990's band) who had a hit with this song as the soundtrack to Baz Luhramm who went on to make the successful Moulin Rouge, again one of my favourite films ever. Love Fool fitted the whole idea of Romeo and Juliet but made it more accessible in a way to an audience who loved the song as well as the new way of working Shakespearean plays into a new exciting way. The film is fantastic and Leonardo Di Caprio is outstanding in this film , to say he was young when he actually filmed this movie!!!
Another Di Caprio film that made us all cry with not only the film but the actual song was of course the James Cameron epic that is Titanic!!!
Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On is a massive POWER BALLAD!!! Again wrote for the film itself, it captures the very essence of what the story is about, a girl falling in love with a boy who she can not love!!! Kate Winslet is AMAZING!!!! as Leonardo Di Caprio ... I actually have a thing for him... me and my mother spend nights in watching these films because they are so good!!!! This song was sang repeatedly by my friend when i was in primary school and I love it still although at the time i began to hate it!!!

Classic Album!!! 

Other films that I love purely based on the soundtrack is Iron Man (I fell asleep watching both 1 &2) but the thing that really got me was the fact that the whole film is basically EVERY AC/DC TRACK EVER!!! From Highway to Hell to Back In Black (not sure if Thunderstruck is on it?!). As a AC/DC fan and a bit of a Heavy metal girl it was awesome just to hear Angus Young's guitar playing out of my TV when Iron Man comes into shot in The Avengers!!!!  Can't remember the actual song but it made me smile!!!

Moving on from the single songs to a compilation of tracks, some films use a multitude of songs in their films, these maybe because A) It's a musical or B) because it has to use various tracks for narrative purposes.
One of the greatest albums for a musical was of course the 1975 film Grease... everyone I know LOVES GREASE!!! My mum's first album which was an LP Vinyl was the soundtrack to Grease!!!

From all the most loved songs like Summer Nights and Grease Lightening are still played today at any occassion from weddings, christenings to bloody family reunions after the booze has flowed and everyone is doing their walking to the dance floor dance (To learn more on that expression youtube UK comedian Peter Kay) as a northern girl from the UK the Grease Megamix was always on when I was growing up followed by Black Lace Agadoo or Superman. From your nan to your distant cousins everyone would flood to the dance floor just to relive the treasure memories of when they first saw Grease.

Musicals that also have a great soundtrack and have remastered and actually made the tracks more appealing to an audience was The Moulin Rouge (2001), yes putting in songs such as Nirvana Smells Like Teen Sprit mixed in with Lady Marmalade was epic!!! To tracks such Roxanne by The Police which was put into an Argentine Tango medley was amazing... that made me absolutely love ... the actual power that came across with this sexy and seedy revamp of a classic song .. which is a treasured song I have on my Ipod... The power of the track blows me away ... The Moulin rouge is simply one of my Favourite Films EVER!!!!

Another soundtrack that i really constantly listen to is of course The Boat That Rocked soundtrack, it is a compilation of all the best 1960's songs going with The Kinks , The Beachboys and The Who featuring on the album and in the film. I love this film as I am a radio student at university and to see how to play pop music in the 60's you had to be on a boat in the middle of the North Sea just to please the General Public, the humor and traditional British Comedy within this film (again Legend Richard Curtis Thank you!!!) is just one worth to watch... and you can get out your tie die gear or your mini skirt and dance like it's 1964 all over again!!!


So I ask again the question does a soundtrack make a film... or does the film make the soundtrack ... who knows ... but whatever the answer maybe the sound track is important!!!