40. “mid90s” (2019)
On his debut feature as director, the scrappy, nostalgic skate picture “mid90s,” Jonah Hill curates a jukebox playlist of ‘90s hip-hop to punctuate the moments of one kid’s coming-of-age. It’s an eclectic, often contradictory sound – a bit of Pixies with ‘Wave of Mutilation’ and Morrissey with ‘We’ll Let You Know’ find the broodiness you’d associate with a teenage boy, but then tracks from Wu-Tang Clan, GZA, Gravediggaz, and Del The Funky Homosapien inject this with a lot more vigor than would be expected from, well, another indie white boy. It’s also curious that beyond the playlist, plentiful in itself, Hill also enlisted Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to compose a handful of original tracks for the film. They are, somewhat unsurprisingly, excellent – instrumental piano-led pieces offering moments of calmer and less impulsive contemplation than the immediately evocative throwback needle drops might allow. It’s impossible by the end to disassociate the ingested culture, through the music, from the inner journey of Stevie, Hill’s young protagonist. That might be considered a flaw – if the film weren’t about a boy who struggles to vocalize his feelings, and if the music he uses in the place of his own articulations wasn’t so damn good. – Ella Kemp
39.“Black Panther” (2018)
Marvel movies aren’t generally known for their soundtracks, so let’s give credit where credit is due: the songs in “Black Panther” didn’t just cohere into the greatest soundtrack for any Marvel movie, ever, but also one of the great soundtracks of 2018. While the original compositions by Ludwig Göransson are suitably stirring – and relatively standard for a superhero film, if we’re being honest – it’s the hip-hop cuts curated and co-produced by the ingenious Kendrick Lamar that give this album distinction. “All The Stars,” which plays over the film’s end credits, is as luminous as its title suggests. Other tracks – the kinetic “Opps,” featuring Vince Staples, or the radio-friendly single “Pray for Me,” featuring Lamar and R&B artist The Weeknd – work splendidly as audio counterbalance to two of the movie’s most exciting action sequences. “King’s Dead,” featuring Lamar spitting hot bars alongside Jay Rock and Future over a woozy, narcotized beat co-conceived by melancholic British crooner James Blake, sounds somehow sedate and dangerous at the same time. This is a soundtrack so seemingly bulletproof that even mumble rap poster boy Travis Scott manages to sound good on the fizzy bounce of “Big Shot.” Hip-hop soundtracks can be a tough prospect to pull off, especially when you consider that lyrical dexterity doesn’t always work congruently with the kind of large-scale visual storytelling you see in tentpole superhero movies. “Black Panther,” however, manages to pull this tricky feat off without breaking a sweat, giving us what is perhaps the only superhero movie soundtrack in the history of the medium that’s worth bumping on an expensive stereo system. – NL
38. “Moneyball” (2011)
“Moneyball,” is a film built off of subtlety that swells — not unlike a clubhouse without a superstar clean-up batter — the strings and piano strings playing the orchestra are always ready to provide outfield support without deliberately drawing attention to themselves, save for a few big swing moments. Mychael Danna’s “Moneyball” score close to perfectly understates Bennet Miller’s (underrated) throwback gem to New Hollywood ‘70s crowd-pleasers. Known for his efforts scoring Ang Lee’s humanist pictures, Danna has never been more on top of his game, the centerpiece training sequence “It’s a Process” turning the underdog sports montage into an almost melodic trance. The film also makes incredible use of “The Mighty Rio Grande,” by They Will Destroy You (also used in “Room”) but its implementation of Lenka’s “The Show,” sung with raw innocence by Billy Beane’s daughter (played by Kerris Dorsey) that takes the catharsis cake. If you don’t tear up alongside the Oakland A’s GM as the film cuts to black… I don’t know, maybe you’d get along better with one of Jonah Hill’s computer programs. –Andrew Bundy
37. “Call Me By Your Name” (2017)
Luca Guadagnino, in addition to being one of our great modern auteurs, is also a filmmaker who understands how powerful the union of a moving image and a perfectly employed piece of music can be. Who can forget the immaculate use of the (relatively) obscure Rolling Stones post-disco cut “Emotional Rescue” in “A Bigger Splash?” Or Thom Yorke’s gnomic, threatening original compositions for his divisive “Suspiria” remake? There is no better example of Guadagnino’s fine ear than the soundtrack for his finest film to date, “Call Me By Your Name.” What other director could transition from the warmed-over 80’s cheese of Giorgio Moroder and Joe Esposito’s “Lady Lady Lady” to the sparkling new wave sounds of the classic Psychedelic Furs tune “Love My Way” in the same scene? “Call Me By Your Name” also makes deft use of various classical orchestrations (including some choice cuts by John Adams and Ryuichi Sakamoto) but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the instant-classic Sufjan Stevens songs that were written specifically for the film. The impossibly gentle “Futile Devices” plays during one of the film’s most evocative visual interludes, although the use of “Visions of Gideon” – which plays more or less in its entirety during the bravura single-take climax – might be the most iconic use of a pop song to be seen in any film from 2017. Stevens gave an Oscar performance for the ages, playing “Mystery of Love” at the 90th annual Academy Awards, and even though he lost to “Remember Me” from “Coco” (a great song in its own right), his rendition of the song is one that is one that will live on in our memory. – NL
36. “Mommy” (2014)
Only Xavier Dolan could make an entirely earnest movie that lets Céline Dion sit beside Oasis and Lana Del Rey on the same soundtrack without thinking anything of it. The Canadian wunderkind made a fiery whirlwind of a movie with “Mommy,” a seethingly painful love letter to mothers and sons with no escape for a finite number of lonely and stifled souls. His love for middle-aged women knows no bounds, so Dion – used for a particularly touching karaoke scene – makes complete sense. ‘Wonderwall’ is used with the kind of straightforward bravura that perhaps teenagers dreaming of making movies might imagine, but then might give up on, thinking no one would possibly let such uncynical showings of feeling take place. And yet, here, they do. One track marks a smart departure from Dolan’s penchant for clashing pop songs old and new, as Ludovico Einaudi’s deeply contemplative piano composition ‘Experience’ underscores a time-machine montage that wishfully enables a different future, an idyllic ending for this mother and her son, à la “La La Land.” If you know the track, perhaps Dolan’s methods seem to remain consistent – but hearing the piano over that scene for the first time, as it builds and swells and everything visual and emotional does too, it feels like a punch straight to the heart. – EK
35. “Brooklyn” (2015)
It’s difficult to imagine a film easier to fall in love with than John Crowley’s “Brooklyn,” and Michael Brook’s score gets a lot of credit for that. With plucky, soaring songs for every occasion, from “Seasick” to “Getting Married,” the range of instruments and tones on display here is truly impressive. “Brooklyn” is a deeply human story that packs an emotional wallop, thanks in large part to a star-making lead performance by Saoirse Ronan, and this is the perfect accompaniment to protagonist Eilis’s every jubilant kiss or shed tear. Though just 52 seconds, the track “Things Are Looking Up” encapsulates this film perfectly. It starts simple and reedy before adding on layers of harmony and complexity, much like Eilis’s single immigrant journey comes to teach us countless new things about humanity, home, and love. –Lena Wilson
34. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012)
Gone from indie-critic beloved and Academy Award-nominated to seen as racist trash for its magical negro tropes and its fetishization of the downtrodden, I’m not sure where the culture lands on Ben Zeitlin‘s “Beasts Of The Southern Wild,” and without a rewatch, it’s easy to second guess oneself. But make no mistake, the twinkling, sad violins and cripple-creek-y banjo score of “Beasts of The Southern Wild,” heart-stirring and rousing is the real deal. Written by Dan Romer and Zeitlin, the former’s career hasn’t commensurately taken off as much as it should (though he was hired and rumored to be removed from the new James Bond movie, so that’s at least a move), but that doesn’t discount just how beautifully resonant, enchanting and splendorous the movie’s uplifting music can be (special note: did you know Romer’s “Glory At Sea” score for Zeitlin [2008] was appropriated for Obama and one of his most famous campaign ads?). ‘Southern Wild,’ might be problematic and you might just be backlash-sensitive, I honestly wouldn’t know eight years later, but Romer’s lovely, moving score is undeniably hopeful, touching and full of magical spirit. – RP
33. “The Duke Of Burgundy” (2015)
Filmmaker Peter Strickland has exquisitely refined taste, often skewing towards the esoteric corners of Italian giallo and obscure arty Euro-rotic horror. But with “The Duke Of Burgundy,” Strickland’s paean to desire and control via his immaculate meshing of ’70s softcore kink, and ’60s psychedelia, the filmmaker came upon something just divinely delicate. Naturally, via Cat’s Eyes—an offshoot group of the Horrors—the music employed is equally sublime and refined and elegant, a ghostly orchestration of haunting harpsichords, kaleidoscopic lutes, flutes, and lush chamber music melancholy. Strickland arguably makes movies through supple, subtle, arcane subgenres that no longer exist, and Cat’s Eyes came to throwdown too delivering the haunting aural equivalent of a hallucinogenic whisper and soft, breathy kiss. – RP
32. “Frances Ha” (2013)
Noah Baumbach has always had a fine ear, from his use of Lou Reed’s immortal “Street Hassle” in the climactic moments of “The Squid and the Whale” to a great, under-heralded use of Paul McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” in his L.A.-centered character piece “Greenberg.” “Frances Ha” is nothing less than one of his greatest soundtracks to date: a note-perfect marriage of French New Wave needle drops and vintage pop jewels. Sure, everyone remembers the very Tumblr-friendly scene where Greta Gerwig traipses down a Chinatown street to the gleaming sounds of David Bowie’s dance anthem “Modern Love” (which is itself an homage to Leos Carax’s “Mauvais Sang”). But what of the sly use of T. Rex’s “Chrome Sitar,” which was used because Baumbach couldn’t afford the rights to a particular Rolling Stones number? Or the uproariously perfect employment of Hot Chocolate’s “Every1’s a Winner” during what is possibly the most depressing Parisian vacation ever depicted in cinema? Or how about the use of Paul McCartney’s “Blue Sway,” offering further proof that this particular writer/director will find any excuse he can to dig into the crates of the Greatest Beatle’s solo discography? Baumbach also generously peppers “Frances Ha” with audio excerpts from the work of Georges Delerue, particularly his score for Philippe de Broca’s soufflé-light period comedy “The King of Hearts.” These vibrant interludes justify the comparisons of Baumbach’s film to the likes of “Jules and Jim,” although it must be said that even Francois Truffaut’s masterwork didn’t make faultless use of “Miss Butter’s Lament” by Harry Nilsson. – NL
31. “Inherent Vice” (2014)
The soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice” is a bit of a seesawing act between the spookiness of its original compositions (handled by Johnny Greenwood, even more liberated here than he was on “The Master”) and the raucous, party-hearty original selections that the director cherry-picked for his most freewheeling film to date. “Spooks” sounds like surf rock on bad acid, mixing Greenwood’s signature minor-chord anomie with dreamlike snippets of dialogue from Joanna Newsom’s character in the film (one wonders if, at some point, Anderson entertained the idea of having Newsom compose original music for the film). “The Chryskylodon Institute” is so gloomy and heavy that it practically evokes Jerry Goldsmith’s original score for “Chinatown,” a progenitor to “Inherent Vice” in its own right. That said, the original songs that Anderson selected for this soundtrack are, to put it plainly, a riot. “Vitamin C” by Can has been used in a number of movies since this one, but none have used it so perfectly as Anderson does over this film’s opening credits. Les Baxter’s “Simba” is full-tilt boogie with a menacing undertow, evoking the sensation of being at a rambling house party in the hills filled with guests zonked on bad psychedelics. Anderson even manages to make perfect use of Neil Young, utilizing the great folk singer’s underrated “Journey Through the Past’ to underline a scene of romantic wistfulness that gets to the heart of what “Inherent Vice” is truly about. – NL