Is this the year — ok, at the least the month — of the arthouse film? It would certainly seem that way. Big glossy studio pictures like “The Tourist” (opening this weekend), the forthcoming “Tron: Legacy” and “How Do You Know” are arriving with tepid buzz while auteur driven work such as “Black Swan” and the Coens‘ “True Grit” are riding a huge wave of anticipation. And we are certainly looking forward to it. The film boats the usual pedigree of high talent in front of the camera — Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld — and once again, the directors have assigned scoring duties to composer and longtime collaborator Carter Burwell.
The soundtrack features twenty new pieces from Burwell as well as excerpts from the gospel hymns “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “Talk About Suffering,” “The Glory-Land Way” and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” The latter tune might be familiar to cinephiles as it’s most famously featured in Charles Laughton‘s fantastic “The Night Of The Hunter,” and for those of you that purchase the soundtrack digitally, you’ll get of a bonus track of Iris Dement‘s rendition of the tune.
The soundtrack will hit stores on December 21st, one day before the film hits theaters on December 22nd. If you want to listen to it before you buy, the album is now streaming on Paramount’s For Your Consideration site for “True Grit.” Full tracklisting below.
“True Grit” Soundtrack Tracklisting
1. The Wicked Leave
2. La Boeuf Takes Leave
3. Little Blackie
4. River Crossing
5. The Hanging Man
6. Talk About Suffering
7. Your Headstrong Ways
8. A Great Adventure
9. We Don’t Need Him Do We?
10. Father’s Gun
11. A Methodist And A Son Of A Bitch
12. Talking To Horses
13. A Turkey Shoot
14. Taken Hostage
15. One Against Four
16. The Snake Pit
17. Ride To Death
18. I Will Carry You
19. A Quarter Century
20. The Grave
21. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms — Iris Dement (digital bonus track)