The Best Music in Film

Amon Tobin

(Producer and DJ on Ninjatune Records)

S&S: What is your favourite film soundtrack music and why do you like it so much?
"I like different ones for different reasons, some like John Barry's Jaws (1975) or Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo (1958) are my favourites because they interprate the action in the film so literally. If you had to think of how to make music that feels like an approaching shark or irrational nausea from standing on the edge of a tall building it's hard to imagine a more perfect interpretation. If I really had to pick one though then I'd have to go with Morricone's The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The theme from that film was one of the first pieces of music I can remember being obsessed with as a kid. I still get goosebumps whenever I hear 'ecstasy of gold' from that soundtrack. Just have amazing music"
S&S: In what ways does music best enhance a film?
"I think, when it's done well, music interprets actions, moods or thoughts into sound and enhances the emotions that the viewer is meant to feel at that moment. Often it tells you what's really going on in a scene in-spite of the dialog or even the visuals subtly revealing the true intentions of a character or the direction of things to come. That's not to say it always has to be subtle though. I think there's a lot of crap said about how the best film music is hardly noticeable because it's so seamless and transparent. It seems to me that nearly all the greatest films have really strong music with loads of character. It's hard for me to separate any of Sergio Leone's westerns from the music for example."
S&S: Which film either has music that you wished you'd written or is one you would like to rescore and why?
"Wish I'd written the music for the last Spider-Man (2002) film...what a load of rubbish that was."
Last Updated: 29 Sep 2008