The Best Music in Film

Ryuichi Sakamoto

(Composed music for Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and Gohatto, and Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor and The Sheltering Sky)

S&S: What is your favourite film soundtrack music and why do you like it so much?
"Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Because, to me, most film music doesn't reach the quality of "pure music" such as Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Bartók, or whoever. Herrmann's Psycho is one of few exceptions."
S&S: In what ways does music best enhance a film?
"I don't know whether music can enhance a film or not......"
S&S: Which film either has music that you wished you'd written or is one you would like to rescore and why?
"I would love to rescore for Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953) or most of Ozu's films because he was one of the film angels but, in my opinion, the music in his films is terrible. It's a shame."
Last Updated: 29 Sep 2008