Theoretically, David Shire's bombastic score for Joseph Sargent's classic heist thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) possesses a bunch of weird elements that would never click for me on their own: the roucous big brass band soundling like the New York Philhamornic Orchestra was dumped in a rough part of the city; the dizzying and off key electronic keyboard evoking some form of distress; and of course those ominous drums being perfectly suited for a grand entrance theme for any boxer walking to the ring. Yet all these bizarre elements work fantastically well as the soundscape to the dirty urban decay and ugliness of its denizens living in the Rotten Apple. Perfection.
Other Great Tunes Produced for NYC Set Movies:
Isaac Hayes - Theme from Shaft (1971)
Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead (1972)
Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street (1972)
James Brown - Down and Out in New York City (1973)
Bernard Herrmann - Theme from Taxi Driver (1976)
Barry De Vorzon - Theme from The Warriors (1979)
Joe Delia & Artie Kaplan - Ms .45 Dance Party (1981)
John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - The Duke Arrives/Barricade (1981)
Roberto Donati - NYC Main Title (1981)
Francesco De Masi - New York One More Day (1982)
Jay Chattaway - Vigilante Main Theme (1983)
Grandmaster Caz - South Bronx Subway Rap (1983)
Public Enemy - Fight the Power (1989)
Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know the Ledge) (1991)
Crooklyn Dodgers - Crooklyn (1994)
Definitely captures the terror of a hijacked runaway train.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of music in NYC-set movies, Robot Dreams features Breakdown by T La Rock!
Only listed music I thought was exclusively made for their respective films.
ReplyDeleteFeeling like a boomer not being able to name anything after the nineties.
Phone Booth soundtrack is very underrated if you're a fan of weird, tense electronic scoring as the backdrop to 2000s New York. Killerman soundtrack is on a similar tip for 2010s New York.
ReplyDeleteOther than those, I'm drawing a blank.
Don't think I've even seen Phone Booth, let alone heard its soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteOther nineties tunes:
Mobb Deep feat. Big Noyd & Rakim - Hoodlum (1997)
Big Pun - You Ain't a Killer (1997)
Half-A-Mil - Some Ni**az (1998)
As for way more recent music, there's the synthwave score from Good Time (2017). Doesn't exactly make me picture New York, though.
Big fan of Phone Booth over here. Farrell and Sutherland are perfectly cast. Very tense movie.
ReplyDeleteGonna drop my own NYC set soundtrack songs list later.
Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteOutside of more jazzy scores and rap songs, I can’t really think of many tunes or compositions that typify the film scape of New York. Loads of great songs off The Carlito’s Way or Goodfellas soundtracks, but they all existed prior to their respective films.
Kicking myself for forgetting to Jay Chattaway’s Vigilante main theme.
ReplyDeletePosthumously added to the list.