Thursday Token Themes

Welcome a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. I’m a hugely enthusiastic fan of film scores, and music is far too often an element of cinema that goes unrecognized. Therefore I present a platform for a look – or rather, a listen – to some fantastic film scores. I’ll be selecting a composer and one or more of their film scores for your listening pleasure, embedded from YouTube.

This week’s featured composer is Clint Mansell. This man does truly incredible things with his music, and three of the tracks below rank among my all-time favorite soundtrack pieces ever. The most recent of Mansell’s memorable compositions is the melancholy, repetitive score for “Moon” starring Sam Rockwell, which is titled “Welcome to Lunar Industries.” If you’re looking for the best musical accompaniments to the closing scenes from films, look no further than “Smokin’ Aces” and “The Fountain.” Firstly, we have “Dead Reckoning,” the cool, slick finale for the shocking revelation and awesome ending of “Smokin’ Aces.” The last ten minutes of “The Fountain” wouldn’t be anywhere near as effective were it not for the gorgeous score that accompanies Hugh Jackman’s trippy time travel. Mansell’s previous collaboration with director Darren Aronofsky is just as impressive as “The Fountain” (one of the few film soundtrack CDs which I actually own, by the way). “Lux Aeterna,” from “Requiem for a Dream,” is one of the most powerful, incredible compositions I’ve ever heard, and it’s used quite frequently in movie trailers and to make anything, regardless of its actual thematic content, seem impossibly intense. I remember hearing it in the trailer for the sci-fi flick “Sunshine” and getting incredibly excited. Ditto for “Death is the Road to Awe,” used to magnificent effect in the trailer for “I Am Legend.”

Moon (2009)


Smokin’ Aces (2007)


The Fountain (2006)


Requiem for a Dream (2000)