As movie soundtracks go, long after the movie has run it’s course, the viewer will vividly remember that certain scene because of the perfect song that was used…
By Ian Woolley
For example, would Art Garfunkel’s haunting “Bright Eyes” ever have sold over a million copies and become the biggest-selling single if it wasn’t used for the tear-jerking moment for Hazel in the animated movie Watership Down?
Songwriter Mike Batt answered the request from the movie’s director Mike Hubley to come up with a song about death. Not an easy task you may ask but then Mike Batt is no ordinary songwriter. Later Batt would admit in a 2009 interview with Liam Allen that the project would be “one of the most difficult sessions” of his career.
The movie soundtrack can make or sometimes break a film and is one of the most important decisions in capturing that scene. Take the upcoming movie from writer and director Ben Hecking Up On The Roof starring Piotr Adamczyk (Hawkeye, For All Mankind) and Natalia Tena (John Wick 4, Vardy v Rooney, Harry Potter).
The title soundtrack “You Don’t Kiss Me” (from Brian Travers and Chrissie Hynde) sets the tone as the lead character Stefan looks back at his former relationship with love Emily. As the song fades, the scene moves to his present life some 15 years later. Without giving the plot away too much here, there are some great tracks used throughout the movie and a few surprises too.
OMC, Crash Test Dummies, Terrorvision, Stranglers, Texas, M People and The Damned are all used to subtly effect. Two new covers stand out in the film for me – Trine Rein’s “Torn” (successfully covered by Natalie Imbruglia) and Emma Bunton’s new slant on “Sunshine On A Rainy Day”.
Yes, ’90s music lovers will love the soundtrack and we think they’ll love the movie too. In a strange way, the plot reminds one of Richard Curtis’s 2003 masterpiece Love Actually. The closing credits of which the Beach Boy’s “God Only Knows” provided the perfect airport ending for its characters.
Yes, the right soundtrack can really make a movie!
Up on the Roof (90 minutes) is an engaging, heart-warming feature film with all the elements of an easy-to-watch RomCom – love, comedy, drama, and an exciting 90s-themed soundtrack. In select cinemas nationwide on 21 April 2023.
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