The Best Film Soundtracks To Work To

Film soundtracks are one of my favourite things to have on in the background when I’m working. That could be writing a blog post or issue of Cut/daily, when doing video editing tasks that don’t require listening to sync audio such as colour grading, titles, subtitles etc.

Film soundtracks seem to help me focus and often spur me to get in the creative zone.

My go-to music service is Amazon Prime Music Unlimited because I’m a long-time Amazon Prime member and I had all my playlists and such set up back when Amazon Prime Music was still useable.

You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime here, which gets you free same-day shipping, Amazon Video, and a discount on Amazon Music Unlimited.

Do I love it?

In a word, yes.

Sign Up for a 30 Day Free Trial on Amazon.com

Sign Up For a 30 Day Free Trial on Amazon.co.uk

Amazon Music Unlimited – Better By Far

The one catch to the music streaming service that Amazon gives to its Prime members as part of their package deal is that, while you have access to 100 million tracks, you only get five skips, and you can’t often choose the exact song you want.

Incredibly annoying.

Their stand-alone music streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited, costs an additional sum, but it’s worth it to avoid the annoyance of the Prime service.

Amazon Music Unlimited costs $10.99/month if you’re not a Prime Member or $9.99/month if you are.

So, putting two and two together, here are my favourite movie soundtracks available on Amazon Music Unlimited.

The Best Soundtracks on Amazon Music Unlimited

John Williams Greatest Hits

Batman Begins – Hans Zimmer

The Dark Knight (Collectors Edition) – Hans Zimmer

The Dark Knight Rises – Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard

Oblivion – M83

Forest Gump – Alan Silvestri

Lord of The Rings Fellowship of The Ring – Howard Shore

Lord of The Rings The Two Towers – Howard Shore

The Lord of The Rings Return of The King – Howard Shore

Moneyball – Mychael Danna

The Music of Star Wars – John Williams

 The Shawshank Redemption – Thomas Newman

Donnie Darko – Michael Andrews

Blade Runner 2049

Home Alone – John Williams (at Christmas only!)

Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Birth – Alexandre Desplat

Gladiator – Hans Zimmer

Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer

Godzilla (2014) – Alexandre Desplat

The Thin Red Line – Hans Zimmer

Dunkirk

The Theory of Everything

Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from and Inspired by the film)

Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse Original Score

The Front Runner Soundtrack

Jurassic Park – John Williams

Jurassic World – Michael Giacchino

Apollo 13 – James Horner

American Beauty – Thomas Newman

 The Dark Knight – Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard

The Kingdom – Danny Elfman

Tron Legacy – Daft Punk

Truman Show – Burkhard Dallwitz

Sicario – Johann Johannsson

Sneakers – James Horner

If I’ve missed a film soundtrack you love to work to – let me know in the comments!

Hans Zimmer Music Masterclass

If you’re as much a fan of Hans Zimmer’s soundtracks as I am, then you’ll definitely want to check out his informative, entertaining and insightful Masterclass.com course on Film Scoring.

At the end of the day I can tell you everything you need to know in one word.

Story.

Stick with the story, don’t abandon the story, don’t betray the story. Know the story that you want to tell.

– Hans Zimmer

Here’s my in-depth review, including five things editors can learn from taking Hans’ class.

Audible Is My New Best Friend

Just while I’m on the topic of listening to things, since being a Father of 3 kids, I’ve not had any time to sit down and read a good book. But I’ve found a delightful alternative that still keeps my mind engaged while I’m cleaning up the kitchen, or driving to collect kids from somewhere.

Audiobooks.

I know I’m late to the party, but Audible has been a real treat.

You can use this link to try Audible Premium and get 2 free ebooks!

My favourite listens so far:

• REAMDE – By Neal Stephenson
• Cryptonomicon – By Neal Stephenson
• The Cuckoo’s Egg by Clifford Stoll
• Kids have enjoyed…
• Charlotte’s Web, read by author by E.B White
• Anne of Green Gables, read by Rachel McAdams
• The Magic Far Away Tree, read by Kate Winslet

One word of advice – Don’t buy additional credits in the iPhone Audible app. Instead, go to the Amazon website in a browser and save 20% on a bundle of 3 credits.