Recently I reflected on the Top 10 films that have impacted me the most through repeated viewings in my “Top 10 Films You’ve Actually Watched the Most.” It seems only fitting that I take the time to consider what movie soundtracks have had a similarly lasting effect. Arguably, not since the soundtrack to “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” stirred up a fuss in 2000, has a film’s soundtrack made as much noise as this year’s musical masterpiece “Once.” We did this list two years ago, but things change and I feel compelled to expand and update my own, very personal ten favorite movie soundtracks of all time. As an extra bonus, here’s one extra (that I just couldn’t resist) to start you off in the “Danger Zone.”

11. Top Gun (1986)

In the summer of ‘86 if I only knew I thing, it was that I absolutely loved “Top Gun.” For better or worse, this is one of those films that made me realize the power of the big screen, both good and terrible. As much as I had wanted to be Han Solo just a few years earlier, I was now a Naval fighter-pilot wannabe. It proceeded to get worse every time I saw “Top Gun” and heard Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” Of course, I now recognize the massive cheese factor here, but I would be lying if denied my unadulterated love of this soundtrack as a kid. Come to think of it, why aren’t I lying about this? In addition to Kenny Loggins’ other psuedo-hit from this soundtrack, the bi-curious anthem “Playing with the Boys,” the “Top Gun” soundtrack includes a subpar, but likable song “Mighty Wings” by one of the greatest rock bands of all-time, Cheap Trick. Oh yeah, and that “Take My Breath Away” song by Berlin.

10. Star Wars (1977)

Like it was yesterday, I remember taking my double-LP vinyl copy of the “Star Wars” soundtrack by John Williams to show and tell in Kindergarten. I proudly showed off my favorite record with its bold black cover and inside gatefold shot of the two droids on Tatooine, and couldn’t wait to get home and throw it back on our gigantic RCA all-in-one TV stereo cabinet (a monolithic triumph of the late 1970’s that took up the vast majority of our humble living room and would eventually shepherd me right past Debbie Boone and Alabama on into the marvelous age of rock gods like Kiss and Queen). On this day however, my dreams of Mos Eisley cantina jams and Imperial themes would be smashed to pieces right along with my “Star Wars” album. On the way out of class that day, one of the fragile discs slid, seemingly in slow motion, out of the sleeve and shattered right in front of the very kids who moments earlier coveted its mysterious power. Childhood really is brutal. No, it’s not likely to make your “Up-Beat-Part-Mix,” but this is literally the soundtrack to defining mythology of the first quarter of my life.

9. Say Anything (1989)

This soundtrack has two unstoppable songs that are brilliantly used during the film. The obvious first is Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” which has an instant effect on any person with even a shred of sentimentality, and no one can forget the boombox scene (especially Fishbone, whose song was actually being playing by John Cusack during the filming, but was later subverted with the massive Gabriel classic in the actual movie). The second is “Within Your Reach” by The Replacements. There are several unsung heroes of the late ’80s, but only equally influential band The Pixies can rival The Replacements as the most under-appreciated late 1980s pioneers. The soundtrack also includes Living Colour, guitar-maestro Joe Satriani, Fishbone, and yet again, Cheap Trick.

8. High Fidelity (2000)

John Cusack’s fairly righteous retelling of the classic Nick Hornby novel was full of all the right musical references to draw in the new kids. It also had plenty to appease the know-it-all music snobs of the world, which allowed everyone to sit back and enjoy a great little movie with a stellar soundtrack and enough inside winks and nods to make your head spin. The soundtrack’s highlight is most definitely Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love it Will Be Forever), which so beautifully finishes the picture. I’m a huge Stevie fan, but “High Fidelity” was the first time I sat up and took notice of this truly timeless track which originally appeared on Wonder’s 1972 album “Talking Book.” Other notable tracks include “Dry the Rain” by The Beta Band (which received a memorable record-store spin in the movie that sent everyone rushing to the counter to buy it) and “Shipbuilding,” a stellar track from pop music’s most talented lyricist, Elvis Costello.

7. Magnolia (1999)

Paul Thomas Anderson has balls. To use a new song by a contemporary artist like Aimee Mann and create a sequence in which all your principle cast of characters (including “The Cruise”) lip-sync the lyrics as a connecting device is no small idea. Can you believe the nerve? This soundtrack includes a great deal of work from the remarkable Ms. Mann which serves to set the unique tone of the film, and stands as an example of an artist at the absolute pinnacle of her power coinciding with the release of her flawless 3rd solo album “Bachelor No. 2, or The Last Remains of the Dodo.” Her music is used so pervasively in the picture that she is, in a sense, another character– the haunting voice of an omniscient observer floating above the tangled webs at play. Throw in a couple Supertramp classics and you’re on your way to one classic soundtrack.

6. Highlander Soundtrack / Queen - A Kind of Magic (1986)

Despite the suggestion during the closing credits of “Highlander” that the film’s soundtrack would be available, it was not to be. British rock gods Queen had written songs for the soon-to-be cult-classic and eventually released them as a new full length record dubbed “A Kind of Magic.” Here is where I should exercise restraint and not admit yet again that I saw this film 17 times in the theater and that I may or may not have gone to local shopping malls, glaring at passers by and wearing a London Fog trench coat that may or may not on occasion have concealed beneath it a wooden sword. Fortunately for you, I don’t have that kind of fortitude, and I must confess that it’s true. Although the cheese factor is in the stratosphere for this one, songs like “Princes of the Universe” and “Don’t Lose Your Head” are campy and brilliant in the same way that Queen’s soundtrack for “Flash Gordon” was in 1980. “Who Wants to Live Forever” is a real gem, and proves, as he has on so many occasions, that no one in rock history had the presence and singular talent of Freddie Mercury.

5. Once (2007)

Songwriters and neophyte actors Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova had a big year with a storied win for best original song at the Academy Awards for “Falling Slowly” and the much-deserved accolades for their performances in the the best little movie of 2007, “Once.” I’ve mentioned this before, but the very instant the credits rolled I ran to my computer and bought this soundtrack on iTunes. It’s one of those rare records that I never seem to tire of. I can only hope that Hansard and Irglova team up again in the studio and create more new music. Their chemistry on camera and on record prove they are a magical match. Highlights include: “Fallen from the Sky,” “All the Way Down,” and “Say It to Me Now.”

4. This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer have teamed up many times over the years to our benefit, but on no occasion has their combined power been more perfect than “This is Spinal Tap.” The music is an integral aspect of the humor, not only did they write and perform all the music, but they did the impossible: write great “bad” songs. I would definitely have included Christopher Guest’s “Waiting for Guffman” on this list for the same reason, had its genius soundtrack ever been officially released. They say comedy is much more difficult than drama in terms of acting. In terms of music, it has to be the same or a whole lot worse. Trying to write funny songs and not end up churning out Barenaked Ladies tracks has just got to be a nearly insurmountable task. “Big Bottom,” “Hell Hole,” “Listen to What the Flower People Say”– are you kidding me? This stuff is absolutely pure gold! My favorite track has to be “Gimme Some Money,” a bouncy British Invasion-style number with lyrics that leave me in stitches if I even so much as think about it. “This Is Spinal Tap” is the best comedy of all time and its soundtrack is priceless.

3. Almost Famous (2000)

This is simply the second best fictional story about a fictional band ever told. That is, to date, of course. A composite of a number of the real bands that Cameron Crowe encountered on his journeys as a young music journalist, “Almost Famous” is a Crowe joint that hammers so close to my heart that it consistently gets a 4-5 times a year viewings at my house. In the history of film has there ever been a pop song used to more effect than the bus scene with Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer?” It is as if those two pieces of art are now inseparably fused together for all times. Hearing “Tiny Dancer” on the radio instantly snaps you back to that unforgettable moment on the Stillwater bus with Ms. Pennylane, Jeff Bebe, and Russell Hammond. An extraordinary collection of artists and songs help tell the story of a rock band on the verge of both success and implosion. Standouts include: “America” by Simon and Garfunkel, “Feel Flows” by the Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin’s “Tangerine” which doesn’t appear on the album, but makes the end of the film.

2. Purple Rain (1984)

Unless you really love bad acting and Morris Day and the Time, “Purple Rain” the movie was not so good. But its soundtrack is an undeniable classic. If this album had only one song on it, and that song was “Purple Rain,” it would still be #2 on my Top 10 Soundtracks list. The title track is not the only ridiculously badass song, in fact the rest of the album is just as electric and provocative. Hits like “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry” propelled Prince into superstardom right where he belongs. If you don’t own this record, seriously–what the hell are you thinking?

1. A Hard Days Night (1964)

The Beatles made a number of relatively good films, (”Help!” and “Magical Mystery Tour” both have superb soundtracks) but nothing beats “A Hard Days Night.” “A Hard Days Night” the film was a very slight exaggeration of the band’s hectic existence in the early years of Beatlemania. Musically, it’s a soundtrack album that was yet another step forward in the history of the greatest pop rock songwriting team that has ever been. The title track, taken from a Ringo-ism, is a “Name that Tune” gold mine with its instantly recognizable intro chord. In addition to it’s namesake track, “A Hard Days Night” includes “And I Love Her,” If I Fell,” and uber-classic “Can’t Buy Me Love,” all of which make it easily my favorite movie soundtrack of all time.

Tags: A Hard Days Night, almost famous, Cheap Trick, Glen Hansard, High Fidelity, Highlander, John Cusack, Magnolia, Marketa Irglova, Once, Purple Rain, queen, Say Anything, star wars, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, This is Spinal Tap, top 10 movie soundtracks, top gun, top ten movie soundtracks

Eric’s Top 10 last week was Top 10 Films You Can Watch Over and Over Again. This week I thought I would put the screws to myself and twist the idea a bit, so lets make it Top 10 Films You Have Actually Watched Over and Over Again. So, in literal terms, what are the ten films that, better or worse, are the movies you’ve seen most in your entire life. Clearly, this list could yield some startling results and has the potential to be a little embarrassing, but I say lets bare it all and see what it says about us as movie fanatics. So, without further ado, here are the ten films that I believe I’ve seen more times than anyone with a social life and future goals should admit to.

10. Waiting For Guffman (1996)

Still the most brilliant and under-appreciated of Christopher Guest’s mockumentary films,”Guffman” will always have a special place in my heart. Easily one of the most quotable films of the 90s, Guest magnificently spoofs local theater, one of America’s least well known subcultures. If you’ve known this world, the parody of the smalltime stage and its delusions of grandeur is as spot on as Spinal Tap is to the debauched world of rock and roll.

Corky St. Clair: And I’ll tell you why I can’t put up with you people: because you’re BASTARD people! That’s what you are! You’re just bastard people! And I’m goin’ home and I’m gonna… I’m gonna BITE MY PILLOW, is what I’m gonna do!

9. This is Spinal Tap (1984)

This Rob Reiner classic gets regularly omitted from Eric and I’s Top 10’s, most often because if we aren’t forced to exclude it out of hand it would likely turn up on every damn list. I’ve been in bands since I was fourteen years old and access to the full battery of “Spinal Tap” references at a moment’s notice has inevitably been a qualifying prerequisite in every one of them. “Spinal Tap” is pure genius. Few American comedy ensembles can vie for a shot at the title of “America’s answer to Monty Python,” and long before there was David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (“Mr. Show”), there was the ridiculously talented triumvirate of Christopher Guest, Micheal McKean and Harry Shearer. “Spinal Tap” the film never gets old, even if nauseating “This one goes to eleven…” impersonations that seem to pop up everywhere have done their college best to suck out the feeling.

Nigel Tufnel: [on what he would do if he couldn’t be a rock star] Well, I suppose I could, uh, work in a shop of some kind, or… or do, uh, freelance, uh, selling of some sort of, uh, product. You know…
Marty DiBergi: A salesman?
Nigel Tufnel: A salesman, like maybe in a, uh, haberdasher, or maybe like a, uh, um… a chapeau shop or something. You know, like, “Would you… what size do you wear, sir?” And then you answer me.
Marty DiBergi: Uh… seven and a quarter.
Nigel Tufnel: “I think we have that.” See, something like that I could do.
Marty DiBergi: Yeah… you think you’d be happy doing something like-…
Nigel Tufnel: “No; we’re all out. Do you wear black?” See, that sort of thing I think I could probably… muster up.
Marty DiBergi: Do you think you’d be happy doing that?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, I don’t know - wh-wh-… what’re the hours?

8. Jaws (1975)

I still argue to anyone who will listen that Stephen Spielberg’s uber-classic about a sociopathic shark named Bruce is among the scariest films ever made. Regardless of whether the end result was the product of Spielberg’s acute appreciation of Hitchcock-ian “less is more” techniques or what may constitute the ultimate intervention by the film gods - the failure of a mechanical movie shark, “Jaws” is both a commercial juggernaut and an undeniable edge-of-your-seat- classic. I can honestly remember being afraid to jump in darkened swimming pools at night as a young child, for fear of being chomped by a chlorine-resistant beast of the deep. I don’t know what that says about my intelligence as a child, but I’m perfectly comfortable admitting that this is one of my all-time most watched films.

Hooper: This is what happens. It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus - possibly Longimanus or Isurus glauca. Now… the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis; however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters. Didn’t you get on a boat and check out these waters?
Brody: No.
Hooper: Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn’t any propeller; and it wasn’t any coral reef; and it wasn’t Jack the Ripper! It was a shark.

7. Highlander (1986)

In 1986 I was completely obsessed with the rock band Queen. Just knowing that they were responsible for the massive soundtrack to “Highlander” as they had been before for 1980’s “Flash Gordon” was enough to get me to the theater the first time, it was the broad swords, trenchcoats and immortals that brought me back the next 16 times in the theater. I’ve admitted this at least once before, but I’m fairly certain the final count for viewings in the theater was 17 (it honestly may have been 14, but I think either way I have permanently soiled my reputation and solidified my standing as a card carrying member of the dork squad). “Highlander” director Russell Mulcahy took a truly original screenplay by first time screenwriter Gregory Widen and made something quite spectacular out of it. Like the first “Terminator” to the rest of the installments in the series, both film and television, the original “Highlander” had a low-budget charm and necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention-edge to it that has very little relationship to the drivel of the same name that came after. Students of film will appreciate the film’s clever dissolves and transitions as well as the depth of story and concept at the center of this spectacular film. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen it since, on VHS or DVD, but there is little doubt it will forever be the film I’ve seen most in the theater.

Connor MacLeod: You’re a liar!
Ramirez: You have the manners of a goat. And you smell like a dung-heap! And you have no knowledge whatsoever of your potential! Now.
[shouts]
Ramirez: Get out!
Connor MacLeod: Help me, I’m drowning!
Ramirez: You can’t drown, you fool, you’re immortal!

6. Real Genius (1985)

This is one of those films that I discovered after the fact, and therefore never had the chance to screen in a movie theater. As a kid the subscription to HBO and Cinemax introduced me to any number of films with varying degrees of quality and substance. “Valley Girl” director Martha Coolidge’s ode to smart kids with no social skills was just the pep-talk I needed at the time. While I couldn’t identify with the uber-intellects of the main characters, the ineptitude in nearly all other things had a thunderous resonance. Any film that climaxes with a house exploding with popcorn, that’s been cooked by the rays of a laser beam from space, done to the triumphant tune of Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is good enough for me.

Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning…
Chris Knight: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
Mitch: No…
Chris Knight: Why am I the only one who has that dream?

5. Top Gun (1986)

Here’s were honesty may not be the best policy, but such is life. Right or wrong, I thought this movie was the beginning and end of all things when I was a youngster. This was the exact moment I cast aside my “Star Wars” toys and began imagining myself as a hot shot Naval aviator with carnal knowledge of stuff - too bad I didn’t find out what “carnal knowledge” was until I used it incorrectly in a sentence. Every once in a great while I’ll still give this bad boy a spin, and I do, from time to time, like to take it right into the “Danger Zone.” I also enjoy quizzing friends on the identity of the now-highly credible actor/director who played the character “Merlin.”

Merlin: What are you doing? You’re slowing down, you’re slowing down!
Maverick: I’m bringing him in closer, Merlin.
Merlin: You’re gonna do WHAT?

4. Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Of all the “Star Wars” films, “Empire” was obviously the coolest and darkest thematically. I’m sure my parents took me to see the original “Star Wars” in 1977, but I was too young to remember the experience. The first film would become a constant VHS presence in years to come, but life absolutely changed after “Empire.” I had everything from storybook cassettes to action figures, puzzles and sleeping bags with Millennium Falcons and X-Wings on them. I’ve probably seen all three original “Star Wars” movies fairly equally at this point, but I still have to give the advantage to the first film of the series that I experienced on the big screen and at a time when I was old enough to have my entire world turned upside down and love absolutely every second of it.

Darth Vader: Calrissian. Take the princess and the Wookie to my ship.
Lando: You said they’d be left at the city under my supervision.
Darth Vader: I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.

3. Almost Famous (2000)

“Untitled,” Cameron Crowe’s directors cut of this film remains my favorite DVD commentary track ever. This is in my opinion a perfect film. There is nothing I would change, no cast member, no performance, no camera angle or song on the soundtrack. It is as close to my heart as any film will ever be. As a filmmaker, Crowe is analogous to my favorite songwriter (Neil Finn of Crowded House), I sometimes let them both off the hook a little easy (”Elizabethtown”), but the truth is their work resonates louder and longer than almost any of their peers, contemporary or otherwise. I have no idea what the official count would clock in at, but I know, between both the theatrical and re-cut versions, I’ve cleared the 50 views mark. Ironically, my interest in the film has also led me to one of my favorite music artists of the last decade in Mark Kozelek, the former lead singer of Red House Painters and “Almost Famous” band Stillwater’s bassist-of-few-words Larry Fellows.

Russell Hammond: You, Aaron, are what it’s all about. You’re real. Your room is real. Your friends are real. Real, man, real. You know? Real. You’re more important than all the silly machinery. Silly machinery. And you know it! In eleven years its going to be 1984, man. Think about that!
Aaron: Wanna see me feed a mouse to my snake?
Russell Hammond: Yes.

2. Apollo 13 (1995)

Now were getting down to it. My love affair with this film began the moment I heard it was in production and that NASA had approved the production to film in it’s zero-gravity inducing planes. I’ve been known to describe my vast appreciation for all things in space by claiming that if you put a hot dog in space I’ll watch it. Fortunately, for all fans of space exploration and in particular the Apollo space missions, “Apollo 13″ star and sparkplug Tom Hanks is as big a fan as anyone and took special care to create a film that had as much respect for detail as it did admiration for the three astronauts who traveled all the way to the moon, just to watch it fly by out the window and barely make it home again. Hanks would go on to produce the HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon” about many of the other Apollo missions, but Ron Howard and Co.’s “Apollo 13″ is the cream of the crop of films about the American space program - right along with “The Right Stuff.” I’ve never been able to burn myself out on the film, despite having screened it so many times that the only suspense available to me now is whether or not I will actually watch the thing all the way through to the end - and I nearly always do.

Jack Swigert: Ken, there’s an awful lot of condensation on these panels. What’s the story of them shorting out?
Ken Mattingly: Umm… We’ll just have to take that one at a time, Jack.
Jack Swigert: Like trying to drive a toaster through a car wash.

1. Princess Bride (1987)

Hands down, without question, “The Princess Bride” is the movie that I have watched the most number of times of any single film ever. I truly believe that great movies are meant to be experienced over and over again, just like an amazing record, and even I can’t fathom the number of times I’ve seen this Rob Reiner classic, based on the novel by William Goldman. There is no film more quotable or more infinitely enduring than “The Princess Bride.” I can recall my father taking me to see the film the first time, and I remember thinking just like Fred Savage does in the first scene with Peter Falk that he had lost his ever-loving mind trying to take me to a movie called “The Princess Bride,” but little did I know he was introducing me to a film that will, until the day I die, never leave my side. No one before or since has made a film quite like it, and like The Beatles’ “Revolver” or Crowded House’s “Temple of Low Men,” “The Princess Bride” is a thing that I will never tire of and I definitely can’t live without.

Inigo Montoya: You are sure nobody’s follow us?
Vizzini: As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we’ve done, and no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast. - Out of curiosity, why do you ask?
Inigo Montoya: No reason. It’s only… I just happened to look behind us and something is there.
Vizzini: What? Probably some local fisherman, out for a pleasure cruise, at night… in… eel-infested waters…

Tags: 10, almost famous, best of, empire strikes back, list, movies, princess bride, real genius, repeat viewings, seen a lot, ten, top, top 10 list, Top 10 Lists, top gun, top ten, watched most