Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman

Advantages: A must-have for any NBC fan, amazing music, everything you'd want from a soundtrack
Disadvantages: Can be hard to get hold of

...As well as being my favourite film, this is also one of my favourite soundtracks. Most of Tim Burton's films have soundtrack's brilliantly composed by Danny Elfman, and this is no exception. He has composed music for Edward Scissor Hands, the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beetlejuice, Batman and many more... His sound is usually very Christmassy and quite magical, and this is emphasised even more as he brings about not only the darkness of Halloween, but the magic and excitement of Christmas in his music for this film. However, I found this soundtrack very hard to get hold of, but I managed to find one in HMV, but they're not always in stock. But once you've found one, grab it. It is definately worth the £15 that I payed for it and definately gets you into the Christmas mood, or just into dark thinking. Although £15 may seem... Read review

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Advantages: Elfman's most magical creation and a true masterpiece
Disadvantages: The Tom Jones song at the end

...of danger, resulting in a rather depressing and poignant ending that is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. To no small degree, the music of Danny Elfman is one of the key elements that really gives this film the magical and poignant feel of fantasy. Danny Elfman was a relative newcomer to the film scoring scene in 1990. Having scored a few quirky and comedic scores, he hit it big time when Burton's Batman came about in 1989. His hugely orchestral and gothic approach made an instant impact with its grandiose gestures, powerful main theme, and a level of energy that made you notice its presence. After Batman, Elfman became the number one choice to score superhero and comicbook films, with Dick Tracy and Darkman following soon after during the following year. But both of these scores paled considerably by Elfman's last entry of the year... Read review

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Advantages: The most powerful Batman score ever composed; an Elfman classic all the way
Disadvantages: So what if it isn't the most sophisticated score in the world?

...not perfect by any means, Batman is one of the best comics-turned-into-films ever and part of the success can be attributed to the score by Danny Elfman. By 1989, Danny Elfman was still relatively unknown to many. As the lead singer of the rock group Oingo Boingo, Elfman's transgression to scoring films came in the mid-1980's with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. This film saw the beginning of the long-standing composer/director relationship of Elfman and Tim Burton, a relationship that would stretch for all the subsequent Burton films as well, apart from Ed Wood, which was composed by Howard Shore. Elfman's highest profile job after Pee-Wee came with 1988's Beetlejuice that was another zany Burton film starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. Elfman's work on Beetlejuice was equally zany and established many of the basic... Read review

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