Isle of Dogs (Original Soundtrack) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Album cover | ||||
Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | March 23, 2018 | |||
Recorded | 2017–2018 | |||
Studio | Air Studios, London | |||
Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
Length | 43:29 | |||
Label | ABKCO | |||
Producer | ||||
Alexandre Desplat chronology | ||||
| ||||
Wes Anderson film soundtracks chronology | ||||
|
Isle of Dogs (Original Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2018 film Isle of Dogs directed by Wes Anderson. The album features an original score composed by Alexandre Desplat and musical contributions from Japanese artists. The album was released through ABKCO Records on March 23,2018. Desplat was nominated for an Academy Awards,British Academy Film Awards,Golden Globe Awards and Critics' Choice Movie Awards under the Best Original Score category and won the World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year.
In July 2017,it was announced that Alexandre Desplat would score music for Isle of Dogs,renewing his association with Anderson since Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). [1] He was brought onboard when the film's production was almost completed. [2] Desplat's likeness towards Japanese culture was reflected on the musical sensibilities and the specific soundscape he found for the film. He used the taiko drums,owing to Anderson's suggestion as it played the melody of the boy,which was "the Japanese seed and color" that Desplat had found. The instruments ranged from various sizes and shapes and had a huge dynamic range in its sound. This eventually varied in creating the ambience and mood of the film,where the drumming of the taiko drums evoke tension and fear. [3]
Besides the taiko drums,Desplat further used saxophones,bass,French horns along with a group of recorders,and male choir,that provided a "very strange mix of an occidental feel with sometimes jazzy elements". [4] The use of American instruments could "really bounce off of the relentless Taiko drumming,and certainly have the syncopation motifs,completely away from any Japanese reference". [4] The chorus was another element of the band,but Desplat refrained from using high register,tenor vocals and female choir,to provide a monk-like chant. Since Yoko Ono plays a character in the film,Desplat suggested the use of the syllables "Yoko,Ono" to provide homage to Japanese culture. [4]
To experiment with the film's music,Wes suggested nearly 30 saxophones,with Desplat reduced it to 4–8 in number,to provide a motif of a barking dog. [5] At times,the recorders also play dissonant motifs with the taikos in the low register,which sounded like the bark. This was made to organically integrate the score with the film and provides authenticity to the Japanese influence. The piano played low notes instead of utilizing it as a tune or a chord,as he wanted it provide it as an element of movement in sync with the Taiko drums which provide a relentless rhythm. [4]
Randall Poster selected several songs from Japanese artists which are used in the film. Most of the compositions are originated in Japanese classic films such as the Akira Kurosawa-directed Drunken Angel (1948) and Seven Samurai (1954). [6]
Writing for Backseat Mafia,Jon Bryan gave 7.5 out of 10 and summarized it as "a soundtrack which eludes to peril and danger without trying to hit you in the face with it,and as such it has an unescapable ‘Wes Anderson’feel about it,which given the film it is soundtracking,means it is job done for Alexandre Desplat." [7] Joe Goggins,in his review for Drowned in Sound ,assigned 7 out of 10 and wrote "Desplat’s music—under the watchful eye of,and with telling contributions from,Anderson himself—captures both the light and dark of the piece in assured,if not unforgettable,fashion." [8] Calum Marsh of Pitchfork assigned 7.3 out of 10 and wrote "Isle of Dogs is a film and a soundtrack of grand gestures and tiny fluctuations,of sadness and hope. It affects the mournful quality of Japanese theatre,then zips into the mid-century L.A. exuberance of giddy brass and woodwinds and drums. What’s most evident throughout is the warmth and thoughtfulness behind it all." [9]
Kaya Savas of Film.Music.Media wrote "The score in the end works as a great editing and pacing device for the film,with some clever uses of switching from non-diegetic to diegetic. But in the end you wish there was more of the characters' personal quirks rather than the general overarching quirkiness of the score as a whole." [10] Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times described it as "ever-surprising". [11] Jonathan Romney of The Guardian wrote "Alexandre Desplat’s minimalist score is also a pleasure,mixing taiko drumming,laconic jazz bass and the occasional dash of Prokofiev." [12] Guy Lodge of Variety described it as a "wonderfully sparse,louring score,which sounds like precisely nothing else the melodically inclined Frenchman has ever composed before [...] the soundtrack blends a steady tremble of Taiko drumming with,of all things,the occasional interpolation of Prokofiev's 'Troika'." [13] David Edelstein of Vulture described it as a "lovely,strumming score". [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Shinto Shrine" | 1:56 |
2. | "Taiko Drumming" (written and performed by Kaoru Watanabe) | 0:50 |
3. | "The Municipal Dome" | 2:29 |
4. | "Six Months Later + Dog Fight" | 2:05 |
5. | "The Hero Pack" | 1:08 |
6. | "First Crash-Landing" | 0:56 |
7. | "Kanbei & Katsushiro – Kikuchiyo's Mambo" (from Seven Samurai ) (written by Fumio Hayasaka, performed by Toho Symphony Orchestra) | 0:52 |
8. | "Second Crash-Landing + Bath House + Beach Attack" | 4:07 |
9. | "Nutmeg" | 0:48 |
10. | "Kosame No Oka" (from Drunken Angel ) (written by Hachirō Satō and Ryōichi Hattori, performed by David Mansfield) | 1:06 |
11. | "I Won't Hurt You" (written by Michael Lloyd, Shaun Harris and Bob Markley, performed by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band) | 2:23 |
12. | "Toshiro" | 1:07 |
13. | "Jupiter and Oracle + Aboriginal Dogs" | 2:05 |
14. | "Sushi Scene" | 1:41 |
15. | "Midnight Sleighride" (from Lieutenant Kijé Suite ) (written by Sergei Prokofiev, performed by Sauter-Finegan Orchestra) | 3:01 |
16. | "Pagoda Slide" | 1:08 |
17. | "First Bath of a Stray Dog" | 0:26 |
18. | "TV Drumming" (written and performed by Watanabe) | 0:31 |
19. | "Kobayashi Canine-Testing Laboratory" | 1:57 |
20. | "Tokyo Shoe Shine Boy" (written by Seiichi Ida and Tasuku Sano, performed by Teruko Akatsuki) | 3:02 |
21. | "Re-Election Night, Parts 1–3" | 5:00 |
22. | "End Titles" | 4:51 |
Total length: | 43:29 |
Wesley Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative styles, and frequent use of ensemble casts. With themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families, critics have cited Anderson as an auteur. Three of his films have appeared in BBC Culture's 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000.
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer and conductor. He has received numerous accolades throughout his career spanning over four decades, including, two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards. Desplat was made an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres both in 2016.
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is a motion picture soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat. The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award, Satellite Award, Houston Film Critics Society Award, Denver Film Critics Society Award, and an IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy Film. The soundtrack won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score.
Isle of Dogs is a 2018 adult stop-motion animated science fiction comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Wes Anderson, narrated by Courtney B. Vance, and starring an ensemble cast that consists of Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Kunichi Nomura, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Akira Ito, Greta Gerwig, Akira Takayama, Frances McDormand, F. Murray Abraham, Yojiro Noda, Fisher Stevens, Mari Natsuki, Nijiro Murakami, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel, and Frank Wood. A U.S.–German co-production, Isle of Dogs was produced by Indian Paintbrush and Anderson's own American Empirical Pictures, in association with Studio Babelsberg. The film is set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki where Mayor Kenji Kobayashi has banished all dogs to Trash Island due to a canine influenza pandemic. Kobayashi's nephew Atari sets out to find his missing dog Spots with the help of a group of dogs led by stray dog Chief.
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun is a 2021 American anthology comedy drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman. It features an expansive ensemble cast and follows three different storylines as the French news bureau of the fictional Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun newspaper publishes its final issue.
The Grand Budapest Hotel: Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album composed by Alexandre Desplat for the 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson. The 32-track album was released on March 4, 2014, through ABKCO Records, produced by Anderson along with music supervisor Randall Poster. Unlike their previous ventures, the soundtrack to this film did not feature contemporary pop hits due to the classical roots of the film's music.
Little Women: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the score album composed by Alexandre Desplat for the 2019 American film Little Women. A seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, the film is directed by Greta Gerwig, and stars an ensemble cast consisting of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, and Chris Cooper. The original score album was released by Sony Music on December 13, 2019.
Argo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a score album composed by Alexandre Desplat to the Academy Award-winning historical drama thriller film Argo. The film was directed by Ben Affleck, from a screenplay written by Chris Terrio, which was adapted from U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative Antonio J. Mendez's eponymous novel released in 1999, his memoir The Master of Disguise, and the Wired article by Joshuah Bearman, "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" (2007); Affleck also starred in the lead role as Mendez. The score album was released on October 9, 2012 by WaterTower Music, three days ahead of the film's release.
Moonrise Kingdom (Original Score) is the accompanying score album for the identically named 2012 coming-of-age comedy-drama film released on June 19, 2012 through ABKCO Records. The score album featured six tracks, including five themes from the soundtrack composed by Alexandre Desplat and one theme by Mark Mothersbaugh, who scored for Anderson's early films. Irrespective of being released along with the soundtrack in May 2012, the score album was separately released, in order to be shortlisted for nominations at award ceremonies, including Academy Awards, which was rejected due to the inspiration of classical music from Benjamin Britten's compositions.
Moonrise Kingdom (Original Soundtrack) is the accompanying soundtrack album for the identically named 2012 coming-of-age comedy-drama film released on May 15, 2012 through ABKCO Records. The soundtrack album featured original compositions from Alexandre Desplat and supplemented existing music by Benjamin Britten, as well as classical songs from Hank Williams, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Schubert and Françoise Hardy. Both Anderson and Randall Poster compiled the film's soundtrack.
The Shape of Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the Academy Award-winning film of the same name. It featured 26 tracks — most of the tracks were from the original score composed by Alexandre Desplat and some tracks are incorporated songs, being originated from the 1940s and 1960s as the film is set during the Cold War period. The film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, who also co-wrote the script with Vanessa Taylor, stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer.
The Secret Life of Pets (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film of the same name. The film's music is scored by Alexandre Desplat and released on July 1, 2016 by Back Lot Music. The music consisted of jazz, classical and orchestral pieces, which Desplat described the musical style as "George Gershwin meets Miles Davis". The score received positive critical response.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album to the 2008 film of the same name, released by Concord Music Group on December 16, 2008. It was released in physical forms as a two-disc album, with one disc containing the film's original score composed by Alexandre Desplat, and the other consists few classical songs as well as dialogues featured in the film. The David Fincher-directed film, written by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and stars Brad Pitt as the titular character, alongside Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Mahershala Ali, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, and Tilda Swinton.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is the soundtrack album to the 2022 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film of the same name. Based on the 1883 Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and Gris Grimly's design from his 2002 edition of the novel, the film, directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, stars Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Burn Gorman, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton. The score is composed by Alexandre Desplat in his second collaboration with del Toro after The Shape of Water (2017). The album featuring the original score and songs were set for release digitally on December 9, 2022 and in physical formats on December 16 by Columbia Records.
The music to the 2021 anthology comedy drama film The French Dispatch directed by Wes Anderson features of a score composed by Alexandre Desplat, and selections of French classical and pop hits curated by the music supervisor Randall Poster, who were Anderson's regular collaborators. The score was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, featured contributions from pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, collaborated with Desplat on wide range of instruments and orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios. The score album, The French Dispatch: Original Score released on May 21, 2021, five months ahead of the film's release, and the soundtrack, The French Dispatch: Original Soundtrack was released along with the film, on October 22, 2021, which preceded with the lead single "Obituary" from Desplat's score, released on September 14. Both albums were distributed by ABKCO Records. Desplat received a BAFTA Award for Best Original Music nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score nomination.
Zero Dark Thirty (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty. Featuring an original score composed by Alexandre Desplat, the soundtrack was released through Madison Gate Records on December 25, 2012.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is the soundtrack to the 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox directed by Wes Anderson. The film's soundtrack featured a selection of songs from The Beach Boys, The Bobby Fuller Four, Burl Ives, Georges Delerue, The Rolling Stones, and other artists. An original score composed by Alexandre Desplat accompanied the remainder of the album. ABKCO Records released the soundtrack on November 10, 2009, three days ahead of the film. Desplat was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score and BAFTA Award for Best Original Music for his work in the film.
Rust and Bone is the soundtrack to the 2012 film of the same name directed by Jacques Audiard. The album featured musical score composed by Alexandre Desplat and songs heard in the film, with contributions from Bon Iver, Colin Stetson, Azari, John Cooper Clarke, Django Django, Lykke Li and the B-52s amongst several others. The soundtrack was released on 15 May 2012.