Thursday Token Themes

Welcome a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. I’m a hugely enthusiastic fan of film scores, and music is far too often an element of cinema that goes unrecognized. Therefore I present a platform for a look – or rather, a listen – to some fantastic film scores. I’ll be selecting a composer and one or more of their film scores for your listening pleasure, embedded from YouTube.

This week’s featured composer is Gabriel Yared. The Lebanese musician is best known for his collaborations with the late director Anthony Minghella. Yared usually creates sweeping scores for the epic nature of the material, but he is also gifted at more frantic, thriller-like beats. “The English Patient” is the one that won him his Oscar, back in 1996, when that film swept the Academy Awards. It’s an appropriately dramatic piece that captures the feel of that film. His music for Minghella’s next film, “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” is considerably moodier and creepier but just as beautiful, lending just the right air and allure to its title character. Next up is Minghella’s penultimate film, “Cold Mountain,” for which Yared earned his third consecutive Minghella-supported Oscar nomination. The first track, “Dear Mr. Inman,” is good, but I prefer “Escape from the Chain Gang,” which represents one of the more energizing moments of the film. The two tracks from the Oscar-winning 2006 Best Foreign Film “The Lives of Others” capture the spirit of that film, part getaway adventure film and part serious, heartbreaking drama. The last track always gets me.

The English Patient (1996)



The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)



Cold Mountain (2003)





The Lives of Others (2006)