Thursday Token Themes

Welcome a 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 Mark Isham. The New York City native has created some sweeping, melancholy scores as well as some more action-oriented pieces, all equally impressive. One of his most recent works is the soundtrack for the Robert Redford film, “The Conspirator,” and his track “A Genuine War Hero” is a fitting tribute to the film’s characters. “Give Me Two Minutes” from the horrific flop “Next” is considerably more fast-paced and invigorating, even if the film was horrendous. “Eva’s Theme” from “Freedom Writers” is an appropriately inspiring anthem for that film, and “Nothing Stays Buried Forever” from “The Black Dahlia” is a proper schizophrenic composition for a film that just didn’t work at all. The track that initially attracted me to Isham is “Negligence” from “Crash,” which helped to make that movie so powerful. The end credits suite from “Spartan” is dark, moody, and decently thrilling. His theme from “October Sky” is wonderfully hopeful and endearing, as it should be.

The Conspirator (2011)



Next (2007)



Freedom Writers (2007)



The Black Dahlia (2006)



Crash (2005)



Spartan (2004)



October Sky (1999)