David Wingo’s 12 Favorite Film Soundtracks
More than 20 years after Richard Linklater’s Slacker put the Texas state capital on the film map, Austin is experiencing a new resurgence in cinema, and David Wingo is right at the center of it, scoring films for David Gordon Green, Jeff Nichols and Craig Zobel, among others. He has scored many films by Green, including the director’s debut George Washington in 2000 and his new Prince Avalanche.
Paste asked Wingo to share his favorite film soundtracks of all time, and he graciously obliged. Check out his picks and explanations below.
Drive, He Said (David Shire)
David Shire composed several of my favorite scores from the ‘70s and Drive, He Said and All The President’s Men are probably my two favorites. Both of them have an amazing use of dissonance to create a sense of dread within a still-traditional orchestral framework. I have searched high and low for this soundtrack, but I don’t think it was ever actually put out.
The Man Who Wasn’t There (Carter Burwell)
Carter Burwell has created so much great music for the Coen Brothers over the years, and his signature style certainly creates such a consistent thread that runs throughout the films that at this point, it would feel very strange to me to hear anybody else scoring their movies. I feel like this one got kind of slept on and showcases Burwell at his best and most hauntingly beautiful.
Paris Texas (Ry Cooder)
This is probably my favorite film of the ‘80s, and Ry Cooder’s score has as much to do with it as anything else. Wim Wenders’ fascination with both the physical and emotional dislocation of the wide expanse of America culminated with this one, and Cooder’s longing, Southwest-tinged score is the perfect accompaniment to Wenders’ tragically romantic story.
The Thin Red Line (Hans Zimmer)
I just saw a trailer the other day that used the centerpiece “Journey to the Line” from this soundtrack in it and remarked to my friend that it might be the single most-used piece of music for trailers. If you want instant, heart-stopping emotion, this would be the go-to. It evokes the immensely sad, overwhelming beauty of Henryk Gorecki but, taken to its extreme, seemingly maintaining a minutes-long crescendo while somehow continuing to up the ante emotionally with every repetition.