Customer Reviews

Good Will Hunting: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I saw Good Will Hunting I had never even heard of Elliott Smith, but once I saw the movie I had to have the CD. While Danny Elfman's compositions and the other songs (especially Luscious Jackson's catchy "Why Do I Lie") are wonderful, Smith's music is what makes this CD - it's worth buying for "Miss Misery" alone. In an age where most soundtracks include predominantly glossy pop tunes, cheaply sentimental love songs, and unnerving punk rock, the Good Will Hunting soundtrack contains simple, sincere music that's a refreshing change from other movie/TV soundtracks.

Quick note: for those of you perpetually searching for the perfect song, "Miss Misery" is one of them. Flawless in a way that very precious few songs are. Compares favorably to the best songs ever, in my opinion, including any Beatles classics. If you appreciate real songwriting and you haven't heard this tune, there's a void in your experience of perfection.

Soundtracks are a music business trend on the decline and for good reason. In recent years many soundtracks have been thrown together with sub-standard artists or tracks, little correlation to the movie itself which in turn probably didn't even deserve to be seen let alone heard. Yet these cash cows have been lapped up by the truckload. The Good Will Hunting soundtrack bucks this trend however, and is a startlingly good collection of songs that not only relates well to the film and it's lead character Will, but also entices you to seek out more from the artists involved - this is what a good soundtrack should do. The very talented Elliot Smith provides the backbone of the album with his superb compositions, however I find myself enjoying the other artists involved here just as much. The Waterboys' 'Fisherman's Blues' and Luscious Jackson's 'Why Do I Lie' are two inspired choices, as is Al Green's perennial tear-jerker 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart'. Danny Elfman's theme songs are quite hauntingly beautiful and help make this a great album for the road, and exploring new places. An exceptional soundtrack with a great amount of spirit.

Great soundtrack to a great movie! The Elliot Smith selections seem to perfectly reflect the tragedy within the drama, a lonely pop track by Luscious Jackson, "Why Do I Lie?" (sad, sorrowful, nicely done), Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' (A classic with a tragic story and mood), and even an Al Green tune, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (need I say more?). I could do without The Waterboys.

I bought this CD for one, and only one reason. I absolutely LOVED the song that was played in the trailers for the film and I wanted have that song on CD. However, much to my surprise, the song was conveniently left off the soundtrack. I have been searching for the name of this song ever since (if there is anyone who happens to know the name of that song - PLEASE EMAIL it to me - it would be much appreciated). After a period of neglecting the cd (due to my dissapointment) I started listening to the tracks again and found that what the CD does contain is actually quite good. Elliot Smith voice is brilliant, his lyrics communicate the tone of the movie in a very unique way. My favorite song on the album, however, is track #6 - "Why do i Lie" by Lucious Jackson. Basically, other than my initial disappointment with the CD, I have found it quite enjoyable, and really like it a lot.

***An update: I recently found the song I was looking for, "Dance without Sleeping" by Melissa Etheridge. Anyone else looking for the 'mystery song' will hopefully find solace in this song.***

The songs were eclectic, and Elliot Smith is awesome. "Miss Misery" is so appropriate and deep that even I, a teenage girl who of course loved Titanic, felt it was robbed of the Oscar. It's so different from the other nominees, and the lyrics apply to Will Hunting exactly as they should.

Otherwise, the CD was a treat; but I was terribly disappointed not to find more of Danny Elfman's score, which I loved.

I accept that Elliot Smith's songs is very good. But, I like Danny Elfman's score more than it. We can listen only two pieces of score, but it semms to be enough. I think "Main Title", and "Weepy Donut" is good music which express Will's mind better than Elliot's songs... Overall, It's good soundtrack.

I love the mix of music on this soundtrack. It's been with me on many roadtrips. The movie was great, but the music stands alone even if you haven't seen the movie. I bought several more Elliott Smith CD's after liking this; I recommend his album KRS 246, too.

This is a great soundtract for those out there that love Elliott Smith, and a great introduction for those yet to discover him. Once you delve into the many albums out there, you will find one gem after another. I go through periods where I put all of it on shuffle, and enjoy, for a week at a time. I think that he will be remembered as one of the greatest songwriters of the 1990s.

In case you can't tell, you should buy this soundtrack.

Just a note to the poster that lamented that the song from the trailor was not on the soundtrack: it is quite common in the movie industry to use music in a trailor that is not the actual music from the movie. This is because the music is one of the last things to go in. I am glad you found your song, but I don't think that it was "left off" the soundtrack, because I don't remember that song being in the movie at all. Also, some artists generally allow their music to be used in a movie, but not on the soundtrack. The Rolling Stones are a good example of this. I am glad that you found the song you were looking for, but if it was only in the trailor (and I can't remember it being in the movie), then it doesn't really belong on the soundtrack. I am glad that you grew to like the soundtrack. Enjoy.

I absolutely loved this soundtrack. Eliott Smith's songs were appropriate and well-written, Gerry Raferty's "Baker Street" was a good inclusion (I previously only had that song on eight-track), and the rest of the songs were also excellent. The only disappointment was that less than ten minutes of Danny Elfman's Oscar nominated original score appeared on the album. Hopefully they will release a separate album of the complete score as they did with his other '98 Oscar nominated score, Men In Black.