Sucker Punch (soundtrack)
Sucker Punch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by various artists | |
Released | March 22, 2011 |
Recorded | 2009 |
Length | 49:20 |
Label | WaterTower Music |
Producer |
Sucker Punch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. It was released on March 22, 2011 by WaterTower Music. The album consists of covered songs, mainly by the film's stars. Emily Browning sings on three songs, while Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac perform a cover of Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug" as a duet. Recording artists Björk, Skunk Anansie, Emilíana Torrini, Queen, Carla Azar, Alison Mosshart and Yoav also have songs on the soundtrack.
All of the covers on the album were produced by Marius de Vries and Tyler Bates, who utilized orchestral and rock sounds. Director Zack Snyder wanted the songs to add depth, dimension and meaning to the fantasy aspects of the film. The recording sessions began in September 2009. Part of Browning's audition for her role in the film included recording herself while singing. Snyder liked her voice and invited her to sing the Smiths' song "Asleep". The crew and Smiths' frontman Morrissey were happy with the result, and Browning recorded two more songs for the soundtrack, including Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" which is played during the film's opening sequence.
The album received generally positive reviews, and critics considered it one of the best soundtracks of the year. Browning was praised for her performance throughout the album, mainly on "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". Sucker Punch reached number twenty-two on the
Background and development
"The girls in this movie kick ass, so the soundtrack had to kick ass. I really wanted every aspect of Sucker Punch to feel unexpected — the look, the feel and the sound of what Babydoll and the others go through. I think that the music in this film turned out to be such a great surprise, and to really help tell the story in a way that only something as primitive and as much a part of the human experience as music can."
Zack Snyder[1]
As with the soundtrack for
Snyder wanted the songs to add depth, dimension and "meaning to the sequences they exist within", as the film includes "multiple levels of reality".[5] de Vries noted the director tried to use songs instead of an original score "so that the lyrics could help navigate the way through the complex scenes and illuminate Babydoll's state of mind."[1] Bates said "the songs serve as the link to the conscious world of Babydoll" while the score "was designed to simply underscore the sense of reality in the various alternate realities/action".[4] On the song selection, Snyder said that the tracks were chosen to "resonate" and give the viewer "sort of a nostalgic feeling",[6] and de Vries added that the compositions had to fit the film's "themes of escape and hope, and redemption through the imagination."[1]
The original script of the film included parts where the characters sang, but it did not make the final cut, and de Vries said, "It was never going to be an opera, or even going to be a musical. It was very unlikely even to have any 'break into song' moments within it, but the fact that we designed it so that it could I think gives it that sort of strange, music-driven resonance."[2] References to both Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug" and Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" were seen in the original script,[1] with the former being used in a musical sequence performed by actors Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac "in the style of a Bob Fosse/Moulin Rouge kind of vibe",[7] and the latter being picked by Snyder for his belief that it was "perfect for our World War I [action sequence]". Bates considers Emilíana Torrini's cover of "White Rabbit" to be the soundtrack's standout.[2] Nine songs are featured in the soundtrack, with Bates saying others were considered and discarded for among other reasons, veto from the original artists and "lyrics too on the nose".[4]
Composition
Musically, the songs on Sucker Punch are highlighted with orchestrations and a rock edge.[2] De Vries said that during the songs' production "there was a substantial amount of reinvention, in several different directions", helped by Snyder giving the composers free reins. Bates added that there was an attempt to "expand the scope of the songs in a way they were never heard before", with "crazy electronic" and "alternative guitar work" - "it's a bit over the top, but so is everything on screen."[13] The versions of the songs tried to match the action on-screen:[13] Bates detailed that "White Rabbit" "starts out very ethereal, getting [Babydoll] into the mindset of the dance, and once the girls have their assignment, once they delve in with machineguns and other weapons, the song starts to bloom into this epic, rich, full orchestral choral fanfare."[1] This correspondence lead to the tracks getting longer and alternating between the songs themselves and "a score that is reminiscent of songs sometimes", which Bates described as "playing in the consciousness of the characters [i.e. in the same way most people sometimes keep a song ‘playing’ in their heads for an extended period of time]."[3] For instance, "White Rabbit" features a choir of 150 voices playing the vocal melody of the first verse of the song, and tracks such as "Search and Destroy" have "moments where Zach really wanted to blow it up into [a] huge orchestra".[4]
Heather Phares of
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Empire | [17] |
The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Rick Florino of Artistdirect was very positive on the album, writing that the film "hearkens back to the good old days, and the film's soundtrack is not only one of the best soundtracks this year, it's also bound to be remembered as a classic." The writer praised Browning's take on "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", writing that it "adds a lush darkness and vibrant vulnerability to the song reminiscent of Portishead's Beth Gibbons but with a flair all her own." Florino awarded the album four and a half stars out of five, and concluded his review, writing, "This is the kind of soundtrack that needs to be listened to from front to back, and if it's any indication, the film is destined to be one of the most mind-blowing and magnificent screen event this year, perhaps even the decade."[16]
Commercial performance
Sucker Punch sold 16,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States, debuting at number thirty-six on the
Track listing
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Eurythmics cover) | Emily Browning | 5:19 |
2. | "Army of Me" (Sucker Punch remix) | Björk featuring Skunk Anansie | 6:53 |
3. | "White Rabbit" (Jefferson Airplane cover) | Emilíana Torrini | 5:07 |
4. | "I Want It All / We Will Rock You" (mash-up) | Queen with Armageddon aka Geddy | 5:08 |
5. | "Search and Destroy" (The Stooges cover) | Skunk Anansie | 4:24 |
6. | "Tomorrow Never Knows" (The Beatles cover) | Alison Mosshart and Carla Azar | 7:37 |
7. | "Where Is My Mind?" (Pixies cover) | Yoav featuring Emily Browning | 6:19 |
8. | "Asleep" (The Smiths cover) | Emily Browning | 4:20 |
9. | "Love Is the Drug" (Roxy Music cover) | Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac | 4:13 |
Total length: | 49:20 |
Charts
|
|
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Production Notes" (PDF). Warner Bros. pp. 14–16. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- ^ Wenner Media. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ^ a b c Eggertsen, Chris (2011-03-25). "Interview: The Crew of "Sucker Punch"". Dark Horizons. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ a b c d Larson, Randall (2011-04-24). "A Super Interview with Tyler Bates". Soundtrax. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ Sciarretto, Amy (2011-02-25). ""Sucker Punch" OST Due Out March 22nd". Artistdirect. Rogue Digital. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ^ Come, Tye (26 July 2010). "From Comic Con: Zack Snyder on 'Sucker Punch'". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ^ Leupp, Thomas (2011-03-23). "Exclusive Interview With Carla Gugino". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ Snead, Elizabeth (2009-08-11). "VIDEO SCOOP: Carla Gugino, Vanessa Hudgens may sing a duet in 'Sucker Punch'?". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- E! Entertainment Television. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ^ a b c Takeuchi, Craig (2011-03-25). "Sucker Punch's Emily Browning: on weapons, singing, and Vancouver food". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ a b c "Zack Snyder Interview, Sucker Punch". MoviesOnline.ca. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ The San Francisco Examiner. Clarity Media. Archived from the originalon 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ a b c Sucker Punch: Behind the Soundtrack. Sucker Punch Blu-Ray: Warner Home Entertainment.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- The New York Post. Archived from the originalon 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d Florino, Rick (March 7, 2011). ""Sucker Punch" Soundtrack Review". Artistdirect. Rogue Digital. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Graydon, Danny. "Sucker Punch Soundtrack Review". Empire. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (2011-04-09). "Reviews". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
- Journal Communications. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- Viacom). Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (2011-04-06). "Britney Spears' Femme Fatale Debuts At #1 On Billboard". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ^ a b "Soundtracks – Week of April 16, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
- ^ a b "australian-charts.com – Soundtrack – Sucker Punch". ARIA Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (2011-09-17). "All Along the WaterTower". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (2011-12-17). "The Sony Solution". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
- ^ a b "lescharts.com – Soundtrack – Sucker Punch". SNEP. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ RIANZ. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ IFPI. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Media Control. Retrieved 2011-05-07.[dead link]
- ^ "ultratop.be - Soundtrack - Sucker Punch" (in Dutch). Ultratop (NL). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "ultratop.be - Soundtrack - Sucker Punch" (in French). Ultratop (FR). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ TOP 20 MULTI-ARTIST COMPILATION ALBUM, WEEK ENDING 14 April 2011 . chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- AMPROFON. Hung Medien. Archived from the originalon 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- Media Control Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ "Top 30 Compilation Albums Week ending 16th April 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- ^ "Top 30 Dance Albums Week ending 2nd July 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- ^ Alternative Albums : Apr 16, 2011. Billboard biz. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ Independent Albums : Apr 16, 2011. Billboard biz. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ Top Rock Albums : Apr 16, 2011. Billboard biz. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "Year End 2011: Soundtracks". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
- ^ "Year End 2011: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
External links
- Official website of Sucker Punch
- Sucker Punch at MusicBrainz (list of releases)