Top 5 Sofia Coppola soundtrack songs
The director of The Bling Ring has a history of choosing great tunes to accompany her films
When the trailer for The Bling Ring hit the internet a month or so ago, there was one one stand-out element that kept cropping up in the comment threads. Well, ok, there were two elements, but Emma Watson's dancing has already been discussed elsewhere at length - we're talking about the awesome and entirely appropriate soundtrack choices by director Sofia Coppola. Now five feature films into her career, Coppola has shown herself a canny enough compiler of soundtracks to rival even Tarantino - here's a selection of our favourite cuts from her films.
Crown on the Ground - Sleigh Bells (from The Bling Ring)
Brash, obnoxious, unignorable - Sleigh Bells' contribution to The Bling Ring's soundtrack matches the film's protagonists perfectly, from its screechy guitar intro to the booty shaking chorus riff to the sultry-but-bored 'uh's sighed by lead singer Alexis Krauss.
So Lonely - The Police (from Somewhere)
A close call this one - do you go for the irony of Stephen Dorff's deadbeat showbiz dad watching strippers gyrate to Foo Fighters' 'My Hero'? Or how about the bookends 'Love Like a Sunset' parts 1 & 2, contributed by French alt.rock group Phoenix (whose lead singer, Thomas Mars, just happens to be Coppola's husband)? We've opted instead for the song that tells it like it is - and fits a neat reference to the film's title in there too: 'You act as if you just don't care / You look as if you're going somewhere.'
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam and the Ants (from Marie Antoinette)
Coppola's take on France's most flamboyant monarch was infamously booed when it premiered at Cannes in 2006; the French press were not enamoured with Coppola's decision to portray Antoinette through a more contemporary lens, complete with an 80s new wave soundtrack. 'A new Royal Family / A wild nobility / We are the family' yelled Adam Ant, but apparently that doesn't wash with the Croisette crowd.
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding - Elvis Costello (from Lost in Translation)
Peace, love and understanding - three core themes at the heart of Lost in Translation, with main characters Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (an unforgettable Bill Murray) seeking all three to various degrees. With Murray previously regarded as a predominantly comedic actor, his karaoke rendition of Elvis Costello's hit had an extra layer of poignancy, which many thought would net him a Best Actor Oscar. Sadly, twas not to be.
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Al Green (from The Virgin Suicides)
Standing apart from two equally impressive soundtracks - the original score by French electronicists Air and the largely AM radio rock soundtrack featuring the likes of Styx and the Hollies, evocative of The Virgin Suicides' 70s setting - Al Green's soft soul number hits just the right tone of melancholy longing and bittersweet nostalgia.