The award-winning composer Angelo Badalamenti might be best known for his memorable score on the ‘Twin Peaks’ series (which is set to return to our screens in May 2017), but you’d be surprised to discover what other soundtracks he’s been responsible for over the course of his career.
Angelo Badalamenti has done a lot more scores than you might realise
Here are some of his greatest scores on films NOT directed by David Lynch:
1. A Late Quartet: In 2012, Badalamenti composed the music for this drama about the conflicts within a talented string quartet starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken. The score was intertwined with a soundtrack of various performances of classical pieces from the likes of Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach.
2. The Beach: Danny Boyle’s 2000 psychological thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio was another impressive score for Badalamenti, though it was the soundtrack featuring the likes of Moby, Blur, All Saints and New Order that won it the Brit award for Best Soundtrack. Nonetheless, a score-only album was later released separately.
3. Cabin Fever: For Eli Roth’s gruesome 2002 horror, Badalamenti worked alongside composer and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Barr (‘Hemlock Grove’, ‘The Americans’, ‘True Blood’) on the score. Barr was the man mainly responsible for the music, but Badalamenti’s supplementary work was born out of enthusiasm for the story.
4. The Edge of Love: This 2008 biographical costume drama starring Keira Knightley, saw Badalamenti compose a soundtrack with vocals from Siouxsie Sioux, Suggs, Patrick Wolf and Beth Rowley. The composer even performed the score live at the World Soundtrack Awards with Siouxsie and Rowley.
5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Perhaps an unusual addition to this list is the 80s Chevy Chase holiday comedy. It’s the only score from the film series not to include the song ‘Holiday Road’ by Lindsey Buckingham; instead, a new song was written for the film entitled ‘Christmas Vacation’.
Other films you might have heard Angelo Badalamenti from are the 2006 re-make of ‘The Wicker Man’, French romance ‘A Very Long Engagement’ and 2002 erotic thriller ‘Secretary’.
His greatest scores from David Lynch movies:
6. Blue Velvet: Before ‘Twin Peaks’ and its feature film ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’, Angelo Badalamenti captured Lynch’s imagination with this 1986 mystery thriller. It marked his first collaboration with Lynch, and the film even saw him make a cameo appearance. As well as the score, he also supervised the soundtrack which featured songs the likes ‘Blue Velvet’ and ‘In Dreams’.
7. Wild at Heart: Four years later, Badalamenti returned for Lynch’s next feature film ‘Wild At Heart’ starring Nicolas Cage. However, it was actress Diane Ladd – rather than Cage or the wonderful music – that won hearts for this 1990 movie.
8. The Straight Story: This Oscar nominated biographical drama was one of the last projects Badalamenti and Lynch did together. It was nominated for the Sierra Award for Best Soundtrack at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards. A 13-track album of his work on this film was later released.
9. Mulholland Drive: Badalamenti was nominated for a number of awards from the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs to the Online Film Critics Society, the Chicago Film Critics Association and AFI for this remarkable film score. It was one of his darkest projects, and came intertwined with a collection of pop songs on the soundtrack.
10. Lost Highway: Another collaborative effort, Badalamenti had a little help from Barry Adamson on this score. Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor was venturing into movies for the first time by writing some original material for the movie’s soundtrack.
More: ‘Twin Peaks’ hits our screens this year
