As Martin Scorsese once said, “Music and cinema fit together naturally. Because there’s a kind of intrinsic musicality to the way moving images work when they’re put together. It’s been said that cinema and music are very close as art forms, and I think that’s true.” Indeed, the right piece of music–whether it’s an original score or a carefully selected song–can do wonders for a sequence, and today we’re looking at the 20 films that best expressed this notion this year.
From seasoned composers to accomplished musicians, as well as a smattering of soundtracks, each musical example perfectly transported us to the world of the film. Check out our rundown of the top 20, which includes streams to each soundtrack in full where available.
20. Wendy (Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin)
19. She Dies Tomorrow (Mondo Boys)
18. The Nest (Richard Reed Parry)
17. Ammonite (Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann)
16. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Branford Marsalis)
15. Proxima (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
14. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Julia Holter)
13. Shirley (Tamar-Kali)
12. Possessor (Jim Williams)
10. Zombi Child (Bertrand Bonello)
Watch the film for the full soundtrack.
11. Bacurau (Mateus Alves & Tomaz Alves Souz)
10. Da 5 Bloods (Terence Blanchard)
9. Minari and Kajillionaire (Emile Mosseri)
The Minari soundtrack will be released in 2021.
8. The Grand Bizarre (Jodie Mack)
The film & soundtrack are currently not available, but stay tuned for updates.
7. The Invisible Man (Benjamin Wallfisch)
6. Soul and Mank (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste for Soul)
5. American Utopia (David Byrne)
4. First Cow (William Tyler)
3. Tenet (Ludwig Göransson)
2. Time (Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Jamieson Shaw, and Edwin Montgomery)
Watch the film for the full soundtrack.
1. Lovers Rock (Various Artists)