Music
Danny Boyle loves doing the soundtrack on films. In his earlier films he used a lot of music by already known bands, but has gradually shifted into having original music composed for his films.
Millions
Millions is one of the films that included both original music and music from outside.
An example of the music from outside is the song Brazil by S'Express. It is an upbeat pop song that Danny Boyle said he had been holding onto since they took it out of Trainspotting, and thought it worked well in the scene where the boys are excited about their newly found money. It's energetic just like the boys in this scene so it works really well.
He also uses the song Hysteria by well-known band Muse in the scene where the robbery is taking place, and the intensity of the song works in really well with the intensity of the scene
For the original score, Danny was initially apprehensive about letting John Murphy do the score as it was classical, but after hearing his ideas, he signed him on to compose for the film. Murphy did all the themes apart from the pop songs. He was influenced by Danny Elfmans score in Edward Scissorhands, and was aiming to make music that was very magical, and captured Damians imaginative spirit.
John Murphy - Wikipedia
Murphy also worked with Boyle on 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
Slumdog Millionaire
For Slumdog Millionaire most of the songs were written by A. R. Rahman, an Indian film composer, music producer and musician. Boyle wanted a "pulsey" score, that was upbeat and edgy. Rahman says he was "mixing modern India and the old India". He won the 2009 Academy award for Best Original Score for Slumdog Millionaire.
O...Saya is one of the more famous songs that A.R.Rahman composed for the film along with M.I.A. Both of them also performed the song. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2009, although it did not win.
It is used in one of the first scenes in the movie, when the children are running from the policeman through the slums. It is quite upbeat and really captures the energy of the children. The drums in the background of the song add to the urgency and excitement in the scene, and the Indian flair the song really places you in the setting of India, without being too forceful about it.
Jai Ho, also written by Rahman, is one of the most well-known songs from the film. It won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was used for the "Bollywood" style scene at the end, paying respect to the great films of India. It is upbeat and fun, and a very uplifting way to end the film.It is perhaps better known for the version released by American girl band The Pussycat Dolls. They gave it more of a pop melody and wrote lyrics in English for it. It enjoyed a lot of commercial success, reaching number 1 and number 2 in the charts in many countries
Paper Planes was one song in the movies soundtrack that was not by A R Rahman, but written and performed by M.I.A. Danny Boyle had decided early on that he wanted to incorporate this song into the film, and he used it in the scene where Jamal and Salim are trying to make money by stealing and other various things.
I think the slowish relaxing beat adds an easygoing element to the scene. Instead of making their fight for survival emotional and heart wrenching, Boyle uses this song to make people focus on how clever and resourceful the two boys are, and it is a really enjoyable scene to watch.
After being on Slumdog Millionaire this song also enjoyed commercial success, reaching the top 20 on many charts around the world.
127 Hours
For 127 Hours Danny Boyle again worked with Rahman, who composed most of the music on the film. He said he wanted the music to feel like something Aron Ralston would listen to, and focused mainly on using the guitar. His music focused mainly on the happy, confident Ralsston, and the excitement of his adventures. The score got very positive reviews. It worked well and really told a story. Rahman was again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, although this time he did not win.
Although a lot of the songs Rahman did were instrumental, one of the more famous songs to come out of 127 hours was If I Rise, which he composed and singer Dido wrote the lyrics for. Both sang the song. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, although it did not win.
It was used in the part of the film where Aron imagines his future son. The song is quite slow and haunting, and it really emphasizes this moment of realization that he has, where he decides he has to fight for his life. It allows the audience to connect with his emotions, and to see this future he sees.
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqPmCc2qbF8
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/11/ar_rahman_on_slumdogs_sound.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slumdog_Millionaire#Soundtrack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slumdog_Millionaire_%28soundtrack%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Ho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_Hours:_Music_from_the_Motion_Picture
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