Happy 2012, everybody. We're back for another year, and I hope you all had a great time during the holidays.
As I'm sure most of you know, the U.S. film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's immensely popular novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," part of the "Millenium" series, was released last month -- er, or at the end of last year (!). I went to see it the day it came out, and I absolutely loved it. Purists will say that A) there was no need to remake it since the Swedes already adapted the book in 2009 and/or B) there were changes between the book and the film. Well, I've been pretty bad about keeping up with actually reading, and completing, books outside of my studies in school, so I didn't go in with any knowledge about what the story was really about or what was the original storyline in the book. I also hadn't seen the Swedish version of the film. So I was a clean slate.
The movies I really, really enjoy are the ones I find myself still thinking about hours, days, or even weeks after I've seen them. In fact, after seeing "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," I made one of my New Year's resolutions to be "Read, and finish, books on a regular basis" -- and I've started with Larsson's famed book. But you didn't click on this post to learn more about my resolutions and movie viewing ways.
I think we always overlook the power of film soundtracks. As it should be, music produced for cinema is not meant to catch your ear like pop music but rather underscore the visuals and the script, strengthening the story's reception and impact. In this regard, I would have to say that the soundtrack for the U.S. version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" was highly effective and incredibly powerful. It sounds like a bit of an insult to say I didn't really think of the film's music while I was in the theater, but that's really a compliment. It's only now as I've taken the time to listen to the soundtrack on its own that I've come to appreciate how terrific it is, with its texture, mood, and transportive qualities.
At this point, I'm assuming most people know who was responsible for the film's soundtrack: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" director David Fincher found a formula that worked after calling upon Reznor and Ross to score his last film, 2010's "The Social Network," and here decided to go with the same team again. The results are, as I've said, fantastic. You can get a taste for the 39 track, approximately three-hour epic (yes, three hours) and download a 6-song sampler for free below.
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