in this thread, https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=876098 about the movie empire records many people have never seen the movie (which was pretty bad) but know the soundtrack from being on the radio
Another movie judgment night with Emilio Estevez where " suburban kids get lost and killed in the big evil hood" movie is remembered mainly of the soundtrack which mixed punk hard rock and metal with rap music in one of the first examples of “hardcore”
any other examples out there?
“Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” were soundtrack albums that shined along WITH their movies (to some people, anyway; I finally watched SNF a few years ago, and shut it off after a few minutes because I couldn’t stand the characters.)
The Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell is a classical mainstay, with many recordings and concert performances over the years.
The movie it comes from, * Dangerous Moonlight*, is barely known and is only mentioned when people talk about the Concerto.
Purple Rain, perhaps?
The movie was forgettable, but the soundtrack was full of classic rock jams by Foreigner, Queen, Bob Seger, Joe Walsh, and others.
I’d say Singles qualifies. I’m less sure of Cameron Crowe’s indie-rock equivalent (at least as far as the soundtrack goes), Vanilla Sky.
City of Angels and Boomerang both had one monster hit (“Iris” and “End of the Road”) and another genre-popular song (“Uninvited” and “I’d Die Without You”). The movies were successful, but not my cup of tea, so I’m not sure if they qualify.
I’ll add “Chariots of Fire” and “St. Elmo’s Fire”. Both with memorable themes, but I haven’t seen the latter and don’t remember the former.
I don’t know if it’s cheating to take the example of a film done by a music group, but I think the soundtrack to the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” had a lot more impact than the film, which of course is mostly a matter of exposure. Who the fuck has seen “Magical Mystery Tour” anyway?
^ I’ve seen it and you’re 100% correct. Atrocious.
In a similar vein, “Let it Be”?
I thought of two others: Pink Floyd’s soundtrack albums “More” (for the movie with the same name) and “Obscured By Clouds” for “La Valleé”. Every Pink Floyd fan has those albums, but who has seen one of those movies? (I have seen “More”. Don’t do it, it was one of the most boring films I’ve ever seen. Listen to the album, it’s real good.)
I have too, and it’s really not worth the music.
Sadly, that film has been hidden from the general public for ages so I cannot judge, but I’d love to see it rerelased to make up my mind.
^ From, “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash”:
“In the midst of all this public bickering, “Let it Rot” was released as a film, an album, and a lawsuit. In 1970, Dirk sued Stig, Nasty, and Barry; Barry sued Dirk, Nasty, and Stig; Nasty sued Barry, Dirk, and Stig; and Stig sued himself accidentally. It was the beginning of a golden era for lawyers, but for the Rutles, live on a London rooftop, it was the beginning of the end.”
1980’s Xanadu barely broke even in the theaters while the soundtrack album went double-platinum and spawned radio hits for Olivia Newton-John and ELO.
I was going to say Requiem For A Dream and Last Of The Mohicans, but maybe that’s not strictly fair. The latter is a popular enough movie in its own right.
I’ve seen it. It’s a mess, but at least you can see the Bonzo Dog Band perform.
It was never popular, but I’d guess the sound track for 200 Motels is better known than the movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy. It had its charm, but the soundtrack was the most groundbreaking thing about it.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched Mo’ Better Blues more than once, but I’ve listened to the soundtrack dozens of times.
As slight as the soundtrack was for The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, it was actually a lot better than the movie.
That’s more about the score, not the soundtrack, isn’t it?
Searching now, I see that what I think of as the score is on youtube as a 6-minute song. (So good!) If that’s on the soundtrack, I think I stand corrected.
Flashdance was a mediocre movie with a great soundtrack.
I’m honestly surprised no one’s mentioned Car Wash yet. If not its overall soundtrack, definitely for its the theme song. I think a lot of people, at least in my age group who were born after the movie came out, know the song but don’t know about the movie or that the song was the theme song from a movie.
Sweet Dreams, the 1985 film allegedly about Patsy Cline. The soundtrack made far more impact than the movie.