50 Great Soundtracks from Asian Movies

41. Ruined Heart: Another Love Story Between a Criminal and A Whore (Khavn, 2014, Philippines)

Featuring tracks by Stereo Total, Scott Matthew, Mabuhay Singers, Grauzone, Hasil Adkins, John Holt, Buddy Emmons, et al. the particular soundtrack fits the delirious aesthetics of the production quite fittingly. As the movie unfolds much like an extreme music video however, a number of songs steal the show, with Bing Austria’s homonymous track (music by Khavn) and “She Said” by Hasil Adkins, where Tadanobu Asano dances, in one of the most memorable scene of the short

42. Sakuran (Mika Ninagawa, 2006, Japan)

The film stands apart for its astonishing production values, including the cinematography, costumes, set design and makeup, with vivid colors flooding every scene, resulting in a plethora of magnificent images. Of equal value is the soundtrack by Shiina Ringo, titled “Heisei Fuzoku”, with the song “Gamble” standing apart, as is the case with the scene where it is heard. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

43. Sankarabharanam (Kasinathuni Viswanath 1979, India)

This Telugu-language movie was born out of a passion for Indian Carnatic music, so inevitably, classical melodies lay at its core. K. V. Mahadevan (who was composing film music for five decades) gave it his heart and soul, and performers like S. P. Balasubrahmanyam did justice to his work. I can’t imagine this kind of soundtrack to be even considered today – no catchy dance tunes, no electronics, no popular singing starlets. It’s hermetic, traditional, non-commercial – and stunning. For a listener not familiar with Indian classical music it may be a great introduction to a world of raagas, with their distinctive harmony, vocal style, as well as instruments like mridangam, tanpura, ghatam, and Indian violin. (Joanna Konczak)

44. Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975, India)

“Sholay”, which turned 45 this year, is not only among the most beloved Indian movies to date, but also the one with the highly-appreciated soundtrack. While in Indian films usually songs take charge, R.D. Burman, son of the exquisite composer S.D. Burman, enriched this memorable curry western with a background score, which, as Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal wrote, “was central to the film’s core, its fifth dimension, along with [its characters]”. The leitmotif bringing to the center of an adventure, disturbing villain’s theme, beautiful and nostalgic harmonica tune, fantastic use of tabla during the chase scene – they all harmonize with the action, help to build the characters and emotions. Its songs gained huge popularity. “Yeh Dosti” remains the favorite anthem praising friendship (along with the iconic video of Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan riding a motorcycle with a sidecar), “Holi Ke Din” – stays evergreen hit for Holi celebrations, and “Haa Jab Tak Hai Jaan” haven’t lost its drama (masterfully depicted by Hema Malini onscreen). European listeners can take their chance to recognize a tune from Demis Roussos in “Mehbooba, Mehbooba”. Interestingly, dialogues were so popular, that they were also released.  (Joanna Konczak)

45. Soul Mate (Derek Tsang, 2016)

Among the many nominations that Derek Tsang’s “Soul Mate” received at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards (its 12 nominations were the highest that year), the only award it did take home that night was for its Original Film Score, received by composers Peter Kam and Yusuke Hatano. Featuring a fresh sound using keys and guitar, the soundtrack really helped set the mood in each scene just right. (Rhythm Zaveri)

46. Swordsman 2 (Ching Siu-Tung, 1992, Hong Kong)

“The Sound of Laughter in the Vast Sea” – the theme song from the original becomes the centerpiece of a thumping score by Richard Then. Romantic, sentimental and at times awe inspiring, it is one of the most memorable scores from the new wave. The main theme like the legendary Wong Fei Hung theme “General marching under orders” is just incredibly hummabl,e making you want to soar in the air and be heroic once it kicks in towards the finale.(Ben Stykuc)

47. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989, Japan)

Musical pioneer in the Japanese Industrial scene, Chu Ishikawa has been an integral part in the work of director Shinya Tsukamoto. In Tetsuo, Ishikawa provides a harsh soundtrack of scrapping metal and unforgiving industrial noise that compliments the experimental narrative and dark visuals. (Adam Symchuk)

48. The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016)

Music has always been a key element in Park Chan-wook’s works, hence it is no surprise that three of them feature in this list, including his last feature film “The Handmaiden”, on all of which he collaborated with Jo Yeong-wook. As beautiful as the art direction and cinematography was, Jo’s music is a just as equally important element of the narrative. The tracks “Wedding” and “My Tamako, My Sookee”, for my money, are easily the best original pieces of music written for a film over the last few years, fitting perfectly in the scene they feature in and raising them to another level. (Rhythm Zaveri)

Highlights: Wedding, My Tamako, My Sookee, The Tree from Mount Fuji, Each Night in Bed I Think of Her Assets, Spellbindingly Beautiful

49. The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-liang, 2006, Taiwan)

Tsai’s metamusical is the embodiment of Linda William’s theory, in which the porn genre is equal to the musical. Here, musical numbers are on pair with porn scenes (among many, the cult ones with watermelons, of course), but they are immensely creative and inventively choreographed. Tsai was fascinated with camp, slapstick, carnality, but then again with the vintage Taiwanese songs, therefore “The Wayward Cloud” is a collage of cultures, aesthetics and sensitivity, and such is the soundtrack – unprecedented, full of contexts, absurdist humor and colors. (Lukasz Mankowski)

50. Tokyo Tribe (Sion Sono, 2014, Japan)

Sion Sono does hiphopsploitation? You better believe it! Featuring a veritable who’s-who of the Japanese rap and hip-hop scene, ‘Tokyo Tribe’ lives and breathes for the beats straight out of the “ass-end of hell”, a pulse which ripples like the drums of war through the streets of this dystopian city. The distinctive war cries of each Tokyo district drag you into this violent world teetering on the verge of destruction, giving you an authentic flavour of the various armies bustling in the real Tokyo. As a result, it all feels very real despite the insane silliness of the movie’s narrative; it’s an electrifying tour-de-force that leaves your chest pounding and your blood pumping. (Jamie Cansdale)

Highlights: Code of the Waru, Fight For Tokyo