MARK KERMODE’S MOVIE PLAYLIST

THE CRITIC AND SCALA RADIO PRESENTER CHOOSES HIS ULTIMATE CINEMATIC SOUNDTRACKS

1. MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

Is there anything that brings a festive tear to the eye more than Judy Garland singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ to Margaret O’brien’s Tootie in Vincente Minnelli’s ’40s classic? As Tootie gazes mournfully through the window at the ‘snow people’ outside, Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane’s spinetingling song tugs mercilessly at the heartstrings of generations. “Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow...” Incidentally, the original lyric opened with the ultra-bleak couplet, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last,” but Garland and Minelli begged for a more upbeat rewrite, which they got — thank heavens!

2. THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL

“Paul Williams’ pedestrian songs are repetitious,” declared Variety in what has proved to be one of the most impressively wide-of-the-mark reviews in the industry bible’s illustrious history. In fact, the soundtrack album for this magical retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic has become a staple in all good homes, with heated battles being fought over the inclusion/exclusion of ‘When Love Is Gone’ in differing versions of the film.

3. BLACK NATIVITY

Kasi Lemmons’ reframing of Langston Hughes’ groundbreaking ‘gospel song play’ features old favourites and new music arranged/ written by Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson. The film, which boasts Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and more, has grown in stature since its release in 2013, thanks in large part to the soundtrack.

4. BRAZIL

Yes, really. Terry Gilliam’s satirical near-future nightmare may not feel like festive fare, but the bureaucratic action all plays out around Yuletide, replete with questions about how Father Christmas can get into a home that doesn’t have a chimney (cue stormtroppers through the ceiling) and Peter Vaughan as a sinister Santa Claus. And Michael Kamen’s score (featuring a guest appearance by Kate Bush) is his very best work.

5. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Frank Capra’s timeless adaptation of Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story has a score by Dimitri Tiomkin, but it’s the splendidly boisterous ‘Auld Lang Syne’ finale that makes this the definitive Christmas singalong. Attaboy, Clarence!