Sam Mendes’s latest film Empire of Light arrived in UK cinemas towards the start of January – with Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward starring in the 1980s-set drama as two people who form an unlikely romantic connection at an old cinema.
One of the standout aspects of the film is its soundtrack, which includes both an original score by prolific film composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and a number of hit songs from the ’80s and before, including a memorable scene set to Do Nothing by The Specials.
“We do have a lot of Specials and Two-tone, those really are the tracks for Steven, who is Micheal Ward’s character,” producer Pippa Harris told virginradio.co.uk.
“But there’s also a lot of music, which is perhaps from a slightly earlier period, which is music that Olivia Colman’s character Hillary listens to. There’s actually quite a broad range of music in there from the ’70s through into the ’80s.”
Read on for the full list of Reznor/Ross compositions and details about some of the other songs to feature on the Empire of Light soundtrack.
Empire of Light soundtrack
You can find the full list of compositions by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross below:
- 8 AM, Christmas Eve
- The Sea, The Sea
- Faded Grandeur
- New Year’s Eve
- To the Wild Sky
- Solitary People
- To Be Able to Fly
- Clouds Appear
- Nothing Happens Without Light
- Out and About Again
- Procession
- Washed Out
- A Touch
- Empire of Light
- High Windows
The Empire of Light score is available to listen to in full on Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL and more.
Several other songs are also included in the film – many of which can be heard playing on a record player. These include:
Go Home performed by Angel Olsen
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) performed by Bob Dylan
Morning Has Broken performed by Cat Stevens
You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio performed by Joni Mitchell
Do Nothing performed by The Specials
Empire of Light is out now in UK cinemas and will later be added to Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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