A Brief but Evocative Trip to the Movies

An album featuring the musical highlights from 14 films from the same movie studio?

It sounds more like the kind of thing a studio marketing director would come up with for a self-promoting Christmas gift than something you’d expect to find on the shelves of a record store--especially when the studio isn’t MGM or one of the others known for classic musicals.

Yet “Miramax Films’ Greatest Hits” has been released commercially, and it proves to be quite enjoyable.

Not all the selections are going to be etched in your memory bank, but discriminating movie buffs will be surprised by how many of these compositions do strike a responsive chord. Not only is the music quite recognizable, but the strains often remind you quite vividly of various scenes in the films themselves.

Among the highlights: Luis Bacalov’s “The Postman Poet” from “The Postman (Il Postino),” Michael Nyman’s “The Sacrifice” from the “The Piano,” Ennio Morricone’s “First Youth” from “Cinema Paradiso,” Leo Brower’s “Quail in Rose Petal Sauce” from “Like Water for Chocolate” and Philip Glass’ “Opening Credits” for “The Thin Blue Line.”

Besides these compositions, the package includes a pair of pop recordings--Boy George’s version of the title song from “The Crying Game” and Dick Dale & the Del-Tones’ “Misirlou” from “Pulp Fiction.”

The biggest problem with the set is its brevity. Considering that the album--which also includes music from such films as “My Left Foot” and “Red”--only runs 48 minutes, the producers had room to include several of the other recordings from “The Crying Game” and “Pulp Fiction,” including Lyle Lovett’s “Stand by Your Man” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” respectively.

If the project could have been delayed a few weeks, in fact, there would have been room to include some of the memorable music from such recent Miramax releases as “Sling Blade,” “Trainspotting” and “The English Patient.” Oh, well, there’s always Volume 2.

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