The 10 most underrated movie soundtracks of the 1970s
The article highlights overlooked 1970s film soundtracks, arguing that the decade’s cinematic experimentation also produced adventurous music beyond the best-known scores for The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars and Taxi Driver. It focuses particularly on horror and cult cinema, where synthesisers, unusual sound design and genre-blending compositions helped create distinctive atmospheres.
– Gil Mellé’s Frankenstein: The True Story is praised for blending romance and horror with a lavish yet restrained score.
– Godiego’s score for House matches the film’s surreal comedy-horror style through unpredictable jazz, traditional film music and synthesisers.
– Antón García Abril’s Tombs of the Blind Dead soundtrack is noted for its crashes, timpani, chants, heartbeats and breathing, reinforcing the film’s sound-driven premise.
– John Cameron’s Psychomania music is presented as a vivid 1973 mixture of pre-punk funk, avant-garde sounds and psychedelic rock.
– The article also identifies David Whitaker’s Vampire Circus and Luboš Fišer’s Valerie and her Week of Wonders as neglected scores worth rediscovering.
- The article celebrates neglected 1970s film music.
- Horror and cult films dominate its selections.
- Experimental soundtracks shaped these films’ atmospheres.