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The Usual Suspects
(1995)
Album Cover Art
Composed and Produced by:

Orchestrated and Conducted by:
Larry Groupé
Labels Icon
LABEL & RELEASE DATE
Milan Records
(August 15th, 1995)
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
Regular U.S. release.
Awards
AWARDS
None.
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ALSO SEE





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   Availability | Viewer Ratings | Comments | Audio & Track Listings | Notes
Buy it... if you are curious about the creatively intelligent, lyrical suspense score that served as John Ottman's mainstream debut.

Avoid it... if Ottman's knack for complicated, troubled thriller music makes you shiver, and if only one elegant title theme of significant memorability isn't enough to hold your interest.
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EDITORIAL REVIEW
FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #772
WRITTEN 9/7/03, REVISED 4/4/09
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Ottman
Ottman
The Usual Suspects: (John Ottman) Few films offer the superior level of intelligence in writing as The Usual Suspects, a 1995 crime thriller and mystery that grips you in its ambiguity from beginning to end. Its surprisingly deep cast, remarkable writing, and frightening sonic ambience all make for an ultra-creepy film that continued to achieve cult status more than a decade after its release. Jokes about the character Keyser Sšze are a delicious part of modern movie culture, and the performance of actor Kevin Spacey earned him a ticket to the forefront of the industry. The film remains one of the most deceptively manipulative in its age, incredibly concealing its surprise ending with effective obscurity until its fantastic moment of realization in its concluding scene. The film was the second collaboration between director Bryan Singer and composer/editor John Ottman, with their first project being the largely unknown film Public Access just previous to The Usual Suspects. The composer/editor hybrid is very rare in the professional industry, mostly because the two tasks traditionally required different sets of skills and a whole lot of time. On the other hand, having a single composer and editor for a film allows that individual to produce a perfect fit between film and score, avoiding the usual difficulties with awkward score cuts and butchering at the hands of the film editors. Ottman was also the composer and editor for Public Access, and he would continue to serve in such a dual role for projects eventually as large as X2: X-Men United. In the case of the music for The Usual Suspects, despite its ultimate success in context, the score was really a strong example of how not to attempt to record the music for your film. With the film on a strict budget, Ottman couldn't afford to record the performing sections of the ensemble all at once.


Ratings Icon
VIEWER RATINGS
971 TOTAL VOTES
Average: 3.5 Stars
***** 254 5 Stars
**** 283 4 Stars
*** 213 3 Stars
** 141 2 Stars
* 80 1 Stars
  (View results for all titles)

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COMMENTS
4 TOTAL COMMENTS
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Brilliant eerie, menacing music
roybatty - October 10, 2006, at 8:02 a.m.
1 comment  (4641 views)
A bit of curio.
ottmaniac - March 11, 2006, at 12:51 a.m.
1 comment  (2332 views)
John Ottmon...   Expand >>
HiccupMan - June 1, 2004, at 11:00 a.m.
2 comments  (3951 views)
Newest: June 1, 2004, at 11:01 a.m. by
HiccupMan
More...


Track Listings Icon
TRACK LISTINGS AND AUDIO
Audio Samples   ▼
Total Time: 53:32
• 1. Main Theme (3:41)
• 2. Getting on Board (2:56)
• 3. The Story Begins (1:09)
• 4. Payback Time (1:39)
• 5. Farewell Fenster (0:45)
• 6. "He's Here!" (1:48)
• 7. The Garage (2:25)
• 8. Verbal Kint (2:09)
• 9. Keyser Appears (2:34)
• 10. "It Was Beautiful" (1:18)
• 11. The Arrests (1:17)
• 12. Redfoot (1:39)
• 13. New York's Finest (1:43)
• 14. Kobayashi's Domain (2:22)
• 15. The Killing of a Rat (3:29)
• 16. "I Work for Keyser Söze" (1:37)
• 17. The Faces of his Family (1:45)
• 18. The Plan Begins (1:56)
• 19. Back to the Pier (3:37)
• 20. Casing the Boat (1:55)
• 21. A Gift (1:39)
• 22. The Greatest Trick (3:15)
• 23. The Water (2:33)
• 24. Les Sons et les Parfums Tournent Dans L'Air du Soir* (3:30)
* composed by Claude Debussy and performed on piano by Jon Kull

Notes Icon
NOTES AND QUOTES
The insert includes a note about the score from director Bryan Singer.
Copyright © 2003-2025, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Usual Suspects are Copyright © 1995, Milan Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 9/7/03 and last updated 4/4/09.
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