Every passing day is another day closer to the Cannes premiere of Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” and you can expect plenty of updates regarding the auteur director’s buzzy, star-studded period dramedy in the coming weeks. Today, we were afforded a tantalizing glimpse at the original soundtrack for “The French Dispatch,” which looks to be yet another top-shelf addition to Anderson’s roster of indelible cinematic playlists.
“The French Dispatch” soundtrack will see Anderson reuniting with frequent collaborator Alexandre Desplat, who has written the music for every Anderson film since “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” for a new collection of original compositions, in addition to original solos from prolific French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. As we learned via Film Music Reporter, “The French Dispatch” will lean on pop music more than any Anderson outing since 2012’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” and will feature vintage cuts from the likes of Grace Jones (!!!) and Chantal Goya, plus needle drops from iconic film composers like Ennio Morricone (whose song “L’Ultima Volta” can be heard in the trailer) and Georges Delerue, as well as an original tune from Wes Anderson familiar Jarvis Cocker.
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Frankly, it’s another deliciously eclectic collection of tunes. However, since Anderson has proven himself over the years to be a master of the soundtrack, we’d expect nothing less from him at this point (a close reading of the titles of Desplat’s original compositions may offer readers some clues as to the particulars of the plot, i.e., car chases, criminal mischief, “police cooking,” and more). For those of you who wish to listen to some of the “French Dispatch” songs before the movie’s release via Spotify, check out the playlist below. Eagle-eyed Wes Anderson fans should look at the piece by Desplat called “Moses Rosenthaler.” Anderson’s only written, and yet unreleased movie is “The Rosenthaler Suite,” a screenplay remake of a French film he wrote for Ron Howard‘s company, a work-for-hire gig. It’s probably coincidental and he’s just recycling the last name for one of the characters, but it is kind of a neat thing to flag.
No word on a release date for the soundtrack, but perhaps a fall date, somewhere in proximity to the film’s American premiere at this year’s New York Film Festival, could be in the cards? We’ll see how things shake out. “The French Dispatch” premieres at Cannes Film Festival in July and will see a release in U.S. theaters on October 22 courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.
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Here’s the tracklisting:
1. Obituary
2. After You’ve Gone – Gene Austin, Candy And CoCo
3. Simone, Naked, Cell Block-J, Hobby Room
4. Fiasco – Gus Viseur
5. Moses Rosenthaler
6. I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango) – Grace Jones
7. Mouthwash De Menthe
8. Sonata for Mandolin and Guitar A-Dur K.331, Adagio – Boris Bjoern Bagger, Detlef Tewes
9. Cadazio Uncles and Nephew Gallery
10. “Inseguimento al Taxi (The Chase)” – Mario Nascimbene
11. The Berensen Lectures at the Clampette Collection
12. L’Ultima Volta – Ennio Morricone
13. Tu M’as Trop Menti – Chantal Goya
14. J’en déduis que je t’aime – Charles Aznavour
15. Fugue No.2 in C minor [The Well-Tempered Clavier – Book 2 BWV 871] – The Swingle Singers
16. Adagio – Georges Delerue
17. Police Cooking
18. The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner
19. Kidnappers Lair
20. A Multi-Pronged Battle Plan
21. Blackbird Pie
22. Commandos, Guerillas, Snipers, Climbers and the Jeroboam
23. Animated Car Chase
24. Lt. Nescaffier (Seeking Something Missing…)
25. Aline – Jarvis Cocker
Here’s a Spotify playlist that the FilmStage made.