Naxos continues its excellent "Film Music Classics" series which has now got some excellent film scores and collection albums in the series. This particular release takes us back to "Bram Stoker's Dracula" by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar, but also introduces us to a lot of other tracks by the composer from less well-known films including "King of the Last Days", "Death and the Maiden" and "Pearl in the Crown". The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

On this occasion, Nicholas Hooper takes over scoring duties, and brings an overdriven guitar into his very first track "Fireworks". Other than that this fifth film in the series has very much the traditional element you would expect on a Harry Potter soundtrack, with even some references to John William's "Hedwig's Theme", though some of the tracks are quite dark in an eerie horror movie sense, but this seems appropriate given the similar age group viewing teen horror movies. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

In "In the Valley of Elah" Tommy Lee Jones investigates the death of his son following upon his return from duty as a soldier in Iraq. Versatile composer Mark Isham has put down his trumpet and brought us an ambient atmospheric soundtrack which reflects the turbulent emotions and mystery behind the story, and reminds us somewhat of his earlier ambient soundtrack to the equally thoughtful and emotional "Crash". This latest soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

The novels of Frank Herbert require a mini-series like Children of Dune to bring out their detailed depiction of alien worlds. The soundtrack by Brian Tyler is a superb accompaniment to the series. It has a great main theme, the ethnic music of the Fremen people inhabiting the desert planet Dune, a song sung in their native language, with the political intrigue and heroic action involved in the fight to control the planet and it's key produce: the spice with its wonderful but dangerous properties. The soundtrack CD has a full 36 tracks and is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Like the previous film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a fun movie, so it needs the same ingredients to appeal to the same audience. The music by Hans Zimmer, who leads the company producing many of today's blockbuster soundtracks, is the same kind of fun experience with over-the-top thrills and action, and the mysterious ghostly magic that suspends disbelieve and draws the audience into its escapist world. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com and the sheet music can be found at Music Notes.

With Superman Returns, the film makers have tried to remain true to the films of the 70s and 80s starring Christopher Reeve. Part of the success of those films was the music by John Williams whose theme seemed to fit the Superman concept like a glove. With this soundtrack, composer John Ottman has used those key themes by John Williams and added some ideas and themes of his own to create a soundtrack which also remains true to the previous films yet has something of a unique identity. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

In many ways, Michael Giacchino (Lost) has returned to basics with the soundtrack to the third installment in the franchise, Mission Impossible 3. Not only does he use more of the original Lalo Schifrin material from the original television series, but he has ignored the trend towards increasing use of electronics and techo action tracks to bring back a largely acoustic sound in a similar vein to his Incredibles soundtrack. The action feels real and gritty as a result. The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

With the soundtrack to The Constant Gardener, composer Alberto Iglesias has again proved his superb versatility. Again quite different to his previous soundtracks for Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, this one is simply a breathtaking blend of warmth and power, with wonderful rhythmic and melodic touches and musical influences both old and new. There is a strong sense of African culture to suit the location and the album includes two songs by Ayub Ogada. The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Memoirs of a Geisha is just one of the superb soundtracks created by John williams during 2005. He has very effectively taken some aspects of the instrumentation and styles of Japanese music, and crafted that together with his familiar orchestral sound into a soundtrack which integrates with the setting and yet finds the emotional core to which western audiences will easily relate. With Yo-Yo Ma on Cello and Itzhak Perlman on Violin, the CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com with sheet music from The Music Room.

The soundtrack to A Thousand Roads is a collaboration between Jeff Rona and Lisa Gerrard, both of whom have worked with Hans Zimmer. It very effectively uses the sounds and influences from American India music, and is highly evocative of the landscape, history and culture of the native American people. The music is atmospheric and relaxing, and the album contains some bonus tracks of some genuine Indian music labelled "inspirations". The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Tsotsi is based on the novel by South African playright Athol Fugard which tells of a Soweto gang leader who ends up caring for the baby he accidentally kidnaps in a car highjacking. The soundtrack features Zola (who also plays a part as a gang member) performing Kwaito music which is a kind of hip-hop from Johannesburg's urban youth culture. There is also an atmospheric score by Paul Hepker and Mark Killan augmented by voice of world music legend, Vusi Mahlasela. The soundtrack album should now be available from: Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Walk the Line is the story of Johnny Cash, with Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. The CD features classic Johnny Cash tracks including "Ring of Fire", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Cry Cry Cry" and of course "I Walk The Line". Most of these are sung by one or both leads, but there's also Shooter Jennings, who plays his father Waylon Jennings, Jonathan Rice who plays Roy Orbison and Tyler Hilton who plays Elvis Presley. The movie soundtrack is produced by T Bone Burnett who also composed the film's underscore. Get the CD at: Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

The movie Stoned is a biopic of Brian Jones, founder member of The Rolling Stones, who was found drowned in his swimming pool under the influence of drink and drugs. The soundtrack is full of cover versions of classic Stones tracks performed by The Bees, Kula Shaker, the 22-20's, Jefferson Airplane and Traffic. Haley Glennie-Smith performs acoustic versions of "Love in Vain" and "Come On in My Kitchen" and Bond composer David Arnold provides the main score with 4 tracks on the album. The CD can be ordered at these links Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.