On Thursday, the 30th of October a new version of Drive was aired on BBC Three featuring a re-scored soundtrack, curated by Zane Lowe. The new score featured artists such as Bastille, The 1975, Foals and Chvrches. Although these names are well known and highly liked, the announcement of the re-score was met with mixed reviews.
Drive was released in 2011 and the original score by Cliff Martinez was deemed a highlight of the film, reaching as high as number four in the US Independent Album charts. It therefore came as a surprise to people when it was announced on October 20th, that BBC Radio One’s Zane Lowe would re-score the movie. There was a lot of responses from fanatics of the film who believed “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. However, there was excitement for the new project; it was another excuse to watch a brilliant movie while discovering new music.
Lowe managed to get a mix of well-known artists to participate in his ambitious project, which took 18 months in total to complete. The re-scored movie was aired at 10 P.M. on the 30th of October and just like reactions to the news of the project, feelings towards the re-scored Drive were mixed. One thing was clear though, people either loved it or hated it, there was no indifference.
“The scariest thing you’ll see this Halloween” was one of my favourite negative responses to the project, of which there were many. While it’s understandable that some people felt like the original score did not need to be changed as it fit the movie perfectly, BBC’s new score gives viewers a chance to experience the movie in a different way, should they wish. It’s a win-win situation really. The new score featured many great new songs such a “Mellow Man” by Laura Mvula and “The Driver” by Bastille. The song which appeared to be the favourite however, was “Medicine” by The 1975 which replaced “A Real Hero” by College & Electric Youth. “Medicine” is very mellow and has a nostalgic feel to it which fits in perfectly with the chosen scene.
Unfortunately if you missed the showing of the re-scored version of Drive it’s not so easy to find and watch. The new version of the movie is only available on the BBC website which does not allow viewing from outside the UK. It has not been confirmed yet whether the re-score tracks will be released as an album but for now both “Medicine” and “The Driver” have been made available to download on iTunes.
Michelle Bourke
Image credit: blogspot.com
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