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Maps to the Stars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by Howard Shore
Released	September 9, 2014
Length	38:34
Label	Howe
Producer	Howard Shore
Howard Shore chronology
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) Maps to the Stars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2014) Rosewater (2014)

Maps to the Stars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2014 film Maps to the Stars directed by David Cronenberg starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, and Evan Bird. The film's musical score is composed by Cronenberg's regular collaborator Howard Shore whose soundtrack was released on September 9, 2014, through Shore's label Howe Records.

Development

Maps to the Stars featured an original score written by Howard Shore, who had been associated with Cronenberg in all but one of his films since 1979. According to Shore, the music had to work thematically with the characters and fit the film's subtext and encapsulate the emotion of the principal characters, which he does with all of the director's previous works. Cronenberg also wanted the music to be accurate and not just imposed throughout the film, which would be felt authentic throughout the film.

A non-album single sharing the same title as the film was released on May 21, 2014, in conjunction with the film's theatrical release in France. Howe Records distributed the soundtrack on September 9.

Reception

A. O. Scott of The New York Times called Shore's score as "panicky" and "unnerving". Pete Simons of Synchrotones gave three stars, saying " manages to hold your attention even though it doesn't seem to be doing a great deal". Lee Marshall of Screen Daily wrote "Cronenberg’s go-to composer, Howard Shore, delivers one of his best scores yet for the dry Canadian maestro, a menacing undertow that picks up on some of the ethnic, New Age sounds of the world it depicts, but shifts them into Clockwork Orange territory."

James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "it ticks the boxes it tries to tick and does so very effectively and those with an ear for a more ambient style of film scoring will find one of the better examples of it in recent times." Michael Philips of the Chicago Tribune wrote "The score by composer Howard Shore adds just the right touch of forlorn mystery". Peter Labuza of The Film Stage wrote "Howard Shore's futuristic tones carry a hypnotic force that guides the film through its obsession with destiny." Oliver Lyletton of IndieWire deciphered it as a "cracking work" from the composer, while Geoff Pevere of The Globe and Mail called it as "near-ambient".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes.

Accolades

References

1. Roberts, Sheila (December 19, 2014). "Howard Shore Talks The Hobbit, Rosewater, Maps to the Stars, and More". Collider. Archived from the original on March 2, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
2. "David Cronenberg on the Hollywood horror of Maps To The Stars". The Dissolve. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
3. "'Maps to the Stars' Soundtrack Single Released". Film Music Reporter. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
4. "Maps to the Stars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Single". iTunes. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
5. "Maps to the Stars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Amazon. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
6. "'Maps to the Stars' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
7. Scott, A. O. (February 26, 2015). "Review: David Cronenberg Dissects Hollywood in 'Maps to the Stars'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
8. Simons, Pete (September 27, 2014). "Maps to the Stars (Howard Shore)". Synchrotones. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
9. Marshall, Lee (May 19, 2014). "Maps To The Stars". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
10. Southall, James (August 29, 2014). "Maps to the Stars soundtrack review". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
11. Philips, Michael (March 5, 2015). "Review: 'Maps to the Stars'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
12. Labuza, Peter (May 19, 2014). "[Cannes Review] Maps to the Stars". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
13. Lyttelton, Oliver (May 18, 2014). "Cannes Review: David Cronenberg's 'Maps To The Stars' With Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska & Julianne Moore". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
14. "Maps to the Stars: A haunted tour of Tinseltown". The Globe and Mail. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
15. "Maps to the Stars". Howe Records. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
16. Vlessing, Etan (January 13, 2015). "Canadian Screen Awards Unveil Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
17. "2015 Canadian Screen Awards Feature Film Nominees & Winners". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
18. "Cannes 2015 : L'heureux élu du CANNES SOUNDTRACK AWARD". Canal+. May 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2015.

• 2014 soundtrack albums
• Howard Shore soundtracks
• Alternative pop albums
• Indie rock soundtracks
• Electronic soundtracks