Amélie (soundtrack)
Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amélie.
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet chanced upon the accordion- and piano-driven music of Yann Tiersen while driving with his production assistant who put on a CD he had not heard before. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen's entire catalogue and eventually commissioned him to compose pieces for the film. The soundtrack features both compositions from Tiersen's first three albums, as well as new items, variants of which can be found on his fourth album, L'Absente, which he was writing at the same time.
Besides the accordion and piano, the music features parts played with harpsichord, banjo, bass guitar, vibraphone, and even a bicycle wheel at the end of "La Dispute".
Before discovering Tiersen, Jeunet wanted composer Michael Nyman to score the film.
"Les Jours tristes" was co-written with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. The track later received English lyrics, and was released by The Divine Comedy as a b-side to the Regeneration single "Perfect Lovesong." The English-language version also appeared on Tiersen's L'Absente.
Track listing
Personnel
;Musicians- Yann Tiersen – piano, toy piano, carillon, banjo, mandolin, guitar, harpsichord, vibraphone, accordion, bass, melodica
- Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis – orchestra on "Les Jours tristes" and "À quai"
- Christine Ott – ondes Martenot on "À quai"
- Christian Quermalet – drums on "Les Jours tristes"
- Uwe Teichert – mastering
- Fabrice Laureau – mixing
- Marc Bruckert – artwork
- Laurent Lufroy – film poster
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year
- 2002 — César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
Nominations
- 2001 — BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
- 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year
- 2001 — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year
Charts
Charts | Peak position |
Austrian Albums Chart | 35 |
Belgian Albums Chart | 3 |
Belgian Albums Chart | 2 |
Dutch Albums Chart | 31 |
French Albums Chart | 1 |
Swiss Albums Chart | 28 |
US Billboard Top World Music Albums | 2 |
"Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi"
Chart | Peak position |
Certifications and sales
!scope="row"|WorldwideCovers
The band New Found Glory covered "J'y suis jamais allé" on their second covers album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II.The song was also used by Expression Crew in their dance act Marionette.
Pianist, composer Dmytro Morykit arranged and plays a cover version of "Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi".