Turn the volume up

A great film soundtrack can set the pace, fix a moment in your memory or become the reason you return. This is a varied starting shelf, not a definitive ranking: songs, scores and performances all have a place here.

For rhythm and pressure, start with Whiplash. Pair it with Baby Driver, where the pleasure is in how music and movement meet. Both reward paying attention to the beat, for very different reasons.

Want songs woven into the storytelling? Try La La Land or Singin’ in the Rain. One makes a useful companion to the other without asking you to choose between eras.

For a soundtrack with its own personality, make room for Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction. Their selections can pull a scene in surprising directions. Guardians of the Galaxy offers a lighter next stop, with familiar pop songs helping define its unlikely team.

Finish with Amadeus for a different relationship between music, ambition and admiration. You do not need to know classical music to enter the story.

Pick according to your evening, then use the film pages to check the story and viewing options. The related posters below are the full eight-film shelf.