The Wrestler (soundtrack)
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Products | Soundtrack albums, music recordings |
The Wrestler (The Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) serves as the official soundtrack for the 2008 movie The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. Issued on January 27, 2009, via Koch Records, this album comprises selected pre-existing songs primarily from the rock and metal categories.
Development
In contrast to Aronofsky's earlier projects, which featured original scores by his frequent collaborator Clint Mansell, The Wrestler soundtrack is composed of previously recorded tracks from various rock and metal performers such as Ratt, FireHouse, Scorpions, Slaughter, Dead Family, Accept, Birdman, Lil Wayne, and Cinderella. The compilation released by Koch Records contains only 12 songs used in the movie, excluding several notable tracks like "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses played during Randy’s entrance scene. Furthermore, Bruce Springsteen’s original piece "The Wrestler", specifically written for the film, was issued as a standalone single but does not appear on this soundtrack.
Original score
The full original score by Clint Mansell was never commercially distributed. Instead, a promotional CD was made available by Fox Searchlight Pictures as part of their For Your Consideration campaign during the 2007–08 awards season.
The sole commercially released track from Mansell’s score is the theme song featuring guitarist Slash, which was launched by Black Records on January 27, 2009.