Spike Lee recently admitted that none of the major Hollywood studios wanted to take a chance on his latest joint Da 5 Bloods, but thankfully Netflix stepped in to fund the war drama, which has been showered with critical praise and is already being talked about as one of the best movies of 2020.
The pic quickly shot to the top of the streaming service’s Top 10 lists, and while the story is rife with social and political subtext like almost all of the filmmaker’s work, the themes seem even more timely and prescient today given all the social unrest and push for change that’s happening all over the world.
Lee has never been shy in holding back his opinions, of course, and splicing real footage into his fictional narrative only makes the events that transpire all the more powerful, but one of the more unsung aspects of Da 5 Bloods is the soundtrack. The music of Marvin Gaye factors heavily into the story and even features the core cast of characters singing along at one stage as they head deeper into the jungles of Vietnam, and now both the licensed and original music from the film has been made available to stream.
Featuring classics from the likes of Gaye, The Spinners and Curtis Mayfield along with Ride of the Valkyrie’s knowing wink to Apocalypse Now, Da 5 Bloods’ soundtrack is now up on Spotify along with the original score from six-time Grammy Award winning jazz musician and regular Lee collaborator Terrence Blanchard, who first worked together way back on 1991’s Jungle Fever.
For the full list of every song in the film, see below:
- Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
- Got to Give It Up – Marvin Gaye
- Bring the Boys Home – Freda Payne
- I’m Coming Home – The Spinners
- Die Walküre, WWV 86B, Act 3: “Ride of the Valkyries” – Richard Wagner
- Time Has Come Today – The Chambers Brothers
- If There’s a Hell Below We’re All Going to Go – Curtis Mayfield
- What’s Happening Brother – Marvin Gaye
- Wholy Holy – Marvin Gaye
- God is Love
- Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky) – Marvin Gaye
- What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
Meanwhile, here’s the full original soundtrack list:
- What This Mission’s About – Terrence Blanchard
- Otis and Tien Have Dinner – Terrence Blanchard
- We Bury It (For Now) – Terrence Blanchard
- MLK Assassinated – Terrence Blanchard
- Tien and Daughter Talk – Terrence Blanchard
- Rice Paddies – Terrence Blanchard
- David Meeds Hedy – Terrence Blanchard
- Bloods Go Into Jungle – Terrence Blanchard
- The VC are Back – Terrence Blanchard
- Lamb Wants Share of Gold – Terrence Blanchard
- Paul is Bitten – Terrence Blanchard
- Letter to David – Terrence Blanchard
- Otis Talks Family – Terrence Blanchard
- Paul Loses Money
- David Talks About His Mother – Terrence Blanchard
- Paul and Norman – Terrence Blanchard
- End Credits – Terrence Blanchard
- Paul’s Letter – Terrence Blanchard
- Finding the Gold – Terrence Blanchard
- David and Paul get Spooked – Terrence Blanchard
- Paul and David Have a Fallout – Terrence Blanchard
Da 5 Bloods looks set to dominate both Netflix’s viewership charts and the cultural conversation for at least a little while longer, and for those that instantly fell in love with the movie, the official soundtrack will no doubt be a must-listen.