# Ten favorite film scores



## TudorMihai

What are your ten favorite film scores? Here are mine, not in particular order:

The Adventures of Robin Hood - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Hook - John Williams
The Land Before Time - James Horner
Jurassic Park - John Williams
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - John Williams
Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann
The Russia House - Jerry Goldsmith
How to Train Your Dragon - John Powell
Ben-Hur - Miklos Rozsa
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - Howard Shore


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## drvLock

I don't have a top ten list, because I have no top 10 best movies list. Even though, I like LOtR soundtracks, the Alien quadrilogy soundtracks and Friday the 13th soundtracks.


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## GioCar

Fellini 8 1/2 - Nino Rota
Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann
The Mission - Ennio Morricone
Psycho - Bernard Herrmann
Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
Amarcord - Nino Rota
The Godfather - Nino Rota
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - John Williams
Schindler's List - John Williams
Cinema Paradiso - Ennio Morricone

In no particular order, although my preference goes to Nino Rota's music.


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## Katie

While not my favourite cinematic genre, 2 westerns top my list because their scores present music so organic and intrinsically characteristic to milieu and evolving plot that they're like co-lead actors themselves!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Morricone)
How the West was Won (Newman)















...I'd have to consider the balance!

Edit: "not my favourite...", that being said, I think the genre produces (or has produced - not much being turned out anymore) a greater ratio of truly remarkable films to poor (i.e., great/crap = x) than any other, with comedy churning out the lowest (because it's hard to nail that elusive mix of humour and drama)...this rambling is of course, as Justice Holmes would've said, "mere dicta"!!


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## Vaneyes

I could probably compile a "top ten soundtrack list" from just three directors movies--Kubrick, Fellini, Hitchcock. :tiphat:


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## Jobis

So much John Williams praise on this forum, I had no idea you folk were so sentimental!


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## FleshRobot

I love too many of them to make a definitive top 10 list. I think my favorite might be _Alexander Nevsky_, followed by _Ivan The Terrible_, both by Prokofiev.


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## Gilberto

a handful of my favorites ...

Cape Fear - B Herrmann
My Name Is Nobody - Morricone
A Clockwork Orange - Carlos
Hannibal - Hans Zimmer
Rebecca - Waxman
Dracula - Glass
Notes On A Scandal - Glass


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## senza sordino

I'm not a film expert and certainly not an expert of scores, but a couple not mentioned so far that I really like are
Lawrence of Arabia Maurice Jarre
Murder on the Orient Express (70's) by someone I can't name. 

At the time the music to Star Wars was thrilling, but I was 12 when it was released. Also Chariots of Fire I really liked at the time, but now not so much. Tastes change over time.


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## GioCar

Jobis said:


> So much John Williams praise on this forum, I had no idea you folk were so sentimental!


A good soundtrack should match the intrinsic qualities of the film, imo.
I like John Williams because, in general, his music perfectly fits the films for which it has been composed.
Let's take ET (the film). It's quite sentimental, isn't it? JW's music is just perfect for it.

Anyway, in case of films, my first choice goes to the film, not to the soundtrack, with relevant exceptions.

Yes, in my list I would have added Prokofiev and Eisenstein, thank you FleshRobot for reminding me that :tiphat:


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## Prodromides

senza sordino said:


> Murder on the Orient Express (70's) by someone I can't name.


The composer for MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS was Richard Rodney Bennett


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## Prodromides

1. FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE (1970) by Richard Rodney Bennett (no soundtrack album exists)
2. WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964) by Toru Takemitsu (no soundtrack)
3. HOUR OF THE WOLF (1968) by Lars Johan Werle (no soundtrack)
4. THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD (1975) by Jerry Goldsmith (no soundtrack)
5. THE ILLUSTRATED MAN (1969) by Jerry Goldsmith (soundtrack on FSM CD)
6. L'IMPRECATEUR (1977) by Richard Rodney Bennett (soundtrack on French LP and CD)
7. DANTON (1983) by Jean Prodromides (soundtrack on LP & CD)
8. FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966) by Leonard Rosenman (soundtrack on CD)
9. THE MECHANIC (1972) by Jerry Fielding (soundtrack on CD)
10. ONIBABA (1964) by Hikaru Hayashi (no soundtrack)


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## DeepR

some favorites, although I don't know (or remember) that many soundtracks

Blade Runner (Vangelis)
The Bounty (Vangelis)
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Ennio Morricone)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Ennio Morricone)
Once Upon a Time in America (Ennio Morricone)
The Mission (Ennio Morricone)
Princess Mononoke (Joe Hisaishi)
Koyaanisqatsi (Philip Glass)
Jurassic Park (John Williams)
Star Trek: First Contact (Jerry Goldsmith)


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## Blancrocher

Vaneyes said:


> I could probably compile a "top ten soundtrack list" from just three directors movies--Kubrick, Fellini, Hitchcock. :tiphat:


Same here, though I would add one or two soundtracks from "the Mozart of cinema," Georges Delerue.


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## MozartEarlySymphonies

A great soundtrack I'm surprised no one mentioned so far is Jerome Moross's Big Country. It is absolutely WONDERFUL! Definitely one of the best out there.

Bernard Herrmann's Psycho Soundtrack will always be the greatest soundtrack. 

Max Steiner's soundtrack to the original King Kong is also fantastic.


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## Antiquarian

My top ten, in no particular order
Powaqqatsi - Philip Glass
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Michael Kamen
Akira - Geinoh Yamashiro
Quo Vadis - Miklós Rózsa
Remains of the Day - Richard Robbins
Shadowlands - George Fenton
Princess Mononoke - Joe Hisaishi
Antartica - Vangelis Papathanassiou
Atlantis - Eric Serra
and of course
Alexander Nevsky - Sergei Prokofiev


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## Fugue Meister

In order from least to greatest...

10-Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Miles Goodman
9- What About Bob - Miles Goodman
8- North by Northwest - Bernard Herrmann
7- E.T. - John Williams
6- The Social Network (U.S.A) - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
5- Brahm Stoker's Dracula - Wojciech Kilar
4- There will be Blood - Jonny Greenwood
3- Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
2- Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann
1- Star Wars - John Williams

John Williams has scored some of the greatest movies around so of course he's got a few on my list as does Herrmann, who was also the man. I sincerely hope Jonny Greenwood continues his work in film, his music is astounding, I really wanted to include the score to "The Master" but to be fair I listen to what I listed more. Same goes for Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, love "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" score a lot but alas only 10 slots. Miles Goodman wrote some great scores, I don't know why I love him but I do.. and I mean his scores he died sometime ago I'm afraid, he also did "Muppet Christmas Carol" (the best entry IMO), it's also got a fabulous brassy score.


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## sdtom

I can't believe the lack of interest in the Golden Age composers. I think there were five mentions in all.

1. The Best Years Of Our Lives/Friedhofer
2. King Kong/Steiner
3. Scott of the Antarctic/Vaughan Williams
4. Hamlet/Shostakovich
5. Sunset Boulevard/Waxman
6. The Red Pony/Copland
7. Psycho/Herrmann
8. The Sea Hawk/Korngold
9. Around the World in 80 Days/Young
10. The Big Country/Moross

Really this list doesn't begin to scratch the surface as I've omitted Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, David Raksin, Andre Previn, James Newton Howard, and Thomas Newman. Maybe I'll do a second ten.
Tom


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## Matt Beil

Picking ten is tough since there are so many that may get left out. My all time favorite would have to be Apollo 13, James Horner. More specifically, "All Systems Go - The Launch". 

Matt


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## EdwardBast

I am not going to come up with 10, but I'll will begin with another vote for Prokofiev and Alexander Nevsky.

Also Michael Kamen's brilliant scores for _Brazil_ (the Brazil variations) and _The Adventures of Baron Munchausen_. The scores to the first two Alien flicks were good too. Don't know who wrote them, so I will attribute them to Shostakovich, who made a large posthumous contribution ;-)


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## Badinerie

Hard one but ill try. In no particular order.

Hobson's Choice ; Malcolm Arnold

Spirited Away ; Joe Hisaishi

Forbidden Planet ;Bebe and Louis Barron

Scott of the Antarctic ; Ralph Vaughan Williams

Anatomy of a Murder ; Duke Ellington

The Big Sleep ; Max Stiener

The Day the Earth Stood Still Bernard Herrmann.

The Good The Bad and the Ugly ; Ennio Morricone

Captain Blood ; Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Blade Runner Vangelis (New American Orchestra Version)


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## DiesIraeCX

That's a tough one, I think I'd have to go with Fellini's _I Vitelloni_, score by the legendary Nino Rota.
I pretty much love all the Italian film soundtracks with Rota, my Italian film collection is bigger than my classical music collection!!


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## hpowders

A Summer Place (1959), music by Max Steiner. 

A huge hit made by Percy Faith of the Theme From A Summer Place was the number one hit in the USA for many weeks.


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## marienbad

In no particular order

Cinema Paradiso -Morricone 
Once Upon A Time In America-Morricone
North By Northwest -Herrmann
Vertigo- Herrmann
The Guns Of Navarone- Tiomkin
The Vikings- Nascimbene
Sex And Lucia -Iglesias
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-Iglesias
Le Huzzard sur le Toit- Petit


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## DeepR

Badinerie said:


> Blade Runner Vangelis *(New American Orchestra Version)*


Sacrilege

/15char


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## Guest

Tough call, especially since some of my favourite movies didn't have an OST but used other material - as previously mentioned, Kubrick was keen on this. There is also the problem that some movies have memorable 'overtures' or key themes, but much of the incidental stuff is...well, incidental! (_Lawrence of Arabia_, say or _Harry Potter_)

Still, here's a few - no particular order

Steiner - _Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, _
Zimmer - _Gladiator, Inception_
Eno - _The Lovely Bones_
Williams - _Jurassic Park_
Newton Howard - _Sixth Sense_
Brief Encounter (no composer credited except Rachmaninoff)
Deutsch - _The Maltese Falcon
_Herrmann - _Psycho
_Gray - _The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp_
Shore - LOTR trilogy
Shire - _All the President's Men_


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## Guest

sdtom said:


> I can't believe the lack of interest in the Golden Age composers.


This may simply be to do with familiarity. When I was a teen, I lapped up all kinds of 'golden age' movies that were on TV and got to know the main composers. However, decades and many movies have intervened and the golden age moies no longer appear anything like as often as they should (not in the UK, at any rate). This means that for my memory at least, it's easier to recall the movies - like _Star Wars_ or _Jurassic Park_ - that are on video, DVD _and _still onTV - than it is to recall Steiner, Korngold, Tiomkin, etc. For example, I've seen _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ maybe three times. I really liked the score, though can't remember much of it now, and it's not in my top 40 movies all of which I've got on DVD.


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## geralmar

If speaking about full scores, the following come to mind:

Hellraiser, Christopher Young
The Fly 2, Christopher Young
The Final Conflict, Jerry Goldsmith
Supergirl, Jerry Goldsmith
Vertigo, Bernard Herrmann
For a Few Dollars More, Ennio Morricone
Burn, Ennio Morricone
Zulu, John Barry
Conan the Barbarian, Basil Poledouris
The Medusa Touch, Michael J. Lewis


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## TomDickson

The Matrix - Revolutions
Lord of the Rings
Psycho
Starwars - Phantom Menace
Marnie
The Omen
The Blue Max
Beetle Juice
Once Upon a Time in the West
Drag me to Hell


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## QuietGuy

My favorite film score of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird -- (E. Bernstein). I also like some films that have been mentioned previously: E.T. (Williams), The Big Country (Moross).


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## JACE

*The Empire Strikes Back* was released when I was 12. I got the 2-LP John Williams soundtrack not long after seeing the movie. It was one of the first albums I ever bought. I still have it.










Some other favorites:
- The Wizard of Oz - Harold Arlen
- Casablanca - Max Steiner
- Anatomy of a Murder - Duke Ellington
- Vertigo - Bernard Hermann
- Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
- In The Heat Of The Night - Quincy Jones
- Bullitt - Lalo Schifrin
- Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone
- 8 1/2 - Nino Rota


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## Echoes

Once upon the time in the west - Morricone
Lawrence of Arabia - Jarre
The Empire strikes back - Williams
LOTR - Shore
Schindler's List - Williams
Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
Batman - Danny Elfman
Star Trek - Jerry Goldsmith
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Morricone
Back to the future - Alan Silvestri


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## Lukky

The Prince of Egypt
Titanic (1997)
Anastasia (1997)
Lion King 1 & 2
Mulan (1998)
La Folie des grandeurs
Tarzan (1999)
The Mummy
The Mask of Zorro
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl


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## Couac Addict

King's Row....it makes me feel like I'm in galaxy far, far away 




Dropzone...it makes me feel like I'm Keith Richards on a Pirate ship (2min mark) 




Pirate's of the Caribbean...it makes me feel like I'm in a spaghetti western (skip to 1 minute mark) 




Avatar, Enemy at the Gates, Troy and Willow...it makes me feel that Horner is too lazy to change the record. 




Apollo13, Titanic, Enemy at the Gates and Schindler's List...it makes me feel that film music is so innovative. (2:30 mark) 




Well, you got 11 for the price of 10. This is why you don't take a musician to the movies.


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## hpowders

Simply choose 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films. He always had composers writing inspired scores.


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## Marschallin Blair

hpowders said:


> Simply choose 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films. He always had composers writing inspired scores.


_Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much_. . . yeah: Bernard Herrmann.


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## Marschallin Blair

Top ten? Well, that's impossible for me. But these scores certainly mean the world to me:

_Ben Hur_ (Rozsa)
_Mutiny on the Bounty_ (Kaper)
_King Kong_ (Steiner)
_Blue Max_ (Goldsmith)
_Vertigo _(Herrmann)
_North by Northwest_ (Herrmann)
_Seventh Voyage of Sinbad_ (Herrmann)
_Thief of Baghdad_ (Rozsa)
_Quo Vadis _(Rozsa)
_Empire Strikes Back _(Williams)


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## hpowders

Marschallin Blair said:


> _Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much_. . . yeah: Bernard Herrmann.


Yup._ Herrmann_ was no _Peewee!_


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## Marschallin Blair

JACE said:


> *The Empire Strikes Back* was released when I was 12. I got the 2-LP John Williams soundtrack not long after seeing the movie. It was one of the first albums I ever bought. I still have it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Some other favorites:
> - The Wizard of Oz - Harold Arlen
> - Casablanca - Max Steiner
> - Anatomy of a Murder - Duke Ellington
> - Vertigo - Bernard Hermann- Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre- In The Heat Of The Night - Quincy Jones
> - Bullitt - Lalo Schifrin
> - Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone
> - 8 1/2 - Nino Rota


_Empire_?-- certainly.

But Lalo Schiffrin's score to _ Bullitt_? A black 440 Charger R/T, _yes_!

But Schiffrin's jazz score? . . .


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## Marschallin Blair

hpowders said:


> Yup._ Herrmann_ was no _Peewee! _


Pound-for-pound, score-for-score I think the greatest film composer of all time-- though admittedly, not my favorite; who is in fact Miklos Rozsa.


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## JACE

Marschallin Blair said:


> _Empire_?-- certainly.
> 
> But Lalo Schiffrin's score to _ Bullitt_? A black 440 Charger R/T, _yes_!
> 
> But Schiffrin's jazz score? . . .


Sure! Why not?!?! 

I love jazz, and I grew up on jazzy cop show themes. Think Patrick Williams' "Streets of San Francisco" and Bob James' & Oliver Nelson's scores for "Columbo."

Schifrin's "Bullitt" soundtrack was better than any of them! (Except for Quincy Jones' scores.)

Are you not a fan of jazz? Or just not a fan of Schifrin?


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## Marschallin Blair

JACE said:


> Sure! Why not?!?!
> 
> I love jazz, and I grew up on jazzy cop show themes. Think Patrick Williams' "Streets of San Francisco" and Bob James' & Oliver Nelson's scores for "Columbo."
> 
> Schifrin's "Bullitt" soundtrack was better than any of them! (Except for Quincy Jones' scores.)
> 
> Are you not a fan of jazz? Or just not a fan of Schifrin?


Confessedly, both.

_;D_


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## JACE

Marschallin Blair said:


> _Empire_?-- certainly.
> 
> But Lalo Schiffrin's score to _ Bullitt_? *A black 440 Charger R/T, yes!*
> 
> But Schiffrin's jazz score? . . .


By the way, you like the bad guys' Charger better than McQueen's '68 Mustang Fastback??? Now _that_ I don't understand.

JK!!! ut:

My dad had a '66 Fastback Mustang -- in that same dark green color. So I've always thought that Mustang coupes were the ultimate in coolness. ...Just like Steve McQueen.


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## Marschallin Blair

JACE said:


> By the way, you like the bad guys' Charger better than McQueen's '68 Mustang Fastback??? Now _that_ I don't understand.
> 
> JK!!! ut:
> 
> My dad had a '66 Fastback Mustang -- in that same dark green color. So I've always thought that Mustang coupes were the ultimate in coolness. ...Just like Steve McQueen.


Cheers to your dad. . .

I certainly like the _look_ and the_ sound_ of the '68 Mustang Fastback (especially the Shelby GT)-- but it doesn't have positraction or a 440.

People on the set of _Bullitt_ said that every time that '68 440 Charger R/T hit the straight-away-- it just pulled away from the Mustang. . . in force.

McQueen originally asked if he could drive the Charger and not the Mustang for the role-- but the request was denied. The black Charger was to be the "bad guy's" car; and so it was. . .

Admittedly, I have a thing for '68-'70 Chargers and Roadrunners; '70 and '71 Cudas too; 440 six-pack set ups and Hemi's only please. . . _;D_


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## Dave Whitmore

I'm not going to number them because I really wouldn't know what order to put them in. But here's my list.

Star Wars.
E.T.
Jurassic Park
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Halloween
Superman 
Indiana Jones
James Bond theme
2001 A Space Odyssey


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## Prodromides

Dave Whitmore said:


> But here's my list.
> 
> Lord of the Rings
> 2001 A Space Odyssey


Hi, Dave W.

Leonard Rosenman wrote the score for LORD OF THE RINGS in 1978; Howard Shore did the trilogy in the early 2000s (and these are, presumably, residents within your Top 10).

Also, Kubrick's *2001* had an unused score by Alex North (but I don't think you are referring to North's music).


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## MagneticGhost

English Patient - Gabriel Yared
Betty Blue - Gabriel Yared
Jurassic Park - John Williams
Schindler's List - John Williams
The Unforgettable Year - Dmitri Shostakovich
Three Colours Blue - Preisner

There's a lot of good Preisner scores out there actually.
Add my love to Gone with the Wind, Back to the Future, James Bond and of course LOTR.


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## Dave Whitmore

Prodromides said:


> Hi, Dave W.
> 
> Leonard Rosenman wrote the score for LORD OF THE RINGS in 1978; Howard Shore did the trilogy in the early 2000s (and these are, presumably, residents within your Top 10).
> 
> Also, Kubrick's *2001* had an unused score by Alex North (but I don't think you are referring to North's music).


When I think 2001 I think this:


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## omega

I'm not a specialist when it comes to cinema. Let me pick some random music scores I like (many Hitchcock here, too):

Vertigo
Psycho
North by Northwest
Le Professionnel
Le Pacha
The Godfather
Atlantis
Chariots of Fire (have a look at this particular version!)
And some James Bond themes, too


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## Crudblud

Dave Whitmore said:


> When I think 2001 I think this:


The difference being it wasn't written specifically for the film, making it a soundtrack. A score is an original piece of music written for a film, not simply any music that is used in that film. I'm sure for most people it's a minor technicality, but I stick to it.


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## Blancrocher

1. Jules & Jim - Georges Delerue
2. Amarcord - Nino Rota
3. The Double Life of Veronique - Zbigniew Preisner 
4. Dracula - Philip Glass
5. Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone
6. Breathless - Martial Sodal
7. Elevator to the Gallows - Miles Davis
8. Vertigo - Bernard Hermann
9. Blade Runner - Vangelis
10. Ran - Toru Takemitsu

Not really in order (except for the top spot), and in a few cases I may be remembering liking the film more than the score, which in some cases I haven't heard separately. I went for variety rather than listing a bunch of Nino Rota, who I adore. Anyways, there's 10 for now!

*p.s.* The Glass score (one of my favorite albums by the composer) is an interesting case in that it's for an old film. I'm curious to know of more instances of this kind of project. 

I'm interested in seeing the film with the soundtrack--yet another thing to do!


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## Pip

I look on the greatest of film scores as being so important that the movie itself would be diminished without it.

Everything by Korngold was a classic score even if some of the movies (Juarez, Another Dawn, Devotion) were poor.
However where the movie content was high class then they entered another category - EG
Adventures of Robin Hood
The Sea Hawk
The Prince and the Pauper
Elizabeth and Essex
Between Two Worlds

Add Bernard Herrmann to this and we get so many more, it is impossible to list them all.
I love the atmospheric score to "The Ghost and Mrs Muir"

A modern classic from Morricone who composed so many great scores - "Cinema Paradiso"

Miklos Rozsa was another of my top 4 or 5.
A hauntingly beautiful score was to Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes"

Although Crudblud is correct about music not being specifically written for movies, I think that Stanley Kubrick's genius in picking the right music for his movies is second to none.
Barry Lyndon.

Finally, I can't finish this post without acknowledging two great British composers and their adventures with cinema

Vaughan-Williams - Scott of the Antartic and 49th Parallel
William Walton - Henry V and Hamlet.


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## Couac Addict

Pip said:


> I think that Stanley Kubrick's genius in picking the right music for his movies is second to none.
> Barry Lyndon.


Agreed. I think a lot of it had to with him picking the music first then filming the scene to the music. Sergio Leone did the same to some extent. He would give Morricone some rough notes about what was happening. The music was scored and Leone would play it through speakers while the scene was being filmed.

It works so well because the film supports the music and not the other way around.


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## Blancrocher

Couac Addict said:


> Agreed. I think a lot of it had to with him picking the music first then filming the scene to the music.


I understand that this wasn't quite the case for 2001. In a documentary I watched I recall him being reported as saying that he'd always intended to have other music than what ended up in the film; the Strauss and so forth was just what they had on hand and used as filler while they were editing, but gradually Kubrick realized that the film music he was getting wasn't as good as the classical pieces so he just went with those.

Mind you, this has a whiff of urban legend about it: few soundtracks sound so inevitable.


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## Couac Addict

Blancrocher said:


> I understand that this wasn't quite the case for 2001. In a documentary I watched I recall him being reported as saying that he'd always intended to have other music than what ended up in the film; the Strauss and so forth was just what they had on hand and used as filler while they were editing, but gradually Kubrick realized that the film music he was getting wasn't as good as the classical pieces so he just went with those.
> 
> Mind you, this has a whiff of urban legend about it: few soundtracks sound so inevitable.


I don't know how true these things are either but I'd heard that a score had been commissioned but Strauss etc had been used as a template prior to filming.


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## Prodromides

Blancrocher said:


> 6. Breathless - Martial Sodal
> 
> *p.s.* The Glass score (one of my favorite albums by the composer) is an interesting case in that it's for an old film. I'm curious to know of more instances of this kind of project.


Oops - this would be Martial Solal, whose music for "A bout de souffle" along with other scores are on this French digi-pak CD:










... and French composers Antoine Duhamel and Pierre Jansen in collaboration wrote a music score to D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance".


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## Prodromides

Pip said:


> Miklos Rozsa was another of my top 4 or 5.
> A hauntingly beautiful score was to Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes"


... which was based upon one of Rozsa's own concertos.


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## Marschallin Blair

Marschallin Blair said:


> Cheers to your dad. . .
> 
> I certainly like the _look_ and the_ sound_ of the '68 Mustang Fastback (especially the Shelby GT)-- but it doesn't have positraction or a 440.
> 
> People on the set of _Bullitt_ said that every time that '68 440 Charger R/T hit the straight-away-- it just pulled away from the Mustang. . . in force.
> 
> McQueen originally asked if he could drive the Charger and not the Mustang for the role-- but the request was denied. The black Charger was to be the "bad guy's" car; and so it was. . .
> 
> Admittedly, I have a thing for '68-'70 Chargers and Roadrunners; '70 and '71 Cudas too; 440 six-pack set ups and Hemi's only please. . . _;D_


This is what a race engine_ should _sound like:






I might have to buy this guy's '70 440 Cuda-- and paint it_ proper _Panther Pink. . . and then roll up alongside some guy with a new Z-06 2015 Corvette. . . flip my hair. . . say, "Hi Good Lookin'". . . and then leave him about four car lengths behind me. _;D_ Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.


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## PetrB

Blancrocher said:


> 4. Dracula - Philip Glass
> *p.s.* The Glass score (one of my favorite albums by the composer) is an interesting case in that it's for an old film. I'm curious to know of more instances of this kind of project.


Glass also wrote an "opera" to coordinate frame for frame with Cocteau's _La Belle et la Bête,_ and it is an odd sort of tour de force of lip-sync, using the film script's original French dialogue. 

The performance is done with the film running, conductor and singers watching through their performing it in order to keep in sync, just as old film scores were recorded.

This youtube poster has done a bang-up job of mostly keeping the score and film in sync....





Of course, when Glass' introductory music is running under the credits, when _"musique de Georges Auric"_ flashes by, _that_ is no longer true.

The film is a very famous and beloved masterpiece, with terrific acting as well as a very appropriate score by Auric. It is hard for me to take his reworking because of that, apart from the fact I'm not in any way a huge fan of near any of Glass' works.

Disregarding for a moment Glass' musical vocabulary, the reason I think it more a fail than anything is the timing it frame to frame with the film, the singing is it _all in speaking tempo,_ i.e. there is no room for the more expanded breathing time or longer timed breath of effective _sung_ speech to have its day or be much expressive if at all; the 'talk tempo' of the sung speech in the piece for me reduces it to a kind of constant parody of singspiel recitative throughout.

Best regards.


----------



## Loge

Gone with the Wind - Max Steiner
El Cid - Miklós Rózsa
Laurence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
The Mission - Ennio Morricone
Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris
Big Country - Jerome Moross
Vertigo - Bernard Herman
Zulu - John Barry
Where Eagles Dare - Ron Godwin
Le Mepris - Georges Delerue


----------



## Varick

I don't know if this is a top 10 or if I'll even make 10, but some of my fav's are (In no particular order):

The Mission - Morricone
Braveheart - Horner
Gladiator - Zimmer
Edward Scissorhands - Elfman
Batman Begins - Zimmer & Newton Howard (Sets the PERFECT mood for that movie)
The Home For Dark Butterflies - Panu Aaltio (Absolutely gorgeous! - I never saw the movie)
The Last of The Mohicans - Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman, Joel McNeely
The Power of One - Zimmer
Solaris (Remake) - Cliff Martinez
Friday Night Lights - Explosions In The Sky
Last Temptation of Christ - Peter Gabriel

That's 11, but hey, those are the ones I often go back to.

Some of them aren't the greatest written musically, but all of them I believe set the moods perfectly.

V


----------



## Prodromides

Varick said:


> Solaris (Remake) - Cliff Martinez


Hi, Varick.

Have you ever seen the original SOLARIS by Andrei Tarkovsky?

Seems as though nothing prior to the 1980s is on your list...


----------



## Varick

Prodromides said:


> Hi, Varick.
> 
> Have you ever seen the original SOLARIS by Andrei Tarkovsky?
> 
> Seems as though nothing prior to the 1980s is on your list...


No, I have never seen the original. I don't have time to watch everything I would like to.

I'm not a big "older movie" fan (black and white). I'm not sure why, but I've never connected with most of the ones I HAVE seen (I thought Citizen Kane was a boring movie and spent part of a semester in school studying the film score - call me crazy). I often find the acting too melodramatic

Again, there have been some terrific movie scores prior to the '80's, just like there are much better pieces of music written as a film score than many on my list, but the OP's question was, "What's your *favorite*?" not "What are the best?"

Was it good? Did you see both? If so, which did you like better.

I have to admit, one of the things that drew me to that movie was Natasha McElhone, who, IMO, is one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on.

V


----------



## Prodromides

Varick said:


> Was it good? Did you see both? If so, which did you like better.


Oh yes, I've seen both SOLARISs. I have the Criterion Collection DVD on the Tarkovsky original.

Although I like films by Soderburgh, I much prefer the 1971 SOLARIS. If you think CITIZEN KANE is boring, then you'd probably dislike the first SOLARIS because Tarkovsky's stylistic aesthetics include long takes (uninterrupted by edits or reaction shots) and intentionally elipitcal narratives (in which past, present and future - as well as hallucinations - all comingle into a non-linear and metaphysical unfolding).

The music in the original SOLARIS is by Eduard Artemyev; some of it is early electronics coexisting with classical selections - all of it atmospheric and moody.


----------



## Varick

Prodromides said:


> If you think CITIZEN KANE is boring, then you'd probably dislike the first SOLARIS because Tarkovsky's stylistic aesthetics include long takes (uninterrupted by edits or reaction shots) and intentionally elipitcal narratives (in which past, present and future - as well as hallucinations - all comingle into a non-linear and metaphysical unfolding).
> 
> The music in the original SOLARIS is by Eduard Artemyev; some of it is early electronics coexisting with classical selections - all of it atmospheric and moody.


Well, it's not like Soderburgh's was an action packed epic. I completely understand anyone who would call the movie Solaris "boring" even though I did not find it as such. I thought the entire movie was very "mood" intensive, and in many ways, the music kept me in the movie.

One of these days, I'll have to check out the Tarkovsky original.

V


----------



## Omar Little

Varick said:


> Well, it's not like Soderburgh's was an action packed epic. I completely understand anyone who would call the movie Solaris "boring" even though I did not find it as such. I thought the entire movie was very "mood" intensive, and in many ways, the music kept me in the movie.
> 
> One of these days, I'll have to check out the Tarkovsky original.
> 
> V


I also love the remake "Solaris" score but have not seen the original or heard the music. Others that I love (some may be more "soundtrack" with a few non-original works:

Solaris
The Last of the Mohicans
Goodbye Lenin
The Virgin Suicides
K-PAX
Requiem for a Dream


----------



## Azol

Okay, I'll throw in several of my favorites (I am not a fan of movies in general):

*The Lord Of The Rings* - Howard Shore (an obvious chioce for Tolkien fan)
*Spirited Away* - Joe Hisaishi
*Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain* - Yann Tiersen
*The Lost Thing* - Michael Yezerski

If you haven't seen any of these, it's worth your time and attention to find out more.


----------



## Vronsky

_Ran_ 
_Wild Strawberries_ 
_The Seventh Seal_ 
_Where Eagles Dare_
_2001: A Space Odyssey_
_Full Metal Jacket_
_Doctor Strangelove_
_A Clockwork Orange_
_Eyes Wide Shut_ 
_Papillon_


----------



## Xareu123

John WIlliams Harry Potter theme is Haydn piano sonata 44 .

Xareu 123


----------



## DeepR

Badinerie said:


> Blade Runner Vangelis *(New American Orchestra Version)*


Yuck, just... yuck. Vangelis brilliant electronic, atmospheric original - completely ruined.


----------



## Jacck

Conan - Basil Poledouris
Star Wars - John Williams
LOTR - Howard Shore
The Dark Crystal - Trevor Jones
Total Recall - Jerry Goldsmith
Medicine Man - Jerry Goldsmith
Braveheart - James Horner
Gattaca - Michael Nyman
Dances with Wolves - John Barry
Thor - Patrick Doyle
Guns for San Sebastian - Ennio Morricone

these are just 10 soundtracks that came to my mind. There are many more excellent soundtracks. My most favorite composer is Jerry Goldsmith, the most overrated composer is Hans Zimmer


----------



## Boston Charlie

1. Star Wars (John Williams)
2. Ben-Hur (Miklos Rozsa)
3. True Grit (Elmer Bernstein)
4. The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)
5. The Alamo (Dmitri Toimkin)
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ennio Morricone)
7. The Godfather (Nino Rota)
8. Muppet Treasure Island (Hans Zimmer)
9. Patton (Jerry Goldsmith)
10. Kelly's Heroes (Lalo Schifrin)


----------



## The Deacon

Same as book connisewers don't rate horror or mysteries, The Deacon does not overly care for soundtracks. They are usually simple (and usually HAVE to be) and that Williams-type trick of motifs (for say, honour or gentleness prompts) is worn and tired.

Here however are 10 I have/would like to have in the collectro:

Il Casanova - Rota (my fav soundtrack)
Tess d'Ubervilles
The Long Good Friday
Thief
The Big Country
The Red Shoes
After The Fox
The Wicker Man
The Collector
Candy


Main sountrack want is The Wrong Box.


----------



## The Deacon

Oh!

Gotta have "Elephant Man" also.


----------



## Phil loves classical

Rosenman: Lord of the Rings
Rota: Romeo and Juliet
Herrmann: North by Northwest
Herrmann: Vertigo
Korngold: Adventures of Robin Hood
Herrmann: Psycho
Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia
Morricone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Poledouris: Conan the Barbarian
Williams: Jaws


----------



## Pugg

Cabaret- Liza Minnelli et al.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Morricone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Williams: Jaws .
Rota :The Godfather 
Out of Africa
Titanic


----------



## Trout

Koyaanisqatsi - Philip Glass
The Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore
Spirited Away - Joe Hisaishi
Ran - Toru Takemitsu
Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann
The Fountain - Clint Mansell
There Will Be Blood - Johnny Greenwood
How to Train Your Dragon - John Powell
Chinatown - Jerry Goldsmith

I haven't heard them all standalone, but I think they're brilliant within each of their films.


----------



## Score reader

I am sure I am forgetting a lot but here it goes:


Batman - Danny Elfman
8 1/2 - Nino Rota
Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann
Jurassik Park - John Williams
Total Recall - Jerry Goldsmith
Blade Runner - Vangelis
Dolls - Joe Hisaishi
The Matrix - Don Davis
Hero - Tan Dun
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat


----------



## bharbeke

Nice list, Score reader, and welcome to Talk Classical!


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## Score reader

Thank you, nice to be here.


----------



## adamrowe

Including game soundtracks in this, in the order I thought of them:

Ravenous
I Heart Huckabees
The Village
Myst
Vessel
Portal 2
Born into Brothels
The Piano
Four Rooms
Grand Canyon


----------



## Gordontrek

I am constantly discovering new film music- it's a medium I've only discovered relatively recently, but here are my favorites based on what I've heard so far, in no particular order:

Ben-Hur- Miklos Rozsa
Citizen Kane- Bernard Herrmann
Star Trek: The Motion Picture- Jerry Goldsmith
North by Northwest- Bernard Herrmann
Star Wars- John Williams
To Kill a Mockingbird- Elmer Bernstein
Patton- Jerry Goldsmith
Close Encounters of the Third Kind- John Williams
The Magnificent Seven- Elmer Bernstein
Planet of the Apes- Jerry Goldsmith


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## bharbeke

Gordontrek said:


> I am constantly discovering new film music- it's a medium I've only discovered relatively recently, but here are my favorites based on what I've heard so far, in no particular order:
> 
> Ben-Hur- Miklos Rozsa
> Citizen Kane- Bernard Herrmann
> Star Trek: The Motion Picture- Jerry Goldsmith
> North by Northwest- Bernard Herrmann
> Star Wars- John Williams
> To Kill a Mockingbird- Elmer Bernstein
> Patton- Jerry Goldsmith
> Close Encounters of the Third Kind- John Williams
> The Magnificent Seven- Elmer Bernstein
> Planet of the Apes- Jerry Goldsmith


I'll play Amazon for a minute. If you like those, you may also like:

ET by John Williams
The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams
Star Trek: First Contact by Jerry Goldsmith and Joel Goldsmith
Vertigo by Bernard Herrmann


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## Josquin13

I don't listen to film music, generally, but am a huge film buff, and therefore am fascinated by film scores that work especially well within the context of story and image. I don't really have 10 favorite film scores, but here are 16 soundtracks that, looking back, I remember as being remarkably effective in the movie theater or watching on the TV (a number of which have not been mentioned so far in this thread):

1. Psycho--Bernard Hermann: Hitchcock & Hermann fans should get a kick out of the following video:









2. Stranger than Paradise--John Lurie: 




3. Ulysses's Gaze--Eleni Karaindrou: 




4. To Kill a Mockingbird--Elmer Bernstein: 




5. The Draughtsman's Contract--Michael Nyman: 




6. Prospero's Books--Michael Nyman: 




7. Aguirre, the Wrath of God--Popol Vuh (I also liked the soundtrack for Herzog's Nosferatu): 




8. Lawrence of Arabia--Maurice Jarre: 




9. The Lover--Gabriel Yared: 




10. Diva--Vladimir Cosma: 




11. The Mission--Ennio Morricone:




12. Koyaanisqatsi--Phillip Glass:




13. Local Hero--Mark Knopfler: 




14. Scott of the Antarctic--Ralph Vaughan Williams (the film score became the basis for Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antarctica): 




15. The Innocents--Georges Auric. Auric was one of "Les Six"--a group of French composers that included Satie, Milhaud, Poulenc, & Honegger. It's an overlooked film score, in my view, & serves as background to some of the most brilliant b & w cinematography I've ever seen. (There are some genuinely creepy moments in this film.): 




16. A Room with a View--Richard Robbins (arguably the most perfect film ever made): 




A side note--I also recall that the piano music of Franz Schubert works especially well on film, & hauntingly so--such as in the movies Au Revoir les Enfants, by Louis Malle, and in Au Hasard Balthazaar, by Robert Bresson, for example:










Finally, when I think of film music that worked exceptionally well, composer Geoffrey Burgon's beautiful, brilliant score to the Granada Television production of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited comes to mind:


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## Gordontrek

bharbeke said:


> I'll play Amazon for a minute. If you like those, you may also like:
> 
> ET by John Williams
> The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams
> Star Trek: First Contact by Jerry Goldsmith and Joel Goldsmith
> Vertigo by Bernard Herrmann


I've heard those actually- I had to think long and hard about not including them in my list, especially Vertigo! Star Trek: First Contact is another favorite (the "Main Title" and "The Dish" are my favorite cues on the soundtrack)


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## NjaP

Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver
Jerry Goldsmith - The Omen
John Williams - The Empire Strikes Back
John Powell - How To Train Your Dragon
David Raksin - The Bad and the Beautiful
Miklos Rozsa - Double Indemnity
John Barry - Body Heat
Quincy Jones - In Cold Blood
Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas


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## Varick

Josquin13 said:


> 1. Psycho--Bernard Hermann: Hitchcock & Hermann fans should get a kick out of the following video:


That was excellent!

V


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## MarcoLusius

Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - Howard Shore 
Psycho - Bernard Herrmann
Schindler's List - John Williams
Blade Runner - Vangelis


----------



## Antares

In no specific order...

*Yojimbo* - Masaru Satô
*The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* - Ennio Morricone
*A Fistful of Dollars* - Ennio Morricone
*Once Upon a Time in the West* - Ennio Morricone
*Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud* - Miles Davis
*The Exorcist* - Michael Oldfield
*The Pink Panther* - Henry Mancini
*Lawrence Of Arabia* - Maurice Jarre
*The Magnificent Seven* - Elmer Bernstein
*Out of Africa* - John Barry


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## 89Koechel

Thanks, Pip, for mentioning Sir Wm. Walton AND Ralph V-W, in the latter's "Scott of the Antarctic", plus "49th Parallel" w/Olivier! Hope that we won't forget Walton (and/or Olivier) in that exceptional film, of "Richard the Third".


----------



## 89Koechel

Jace/Marschallin - (jazz scores) - Ever heard-of the late jazz musician/trumpeter, named Don Ellis? He "did" the scores for French Connection (the original) and French Connection 2.


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## jazzthieve

Drive (2011)
All original Star Wars Scores
All Lotr scores
Blade Runner
Blade Runner 2049
Good, The Bad and The Ugly


----------



## Hiawatha

I like these.

(Admittedly more soundtracks than scores)

Tom Waits - One From The Heart






Charlie Chaplin - Limelight






Joe Strummer - Walker






Jerome Moross - The Big Country






Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas


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## ThaNotoriousNIC

I've watched a lot of films through my years of binging TCM and searching the web and here are my top 10 favorite soundtracks in no particular order:

*1) Ben Hur, Miklos Rozsa (1959):* Starting off with my favorite soundtrack of all time. The soundtrack to this movie is incredibly moving and powerful. It can be bombastic during the naval battle, triumphant for the chariot race, majestic for the Nativity music, and lamenting during the Passion. There is a lot to love in this soundtrack and it is one of the most influential soundtracks of all time. I can gush about it all day long. My favorite movie and also my favorite soundtrack.

Favorite tracks: Roman Galley, Balthasar Theme, Marcia Romana, The Conflict, Victoria Parade

*2) The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Howard Shore (2001):* His music for all of the Lord of the Rings films is incredibly, but if I had to pick one movie, this one is my favorite. Like Ben Hur, the soundtrack has a lot of range in tone from the easy-going Shire music to the incredibly dark Nazgul theme. I think it is the best of all of the Lord of the Rings movies and it introduces all of the themes that are used in the rest of the trilogy and in the Hobbit movies. Just incredible.

Favorite Tracks: The Shadow of the Past, A Knife in the Dark, The Bridge of Khazad Dum, May it Be

*3) The Lion King, Hans Zimmer (1994):* Out of all Disney films with the exception of Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King has my favorite soundtrack of them all. Love the African inspiration from Lebo and Hans Zimmer's orchestral contributions. I can talk about the songs by Elton Jon, but for the sake of this list, I am only talking about the rest of the music. The music that plays when Simba climbs Pride Rock is incredibly moving.

Favorite tracks: This Land, Under the Stars, King of Pride Rock, Busa

*4) Conan, the Barbarian, Basil Poledouris (1982):* Although this movie has not aged too well and Arnold was just learning acting at this time, it doesn't distract from one of the best scores that I have ever heard in a movie. I wish that this movie got more recognition for its incredible soundtrack, which like the previous entries, has a wide range of musical ideas. I think out of all of my selections this one has some of the best battle music.

Favorite tracks: Anvil of Chrom, The Riddle of Steel, Riders of Doom, The Orgy, Love Theme

*5) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, John Williams (1980):* My obligatory John Williams selection. I am sure plenty of people have already discussed this movie's music to depth. It introduces new, iconic themes to the series such as the Imperial March and Yoda's Theme and is embedded in our popular culture. I will give the movie its credit and it is a favorite of mine.

Favorite tracks: The Imperial March, Yoda's Theme, The Battle of Hoth, Han Solo and the Princess, Departure of Boba Fett

*6) Gojira, Akira Ifukube (1954): *About a month back, I created a thread about the Japanese composer and his works on Toho science fiction films like Godzilla. It is my favorite film franchise and the themes that he introduced in this movie are still used to this day in other Godzilla films. The impact of this soundtrack on this franchise and the image of Godzilla is huge. I would describe the soundtrack of this film being largely creepy with some military marches and requiem music in between. I recommend it and the movie for those who are curious. It is a fitting soundtrack for something as devastating as a nuclear bomb.

Favorite tracks: Godzilla Main Title, Godzilla Comes to Tokyo Bay, Prayer for Peace, Tokyo in Flames

*7) The Mummy, Jerry Goldsmith (1999):* This film has a glorious soundtrack fitting for a blockbuster action remake of a classic Universal horror icon. The movie has its detractors, but one thing I do not think that anyone can knock is its soundtrack from Jerry Goldsmith. His composition is really fitting for the action scenes and is even better for expressing the budding romance between Rick and Evelyn. It is a little generic at times, but when I hear the soundtrack playing, it is instantly recognizable to me and I think only a great soundtrack can do that!

Favorite tracks: Giza Port, The Camel Race, The Sand Volcano

*8) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Hans Zimmer (2006):* I blame my middle school orchestra class for permanently carving this movie into my mind. We used to play the soundtrack music from the trilogy for our concerts, but this film's score is the one that I like the most. My favorite thing about the movie and its score is Davy Jones, who is given an incredible theme and organ music. The music has a blend of traditional orchestra and digital which I always find fascinating. The soundtrack to World's End is good too, but this one is my favorite of the franchise.

Favorite tracks: Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, Two Hornpipes (Tortuga), The Kraken, Wheel of Fortune

*9) The Red Shoes, Brian Easdale (1948):* I've only seen this movie once and it is still in my opinion one of the best movies that I have ever seen, especially about the arts. One of the reasons for this is the music made for the ballet within this movie with the same title as the film. This soundtrack is a bit of different pick compared to the other movies I listed, but I think more people should know about it. Terrific film and great soundtrack.

Favorite track: The ballet "The Red Shoes"

*10) Vertigo, Bernard Hermann (1958):* My favorite Hitchcock movie and also one of my favorite movies of all time. There soundtrack is both terrifying yet very seductive. I think this film was the magnum opus of Hitchcock's 1950s films and his collaborations with Jimmy Stewart. The soundtrack is very moving and is unforgettable.

Favorite tracks: Prelude and Rooftop, Scene D'Amour, The Nightmare and Dawn

Here are a couple of honorable mentions:

King Kong, Max Steiner (1933)
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Bernard Hermann (1958)
The Wizard of Oz, Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart (1939)
Laura, David Raskin (1944)
The Good, Bad, and the Ugly, Ennio Morricone (1966)
The Searchers, Max Steiner (1956)
Amadeus (Obvious Reasons)
Mothra vs. Godzilla, Akira Ifukube (1964)
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, John Williams (2005)
The Godfather, Nino Rota (1972)


----------



## Guest

Maurice Jarre, "A Passage to India" - an excellent film!! I do somewhat agree with critics at the time who said the score was too noisy, but I still do like it and its very evocative mixture of Indian idioms, marching music and urban cosmopolitanism:


----------



## MAS

There are times when I can't separate the movie from the score, or vice-versa. I don't collect movie scores, but if I did, it would be something like, *Once Upon A Time In The West*, or *Dances With Wolves*, because I love *Ennio Morricone* and *John Barry*, respectively. Though, if I think about it, neither score reminds me of cowboys, or Indians (also respectively). They're memorable to me because they are beautiful and evocative on their own and partly because they made the movie more memorable .

Another score that is also evocative Is that of *Excalibur*, because the music chosen fit the images they accompany even though were not composed for the movie. Carl Orff's *Carmina Burana*, and Richard Wagner's music for the opera *Götterdämmerung* (_Siegfried's Funeral March_) are cleaved to the soundtrack as if they belong there. There was a composer attached to *Excalibur*, Trevor Jones, but he discovered that not all of the music he had composed for the movie was used in the soundtrack.


----------



## Ethereality

The best score is no doubt Titanic. I mean, the score is better than most Classical pieces, not sure why it's not on many lists. I think people haven't had time to fully appreciate it. For 9 lesser greats, I might go with
Vertigo
Once Upon a Time in the West
Princess Mononoke
To Kill a Mockingbird
Homeward Bound
Ben-Hur
The Fellowship of the Ring
Casablanca
Jurassic Park


----------



## Jacck

Ethereality said:


> The best score is no doubt Titanic. I mean, the score is better than most Classical pieces, not sure why it's not on many lists. I think people haven't had time to fully appreciate it.


no, it is not the best score. And I have had enough time to appreciate it. It is not even the best score by James Horner. I certainly prefer Braveheart, Beautiful Mind, Krull and Aliens over it


----------



## Ethereality

Fair enough, this is your opinion. I can't picture though for any reason the Brahms/Beethoven's 9th subgroup of Classical fanatics putting down the score in any capacity. The mature, emotional parallels and parallels in structrual form are too similar overall. Not better however, but for a film score very similar.


----------



## partisan

Antoine Duhamel's music for Jean-Luc Godard's _Pierrot le fou_ has always been my favorite film score:


----------



## Torkelburger

One of the best film scores of all time is_ Papillon_ by Jerry Goldsmith, written during his prime in 1973. He gets all kinds of sounds, modern and romantic, from a rather small orchestra by today's standards--practically a chamber group. The second que below actually utilizes chamber groupings (very rare in film music) but incredibly he is still able to achieve an impressionist sound when he wants.

They don't make them like they used to. The golden age of film music is surely dead. It seems no one today is willing or capable of doing this. I love the rhythmic changing meters in the second que so indicative of his style (and not in an action-scene context):

The first que may sound a bit Planet of the Apeish at first, but wait til it gets going...so wonderful. A chase scene...how a true master of the craft does it, IMO. Boy, how I miss this man in his prime. I'd be watching movies again if he were still alive.


----------



## fluteman

Alexander Nevsky -- Prokofiev
On the Waterfront -- Bernstein
The Piano -- Nyman
The Red Violin -- Corigliano
The Pink Panther -- Mancini
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- Morricone
Psycho -- Herrmann
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon -- Tan Dun
American Beauty -- Newman
Spirited Away -- Hisaishi


----------



## SanAntone

The 400 Blows (Constantin)
La Strada (Rota)
Cinema Paradiso (Morrecone)
Ragtime (Newman)
Shindler's List (Williams)
Catch Me If You Can (Willliams)
Taxi Driver (Herrmann)
On the Waterfront (Bernstein)
Rear Window (Waxman)
Volver Estrella Morente (Almodovar)


----------



## Michael122

Probably could have did 10 on John Williams alone as well as a couple other soundtrack composers.
Interesting to see a top 10 compilation from this thread.

RESOLUTION (CEOT3RDK) {John Williams}
JURASSIC PARK THEME {John Williams}
FAIRYTALE {Zbigniew Preisner}
COMING OF THE QUEEN (Fairytale) {Zbigniew Preisner}
WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO DIE (Finding Neverland) {Jan Kaczmarek}
BUCKAROO BANZAI {Joohyun Park}
JACK’S DREAM (Oblivion) {Joseph Trapanese}
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN {Hans Zimmer}
DEBORAH’S THEME (Once Upon A Time In America) {Ennio Morricone}
CHARIOTS OF FIRE {Vangelis}


----------



## SanAntone

SanAntone said:


> The 400 Blows (Constantin)
> La Strada (Rota)
> Cinema Paradiso (Morrecone)
> Ragtime (Newman)
> Shindler's List (Williams)
> Catch Me If You Can (Willliams)
> Taxi Driver (Herrmann)
> On the Waterfront (Bernstein)
> Rear Window (Waxman)
> Volver Estrella Morente (Almodovar)


I made a mistake - my last entry should be:

Volver (Alberto Iglesias)


----------



## Sumantra

Pyaasa (1957) - S. D. Burman
Elevator to the Gallows (1958) - Miles Davies 
Alexander Nevsky (1938) - Sergei Prokofiev
Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Nino Rota
Once Upon A Time in America (1984) - Ennio Morricone
Anarkali (1953) - C. Ramchandra
American Beauty (1999) - Thomas Newman 
The Hours (2002) - Philip Glass
The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) - Ravi Shankar
Trilogy of Silence (1984-1988) - Eleni Karaindrou


----------



## FrankE

I don't like music in films. I can't make out what is meant to be being conveyed - the speech, so I rarely watch films and don't have a televison.
Moreover, it annoys me when I'm listening to classical music and it reminds me of the incidental music from a cartoon or something, say Tom & Jerry and I can't get that out my head.
Someday Bluray or its successor will have the facility to turn off the music track and everyone - including us hearing-impaired - can enjoy and follow films.
Fair dinkum if the film is about music. I can't think of many though as I'm not a film (or story) fan

The Sound of Music (of course) 
The Gadfly (Shostakovish) I've the CD, never realised it was from a film.
Amadeus

I've quite a few OSTs, seen very few of the films. My vinyl supplier sent them on sale or return.
The Graduate


On the non-classical a few spring to mind:
Pi 
Trainspotting.
Zombi (Goblin) (never heard of the film)
Chariots of Fire. 

I went to the UK premiere of Pi due to its themes. It was only a couple of years ago I realised the compiler / composer was the singer in one of the bands I used to tour with.


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## mikeh375

Having worked within the film industry and watched films in post production without music, I can honestly say it's truly transformative what music does to scenes in a film that without it, can feel dead.


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## pianozach

I'd not really ever given a great deal of thought to which Film Scores might be my "favorites", but there are some that have been, I suppose.

Around the World In 80 Days
Lawrence of Arabia
Fantasia
The Wizard of Oz
The Big Country
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr Zhivago

Um . . . let's see . . . two more . . . . 

A Clockwork Orange 
Star Wars


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## Rogerx

View attachment 161290


Death in Venice

Track listing

1. Adagietto Della 5^ Sinfonia (09:28)
Composed by Gustav Mahler | Orchestra Dell'Accademia Di S. Cecilia conducted by Franco Mannino
2. Tema Dei Ricordi (03:57)
Composed by Ludwig Van Beethoven | Piano: Claudio Gizzi
3. Ninna Nanna (02:17)
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky | Soprano: Mascia Predit
4. IV Tempo Della 3^ Sinfonia (11:21)
Composed by Gustav Mahler | Contralto: Lucrezia West, Orchestra Dell'Accademia Di S. Cecilia conducted by Franco Mannino
5. Canti Nuovi (Chi Con Le Donne Vuole Aver Fortuna) (02:52)
Composed by Armando Gil | Gruppo Folkloristico

To begin with.


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## rburnett

Man of Steel - Hans Zimmer
13 Reasons Why OST 
Mirrors Edge OST
Metal Gear Solid V OST
The Walking Dead Soundtrack
Kingdom Hearts - Yoko Shimomura
Destiny Rise of Iron - Martin O' Donnell

Mostly video game music haha


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## Dmitriyevich

The Godfather (1972) - Nino Rota
Ran (1985) - Toru Takemitsu
Mishima (1985) - Philip Glass
The Hours (2002) - Philip Glass
Zidane (2006) - Mogwai


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## pianozach

rburnett said:


> Man of Steel - Hans Zimmer
> 13 Reasons Why OST
> Mirrors Edge OST
> Metal Gear Solid V OST
> The Walking Dead Soundtrack
> Kingdom Hearts - Yoko Shimomura
> Destiny Rise of Iron - Martin O' Donnell
> 
> Mostly video game music haha


"*Video Game Music*"

I reckon that is now truly a new musical genre.

It's funny that people still argue about whether or not film soundtracks are "Classical Music" or "Art Music". The next discussion will be about Video Game Music I guess.


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## Red Terror

mikeh375 said:


> Having worked within the film industry and watched films in post production without music, I can honestly say it's truly transformative what music does to scenes in a film that without it, can feel dead.


A film should work without music. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.


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## SanAntone

Red Terror said:


> A film should work without music. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.


I disagree. A film is a collaborative process, although the director oversees and controls the whole. The film is made up of a number of independent aspects, including music, all of which are integral to the complete work.


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## pianozach

Red Terror said:


> A film should work without music. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.


False flag. Substitute any other aspect of film in your claim, and you'll see how it's not a reasonable assertion:

A film should work without dialogue. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.

A film should work without costumes. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.

A film should work without props. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.

A film should work without sound effects. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.

A film should work without actors. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.


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## Guest

pianozach said:


> False flag. Substitute any other aspect of film in your claim, and you'll see how it's not a reasonable assertion:
> 
> A film should work without dialogue. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.
> 
> A film should work without costumes. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.
> 
> A film should work without props. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.
> 
> A film should work without sound effects. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.
> 
> A film should work without actors. If it doesn't, it's not a successful work of art.


Brilliant riposte!! Here's a little test for the doubters. Watch this scene, first with music and then with the sound turned off: compare and contrast!


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## RollOvaMozart

Psycho - Bernard Hermann (without which the entire movie's suspense would be lost imho and so the perfect accompaniment)
The Godfather - Nino Rota (that haunting theme ...)
The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover - Michael Nyman
Once upon a time in the West - Ennio Morricone (a giant of cinema along with Williams & Barry imho)
Schindler's List - John Williams (and his Jaws score deserves a mention too)
Out of Africa - John Barry (James Bond wouldn't have been the same without Barry or Connery in those halcyon days)
Chariots of Fire - Vangelis (who also did Blade Runner worthy of a mention)
Dr Zhivago - Maurice Jarre (who also did Lawrence of Arabia worthy of a mention)
Casablanca - Max Steiner (who also did Gone with the wind worthy of a mention)
Alien - Jerry Goldsmith

plus two solely main title themes
The James Bond theme - Monty Norman (60 next year and still going ...)
The Exorcist main theme - Mike Oldfield


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## RollOvaMozart

I am new here so haven't yet worked out how to attach a reply so apologies as this is a reponse to Red Terror's one above

Um ... 

Music is complimentary to a movie imho and should enhance or at the very least support what is on screen ELSE we might as well return to the silent era since lots of dialogue could be deemed superfluous in action movies. Psycho has a great score which means stuff which couldn't be shown without being censored doesn't need to be shown at all as the music creates the image one doesn't need to see. Music is distinct from colour hence the colour 'scene for scene' remake of Psycho adds nothing whereas the absence of Hermann's score loses everything.

The movie Duel is one of the few examples where tension is built up with almost no music at all throughout the entire movie AND one of spielberg's few good movies as opposed to money-making ones imho


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## Anooj

Limiting myself to just one score per composer:

Spartacus (Alex North)
Ben-Hur (Miklos Rozsa)
Ten Commandments (Elmer Bernstein)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)
Taras Bulba (Franz Waxman)
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)
Once Upon a Time In The West (Ennio Morricone)
The Egyptian (Alfred Newman & Bernard Herrmann)
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
Fall of the Roman Empire (Dimitri Tiomkin)


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## ProgRomantik

I have more than ten... (sigh)

The Lion in Winter – John Barry (my favorite movie composer, also love Dances With Wolves and Out of Africa)
Best Years of Our Lives – Hugo Friedhofer
Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre
To Kill a Mockingbird – Elmer Bernstein
Cinema Paradiso – Ennio Morricone
Empire of the Sun - John Williams (also love Catch Me if you Can)
Lord of the Rings – Howard Shore
The Big Country – Jerome Moross
I Want to Live! – Johnny Mandel
La Dolce Vita, Taming of the Shrew – Nino Rota
White Oleander – Thomas Newman


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