Favorite Movie Score

[SimonDoom]

We've had threads recently about Oscar-winning movies and threads about music people listen to, so how about a thread about your favorite movie score(s)?

Think about how important the music is to a movie, even if you don't think about it consciously. Can anyone imagine Star Wars without its theme, or Jaws (by the same composer, John Williams)?

A few of my favorites:

Max Steiner's revolutionary score for the original King Kong, way back in 1933. I recommend watching the movie and listening to the score. It's different from anything else that was being done back then.

Bernard Hermann, Psycho. Has anyone ever written a more perfect musical passage for a single scene than he wrote for the shower scene?

Leonard Bernstein, On The Waterfront. Moody and modern and beautifully woven into the drama of the movie scenes.

Ennio Morricone, The Mission. Morricone might be my favorite movie composer. He wrote the music for the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, which is amazing, but I think The Mission is his most memorable and beautiful score. It's both sad and uplifting, like the movie.

 

[TheRedChamber]

It's Star Wars.

I could write another 10k words on other great soundtracks and pretend to evaluate them rationally and according to objective and fair criteria.

It'd still be Star Wars.

One opening chord straight to my childhood.

 

[Seadog777]

I never really thought about it that much until I saw this.

"Into the West" by Annie Lennox, at the end of "LOTR Return of the King" is what immediately came to my mind.

 

[Elayne_Hawke]

August Rush, composer Mark Mancina
I adore that movie and the music stirs the soul.

 

[SimonDoom]

I never really thought about it that much until I saw this.

"Into the West" by Annie Lennox, at the end of "LOTR Return of the King" is what immediately came to my mind.

I'm glad you mentioned it, because I agree about the song and that final scene, which is a tearjerker for an LOTR nerd like me, and the score for the whole movie by Howard Shore is one of the most ambitious film scores of all time. I've seen the movies a few times and each time I notice more how good the music is.

Interesting note: The melody for that song was written by Howard Shore, although Lennox performed the song. The melody appears earlier (if I remember correctly) when Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom.

 

[Seadog777]

Interesting note: The melody for that song was written by Howard Shore, although Lennox performed the song. The melody appears earlier (if I remember correctly) when Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom.

I might have to fire up the Blu-ray and check that out now. LOL.

 

[Bamagan]

Indiana Jones is a classic, and not just the main theme, as is the 1970s Superman theme, both of which are John Williams again. No one does bombastic scores quite as well, I feel. Although honestly, I like the Krypton theme portion of the Superman score more than the march, which is probably the more memorable part for people who have seen the movie. Nightmare Before Christmas is another I love, although as a quasi-musical that might be cheating a bit. Terminator 2 has a great score, and I like a lot of Brad Fiedel's other stuff, too.

 

[MrPixel]

Oh, mama! Pretty much anything by Hans Zimmer! Inception, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight trilogy, Gladiator, Interstellar, Dune, The Lion King and a bunch of other stuff. Very prolific. I find myself frequently listening to various cuts and covers from Interstellar.

I know there's a lot of love out there for John Williams, but having performed a number of his works, in the knowing them from the inside you start to realize that he fell into a formula and kinda stuck with it. Two worthwhile exceptions are Shindler's List and "Hymn to the Fallen", from Saving Private Ryan.

As an oboist I do have to tip my hat to Morricone for The Mission.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Favorite Movie Score​

Lost In Translation - just perfect

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

And no-one mentions Heavy Metal or FM...

Is a soundtrack necessarily the same thing as a score?

Inquiring minds and all that...

 

[Gazzspeed]

Loved FM.. have it on vinyl

 

[Rob_Royale]

I think we could list a LOT of John Williams's work here, but for the ten-year-old Rob Royale in 1978, the theme from Superman was it. To this day the theme invokes an emotional response in me. I can't quantify it but between the music and Chris Reeves's performance, it left an indelible mark on me.

"I'm here to fight for truth and justice, and the American way."

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[Gazzspeed]

And also enjoyed Reservoir Dogs soundtrack

 

[stonedinstilletos]

A lot of good suggestions. I always like Last of the Mohicans.

 

[AchtungNight]

Tim Burton’s Batman and Spielberg’s Jurassic Park are my faves that have not been mentioned yet.

 

[StillStunned]

Basil Poledouris's scores for the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie and for The Hunt for Red October.

 

[AmandaKellyUK]

Max Richter knows his stuff, I do love Arrival’s score which I appreciate his is only the end piece Ad Astra’s is fab though.

 

[JGittes]

Jerry Goldsmith - Chinatown

 

[SimonDoom]

And no-one mentions Heavy Metal or FM...

Is a soundtrack necessarily the same thing as a score?

Inquiring minds and all that...

I don't know if this is universally accepted, but I think of a soundtrack as a collection of preexisting songs gathered for a movie and a score as a (usually instrumental) composition written especially for the movie. But for purposes of this thread I think a soundtrack counts, too. I can think of many movies that effectively use songs. Scorsese does a lot of that with his films.

 

[SimonDoom]

A lot of good suggestions. I always like Last of the Mohicans.

Me, too. The main theme is very powerful and stirring.

 

[joclfc]

Blade Runner

 

[SimonDoom]

Blade Runner

That's a good one, too. By Vangelis. He also wrote memorable scores for Chariots of Fire and The Bounty.

 

[lovecraft68]

John Carpenter has not only directed some of the top horror movies of all time but does the score for many of them as well.
The Thing, They Live, the famous intro to Halloween and a lot more.

 

[SimonDoom]

Another weird but effective score: Trent Reznor's score for The Social Network.

Some more:

John Barry, Dances with Wolves. Gorgeous music. Added a lot to the movie. He also composed Born Free.

James Horner, Braveheart. And Titanic, of course.

Jerry Goldsmith's score for Patton is one of my all-time favorite war movie scores.

 

[lovecraft68]

The Rings of Power was just trash in every way, but Bear McCreary's score was excellent.