Your Top 100 Film Scores of All Time

Now that AFI has listed their top twenty film scores, it is time for us JCers to list ours. The purpose of this thread is for people to list their top 100 (top 25 or 50 if you don't have enough time, but try to list 100) film scores of all time. Remember to be consistent with your qualificiations for film scores and be sure to list the composer for each score you choose. You don't have to keep in mind AFI's standard and feel free to choose the scores you enjoy. Have fun, and remember, if you are not sure, use Amazon and Filmtracks.com. They are great for listening to sample tracks!

 

Before I started I wanted to be clear on the perameters here..so a couple of questions.

1)are we counting sequels? (for example..Superman 2 is by Ken thorne but basically it's rehashed John Williams...see what I mean?)

2)are we counting the complete soundtrack that we've listened to? I mean they're a lot of movies out there that I've seen but don't own the soundtrack. I mean one piece of music can make a difference in a particular scene

3)How about if we haven't heard the soundtrack but you know it's good. (for example.. I haven't heard "Laura" or "Bridge over the River Kwai" but I know they are generally regarded as good movie scores.

 

1) Yes, count sequels!

2)Count the complete score from the movie, not the soundtrack.

3)How about if we haven't heard the soundtrack but you know it's good?
Listen to clips on Amazon. They're great themes!

 

Alright, here's the thing, I'm posting my top 30 for now, because it would take too long for me to do the full 100 at this time. I'll try to get the rest done some time soon, sorry.


1. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - John Williams
2. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - John Williams
3. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - John Williams
4. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) - John Williams
5. Star Wars: V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - John Williams
6. Big Fish (2003) - Danny Elfman
7. Gladiator (2000) - Hans Zimmer
8. Jurassic Park (1993) - John Williams
9. Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Craig Armstrong
10. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) - John Williams
11. Finding Neverland (2004) - Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
12. Spider-Man (2002) - Danny Elfman
13. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) - Harald Kloser and Thomas ****er
14. Jaws (1975) - John Williams
15. Psycho (1960) - Bernard Herrmann
16. Hellboy (2004) - Marco Beltrami
17. Wing Commander (1999) - David Arnold and James Newton Howard
18. X2: X-Men United (2003) - John Ottman
19. The Hours (2002) - Philip Glass
20. The Mummy Returns (2001) - Alan Silvestri
21. Men in Black (1997) - Danny Elfman
22. Scream (1996) - Marco Beltrami
23. The Village (2004) - James Newton Howard
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - Howard Shore
25. Titanic (1997) - James Horner
26. Born Free (1966) - John Barry
27. Van Helsing (2004) - Alan Silvestri
28. The Island (2005) - Steve Jablonsky
29. The Incredibles (2004) - Michael Giacchino
30. Clue (1985) - John Morris


Yeah, SW pretty much filled the entire top 10, but I figured if there was one I could get away with that, it would be here.

 

So here's my top 250. I couldn't do 100 because I'd be leaving out too much and I couldn't do 500 because I'd be listing scores I don't care about. There were some cuts made to this list that hurt, but I'll live. I also included all of the top 25 from AFI's list just to see where I'd rank them on my list. It didn't fair so well for them. I also noticed my list pretty much lacks classic movie scores before 1960. Oh well. There are some "musicals" from Disney on here but I consider their scores good enough to rank.




1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - John Williams
3. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - John Williams
4. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - John Williams
5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - John Williams
6. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - John Williams
7. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore
8. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore
9. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore
10. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith
11. Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
12. To Kill A Mockingbird - Elmer Bernstein
13. Superman - John Williams
14. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris
15. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Ennio Morricone
16. Dr. No. - John Barry and Monty Norman
17. Krull - James Horner
18. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial - John Williams
19. Batman - Danny Elfman
20. The Bridge Over The River Kwai - Malcolm Arnold
21. The Pink Panther - Henry Mancini
22. Glory - James Horner
23. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Michael Kamen
24. Aliens - James Horner
25. Gone With The Wind - Max Steiner
26. Jaws - John Williams
27. Schindler's List - John Williams
28. Hook - John Williams
29. Doctor Zhivago - Maurice Jarre
30. Psycho - Bernard Hermann
31. The Great Escape - Elmer Bernstein
32. The Final Conflict - Jerry Goldsmith
33. Breakfast At Tiffany's - Henry Mancini
34. The Omen - Jerry Goldsmith
35. Godzilla - Akira Ifukube
36. Jurassic Park - John Williams
37. Alein 3 - Elliot Goldenthal
38. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
39. Alien - Jerry Goldsmith
40. Rocky - Bill Conti
41. Stargate - David Arnold
42. Rudy - Jerry Goldsmith
43. Goldfinger - John Barry
44. Romeo and Juliet - Nino Rota
45. The Last of the Mohicans - Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones
46. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - John Williams
47. Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
48. The Godfather II - Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola
49. Back To The Future III - Alan Silvestri
50. Bram Stoker's Dacula - Wojciech Kilar
51. Gladiator - Hans Zimmer
52. Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman
53. Requiem For A Dream - Clint Mansell
54. Backdraft - Hans Zimmer
55. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Michael Kamen
56. Willow - James Horner
57. Poltergeist - Jerry Goldsmith
58. Braveheart - James Horner
59. Gremlins - Jerry Goldsmith
60. The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
61. Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
62. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - John Williams
63. Hatari! - Henry Mancini
64. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - John Williams
65. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Anthony Newley
66. A Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman
67. Ghost - Maurice Jarre
68. Fargo - Carter Burwell
69. The Joy Luck Club - Rachel Portman
70. Titanic - James Horner
71. Beverly Hills Cop - Harold Faltermeyer
72. The Land Before Time - James Horner
73. Crimson Tide - Hans Zimmer
74. An American Tale - James Horner
75. The Witches - Stanley Myers
76. Halloween - John Carpenter
77. Terms of Endearment - Michael Gore
78. The Neverending Story - Klause Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder
79. Blade Runner - Vangelis
80. A Nightmare Elm Street - Charles Bernstein
81. Adventures of Don Juan - Max Steiner
82. A Summer Place - Max Steiner
83. Ben-Hur - Miklos Rozsa
84. Modern Times - Charles Chaplin
85. Zorba the Greek - Mikis Theodorakis
86. Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
87. Ed Wood - Howard Shore
88. Steel Ma

 

very good HL&S.. So that is your list of favorites right? or is it in no particular order?

I'm still working on mine..haven't forgotten.
Unfortunaetly..given the nature of where this thread is at, I don't think we will have that many paticipating..

 

Very nice HookLineAndSinker. You should stop by the Film Music Critics Society thread where we rate a lot of different soundtracks. We are discussing Dragonheart right now, but it is due for an update tomorrow.

You're right redsabreanakin. There won't be much action.

 

You're cultivated enough to choose 250 favorite film scores but these are your top ten? Something doesn't add up.

 

You're cultivated enough to choose 250 favorite film scores but these are your top ten? Something doesn't add up.

I had to be honest with myself. Those were the scores I listen to most frequently and I listen to them so often because they're my favorites. I did consider grouping them all into just one spot since both sagas are basically one long movie and each saga has just one composer. For the Omen, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and Godfather sagas I had clear favorites. I suppose I could have broken up the LOTR saga a tad. But instead of spots 7,8, and 9 they'd be like 7, 12, and 16. Not much of a difference really. You'll never get me to break up the Star Wars saga from those six spots though. I cherish those suckers like they were my children. I admit it does look tacky at the top, but so be it. I think the only problem with my list is that I simply don't know enough Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Miklos Rozsa scores to give them more spots. I mean my list is heavy with more modern composers.

 

Whoa.


Yeah, I'll give this a shot. Not now. It will take time, but I'll post in here when I'm done. I won't quite attempt the HL&S approach - a lowley 100 is probably all I can manage. Sorry.

 

Hmm...

Cerrabore got me thinking about my top ten. When I listen to a Star Wars cd, I listen to all of them. Same with LOTR. So I was quick to place those all grouped together in my top ten. As if they were just one. It was easy for me to separate other saga soundtracks but surprisingly not these two. But...now I'm kinda thinking I may have been too hasty after spending so much time compiling my list that at the end I just kinda made it too simple.

The following feels closer to the truth I believe. Not much of a change but after some thought, I guess I found I could break it down a little more. I'm surprised I broke down the Star Wars soundtracks when only a few hours ago I said I'd never do it.


1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - John Williams
3. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
6. To Kill A Mockingbird - Elmer Bernstein
7. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - John Williams
8. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - John Williams
9. Superman - John Williams
10. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris
11. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - John Williams
12. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore
13. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - Ennio Morricone
14. Dr. No - John Barry and Monty Norman
15. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - John Williams
16. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore

 

Interesting HL&S; are you sure about that list?? didn't anyone ever tell you don't second guess yourself....go with your first instinct. having said that....you do have Superman and Conan in your new top 10..so that's ok by me. I'll have my list in 24 hours..

 

I'm also happy now that Superman and Conan have moved into the my top ten. It feels better because I love those scores. But I'm sure this list will change once the scores to Goblet of Fire and the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe come out.

 

ok...here we go.
A little explanation first. The first 10 are music that I would have if on a deserted Island, that I couldn't do without. From there we go to the music that I enjoy listening to, the most fun, not necessarily the best scores..but the most fun to sit back and enjoy.

1. Star Wars: A New Hope
2. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
4. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
5. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
6. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
7. Superman: The Movie
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
9. Ben-Hur- Miklos Rozsa
10. Conan the Barbarian- Basil Poledouris
11. The Hunt for Red October- Basil Poledouris
12. Excalibur- Trevor Jones
13. Star Trek: The Motion Picture- Jerry Goldsmith
14. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan- James Horner
15. Gladiator- Hans Zimmer
16. The Black Hole- John Barry
17. Once Upon a Time in the West- Ennio Morricone
18. Outland- Jerry Goldsmith
19. Total Recall- Jerry Goldsmith
20. Mission Impossible 2- Hans Zimmer
21. The Mask of Zorro- James Horner
22. Batman- Danny Elfman
23. The Final Countdown- John Scott
24. Waterworld- James Newton Howard
25. Spy Game- Harry Gregson-Williams
26. The Natural- Randy Newman
27. Hoosiers- Jerry Goldsmith
28. Patton- Jerry Goldsmith
29. Terminator 2- Brad Fiedel
30. Highlander- Michael Kamen
31. The Last Samurai- Hans Zimmer
32. Aliens- James Horner
33. Rambo: First Blood Pt. 2- Jerry Goldsmith
34. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers' Stone- John Williams
35. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- John Williams
36. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban- John Williams
37. Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock- James Horner
38. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring- Howard Shore
39. The Incredibles- Michael Giacchino
40. Jurassic Park- John Williams
41. Zulu- John Barry
42. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story- Randy Edelman
43. The Final Conflict- Jerry Goldsmith
44. Road to Perdition- Thomas Newman
45. Heavy Metal- Elmer Bernstein
46. Amadeus- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
47. The Count of Monte Cristo- Edward Shearmur
47. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- John Barry
48. Live and Let Die- George Martin
49. The Living Daylights- John Barry
50. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World- Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, Tognetti
51. Lawrence of Arabia- Maurice Jarre
52. 2001: A Space Odyssey- Strauss
53. Dune- Toto
54. The Shadow- Jerry Goldsmith
55. Apollo 13- James Horner
56. X-Men - Michael Kamen
57. Blade Runner- Vangelis
58. Back to the Future- Alan Silvestri
59. The Adventures of Robin Hood- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
60. The Magnificient Seven- Elmer Bernstein
61. Quigley Down Under- Basil Poledouris
62. Predator- Alan Silvestri
63. Silverado- Bruce Broughton
64. Air Force One- Jerry Goldsmith
65. Bullitt- Lalo Schifrin
66. Enter the Dragon- Lalo Schifrin
67. Dirty Harry- Lalo Schifrin
68. The Great Escape- Elmer Bernstein
69. Tron- Wendy Carlos
70. Robocop- Basil Poledouris
71. The Phantom- David Newman
72. The Untouchables- Ennio Morricone
73. The Abyss- Alan Silvestri
74. Escape from New York- John Carpenter
75. Rocky- Bill Conti
76. True Lies- Brad Fiedel
77. The Rocketeer- James Horner
78. The Mummy- Jerry Goldsmith
79. The Right Stuff- Bill Conti
80. Willow- James Horner
81. A Fistful of Dollars- Ennio Morricone
82. The Good,the Bad,and the Ugly- Ennio Morricone
83. First Blood- Jerry Goldsmith
84. Jaws- John Williams
85. Planet of the Apes- Jerry Goldsmith
86. ET- John Williams
87. Robin Hood: Prince of Theives- Michael Kamen
88. Crimson Tide- Hans Zimmer
89. Dr. No- Monty Norman/John Barry
90. From Russia With Love- John Barry
91. Alien- Jerry Goldsmith
92. Midway- John Williams
93. The Towering Inferno- John Williams
94. Ghostbusters- Elmer Bernstein
95. The Ten Commandments- Elmer Berstein
96. Gone With The Wind- Max Steiner
97. Rambo 3- Jerry Goldsmith
98. The Thomas Crown Affair- Bill Conti
99. Xmen 2- John Ottman
100. Forrest Gump- Alan Silvestri

 

Well, I could only manage a top 51 scores. If this thread is still alive in a year's time, I'll have another crack at it, but this is the best I can do at the moment.

My Top 100 film scores of all time.

1. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
2. Star Wars: A New Hope - John Williams
3. Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain - Yann Tiersen
4. The Adventures of Robin Hood - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - John Williams
6. Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann
7. Gattaca - Michael Nyman
8. Angela's Ashes - John Williams
9. The Triplets of Belleville - Ben Charest
10. Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
11. Schindler's List - John Williams
12. Dances with Wolves - John Barry
13. Psycho - Bernard Herrmann
14. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - John Williams
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore
16. Dr. Zhivago - Maurice Jarre
17. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - John Williams
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - John Williams
19. The Battle of Britain - Ron Goodwin
20. The Matrix - Don Davis
21. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - John Williams
22. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - John Williams
23. North by Northwest - Bernard Herrmann
24. The Hours - Phillip Glass
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - John Williams
26. Citizen Kane - Bernard Herrmann
27. Batman - Danny Elfman
28. Gladiator - Hans Zimmer
29. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore
30. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore
31. The Godfather - Nino Rota
32. 1492 - Vangelis
33. Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
34. The Pink Panther - Henry Mancini
35. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - John Williams
36. The Matrix Revolutions - Don Davis
37. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Tan Dun
38. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
39. Batman - Danny Elfman
40. The Great Escape - Elmer Bernstein
41. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - John Williams
42. The Mask of Zorro - James Horner
43. Goldfinger - John Barry
44. Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
45. Shine - David Hirschfelder
46. Forrest Gump - Alan Silvestri
47. Mr. Holland's Opus - Michael Kamen
48. The Matrix Reloaded - Don Davis
49. Titanic - James Horner
50. Jurassic Park - John Williams
51. Superman - John Williams




And if you are shocked not to see a particular score, it's most likely because I haven't heard it. Some were intentionally left off, mind you, so you should ask if in doubt.

 

I'm typing my list right now...... but just so y'all know... the star wars music(ESB and ANH which have been one and two since I was 8) has just been pushed back by the movie Serenity.... OMG... if you guys having seen it yet you have to... The music is sooooo good. Like... they combine eastern and western ideas.... and.... it's just good... maybe it's b/c I just saw it on thursday... but... I'm pretty sure it's going to be number one... I just have to get my hands on the sound track.......

NOTE: My train of thought was interupted... so there may be a few out of order... and I only had time for 50... stupid classes... and I'm sure I'm forgetting some too....

(1... maybe)Serenity-David Newman
1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - John Williams
3. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - John Williams (Because of Duel..*Sigh* amazing)
4. Braveheart - James Horner
5. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - John Williams
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore
7. Schindler's List - John Williams
8. Gladiator - Hans Zimmer
9. Batman - Danny Elfman
10. The Mask of Zorro- James Horner
11. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore
12. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - John Williams
13. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - John Williams
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
15. Jurassic Park - John Williams
16. Hook - John Williams
17. A Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman
18. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - John Williams
19. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore
20. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial - John Williams
21. A Beautiful Mind- James Horner
22. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
23. Jaws - John Williams
24. Aliens - James Horner
25. The Last of the Mohicans - (James Horner.... I thought...)
26. Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman
27. Psycho - Bernard Hermann
28. The Ten Commandments - Elmer Bernstein
29. Rudy - James Horner
30. Willow - James Horner
31. Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
32. Ghostbusters- Elmer Bernstein
33. The Great Escape - Elmer Bernstein
34. The Incredibles- Michael Giacchino
35. Batman Returns - Danny Elfman
36. The Neverending Story - Klause Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder
37. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - John Williams
38. Titanic - James Horner
39. X-Men - Michael Kamen
40. Forrest Gump - Alan Silvestri
41. Independence Day - David Arnold
42. Field of Dreams - James Horner
43. Stargate - David Arnold
44. Highlander- Michael Kamen
45. To Kill A Mockingbird - Elmer Bernstein
46. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith
47. Gone With The Wind - Max Steiner
48. Breakfast At Tiffany's - Henry Mancini
49. The Pink Panther - Henry Mancini

 

Okay, I simply went through my scores, picked out those that seemed better than the others and that might end up on other people's lists, and then rated them based on the criteria below. I tried to be as honest as I could be in the ratings. I then added up the ratings and ranked them. Those scores that had the same final ranking I put in order of my personal favorite and then, if needed, by their "listenability" ratings. I ended up with 27 scores.

Criteria: (rated 1-10)
a. Suitability in film?
b. Memorable to most people?
c. Impact on scoring?
d. Listenability?

1. Star Wars Saga: 40
   a. extremely fitting: 10
   b. hugely memorable themes: 10
   c. huge impact on scoring: 10
   d. Listenability: 10[/li
]

2. Schindler?s List: 39
   a. extremely fitting to film: 10
   b. very memorable theme: 10
   c. big impact, i.e., Red Violin: 10
   d. Listenability: 9


3. Raiders of the Lost Ark: 38
   a. very fitting to action film: 9
   b. most memorable action theme: 10
   c. big impact, with lots of imitators: 10
   d. Listenability: 9


4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 37
   a. great music for the film: 9
   b. extremely memorable: 10
   c. won Oscar: 9
   d. Listenability: 9


5. Star Trek: The Motion Picture: 38
   a. very fitting: 9
   b. one of most memorable themes, also used for TNG: 10
   c. laid groundwork for following 9 films and others: 10
   d. Listenability: 9


6. James Bond Series: 37
   a. extremely fitting to most of the films: 9
   b. main theme extremely memorable: 10
   c. huge impact on thriller scores and spoofs: 10
   d. Listenability: 8


7. Superman the Movie: 35
   a. heroically fitting: 9
   b. good, memorable main theme: 9
   c. influenced a lot of comic book themes: 9
   d. Listenability: 8


8. Godfather, The: 35
   a. very suitable to film: 9
   b. extremely memorable: 10
   c. won Oscar: 9
   d. Listenability: 7


9. Lord of the Rings Series: 34
   a. very fitting, part of the atmosphere: 9
   b. memorable now, we?ll have to see about posterity: 7
   c. we haven?t seen their impact really, yet: 7
   d. Listenability: 9


10. Pink Panther, The: 33
    a. very fitting to the film: 7
    b. extremely memorable theme: 10
    c. I would say big impact on jazzy scoring: 8
    d. Listenability: 8


11. Braveheart: 32
    a. very much fit the film and part of film: 8
    b. quite memorable music, if not main theme: 8
    c. influenced many ?ethnic? movies that came out after it: 8
    d. Listenability: 8


12. Batman (1989): 30
    a. fit the film very well: 7
    b. memorable themes: 8
    c. influenced comic book hero movies: 7
    d. Listenability: 8


13. Home Alone: 30
    a. very good in film: 8
    b. good memorable and Christmasy themes: 8
    c. a bit of an impact on holiday scores: 6
    d. Listenability: 8


14. Harry Potter Series: 29
    a. pretty good within film: 7
    b. main theme is memorable: 8
    c. not that big of an impact: 6
    d. Listenability: 8


15. Jurassic Park: 29
    a. very fitting: 7
    b. memorable themes: 8
    c. not that big of an impact: 6
    d. Listenability; 8


16. Red Violin, The: 29
    a. extremely important and fitting to film: 10
    b. memorable to fans, but not general public: 6
    c. can?t really say about impact yet: 5
    d. Listenability: 8


17. Willow: 28
    a. very fitting to film: 8
    b. not memorable outside of fans: 6
    c. not really an impactful score: 5
    d. Listenability: 9


18. Dragonheart: 28
    a. good fit: 6
    b. main themes are memorable: 7
    c. not so much of an impact on scoring: 4
    d. Listenability: 9


19. Dances with Wolves: 28
    a. worked well: 7
    b. main theme memorable, rest not so much: 6
    c. won Oscar: 7
    d. Listenability: 8


20. How the West Was Won: 28
    a. very good in film: 8
    b. somewhat memorable main theme: 6
    c. probably an impact on westerns: 6
    d. Listenability: 8


21. Mr. Holland?s Opus: 28
    a. very important to the film: 10
    b. main themes not that memorable, though: 6
    c. not that big of an impact, either: 5
    d. Listenability:

 

Hmm. I seemed to have forgotten Doctor Zhivago. I had it on my rough draft list too. I guess I thought I added it when I didn't. Well it certainly would have broken the top 100 of my list. I don't have time right now to properly rank it though. Would I bump Casablanca off thought since theoretically everything should move down a slot. Hmm

 

No wait, I did get Doctor Zhivago on my list. I just missed it. Cool. But since this list, I've refreshed my memory on the scores to the Searchers, Unforgiven, American Beauty, and the Piano. This list just continues to mutate.

So much great music out there.

 

I'll get lost if I try to do top 100 of all time, but I'll try to find time to go through my list and pick out top 100 that I own. . .

 

This is all off the top of my head, and mostly an attempt to get away from the paper I need to be working on, but here goes.
After the first 10, the order becomes more or lessarbitrary. I included some that aren't strictly orchestral soundtracks, but I think they belong up here:

1. The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
2. Return of the Jedi - JW
3. Star Wars: A New Hope - JW
4. The Big Country - Jerome Moross - greatest theme of all time, including Star Wars
5. Apollo 13 - James Horner
5. Crimson Tide - Hans Zimmer - very underrated
6. Three Kings - Carter Burwell, various other artists
7. The Phantom Menace - JW
8. The Truman Show - Burkhard Dallwitz/Phillip Glass
9. Gladiator - Hans Zimmer
10. Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore
The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
Return of the King - Howard Shore
The Two Towers - Howard Shore (I don't remember this all that well, but 1 & 3 were so damn good, I'd imagine #2, which also won this Oscar I think, would be pretty solid).
The Godfather - Nino Rota
Saving Private Ryan - JW
Jurassic Park - JW
Psycho - Bernard Hermann
Vertigo - Bernard Hermann
Spellbound - Miklos Rosza
The Third Man - bunch of people, Graham Greene included
October Sky - Mark Isham
2001: A Space Odyssey - Various
Mission: Impossible - Danny Elfman
Raiders of the Lost Ark - JW
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - JW
Speed - Mark Mancina
Clear and Present Danger - James Horner
The Hunt for Red October - Basil Pouledouris
Starship Troopers - Basil Pouledouris
Schindler's List - JW
Road to Perdition - Thomas Newman - what amazing violins and Gaelic-themed music
Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - JW
The Right Stuff - Bill Conti
Jaws - JW
Goldfinger - Monty Norman? John Barry?
Ghostbusters - Elmer Bernstein
Men in Black - Danny Elfman
The Great Escape - Elmer Bernstein
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Bunch of people
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three - David Shire - great movie, great soundtrack, highly underrated
North by Northwest - Bernard Hermann
Aladdin - Alan Menken, others
The Lion King - Hans Zimmer, others
Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre
Back to the Future - Alan Silvestri
Batman - Danny Elfman
West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein
American Graffiti - various

I agree with the above poster about <i>Serenity</i>... kick-ass film. I loved the music on the show, but I didn't notice it as much in the movie. Perhaps I was too caught up in everything else? I'll see it again, then I'll look closer.

 

1. Star Wars--all six

2. LOTR--all three

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

4. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Korngold)

5. Gone with the Wind

6. Captain from Castille (Newmann I think)

7. Captain Blood

8. Ben Hur

9. Exodus

10. Lawrence of Arabia

 

This thread will be very useful for selecting selections for my radio show. Thanks guys.

 

I can't list the composers, but I have the themes. These are my top 10. No particular order.


1: Psycho
2: Halloween
3: Duel of the Fates
4: The Last Samarai
5: Pirates of the Caribbean
6: It
7: Misery
8: Force theme
9: Night on Bald Mountain
10: Phantom of the Opera

Yes, I know, pitiful.