Must-Own Soundtracks (non-SW)

IAMTHEDARKSIDE?

My younger brother has Glory,First Night and 1492,they are good.
But all of the Horner I have listed and some
that I don't have listed BLOWS glory away.

Just my (OPINION)

 

I only have the title track to 1492. It's okay; I guess I prefer Blade Runner because of the mood it creates. Very...uh, mellow. Plus, "One More Kiss" is great.

Speaking of Vangelis, anyone else have the Cosmos Soundtrack? From the 1980 Carl Sagan/PBS miniseries? It's quite outstanding as well.

Ims

 

Imrahil, which version of the title track do you have? If it's the John Williams version, it doesn't sound as good as Vangelis'

 

I doubt it's the Williams version, as it's synth-heavy, not orchestral.

Ims

 

Austin Powers of course...
just kidding

I find the sound tracks from the Final Fantasy video games to be very good. There are many themes in each of the games which can be heard in many tracks on the respective soundtracks.

 

Mar - I think I heard something on the grapevine about them bringing out a second Moulin Rouge soundtrack, with more of the music from the film on it. I'd love to hear Like a Virgin again so I'll be keeping my eyes out for that one..

(That is, if they don't send me a copy... //skite mode on// ...cos I worked on MR's music! hehehe. //skite mode off//)

 

Do these things really count as "soundtracks"? I mean, when people talk about good music, they're not saying, "All the music that various other people wrote and is featured elsewhere, but can be found here," are they?

Don't get me wrong, I love the Blues Brothers. But I don't consider that a "soundtrack" per se, because none of the stuff they do is theirs. Same with Moulin Rouge.

Just like a 2001 "soundtrack" is somewhat silly.

Just my opinion, maybe. I guess I'm looking at _scores_, and that's a different thing.

Ims

 

I agree with you imrahil...I think the topic should have read "Must-Own Scores", as score implies original music done exclusively for a movie.

 

I don't own all of these, but I like them.

Back to the Future
Batman
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (main title is awesome)
Braveheart
The Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part III (there are only 3 tracks I like, though)
Jurrasic Park
The Mummy (Imotep is awesome)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rudy
The Truman Show
The Rock
The Untouchables (has a lot of repeating tracks)

 

Well, this thread never tried to argue for original scores, so of course stuff like Moulin Rouge count as soundtracks. The same would go for A Hard Day's Night or Saturday Night Fever.

 

why are people ignoring 'step mom'and 'the patriot'? they would have to have some of williams best emotional themes ever

 

I agree with most of the ones posted, but I have to add a few:

Schinder's List- JW

And I can't remember off the top of my head but the soundtracks to James Bond, and The Pink Panther.

Not to mention 2001:A Space Odessy (sp?) and The Natural.

EDIT: Beverly Hills Cop and Angels in the Outfield?

EDIT2: The Fifth Element?

Oh no, you've got me started!

 

Here's some of my favorites:

Both Moulin Rouge CD's! I love that soundtrack!!

Lord of the Rings Great evil music!

Gladiator Better than Hans Zimmer's The Lion King!

Harry Potter Anyone with me on that one?? Harry Potter?? Eh??



*ahem* okayyyyy... NEXT!

Indiana Jones The theme song is all you need!

-~Dormé~-

 

nino rota's the godfather
morricone's nuovo cinema paradisio

best scores ever

 

Here's some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned -

Elliot Goldenthal's Alien3, Michael Collins, Titus, and Final Fantasy.

Joe Hisaishi - The Princess Mononoke Symphonic Suite is a must have.

Hans Zimmer's The Thin Red Line.

James Newton Howard's Cliffhanger, Waterworld, Dinosaur.

Jerry Goldsmith's The Edge.

That's all I could think of at the moment.

-MJ

 

Yeah, the Mask of the Phantasm Main title is incredible, but the rest of the soundtrack is only so-so.

And whoever said all you need of Indy is the main title...WRONG!

Personally, re: Gladiator... I can't stand that music. It's so completely wrong for that movie. Dip**** Scott made the mistake of not getting Poledouris to do the soundtrack, but even Basil couldn't save that movie.

Ims

 

I can't believe no one has mentioned anything by Bernard Herrmann. How about The Day the Earth Stood Still, North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo, Trouble with Harry, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason & the Argonauts, or Ghost and Mrs Muir. All masterpieces.

I would also add Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes and Alien, Elfman's Batman Returns, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible, Ifukube's Godzilla, and the granddaddy of all scores, Steiner's King Kong.

 

Fan of classic scores, I see. I rather enjoy Hermann's main titles, but he's a bit difficult for me to take in large doses. I have the North By Northwest DVD which has the soundtrack--great main title. I also have The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which has some great stuff...but it's not for everday listening.

I'm personally a far bigger fan of Milkos Rosza's scores from that era. El Cid stands up better than almost any other score ever made, and Ben Hur is nothing to sneeze at. I'm a fan of Bernstein's The Ten Commandmentstoo, even though it's just a ripoff of Rozsa's style.

I've never heard the King Kong score, though.

Ims

 

Whoa there, Rozsa was great, but to say Bernstein ripped off him is like saying Rozsa ripped of Franz Waxman or Williams ripped off Korngold. Similar styles maybe, but let's not push it.

Both have done great work though. Bernstein's scores for The Magnificant Seven, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Escape are already classics, though I don't have much favoring opinion on The Magnificant Seven. In his more recent scores, Marie Ward and The Age of Innocence both have stunning cues. Rosza's Spellbound and The Lost Weekend are greats.

As for Herrman and Steiner, where to even start?

 

If I had to choose one Herrmann score, it would probably be North by Northwest. Psycho would be a close second.

Marco Polo released an excellent rerecording of King Kong a couple of years ago. Highly recommended.

All-time greatest score, for me anyway, is Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky. There's a good reason its ripped off so much. Same for the movie itself.

 

Hm. Who's this Steiner? The only Steiner I know is Fred Steiner...same guy?

And...re: Bernstein/Rozsa...come *on*...listen to Ten Commandments and then listen to all of Bernstein's other stuff. Then listen to any of Rozsa's. It seems pretty clear to me that they were going for a sound and just couldn't afford the Big Gun

I'm not saying he did it with his other stuff--far from it. But seriously

Ims

 

I think he's talking about Max Steiner, who composed King King (good score, recommended), Gone with the Wind (okay score), Helen of Troy (not available except as boot), and Searchers (good score, highly recommneded, only available online) among many others.

Others I would personally recommend would be Lion in Winter composed by John Barry,
Patton composed by Jerry Goldsmith, Cleopatra 2cd set composed ny Alex North.

Edits: added periods.

 

Im, you do know that The Ten Commandments was before Ben Hur, right? I will admit that at that time, Rosza was probably the bigger name, but when you look back today, that doesn't necessary remain true, not when Bernstein has To Kill A Mockingbird and The Magnificant Seven under his belt. The latter is easily one of the most recognizable themes of all movies.

Max Steiner's Gone with the Wind is only okay? Well, I certainly disagree. It's one of the most absolutely stunning, jaw dropping scores of all time. It seems to me that all heart wrenching scores of today owe a big nod to that score. And of course there's Casablanca and King Kong, two of the most beloved and influencial movies of all time. The Searchers is indeed another great one.

I haven't heard that many from North, but his two epic scores, Spartacus and Cleopatra definitly deserve a listen. Im, if you like Ben Hur's score, try out these two, more sensationalism/shameless, but perhaps also bolder.

And oh, I love love love Herrmann's Vertigo, it has easily two of the best cues in all film scores.

 

No, I didn't know that Ben Hur was after 10 Commandments. Hm...

And I'd agree with you about The Magnificent Seven, I guess. I still don't really care for Bernstein very much though; his fondness for weird instrumentation (ala Ghostbusters or The Black Cauldron) really irks my ears.

I have bits of Spartacus by North; not a real big fan. He's a litle too heavy into percussion for my tastes.

So what's good by Waxman? I think all I know by him is Taras Bulba, which admittedly I like very much.

Ims

 

The one Waxman score I'm familiar with is Bride of Frankenstein, which I recommend.