Best Movie Musical Score

zenheretic

zenheretic

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Oct 29, 2005
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This thread is inspired Gary W. Graley's "best" movie or other related movie threads. I doubt it will be as successful as most folks don't usually pay much attention to a movie's music, even though the music can make or break a movie or a scene.

My favorite music is the music from Conan the Barbarian.

http://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Basil-Poledouris/dp/B00008O89K

Without it, the film would have been mediocre at best; but with the music it trancends into a pretty darn good movie. But really the music deserves to be in a better film.

The music is good enough to enjoy by itself.

So anyone got some favorite movie music they would like to share?
 
A very talented musical score creator in the modern day is Danny Elfman, who used to lead in Oingo Boingo in the 80s. Many people don't realize how much music that he has created is in films these days.

It might not be his best work, or the greatest movie but the music for the modern day Planet of the Apes is great in that it truly sounds savage, hard, and maybe even ape-like if apes made music. It is also worth hearing: http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Apes-Danny-Elfman/dp/B00005MKDX


Reviews of Elfman's music, I haven't read it but is shows a lot of his movie music: http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/composer.asp?ID=15
 
John Williams' theme for Jaws is probably one of the most memorable.

The music for Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust by Riz Ortolani is also very good. It's so pretty and melodic, giving the gut wrenching violence it's set to seem nightmarishly real.
 
The soundtrack from Star Wars (also composed by John Williams) is up there. I suspect it is the best selling soundtrack of all time.

If you've seen the Family Guy spoof of Star Wars you realize just how powerful the music really is (they got permission to use the original music and the effect is amazing).
 
moonman said:
My favorite is the music from Jeremiah Johnson.
Click to expand...

Jeremiah Johnson made his way into the mountains
Bettin' on forgettin' all the troubles that he knew
The trail was wide and narrow
And the eagle or the sparrow
Showed the path he was to follow as they flew.
A mountain man's a lonely man
And he leaves a life behind
It ought to have been different, but oftimes you will find,
That the story doesn't always go that way you had in mind.
Jeremiah's story was that kind. . .
Jeremiah's story was that kind.
The way that you wander is the way that you choose,
The day that you tarry is the day that you lose.
Sunshine or thunder, a man will always wonder.
Where the fair wind blows.
An Indian says you search in vain for what you cannot find.
He says you'll find a thousand ways for runnin' down your time.
An Indian didn't scream it, he said it in a song,
And he's never been known to be wrong.
He's never been known to be wrong.
 
markksr said:
The soundtrack from Star Wars
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Ahh good point. Mostly good is Vader's Theme. Listen to the whole theme (which I don't believe is whole in the movie). Ending on a high note, it does. Not right with the force for that theme. Originally called the Imperial March, I think it was.
 
Nancy Wilson of Heart fame has been doing some very nice incidental/score music for her hubby. Cameron Crow of late. Crowe uses a lot of very good rock songs in his movies so it would be easy for the rest of the score to get lost, but it doesn't. Nancy's acousic stuff in Elizabethtown was quite good. In my opinion, one of the best movie scores of all time was Amadeus, but that was cheating a little bit......lol.
 
Just about anything by John Williams and some by James Horner are great musical scores. I can't really pick a favorite but the soundtracks to Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans (esp. promontory) are really, really good. Of course I have to mention that Titanic has to be one of the best scores as well. Also I really like some of the old songs from some of the John Wayne movies and here them playing in most movies and places that have got the cowboy theme.
 
I like "O Brother, where art thou?" Not really a score, but a soundtrack.

I would never bother listening to any score outside of the movie.
 
Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini. I know he isn't the most popular these days, having passed away in 1994, but his style was unmistakable to me, and a lot of his music reminds me of certain periods and events in my life. He wrote and arranged for Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, then produced musical scores for many movies, some quite obscure, and led his own orchestra in live performances as well as recording and scoring for movies. He had a unique blend of orchestral and jazz that I love.

It is hard to pick a favorite of his scores, but he was so active and prolific in the industry, posting a filmography is prohibitive. My favorites, forced to choose, would be "Days of Wine and Roses" from Days of Wine and Roses (1962), "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Pink Panther (1963).

He had two Academy Awards for Best Original Score, two for Best Original Song and fourteen more nominations, one Golden Globes Award for Best Original Song and five additional nominations, two Grammy Awards nominations, and an Emmy Awards Nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – The Thorn Birds.
 
Codger_64 said:
Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini. I know he isn't the most popular these days, having passed away in 1994, but his style was unmistakable to me, and a lot of his music reminds me of certain periods and events in my life. He wrote and arranged for Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, then produced musical scores for many movies, some quite obscure, and led his own orchestra in live performances as well as recording and scoring for movies. He had a unique blend of orchestral and jazz that I love.

It is hard to pick a favorite of his scores, but he was so active and prolific in the industry, posting a filmography is prohibitive. My favorites, forced to choose, would be "Days of Wine and Roses" from Days of Wine and Roses (1962), "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Pink Panther (1963).

He had two Academy Awards for Best Original Score, two for Best Original Song and fourteen more nominations, one Golden Globes Award for Best Original Song and five additional nominations, two Grammy Awards nominations, and an Emmy Awards Nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – The Thorn Birds.
Click to expand...

Henry Mancini was a great writer indeed! I really like his rendition of Romeo and Juliet as well as many of the ones you listed!
 
if any of you know me, you know that I am a huge Star Wars fan. so of course I am going to say the Star Wars music is number one!

besides Star Wars, LOTR, Enemy of the State, and Top Gun have great music too.
 
the last of the mohicans.

the instrumental at the end when they fight on the mountainside and magua gets killed.

brings chills....
 
MORIMOTOM said:
the last of the mohicans.

the instrumental at the end when they fight on the mountainside and magua gets killed.

brings chills....
Click to expand...

Look above, it's called promontory and I have to agree with you it may be the most touching score ever in a movie!! :):thumbup:
 
Four that jump out:

The Good The Bad and The Ugly. In fact I love the music from all three of those Sergio Leone / Clint Eastwood films.

Taxi Driver

Bladerunner

McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Robert Altman used Leonard Cohen's first album to really set the mood and backstage for the film's story and actors.

Not suprisingly, these are also movies I listed in the other thread too, "Three favorite movies."
 
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