Best Movie Soundtracks

Favorite Film Scores?

Choosing songs for a films soundtrack is surely an art in itself. But composing a score for a film is the work of a genius. What are your top five favorite film scores?

Here's mine:

1. The Goonies: Dave Grusin

2. Amelie: Yann Tiersen
3. City of Lost Children: Angelo Badalamenti

4. Edward Scissorhands: Danny Elfman

5. Night on Earth: Tom Waits

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I already listed mine in the last convo, but for purposes of this convo, i'll retype it briefly.

1. Star Wars original trilogy

2. Lord of the Rings trilogy

3. Schindler's List

4. E.T.

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark

p.s. Three cheers for including film scores.  I looked at what soundtracks I own, and most of them are orchestral.  So there you are.

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Peter J. Brant actually suggested it, and I agree it was a wise suggestion.

I LOVE the ET score

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I think John Williams is a genius.  I play violin.  Can I just say that E.T. is one of the most complex pieces of music to play?  Seriously!  I was in the Michigan Pops Orchestra at U of M, and we played that last string of 15 minutes, with the whole bicycle chase and running to meet the spaceship.  It's not for the shrinking violet in terms of level of difficulty.  A complete workout for the fingers of string musicians at the very least.

I don't see why orchestral musicians hate John Williams.  I liken him to, say, Harry Potter (the books).  As in, Harry Potter introduced a number of children to reading, just as JW introduced a number of non-symphonic aficionados to the world of the symphony orchestra.  I, myself, signed up to play the violin with the hopes that I would be able to play Star Wars or E.T. later in life.  With that decision, I obviously grew to appreciate the "real" classical music.  Fortunately, the Pops played a John Williams themed concert, and my childhood dream was realized :-). 

Remember, though, that JW has written many things outside of the ones we all remember and love.  Incidentally, he wrote the Olympics fanfare that you hear during EVERY Olympic games.  He also wrote movie music for non-Speilberg or Lucas flicks.  To mind: the Harry Potter movies (1-3), JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Memoirs of a Geisha, Stepmom, Sabrina, Home Alone, the Witches of Eastwick, and the original Poseidon Adventure.  His resume is long and spans 40 years.  He's also composed strictly non-movie related classical works. 

Incidentally, I can hum the Star Wars, Superman, and Raiders themes back to back!  But, as you can tell, I'm sort of a geek when it comes to JW. 

I have some honorable mentions in the score department:

A Beautiful Mind (James Horner)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Harry Gregson-Williams)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)

Gone with the Wind (Max Steiner)

Titanic (James Horner)

The Lion King (Hans Zimmer)

Forrest Gump, the score (Alan Silvestri)

Contact (Alan Silvestri)

I could go on, but I can't think right now...!  Cheers.

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He was in DEVO???

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