# AFI - 100 Years of Film Scores **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782 "2005-08-19T18:43:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/21 "2005-08-21T16:07:47Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well yeah, there’s that. And his score for Schindler’s List was brilliant. It’s just that often when he’s teamed up with Spielberg, his best known works sound a little twee to me. But I recently had a chance to hear his theme from Star Wars done as a concert piece, and I have to admit, it hangs together as a pretty solid work. The problem is that when people think Williams/Spielberg, they thing “Jaws theme”, “Raiders theme”, “ET’s theme”, “Jurassic Park theme” and dismiss it as all anthemic. But _Jaws_ is much more than those repeated two notes. _Raiders_ has some of the creepiest music written for the Map Room. And Williams never phones in his sequel scores–_Temple of Doom_’s main theme is probably better than the original, Darth Vader’s iconic theme came from _Empire_, and the score for the 3rd Harry Potter is fantastic. I think in some ways Williams is both underrated for these reasons, though still overrated because so many of his movies were such huge box office hits, so he’s had much greater cultural penetration (Jerry Goldsmith, for example, was easily Williams’ equal, though very few of his films had the same level of success). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/22 "2005-09-28T19:22:15Z")
Well, the results are in! Here are my predictions–those that made the [final list](http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/scores.aspx) have been marked with an asterisk (\*): > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > My Predictions: > > - _King Kong_ – Steiner > - _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ – Korngold > - _Gone With the Wind_ – Steiner > _The Wizard of Oz_ – Stothart > _The Third Man_ – Karas > - _A Streetcar Named Desire_ – North > - _Vertigo_ – Herrmann > _Anatomy of a Murder_ – Ellington > - _Ben-Hur_ – Rozsa > _North by Northwest_ – Herrmann > - _The Magnificent Seven_ – Bernstein > - _Psycho_ – Herrmann > _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ – Mancini > - _Lawrence of Arabia_ – Jarre > - _To Kill a Mockingbird_ – Bernstein > - _How the West Was Won_ – Newman > _Goldfinger_ – Barry > _Once Upon a Time in the West_ – Morricone > _Patton_ – Goldsmith > - _The Godfather_ – Rota > - _Jaws_ – Williams > - _Star Wars_ – Williams > - _E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial_ – Williams > _Schindler’s List_ – Williams > _American Beauty_ – Newman Ones I missed: **Laura** (Raksin), **Sunset Blvd.** (Waxman), **High Noon** (Tiomkin), **On the Waterfront** (L.Bernstein), **The Pink Panther** (Mancini), **Planet of the Apes** (Goldsmith), **Chinatown** (Goldsmith), **On Golden Pond** (Grusin), **Out of Africa** (Barry), **The Mission** (Morricone) So, 15 out of 25, though I was also correct in guessing Mancini, Barry, Morricone, and Goldsmith, though I got the films wrong. Some observations: _Africa_ is nowhere near as good a score as Barry at his peak; _The Lion in Winter_ and _Goldfinger_ are far more deserving. Glad to see Goldsmith twice (including the brilliant _Apes_ score), and Williams only 3 times (let’s face it–it could’ve been more). Also glad to see Waxman there, though the omission of the seminal _Bride of Frankenstein_ is probably the most egregious. Bernard Herrmann wrote many brilliant scores for directors not named Hitchcock. Herrmann deserves more than two slots (starting with _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ and _The Ghost and Mrs. Muir_). _On Golden Pond_?!?!? This is the one genuinely piss poor selection. Even his best scores (_The Milagro Beanfield War, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter_) have no business being in any Top 50 list. But this? Blech. Sorry to see no room for Lalo Schifrin or Jerome Moross, probably the most important American composers not cited. Breakdown by decades: 30s: 3 40s: 1 (!) 50s: 6 60s: 7 70s: 4 80s: 4 So, as is typical of AFI, recent films are cited more than older (generally more deserving) ones. Still, as AFI lists go, there have certainly been worse. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/23 "2005-09-28T19:25:34Z")
Herrmann deserves to be on the list for \*\*_Vertigo_ \*\*, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/24 "2005-09-28T19:36:15Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Herrmann deserves to be on the list for \*\*_Vertigo_ \*\*, IMHO. He is. _Psycho_, too (but no _G&MM, TDtESS, NbyNW, Kane_ or _Taxi Driver_). ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/25 "2005-09-28T19:49:19Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > He is. _Psycho_, too (but no _G&MM, TDtESS, NbyNW, Kane_ or _Taxi Driver_). Thanks. I just looked at the actual list. I’m not familar with all the music on there, but I have to ask: is the soundtrack to \ ***Chinatown** \* really all that memorable? It’s one of my all-time favorite movies but I gotta admit, I’ve never really noticed the music as all that amazing. Huh. I’ll have to re-watch the damn thing, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/26 "2005-09-28T19:57:24Z")
Just took a quick glance, but I noticed that though the Newman family (Alfred, Thomas and Randy) had several nominations between them, none of them made the top 25. Also, no Danny Elfman. I agree with **ArchiveGuy** on the inclusion of “Planet of the Apes”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” being deserving, and the forgettable “On Golden Pond”. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/27 "2005-09-28T20:23:43Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Just took a quick glance, but I noticed that though the Newman family (Alfred, Thomas and Randy) had several nominations between them, none of them made the top 25. Actually, Alfred squeaked in at the 25th spot with _How the West Was Won_. 3 western scores but no love for perhaps the greatest: Moross’s _The Big Country_. Oh, and **Stephe96** , I was pleasantly surprised by _Chinatown_’s inclusion, also. I had predicted _Patton_ would be what would get Goldsmith in, not only because the film’s been popular in other AFI lists, but because it’s one of the most anthemic of all of JG’s work (probably his _Star Trek_ theme is the only one better known). But the music for _Chinatown_ is a quality mood-enhancer and represents what some of the best scores are: invisible. They heighten tension, establish tone, and enhance characterization in a myriad of subtle ways without ever calling attention to themselves. I suspect _Chinatown_ placed, in part, because of the general admiration for the film, but the score is well-deserving of the praise, too. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/28 "2005-09-28T22:46:56Z")
How could they overlook The Carpetbaggers? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/29 "2005-09-30T06:11:37Z")
I find it difficult to believe that The Third Man didn’t make the finals. Then again, I admire the movie. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/30 "2005-09-30T10:58:22Z")
Is there a print list of the 100 winners, or just the top 25? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782/31 "2005-09-30T15:08:39Z")
I believe this list was only going to be 25. It’s 100 Years of film scores (though, technically, it’s more like 75). They didn’t do a TV special but did reveal the winners in a special concert at the Hollywood Bowl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afi-100-years-of-film-scores/317782.md?page=1)