# And the award for best film score goes to... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865 "2009-07-13T16:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/1 "2009-07-13T16:30:43Z")
What? I’m going to have to go with Kill Bill. The blending of eastern and southwestern themes, often in the same cue, is brilliant. And some of the cues have that classic action movie feel to them. And the inclusion of the Ironside theme? Inspired. First runner up goes to Schindler’s List. Absolutely awesome. Star Trek II would be my 3rd choice. But for opening titles, North by Northwest is the king daddy. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/2 "2009-07-13T16:42:41Z")
\*Last of the Mohicans Requiem for a Dream\* You know it’s a good score when they just keep getting ripped off. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/3 "2009-07-13T16:47:23Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > \*Last of the Mohicans > > Requiem for a Dream\* > > You know it’s a good score when they just keep getting ripped off. Hear hear on all three sentences. Also: Jurassic Park and Nightmare Before Christmas ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/4 "2009-07-13T16:49:15Z")
Hackers ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/5 "2009-07-13T16:50:06Z")
Lawrence of Arabia. Godfather. Blade Runner. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/6 "2009-07-13T16:52:15Z")
Lord of the Rings, Vertigo is the definition of haunting music. I LOVE Star Trek II’s music, I think he nailed that score. Signs’ music is ripping scary. Not terribly complex, more akin to a roller coaster ride. I still think King Kong (Jackson’s) has some absolutely beautiful music, but perhaps not the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/7 "2009-07-13T16:59:53Z")
I came in to say _Lawrence of Arabia_. Majestic. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/8 "2009-07-13T17:00:19Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What? > > I’m going to have to go with Kill Bill. The blending of eastern and southwestern themes, often in the same cue, is brilliant. And some of the cues have that classic action movie feel to them. And the inclusion of the Ironside theme? Inspired.. _Kill Bill_ does not a score, it has a soundtrack. A score is generally understood to be an original (or sometimes adapted) piece of music specifically written for the film in question. _KB_ does not have that. It simply assembles and uses previously released music cues (albeit quite well). ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/9 "2009-07-13T17:03:29Z")
_The Shawshank Redemption_ has a gorgeous score–I love the music that plays the first time they pan over the prison grounds. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/10 "2009-07-13T17:07:47Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > I LOVE Star Trek II’s music, I think he nailed that score. And yet Horner didn’t win an Oscar until Titanic. What a shame. **ArchiveGuy** , really, none of that was original? How disappointing. Still a great soundtrack, though. I forgot about The Boys from Brazil. Goldsmith was one of the all time greats. There’s a very obscure Al Pacino/Robin Williams film called Insomnia. The opening title is really compelling. It was scored by David Julyan, who also did Memento. Everything else he did was even more obscure. I hope to hear more of him in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/11 "2009-07-13T17:07:54Z")
Batman Returns has a great score, perfectly matching its tone and pacing. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/12 "2009-07-13T17:08:57Z")
My Top 10 film scores (off the top of my head; this week): _Bride of Frankenstein_ (Franz Waxman) _Alexander Nevsky_ (Sergei Prokofiev) _The Ghost and Mrs. Muir_ (Bernard Herrmann) _The Big Country_ (Jerome Moross) _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ (Ennio Morricone) _The Lion in Winter_ (John Barry) _Two English Girls_ (Georges Delerue) _The Empire Strikes Back_ (John Williams) _Under Fire_ (Jerry Goldsmith) _American Beauty_ (Thomas Newman) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/13 "2009-07-13T17:11:17Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > **ArchiveGuy** , really, none of that was original? How disappointing. Still a great soundtrack, though. Yeah, QT really knows his music and so mines genuine obscurities that many people might confuse as original because they don’t recognize the tracks. In _KB_ especially, he uses quite a few Morricone pieces from the 70s for films that practically nobody would know–great musical moments, but appropriated, not commissioned. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/14 "2009-07-13T17:15:00Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > _Alexander Nevsky_ (Sergei Prokofiev) > _The Lion in Winter_ (John Barry) Yes! I forgot about those. Elliot Goldenthal is someone I’ve never heard of before, but his Batman Forever score is may favorite from all of the Batman movies. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/15 "2009-07-13T17:23:34Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Lord of the Rings, See post #2 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/16 "2009-07-13T17:40:33Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Elliot Goldenthal is someone I’ve never heard of before, but his Batman Forever score is may favorite from all of the Batman movies. He’s done some terrific work for directors Neil Jordan and Julie Taymor, including his marvelous Oscar-winning music for _Frida_. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/17 "2009-07-13T17:59:52Z")
Blade Runner, as mentioned. The Last Temptation of Christ Bram Stoker’s Dracula ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/18 "2009-07-13T18:17:21Z")
There Will Be Blood, and Crash (the 1996 version.) Runner up - The Dead Zone with Christopher Walken (God, those loud screeching string-section hits when he grabs the peoples’ hands…startling as fuck. Great bass-clarinet solos too.) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/19 "2009-07-13T18:27:32Z")
_The Natural._ ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865/20 "2009-07-13T19:04:39Z")
Unconventional picks- Actual scores: A Clockwork Orange Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Soundtrack: The Devil’s Rejects [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-award-for-best-film-score-goes-to/502865.md?page=2)