# Best film scores to otherwise weak movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766 "2012-06-20T17:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/1 "2012-06-20T17:26:29Z")
My wife and I occasionally find ourselves watching an average to poor quality movie, but loving the score. Basically, if the Academy Awards would evaluate purely on the score, some of these films could win the Best Original Score Oscar, despite being in weak movies. What are yours? Mine: \*\* Tales of Earthsea\*\* - A movie that I have a soft spot for despite it being deeply flawed. However, the score is one of the best I’ve heard. [Clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4nc0rl-UcI) I’ll post more later as I think of them. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/2 "2012-06-20T18:07:19Z")
I mentioned this in the ealier “movie score” thread, but **The Fountain** was a mess of a film with a really moving score. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/3 "2012-06-20T18:09:20Z")
My choice is 1941. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/4 "2012-06-20T18:13:25Z")
**Tron Legacy** ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/5 "2012-06-20T19:08:34Z")
Okay, technically, it’s a soundtrack, not a score, but I think[\* Zachariah\*](http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/22014/Zachariah) (1971) fits here. The soundtrack album features tracks by the James Gang, Country Joe and the Fish, the New York Rock n’ Roll Ensemble and Doug Kershaw, as well as some very good original music by Jimmie Haskell, and is a collectors item. The film itself is a dud, an attempt at a kind of hippie Zen Western comedy. I love the music for the opening and closing credits. I just wish it went with a better film. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/6 "2012-06-20T20:18:48Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > My choice is 1941. Mine, too. God that was an awful movie, but I love that peppy theme! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/7 "2012-06-20T20:58:01Z")
**Legend** has _two_ soundtracks that are both praised in different circles; one was scored by Tangerine Dream, and one by Jerry Goldsmith. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/8 "2012-06-20T22:21:55Z")
I’d go with Disney’s _The Black Hole_, which has a score by John Barry that’s better than the movie deserves. For that matter _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ would be a dead loss without Jerry Goldsmith’s sweeping music, and by gum you get plenty of opportunity to enjoy it during the film. It could have been called _Star Trek: People Look at a Screen While You Look at Them Looking at a Screen_. And it was all done with split diopters, how about that? I was a bit disappointed with the original _Conan_ - it felt as if it could have been a real epic, but it needed more something - but Basil Poledouris’ score is [terrific](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGWF8mz1Zw) and has apparently been reused in several trailers. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/9 "2012-06-21T00:06:13Z")
Jaws 2 Capricorn One I believe Karnak (sp?) the Great said this was the final score of the Jaws/Capricorn game. Seriously, good scores, blah films (C.O. is slightly better). ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/10 "2012-06-21T00:13:14Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > I’d go with Disney’s _The Black Hole_, which has a score by John Barry that’s better than the movie deserves. For that matter _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ would be a dead loss without Jerry Goldsmith’s sweeping music, and by gum you get plenty of opportunity to enjoy it during the film. > > It could have been called _Star Trek: People Look at a Screen While You Look at Them Looking at a Screen_. And it was all done with split diopters, how about that? Awesome…wait, what’s a “split diopter”? Wikipedia wasn’t much help. Nor was Google. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/11 "2012-06-21T08:42:06Z")
The movie Alien 3 has a fantastic score by Elliot Goldenthal, great sweeping crescendos and powerful synth-augmented orchestral tones. I like the movie personally but I’ve heard a lot of people don’t… ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/12 "2012-06-21T08:49:23Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Awesome…wait, what’s a “split diopter”? Wikipedia wasn’t much help. Nor was Google. A gadget that focuses one side of the picture on something close and the other side on something further away. Excellent description and examples [here](http://www.dansdata.com/danletters155.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/13 "2012-06-21T09:23:14Z")
\*Dragonheart \*was not a very good movie (no matter how much I wanted it to be), but it’s [score](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmF3a_RgimU&feature=related)is so great that’s it’s appeared in roughly 90% of all film trailers made since it came out. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/14 "2012-06-21T11:27:19Z")
Risky Business isn’t a bad movie, but it’s score is so good it makes it a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/15 "2012-06-21T13:15:10Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > Risky Business isn’t a bad movie, but it’s score is so good it makes it a lot better. Tangerine Dream strikes again! ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/16 "2012-06-21T13:40:21Z")
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story has a pretty good score. In fact for a while in the '90s, it seemed that pretty much every inspirational-type film coming out was lifting it for its trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/17 "2012-06-21T14:32:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > \*Dragonheart \*was not a very good movie (no matter how much I wanted it to be), but it’s [score](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmF3a_RgimU&feature=related)is so great that’s it’s appeared in roughly 90% of all film trailers made since it came out. Good one. I did not know what that one was from. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/18 "2012-06-21T14:38:47Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > My choice is 1941. > [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Mine, too. God that was an awful movie, but I love that peppy theme! I was going to mention _1941_. Awesome soundtrack, and I used to listen to it whil I worked out. But I strongly disagree that it’s an awful movie. It might have been a _little_ weak, but it had a lot of funny stuff in it and a lot of good lines. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/19 "2012-06-21T18:20:48Z")
Burt Bacharach’s music for the 1967 version of _Casino Royale_. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766/20 "2012-06-21T19:08:38Z")
_Cutthroat Island_ is, by any reasonable standard, a truly terrible movie. But John Debney’s score is nothing short of magnificent, easily one of the best of the 90s, and holds up with any of the classic scores that Korngold did for Errol Flynn flicks back in the day. In fact, the movie sucks so much that it diminishes the score, in context, greatly, too. But the CD is thrilling and one I listen to regularly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores-to-otherwise-weak-movies/625766.md?page=2)