# best film scores **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570 "2003-03-02T11:31:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hepcat421](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@Hepcat421](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hepcat421)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/21 "2003-03-02T22:54:59Z")
Dune - Toto Legend - Tangerine Dream score ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/22 "2003-03-02T23:05:38Z")
Oh, come **on!** Nobody’s mentioned _ **The Empire Strikes Back** _ yet? Why, Darth Vader’s theme is _still_ a classic! Come on, sing it with me: _Dah dah dah, da di dah, da di dah. Dah dah dah, dah, di dah, da di dah. DAH dah da DAH, dah di da-da-da, di dah, Dah di da-da-da, di dah, Dah da dah, da da Daaah, DAH dah da DAH, dah di da-da-da, di dah, Dah di da-da-da, di dah, Dah DI dah, dah DI daaah!_ And now, with words: _We’re the e-vil gala-ctic empire, We’re the e-vil gala-ctic empire, DON’T ask US to be merciful … with you, To be merciful … with you, You pathetic vermin scum, WE’LL crush YOU like a bug beneath … our heel, Like a bug beneath … our hee, A-and then scrape you off!_ ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/23 "2003-03-02T23:07:52Z")
Dunno if this fits in with the OP but for best soundtrack (non modern) try The Power of One. With the exception of the title song by Teddy Pendergrass (which just hurt) the whole disc sent shivers up my spine. (Its African choral in case anyone is interested). ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/24 "2003-03-02T23:43:16Z")
**Jurassic Park! Jurassic Park! Jurassic Park!** There is no better. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/25 "2003-03-03T00:03:10Z")
_Jurassic Park is fright’ning in the dark, All the dinosaurs are running wild – Someone shut the fence off in the rain. I’m a-fraid those things’ll harm me, 'Cause they sure don’t act like Barney, And they think that I’m their dinner, not their friend! Oh noooooo!_ ---
**Author:** ![ECJones29](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@ECJones29](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ECJones29)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/26 "2003-03-03T00:34:44Z")
How could I forget the film scores of \*\* Randy Newman\*\*? **The Natural, Awakenings,** and so many others, including his most beautiful, **Ragtime**. (Which lost the Oscar to **Chariots of Fire** aaarrrrggghh!) And here are 2 more: **A Streetcar Named Desire** by Alex North, and **Grand Canyon** by James Newton Howard. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/27 "2003-03-03T00:45:15Z")
I have a long list of favorites, but Jerry Goldsmith is always at the top. Favorite titles include: \*\*Under Fire, Chinatown, LA Confidential, The Mummy, Medicine Man, The Blue Max, Planet of the Apes \*\*(1968), **QBVII, The Omen, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Omen II & III, Sebastian, Justine, Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, The 'burbs, Link** and so MANY more. Also, I agree with Hodge about Bernard Herrman: **Taxi Driver, Psycho, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Farenheit 451** and so on. Ennio Morricone is fabulous: **Frantic, Once Upon a Time in America, Once Upon a Time in the West, Gui La Testa (Duck You Sucker), Days of Heaven, The Mission, Marco Polo** and so on. I can’t even begin to remember all of his great scores. He’s incrediby prolific. I also like John Williams, Maurice Jarre, Thomas Newman, and many more, but I’m tired of listing all of their scores now! 😉 BTW: I got to see Jerry Goldsmith conduct a concert of his own music at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago. It was GREAT! ---
**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:** [March 3, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/28 "2003-03-03T03:16:05Z")
In my earlier post I forgot _Casino Royale_ by Burt Bachrach. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/29 "2003-03-03T03:31:06Z")
**Legends of the fall** **AfterGlow** **Dances with wolves** ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/30 "2003-03-03T05:04:36Z")
LOTR (both movies) The Good, The Bad and the Ugly The Great Escape To Kill a Mockingbird On the Waterfront those are my favorites off the top of my head - & I also liked the Chariots of Fire music, I must admit. ---
**Author:** ![RawkStah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@RawkStah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RawkStah)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/31 "2003-03-03T06:05:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Oh, come **on!** Nobody’s mentioned _ **The Empire Strikes Back** _ yet? > > And now, with words: > > _We’re the e-vil gala-ctic empire, > We’re the e-vil gala-ctic empire, > DON’T ask US to be merciful … with you, > To be merciful … with you, > You pathetic vermin scum, > WE’LL crush YOU like a bug beneath … our heel, > Like a bug beneath … our hee, > A-and then scrape you off!_ \*\* Alternate Lyrics! I’m Darth Vader, I’m the King of Hell! But I have to answer to the Emperor. He wants Luke Sky- Walker for Himself, cuz he’s strong in the Force and he is my son. It takes some practice, but it will work. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/32 "2003-03-03T06:52:30Z")
The music from **Akira** gets my vote, hands-down. I’ve never been one of those mafioso-types who can be moved to tears by music, but there are parts of that soundtrack that I can’t describe as anything other than transcendant. (That one part in “Tetsuo” where all the different threads finally come together, still makes me gasp.) Seconds for **Yojimbo** and **Lord of the Rings**. And **Psycho** is a good choice – the shower music is iconic, even – but just in terms of the music itself, I prefer **Vertigo**. Very creepy. That reminds me, how come nobody’s yet mentioned the score for **The Birds**?\* And good call on the closing credits to _Moulin Rouge_; when I saw it the first time, the cleaning crew was annoyed with me that I was still sitting in the theater after everybody else had left. I wanted to hear the rest of the music! - yes, I’m being sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![MissBungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@MissBungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissBungle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/33 "2003-03-03T09:02:15Z")
Bleu Dracula ---
**Author:** ![Fnoonf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Fnoonf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fnoonf)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/34 "2003-03-03T09:21:15Z")
**American Beauty** by Thomas Newman. So strangely offbeat, and complements the film so perfectly. I also happen to think Carter Burwell’s score for **Being John Malkovich** goes incredibly unsung… no one ever seems to notice it (isn’t that one of the definitions of a good score, though?). Michael Nyman’s score for **Gattaca** is a masterpiece of mood. I also love both of Jon Brion’s scores for P.T. Anderson’s films, **Magnolia** and **Punch-Drunk Love**. And I’m a sucker for a good Danny Elfman score, like the **Edward Scissorhands** one. So atmospheric. And finally, I know it’s not exactly orchestral, but Vangelis’s incredible **Blade Runner** score deserves honorable mention in any thread about film scores. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/35 "2003-03-03T14:42:49Z")
#1. THE MISSION #2. EMPIRE OF THE SUN and the music from GANGS OF NEW YORK rocks my boat, too. ---
**Author:** ![peterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bb73d2/32.png) [@peterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peterW)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/36 "2003-03-03T14:48:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fnoonf \* > \*\ ***American Beauty** by Thomas Newman. So strangely offbeat, and complements the film so perfectly. I also happen to think Carter Burwell’s score for **Being John Malkovich** goes incredibly unsung… no one ever seems to notice it (isn’t that one of the definitions of a good score, though?). > > Michael Nyman’s score for **Gattaca** is a masterpiece of mood. > > I also love both of Jon Brion’s scores for P.T. Anderson’s films, **Magnolia** and **Punch-Drunk Love**. And I’m a sucker for a good Danny Elfman score, like the **Edward Scissorhands** one. So atmospheric. > > And finally, I know it’s not exactly orchestral, but Vangelis’s incredible **Blade Runner** score deserves honorable mention in any thread about film scores. \*\* I’ll second Gattaca. Great movie with great music. Some of my other favorites are: 1. Hero by Tan Dun 2. The English Patient 3. Romeo is Bleeding by Mark Isham 4. Forrest Gump ---
**Author:** ![kefka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@kefka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kefka)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/37 "2003-03-03T17:16:10Z")
i second and third the scores from American Beauty and Akira… both so original and different. really stunning… also, i love the score from Kurosawa’s Ran. very sparse and just devistating… also i love mark mothersbaugh’s(of devo fame) scores from wes anderson’s movies, particularly his work on the royal tenenbaums. and finally, two more to add: paul grabowsky’s score to fred schepsi’s little seen gem ‘last orders’(best film of 2002 if you ask me, but that’s another debate for another time). the score is so simple and elegant… absolutely beautiful and yann tiersen’s gorgeous score from ‘amelie.’ i very rarely buy original score cds, but his for this film, as well as thomas newman’s for ‘american beauty’ very frequently find their way into my cd player… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/38 "2003-03-03T17:30:45Z")
Magnolia To Kill A Mockingbird Wizard of Oz I’m sure there’s more, but I’m drawing a blank at the moment… ---
**Author:** ![Lenny\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9dc877/32.png) [@Lenny\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lenny_Carl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/39 "2003-03-03T17:57:36Z")
\*\*Shawshank Redemption Dances With Wolves Contact Close Encounters of the Third Kind Raiders of the Lost Ark \*\* ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570/40 "2003-03-03T18:17:33Z")
I’ll second **Glory** (James Horner). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-scores/158570.md?page=3)