I was watching Superman Returns, admittedly not the best of the Superman movies (though unfairly maligned), and when the theme came up it gave me the usual chills up and down my spine. I’ve never been able to pinpoint why that is, but it is truly an amazing piece of music, even for a prolific (and perhaps plagiaristic) composer like John Williams.
I’d have to say that it is my favorite orchestral theme. There are others that I think are fantastic, though, like Star Wars (of course), James Horner’s nautical-based theme to Star Trek II, Danny Elfman’s Batman, Close Encounters… I could go on for a while, but I’ll let you guys throw some out there. I’ll stick with Superman, though, as the best.
Let’s stick to original music for this, though. If we don’t we open the door for things like Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” from Platoon or Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” from 2001. While those are amazing, they aren’t specifically limited to the movies they might now be known for.
Anything by Basil Poledouris is good. Conan, Robocop and Starship Troopers all come to mind. In many cases, his music was the best part of the movie in question. Without Basil, my childhood would have been seriously stunted.
Then there’s Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit, too, but to a lesser extent.
Star Wars has already been mentioned. While there’s a major style shift between originals and prequels, they are all very good.
My personal favorite Basil Poledouris theme is from Hunt For Red October. The opening of that movie is quite striking. He tended to be very militaristic in his scoring, which made him perfect for the movies he did.
There are a lot of them. I really like Elmer Bernstein’s theme for **The Magnificent Seven[/BN] (which Marlboro ended up using for their cigarette TV commercials).
John Williams’ themes for Superman, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park have already been mentioned, but his Indiana Jones themes were great, too
I’m also a huge fan of Bernard Hermann’s themes – he did some notable Hitchcock music, and music for Ray Harryhausen films.
But my current favorite is James Horner’s very classic theme for The Rocketeer. Disney also used it for several trailers afterwards.
I love the absurdity of this movie. Its over the top and so 60’s. Great weed film for those who are into that. Lots of stars of the era and absolutely beautiful women. And then there is Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress and The Look of Love.