# Greatest movie music of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531 "2020-04-10T22:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/1 "2020-04-10T22:25:16Z")
Of course it’s [“Ecstasy of Gold”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZhYCERJp4s&fbclid=IwAR0S-VsQqZF6FYlzZW3u7wtCtgr0iwsrcRSzz23WVBZzFTYJEgN9WR8xwtU&app=desktop), by Ennio Morricone, from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. Every instrument in the orchestra used, in a wonderful interweaving. A work of genius. Followed closely by [“Takeoff”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXbL0iukdCo), the theme from “The Rocketeer”, by James Horner. A lovely, evocative, and soaring nostalgic piece. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/2 "2020-04-10T22:45:38Z")
The opening them from _[The Stunt Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwkMsPZO0ZE)_ by Dominic Frontiere. For years, it was used by other movies as a placeholder for their trailers. The musical background to the [St. Crispin’s Day Speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doCf0WYEKho) from Kenneth Branagh’s _Henry IV_ by Patrick Doyle. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/3 "2020-04-10T22:55:15Z")
The entire score of _Lawrence of Arabia_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jdFwhhH2x7I/hqdefault.jpg "Lawrence of Arabia - Main Theme - Maurice Jarre") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdFwhhH2x7I) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/4 "2020-04-10T23:16:35Z")
Theme from _ **The Magnificent Seven** _. Theme from _ **The Great Escape** _. Theme from _ **Patton** _. Theme from _ **The Battle of Britain** _. Theme from \*\*\*Midway \*\*\*(1976). Theme from _ **The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly** _. Theme from _ **A Fistful of Dollars** _. Theme from _ **For a Few Dollars More** _. Theme from **Once upon a Time in the West**. “On the Street Where You Live,” “Why Can’t the English?”, and “Wouldn’t It be Luverly?” from _ **My Fair Lady** _. “Das Panzerlied” from _ **Battle of the Bulge** _. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/5 "2020-04-10T23:20:19Z")
Various things from _Star Wars_ (the movie; the first one, not the whole bloody series of movies). Theme from _Superman_. And of course the greatest soundtrack ever: _Heavy Metal_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/6 "2020-04-10T23:25:18Z")
Theme from _ **The Big Country** _. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/7 "2020-04-10T23:28:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Various things from _Star Wars_ (the movie; the first one, not the whole bloody series of movies). > > Theme from _Superman_. > > And of course the greatest soundtrack ever: _Heavy Metal_. Those are the kinds of movies I’d think of. Add\* Flash Gordon\* to that list. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/8 "2020-04-10T23:31:57Z")
:smack: Oh yeah, I agree _Flash Gordon_ should be on there; good catch **Tripolar**! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/9 "2020-04-10T23:37:37Z")
Theme from _ **Goldfinger** _. Theme from _ **On Her Majesty’s Secret Service** _. “The James Bond Theme.” “We Have All the Time in the World” from _ **OHMSS** _. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/10 "2020-04-10T23:54:19Z")
Theme and rest of the score from **Chariots of Fire**. [Chariots of Fire • Main Theme • Vangelis - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSav51fVlKU) Music from **Amadeus** , but of course that’s cheating, they got it all from a musician long dead… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/11 "2020-04-10T23:58:25Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Of course it’s [“Ecstasy of Gold”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZhYCERJp4s&fbclid=IwAR0S-VsQqZF6FYlzZW3u7wtCtgr0iwsrcRSzz23WVBZzFTYJEgN9WR8xwtU&app=desktop), by Ennio Morricone, from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. Every instrument in the orchestra used, in a wonderful interweaving. A work of genius. > > Followed closely by [“Takeoff”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXbL0iukdCo), the theme from “The Rocketeer”, by James Horner. A lovely, evocative, and soaring nostalgic piece. I’ll agree wholeheartedly with Horner’s score for The Rocketeer, one of mt favorite pieces of movie music. Disney apparently agreed – they re-used the music for several trailers. I was just listening to this yesterday in my car, over and over. I’m not as fond of the theme to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as you, though . Others have listed some of my other faves: The original **Star Wars** theme by John Williams **The Magnificent Seven** by Elmer Bernstein **Superman** by Williams The Theme to **Jurassic Park** by Williams A LOT of scores by Bernard Herrmann – **Seventh Voyage of Sinbad** , **North by Northwest** , **The Day the Earth Stood Still** Kubrick’s choices for **2001: A Space Odyssey** (I’ve listened to Alex North’s score that wenmt unused; I prefer the classical music) FRanz Waxman’s score for **Bride of FRankenstein** and, for coimpletely different reasons, Louis and Bebe Barron’s “Electronic Tonalities” score for **Forbidden Planet**. Really. I have it on CD and listen to it in my car. Please note that it does NOT use a Theremin (although Hermann’s score for Day the Earth Stood Still does) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/12 "2020-04-11T00:03:01Z")
Do we only count original music? If not, the best uses of classical music were “An der schönen blauen Donau” and “Also sprach Zarathustra” in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Ritt der Walküren” in “Apocalypse Now”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/13 "2020-04-11T00:04:15Z")
_The Stunt Man_, tied with [_Puppet Master_.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHQrvscTaeg) ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/14 "2020-04-11T00:14:49Z")
_Performance_ (1970)- soundtrack _Repo Man_ (1984) - soundtrack Theme from _The Green Slime_ (1969) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vwrhOd9Do2A/maxresdefault.jpg "Theme Song | The Green Slime | Warner Archive") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrhOd9Do2A) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/15 "2020-04-11T00:17:21Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > And of course the greatest soundtrack ever: _Heavy Metal_. No, that would be _Maximum Overdrive_ because, since all the music is by one composer, it can fairly compete with the usual suspects - Horner, Williams etc. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/16 "2020-04-11T00:29:41Z")
Bullitt by Lalo Schiffrin ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/17 "2020-04-11T00:35:50Z")
There are a lot of great ones mentioned already, but I’ll try to add a few that I love: _Roll Tide_ from **Crimson Tide** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFYCq_LNuaE) _Concerning Hobbits_ from **Fellowship of the Ring** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGaz_qN0cw) _Promontory_ from **Last of the Mohicans** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjdswqGGVg) _A New Life_ from **The Truman Show** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADFPrZo348Q) _Summer Overture_ from **Requiem for a Dream** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUm4TtngG-I) _So Was Red_ from **Shawshank Redemption** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRAY0rVN_xk) _Ice Dance_ from **Edward Scissorhands** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMfs1rlw4tc) The **Indiana Jones** theme Incidentally I didn’t link to any video, only music. ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/18 "2020-04-11T01:08:30Z")
Ron Goodwin’s [_Theme from 633 Squadron_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-nFa6R0qFU&feature=youtu.be&t=132) is always a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/19 "2020-04-11T01:49:31Z")
**oh brother, where art thou** **westside story** ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/20 "2020-04-11T01:49:50Z")
**Alien** Jerry Goldsmith **Blade Runner** Vangelis **Long Riders** Ry Cooder, David Lindley **A Hard Day’s Night** - The Beatles (John Lennon’s masterpiece, IMO) **The Thing** (1982) - Ennio Morricone [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531.md?page=2)