# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/41 "2020-04-11T16:30:56Z")
How about a word or two for William Walton’s [Henry V](https://youtu.be/pXOqq8-p_aM) music (1944) or the music he wrote for[The First of The Few](https://youtu.be/LgJnVvsoUws)and the[Battle of Britain](https://youtu.be/lP4T58nejB4) (even if the producers dumped it from the movie). And then there’s Vaughan Williams’s score for [Scott of the Antarctic.](https://youtu.be/Mv6YBg7PLag) Or look wider afield - Prokofiev’s [Alexander Nevsky](https://youtu.be/-oRbStmxvm4) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/42 "2020-04-11T16:33:05Z")
> [@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. Nah. [A Fistful of Dollars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjjDOdaFZg0). Honorable mention for [Two Mules for Sister Sara](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE4MW2HNluw). > [@msmith537](#): > > [Conan the Barbarian from Conan the Barbarian, Basil Poledouris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT_IrmuA8nI) Anvil of Crom is a good introduction for the movie, but [Riders of Doom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKUYAnqxjU) is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/43 "2020-04-11T16:50:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > A LOT of scores by Bernard Herrmann – **Seventh Voyage of Sinbad** , **North by Northwest** , **The Day the Earth Stood Still** Not to mention other Hitchcock classics along with “Taxi Driver” and “Cape Fear”. I have [this album](https://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Herrmann-Film-Scores/dp/B0000029TH/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=bernard+hermann&qid=1586623630&sr=8-6) which showcases his tremendous talent. ---
**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 11, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/44 "2020-04-11T17:00:52Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > How about a word or two for William Walton’s [Henry V](https://youtu.be/pXOqq8-p_aM) music (1944) or the music he wrote for[The First of The Few](https://youtu.be/LgJnVvsoUws)and the[Battle of Britain](https://youtu.be/lP4T58nejB4) (even if the producers dumped it from the movie). These are the pieces I associate with _ **The Battle of Britain** _ (1969): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 To be honest, I much prefer the second (now usually referred to as “The Luftwaffe March”). ---
**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 11, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/45 "2020-04-11T17:08:27Z")
More from the pen of the ubertalented Ron Goodwin: _ **Where Eagles Dare** _. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d0ZTTeTr-YQ/hqdefault.jpg "Where Eagles Dare | Soundtrack Suite (Ron Goodwin)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ZTTeTr-YQ) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/46 "2020-04-11T18:07:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > 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. Oh, man, I always forget how _perfect_ this score is. Didja notice that the first several bars are a total lift (okay, homage) of the opening of Bernie Herrmann’s opening theme for **North by Northwest?** Of course, Frontiere takes it in a completely different direction. Not as distinguished as many of the other musics mentioned, but I’ve always loved the Burt Bacharach/Herb Alpert score to the 1967 **Casino Royale**. Like the movie itself, a glorious segue from the “cool” Ratpack Playboy-Philosophy James Bond early 60s to the “hot” psychedelic surreal LSD late 60s. ---
**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 11, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/47 "2020-04-11T18:22:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not a movie, but a 26-episode documentary series with composer Richard Rogers conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra: _ **Victory at Sea** _. It is truly magnificent, especially the main title. I can’t listen to it without getting chills all over my body! I have to give credit to Robert Russell Bennett as well, who composed and orchestrated a great deal of the music along with Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/48 "2020-04-11T18:47:44Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And then there’s Vaughan Williams’s score for [Scott of the Antarctic.](https://youtu.be/Mv6YBg7PLag) Which he reworked and turned into his seventh symphony, the **Sinfonia Antarctica.** One of the few scores to call for wind machines. The British have done some of the most sweeping, atmospheric cinematic music ever, especially stuff depicting the sea and epic historical events. Right now I happen to be listening to Sir Arthur Bliss’s incidental music for Alexander Korda’s 1936 **Things to Come.** ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/49 "2020-04-11T20:44:37Z")
A few more, now that it’s not 2 in the morning… [Maximus’s death](https://youtu.be/CA_N_QVxbKg?t=32) in Gladiator According to lore [this opening theme](https://youtu.be/fFNuDkQxHGA) elicited cheers when the film premiered I thought the soundtrack to the first Chronicles of Narnia film made it special [Evacuating London (opening)](https://youtu.be/gyMvx2QxLXM) [Ending scene](https://youtu.be/x8zYa1Fubr4) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/50 "2020-04-11T21:14:43Z")
Anything by Bernard Hermann. Schindler’s List - The Girl in Red. My Bodyguard - One of my favorites when I was a kid (one that got me to study film scoring) Jaws The Godfather Airplane! - Elmer Bernstein and all his other works. Airplane theme was the perfect setup for slapstick. Knowing it’s a comedy and listening to the dramatic score made it even funnier. Loved how he mimicked Jaws then swells into an “Airport”-type score. Even he got to make some laughs throughout the film. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/51 "2020-04-11T22:19:02Z")
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1) is another movie with a [great score](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIWTqMoTUM8), centered on the title character’s theme, which became a jazz standard. David Raksin wrote the music (with lyrics by Johnny Mercer that weren’t used in the film), and many recorded it, including Erroll Garner, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Tony Bennett, and Bill Evans. The song almost didn’t get written. Otto Preminger, who directed Laura, wanted to use Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady. Raksin told Preminger he thought it wasn’t right for the character. Preminger told him on Friday to come back on Monday with something better, or they would go with Sophisticated Lady. Raksin struggled all weekend trying to come up with something, but couldn’t get anywhere. Finally, he used a trick he had used when younger, where he would improvise at the piano while focusing on something other than music. There was a letter from his wife that he had been avoiding, so he placed it on the piano and started reading. It was a breakup note—his wife was leaving him. When he realized what the letter was, the dam broke and the theme from Laura came flowing out. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/52 "2020-04-11T23:25:18Z")
Most of my many “favorites” have been mentioned, but I need to give a plus one to: Alexander Nevsky Conan the Barbarian Lawrence of Arabia I’ll also add one I haven’t seen mentioned: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. The composer for that was Miklos Rozsa. That guy did tons of movies, and had rather a recognizable style. When I saw TGVOS in the theater, and heard the music start, I thought “That sounds like…” and looked for the credits. Sure enough it was him. He got an Oscar for the score of the 1959 Ben-Hur. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/53 "2020-04-11T23:31:06Z")
Maurice Jarre: “Building the Barn” from Witness. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/54 "2020-04-12T00:21:44Z")
I feel like this thread has had enough replies to the OP’s request for “movie” music that maybe we can stretch a little into series music. I feel like **Max Richter’s** music for **The Leftovers** and **Ramin Djawadi’s** music for **Game Of Thrones** deserve some respect. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/55 "2020-04-12T00:46:16Z")
Came here to say Flash Gordon, but I see that was covered early on. But also, while it may not be feature length, I’d still consider it a movie… Metalocalypse: Doomstar Requiem ---
**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 12, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/56 "2020-04-12T01:25:29Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I feel like this thread has had enough replies to the OP’s request for “movie” music that maybe we can stretch a little into series music. > I feel like **Max Richter’s** music for **The Leftovers** and **Ramin Djawadi’s** music for **Game Of Thrones** deserve some respect. Here is just about every _ **Star Trek** _ theme you can think of. Thankfully, they used the outro for \*\*\*Enterprise \*\*\* instead of that gawdawful opening theme. This perfomance really blew me away: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yySw7vkdkZY/maxresdefault.jpg "STAR TREK CONCERT | Prague | 2-11-2016") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yySw7vkdkZY) ---
**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 12, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/57 "2020-04-12T01:27:33Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. > > The composer for that was Miklos Rozsa. That guy did tons of movies, and had rather a recognizable style. When I saw TGVOS in the theater, and heard the music start, I thought “That sounds like…” and looked for the credits. Sure enough it was him. He got an Oscar for the score of the 1959 Ben-Hur. Rosza also did the score for _ **El Cid** _; Jarre did _ **Doctor Zhivago** _. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/58 "2020-04-12T01:40:26Z")
Bit of a soft spot for the John Dunbar Theme from Dances With Wolves. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/59 "2020-04-12T17:59:19Z")
I’ve said here before that I like the soundtrack of the first **True Grit** by Elmer Bernstein and that I think parts of it appear in other films, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531/60 "2020-04-12T18:42:02Z")
You guys have taken all the good ones sooo… [Appropo The Satan Bug](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbu37Xfpngg) [The Bounty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdlQ1BFAg54) i sweat just hearing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-music-of-all-time/851531.md?page=4)