Inspired by this thread, I thought it might be apt to start a thread about movie music. My votes for the best:
The Ecstacy of Gold - Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)
Terminator 2 Theme - John Williams (Terminator 2: Judgement Day)
Miserlou - Dick Dale and the Del-Tones (Pulp Fiction)
Adam
I would assume that we are going to eliminate movies that are musicals because then we will just be picking our favorite musicals.
I like the opening theme of “Lawrence of Arabia” by Maurice Jarre. Michael Hyman’s score to “The Piano” is another favorite.
Going through my iTunes playlist, I pick out these:
Bajo Fuego by Jerry Goldsmith (from the film Under Fire).
The Hotel by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Shadow).
Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone (from The Mission).
Arthur’s Farewell by Jerry Goldsmith (from First Knight).
The Caravan by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Mummy).
Finale by Danny Elfman (from Big Fish).
Duel of the Fates by John Williams (from Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace).
Main Theme by Ennio Morricone (from Frantic).
Theme from ‘The Vanishing’ by Jerry Goldsmith.
Il Lungo Viaggio Inizia by Ennio Morricone (from Marco Polo). (Okay, it’s not a movie score, so sue me.)
Preparations by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Ghost and the Darkness).
The Family Arrives by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Russia House).
Theme to Taxi Driver, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Fahrenheit 451 by Bernard Herrmann.
Pretty heavy with the Jerry Goldsmith in that list, but then again, I do 1,032 pieces by him (2.2 days, or 3.37 GBs) in iTunes. I have a mere 284 pieces by Morricone (16.3 hours, 1.09 GB, with more coming, however, since I haven’t transferred my entire collection to iTunes). 
Almost a Wife by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Illustrated Man). Freakin’ brilliant.
Noah Cross by Jerry Goldsmith (from Chinatown).
Out of the Rain by Jerry Goldsmith (from L.A. Confidential).
Gift From the Sea by Jerry Goldsmith (from Papillion).
Winter March by Jerry Goldsmith (from Patton).
The Bridge by Jerry Goldsmith (from The Blue Max).
Cornflakes by Jerry Goldsmith (from Timeline) (Okay, it was a rejected score, but that still counts, doesn’t it?)
The Plan by Jerry Goldsmith (from Extreme Prejudice).
Carnival Happening by Jerry Goldsmith (from Justine).
The Ransom by Jerry Goldsmith (from Along Came a Spider).
I really need to stop. And I must clarify that I haven’t got all my Goldsmith collection in iTunes either. Perhaps half (counting the LPs as well). Scary.
I really like the theme to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, though it probably doesn’t count as official classic music, it does to me
John Williams did not write the Terminator 2 score. That was Brad Fiedel.
Are you counting scores written specifically for the movie (Morricone), pre-recorded songs used in the film’s soundtrack (Dick Dale), or both?
I would say that Barber’s “Adagio For Strings” in Platoon is one of the most powerful uses of music within film.
I’m with you there although Mozart’s clarinet concerto in “Out of Africa” gets my tear ducts flowing too.
I can listen to the entire soundtrack of “The Last of the Mohicans” time and again, the swelling strings in the main theme, the celtic overtones in places (although i’m not keen on the Clannad vocals), the secondary themes. Great driving music.
I second the votes for "The Good, the bad etc. " and “The piano”.
Oo have just remembered “Fargo” - it’s strange I can never remember the theme, keep it in my head I mean, but when I watch the film it seems … perfect.
I once bough an album of film scores, by Erich Korngold. The stuff he composed for 1930’s movies was really good-flms like RoBON HOOD, JUAREZ, THE SEA HAWK, etc. I think the scoring was much better in the 1930’s, when the major film studios had their own symphony orchestras.
One of these threads gets started every six months or so.
Now, on to my contributions:
The entire soundtrack to Conan the Barbarian by Basil Poledouris. Same deal with his soundtrack for The Hunt for Red October.
James Horner’s score for Braveheart similarly gets my blood flowing.
I walked out of Chocolat and into a music store to buy the soundtrack. First time I had ever done that, so I guess that’s my answer.
I vote for Morricone’s The Mission soundtrack.
Also, for instantly recognizable, you gotta have the James Bond theme first used in Dr No.
I have an iTunes folder with every Coen Bros soundtrack in there, including Fargo. If you like the more popular songs from Raising Arizona, (Charlie Monroe) and O Brother Where Art Thou (I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow), you’d also like the soundtracks from Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Miller’s Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy and Barton Fink.
Makes for a pretty good iTunes Library.
Star Trek 1 : Main theme & Klingon theme (Jerry Goldsmith)
Star Trek 2 : Main Theme (James Horner)
Blame Canada + Uncle Fucka
The Usual Suspects main theme by John Ottman (interestingly, also the movie’s editor)
Batman (1989) theme by Danny Elfman
“Breakfast Machine” from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure by Danny Elfman
Spider-Man opening and closing titles (different pieces) by Danny Elfman
Thanks for the correction, easy e. Both count.
God no! As easy e pointed out, it was Brad Fiedel. Among the film score fan community (population=100), The Terminator stands as one of the most frowned upon, standing side-by-side with Goldeneye. I tend to disagree, though. It’s funkiness and cheap 80s synths helped define the movie as a cult hit.
Some of my favorites:
Braveheart
The Empire Strikes Back
Schindler’s List
The Omen
Final Fantasy
Edward Scissorhands
The Matrix Revolutions
The Untouchables
Mission to Mars
Oh, who am I kidding? I love this genre so much that lists become extremely difficult to make.