# The Best Movie Tunes Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099 "2005-03-05T17:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/1 "2005-03-05T17:17:37Z")
Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305357), 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 ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/2 "2005-03-05T20:03:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/3 "2005-03-05T20:29:22Z")
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). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/4 "2005-03-05T20:48:56Z")
_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. ---
**Author:** ![bookbuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9bd4f/32.png) [@bookbuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bookbuster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/5 "2005-03-07T00:51:54Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/6 "2005-03-08T01:10:35Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305357), 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 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? ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/7 "2005-03-08T10:41:14Z")
I would say that Barber’s “Adagio For Strings” in Platoon is one of the most powerful uses of music within film. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/8 "2005-03-08T11:23:15Z")
> [@Legolamb](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/9 "2005-03-08T12:18:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/10 "2005-03-08T19:38:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/11 "2005-03-08T23:14:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/12 "2005-03-08T23:32:33Z")
I vote for Morricone’s _The Mission_ soundtrack. Also, for instantly recognizable, you gotta have the James Bond theme first used in _Dr No_. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/13 "2005-03-08T23:53:17Z")
> [@Cat Jones](#): > > 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 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. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/14 "2005-03-09T03:58:26Z")
Star Trek 1 : Main theme & Klingon theme (Jerry Goldsmith) Star Trek 2 : Main Theme (James Horner) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/15 "2005-03-09T04:03:35Z")
Blame Canada + Uncle Fucka ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/16 "2005-03-09T04:26:58Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/17 "2005-03-09T04:45:07Z")
> [@easy e](#): > > 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? Thanks for the correction, **easy e**. Both count. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@The\_Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hook)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-movie-tunes-ever/293099/18 "2005-03-09T05:15:32Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > _Terminator 2 Theme_ - John Williams _(Terminator 2: Judgement Day)_ 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.