# Your Top 5 ORCHESTRAL Soundtracks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150 "2011-08-10T01:29:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/1 "2011-08-10T01:29:21Z")
Mine in no particular order 1. 2001, A Space Odyssey 2. Barry Lyndon 3. Jaws (1) 4. The Lord of The Rings (all) 5. Immortal Beloved Thanks Q ---
**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:** [August 10, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/2 "2011-08-10T02:13:35Z")
Lord Of The Rings Barry Lyndon Princess Bride Ladyhawke Puppet Master series ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/3 "2011-08-10T02:29:37Z")
Star Wars Planet of the Apes (the original) Star Trek: the Motion Picture Psycho And…um…uh… -scratches head- Up? My criteria for best soundtrack is whether it enhances the movie and what it hopes to evoke, not detract from it. The five I picked do just that, even though Michael Giacchino’s music pisses me off a fair bit. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/4 "2011-08-10T02:36:45Z")
I’d put the _Superman_ soundtrack at #1. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/5 "2011-08-10T02:37:18Z")
Alien Vertigo ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/6 "2011-08-10T03:31:29Z")
Days of Heaven [Le Mepris (Godard)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oq8ud5qGGk) [Platoon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfxqZagHXbM&feature=related) Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment… ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/7 "2011-08-10T03:47:52Z")
Star Wars The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Conan the Barbarian The Lord of the Rings One from TV: Battlestar Galactica (2004) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/8 "2011-08-10T04:13:07Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Days of Heaven > [Le Mepris (Godard)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oq8ud5qGGk) > [Platoon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfxqZagHXbM&feature=related) > > Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment… Wow! Some very sad and haunting music in Le Mepris, and sorry, but I’ve never seen Platoon or Days of Heaven. Looks like I’ll have some watching and listening to do. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/9 "2011-08-10T04:34:39Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Wow! Some very sad and haunting music in Le Mepris, and sorry, but I’ve never seen Platoon or Days of Heaven. Looks like I’ll have some watching and listening to do. > > Thanks > > Q I always loved how Godard used music, particularly recurring classical bits etc as an element in his movies. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/10 "2011-08-12T00:41:14Z")
Dambusters? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/11 "2011-08-12T01:53:29Z")
All five on my list are Peter Gabriel’s _Passion_, the soundtrack for _The Last Temptation of Christ_. The next five are all _Koyaanisquatsi_. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/12 "2011-08-12T02:23:14Z")
I don’t have five off the top of my head, but the first one that comes to mind is [Victory At Sea](http://www.amazon.com/Victory-at-Sea-Richard-Rodgers/dp/B0000064X9). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/13 "2011-08-12T02:29:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Ladyhawke That synth soundtrack ruins what is otherwise one of my favourite films. 😛 My list: Star Wars Pirates of the Caribbean Lord of the Rings Back to the Future Batman (1989) ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/14 "2011-08-12T03:22:28Z")
Star Wars(I’ll lump all movies together so my entire list isn’t all SW) 2001 Raiders of the Lost Ark Jaws A Clockwork Orange ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/15 "2011-08-12T19:13:13Z")
**Blade Runner** _- Vangelis_ **1492** _- Vangelis_ **Close Encounters of the Third Kind** _- John Williams_ **Tron Legacy** _- Daft Punk_ **Sneakers** _- James Horner_ **Sherlock Holmes** _- Hans Zimmer_ **North by Northwest** _- Bernard Herrmann_ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/16 "2011-08-12T19:25:26Z")
Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/17 "2011-08-12T19:34:24Z")
Off the top of my head, I’ll say: _Superman: The Movie Star Wars LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_ ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/18 "2011-08-12T19:39:57Z")
I agree with all the soundtracks so far mentioned and will add Gladiator. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/19 "2011-08-12T20:09:46Z")
Only f? Tough choice: \*\*2001 Fantasia\*\* (despite the cuts and changes. But I _love_ the orchestral version of Bach’s _Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor_) **The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad** (I love Bernard Herman’s score – he did _North by Northwest_, cited above, and several other Hitchcock and Harryhausen films) **The Rocketeer** – if only for the opening, although “The Airshow” is great, too. **Star Wars** Besides these: **Thunderball** – possibly the best of Barry’s Bond scores **Patton** – I listened to Jerry Goldsmith’s background music through many chess games with a friend) **The Magnificent Seven** – even after they picked it up for a tobacco company, Elmer Bernstein’s score is impressive **Raiders of the Lost Ark** – John Williams deserves several nominations for his lush orchestral scores, but I’ll limit it to two. **Barry Lyndon** – i loved it, too, but it could’ve done with far fewer repetitions of that damned _Sarabande_. **Forbidden Planet** – Louis and Bebe Barron’s electronic score was the first for a mainstream motion picture, and it works so well that t’s hard to imagine anything else in its place. I have a recording of it, along with one of their earlier works, which they borrowed from liberally for the score. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150/20 "2011-08-12T20:17:29Z")
Alfred Newman’s **The Best of Everything** (1959). It’s my “life background music.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-orchestral-soundtracks/592150.md?page=2)