What are the Greatest Motion Picture Scores of All-Time?
January 29, 2010 by wondersinthedark
by Sam Juliano
- Miklos Rozsa’s Pagentry-laden score for 1959’s ‘Ben-Hur’ may be most moving in history
- Bernard Herrmann’s gorgeous music for Ray’s ‘On Dangerous Ground’ ranks among the best ever
Chaplin wrote his own score for Modern Times and it is one of the best ever written.
- Classical genius Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic masterpiece for ‘Alexander Nevsky’ is one of the greatest of scores
- Ennio Morricone’s elegiac score for ‘Once Upon A Time in America’ sets new marks for screen lyricism
- Alfred Newman’s lushly romantic and emotional score for 1939’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ is one of the best of its kind
- Anton Karas’ zither score for ‘The Third Man’ is one of the most justly famous in history
- Maurice Leroux’s exhilarating music for Lamorisee’s enchanting ‘The Red Balloon’ (1956) is one of the most joyful collaborations in the cinema.
- Ravi Shanker’s rich music for Ray’s staggering masterpiece, ‘Pather Panchali’ is the perfect fusion of image and music.
- Elmer Bernstein’s greatest score came late in his career for Todd Haynes’ Sirksian drama ‘Far From Heaven’
- Clint Mansell’s New Age score to ‘The Fountain’ is exceedingly beautiful and is it’s films most stupendous component.
- Patrick Doyle’s score to Branagh’s ‘Henry V’ combines patriotism and valour with sublimity and heartbreak
- Bernard Herrmann’s score for Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ is one of the cinema’s irrefutable masterpieces
- Alfred Newman’s sentimental score for John Ford’s ‘How Green Was My Valley’ shoots an arrow through the heart
- Paul Giovanni’s score to ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973) is a masterpiece of sound
- Franz Waxman’s score to Hitchcock’s ‘rebecca’ is the great composer’s finest, a perfect wedding of lyricism and atmosphere
- Phillip Glass’ minimalist score for Geoffrey Regio’s ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ is a singular achievement
- Leonard Rosenman’s score for Kazan’s ‘East of Eden’ reaches the emotional essence of the material
- Nino Rota’s score to Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (1968) is lush and melodic, helping to bring forth the vision of youth by Zeffirelli
- Vic Mitzy’s New Age score for Tarr’s ‘Werckmeister Harmonies’ defines a mood all its own
- Georges Delerue’s score for Truffaut’s ‘Jules et Jim’ is alternately playful and deeply-moving
- Morricone’s score for Giuseppe Tornatore’s ‘Cinema Paradiso’ in unabashedly sentimental, but it’s tear-inducing and gorgeously-written
'Gattaca' features a New Age score by Michael Nyman that's piercingly-beautiful
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s rollicking, swashbuckling score to Michael Curtiz’ ‘The Adentures of Robin Hood’ is the best of it’s kind
- One of the greatest of all composers, Max Steiner, had a diverse career, yet hi smost exceedingly beautiful score was for a war drama from David O. Selznick, ‘Since You Went Away’
- Wojech Kilar’s stunning atmospheric score to ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ signalled the emergence of a major talent
- Z. Preisner’s brilliant score for Kieslowski’s ‘Blue’ set the bar in more ways than one
- George Auric’s magical score for Jean Cocteau’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was a ravishing underpinning
- Dari Marianelli’s beautiful score to Joe Wright’s ‘Atonement’ set the anchor for the film’s emotional essence
- Michael Giacchino’s score for Pixar’s ‘Up’ was a crowning achievement in a career of some great motion picture scores
So many other scores might be considered for any kind of a definitive list, but I went with the above 25, knowing that on any day of the week, one would b etempted to add the likes of Maurice Jarre’s Lawrence of Arabia, Aaaron Copland’s The Red Pony, Goblin’s Suspiria, Max Steiner’s Gone With the Wind, The Searchers and The Informer, John Williams’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Dimitri Tiomkin’s High Noon, Rozsa’s King of Kings, Leonard Bernstein’s On the Waterfront, Elmer Bernstein’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho, Jason and the Argonauts, The Devil and Daniel Webster, Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver and Three Worlds of Gulliver, Alfred Newman’s The Prisoner of Zenda, Morricone’s Malena, Legend of 1900 and Once Upon A Time in the West, John Corigliano’s The Red Violin, John Barry’s Walkabout, Waxman’s Sunset Boulevard, Schifrin’s 1138, Korngold’s King’s Row, Chaplin’s City Lights, Prokofiev’s Ivan the Terrible I and II, and a bevy of others.
Music often serves as far more than the aural underpinning of a motion picture and in the best possible scenario is the component that fuels and inspires the emotional reaction.
Readers are asked to submit their own ‘Top 25’ scores of all time right on this thread. Musicals do not count, only films where the music is mainly symphonic. I chose 30 here, and the order isn’t particularly important.
Sam, excellent choices. I will definitely have several in common with you. Here’s my list (trying to limit myself to only one per composer):
Angelo Badalamenti’s BLUE VELVET
Bernard Herrmann’s TAXI DRIVER
Georges Delerue’s CONTEMPT
Anton Karras’ THE THIRD MAN
Jerry Goldsmith’s CHINATOWN
Henry Mancini’s TOUCH OF EVIL
Elmer Bernstein’s THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM
Ennio Morricone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
Michael Small’s NIGHT MOVES
Carter Burwell’s GODS AND MONSTERS
Antoine Duhamel’s PIERROT LE FOU
Martial Solal’s BREATHLESS
John Williams’ JAWS
Nino Rota’s THE GODFATHER
Jean Constantin’s THE 400 BLOWS
Ryuichi Sakamato’s FEMME FATALE
Pino Donaggio’s BLOW OUT
Neil Young’s DEAD MAN (hope these next four qualify, not symphonic, but original scores)
Ry Cooder’s PARIS, TEXAS
Tom Waits’ NIGHT ON EARTH
Gato Barbieri’s LAST TANGO IN PARIS
Leonard Bernstein’s ON THE WATERFRONT
Dimitri Tiomkin’s HIGH NOON
Stewart Copeland’s RUMBLE FISH
Joe Hisaishi’s FIREWORKS
Nice top choice there with Badalamenti Jeffrey! And so many other terrific choices too! We do agree on several, I’m happy to see. And no doubt, On the Waterfront, High Noon, The 400 Blows, Contempt, and several others most assuredly deserve to be there. Thanks so much for imparting this great taste and wisdom! I just revised my list to reach 30.
Wow, great to see someone else picking Steward Copeland’s experimental score for RUMBLE FISH. Definitely one of my faves! Also, kudos for mentioning Neil Young’s fantastic score for DEAD MAN. Another great one…
Thanks so much, Sam and JD! Really appreciate the kind words and both of your excellent lists. JD, if I had a second shot, I’d definitely find a place on there somewhere for THIEF.
Jeffrey, you are a peach, as humble, gracious and complimentary as they come. I am eternally grateful.
And the same to you J.D. Thank you.
In chronological order:
Max Steiner, KING KONG
Franz Waxman, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
Sergei Prokofiev, ALEKSANDR NEVSKII
Bernard Herrmann, CITIZEN KANE
Brian Easdale, BLACK NARCISSUS
Akira Ikafube, GOJIRA
Steiner, THE SEARCHERS
Herrmann, VERTIGO
Jerome Moross, THE BIG COUNTRY
Mario Nascimbene, THE VIKINGS
Alex North, SPARTACUS
Dmitri Tiomkin, THE ALAMO
North, CLEOPATRA
John Barry, GOLDFINGER
Ennio Morricone, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Morricone, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
Riz Ortolani, GOODBYE UNCLE TOM
Herrmann, TAXI DRIVER
Jerry Goldsmith, THE OMEN
John Williams, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Basil Poledouris, CONAN THE BARBARIAN
Phillip Glass, KOYANNISQATSI
Patrick Doyle, HENRY V
Danny Elfman, BATMAN RETURNS
Wojech Kilar, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA
Fabulous choices here Samuel. I just revised my list, adding a few essentials to bring the total to 30, but as you well know, there are many others that deserve acknowledgement. Several of your choices would surely make my list if I extended it…i.e. Taxi driver, Spartacus, Once Upon a time in the West, Black narcissus, Bride of Frankenstein, King Kong.
Thanks so much!
An interesting post, and in no particular order:
Powaqqatsi – Philip Glass
The Motorcycle Diaries – Gustavo Santaolalla
The Mission – Ennio Morricone
The Chorus – Bruno Coulais
Prosperos Books – Michael Nyman
They aren’t all symphonic and have no time for more (to reach into the gray cells) but many already offered would be added also.
Cheers!
I must say CM that I love your last two choices there exceedingly. I opted to name Nyman for GATTACA, but PROSPERO’S BOOKS or THE COOK, THE THIEF, would have been excellent selections. You are certainly not alone with THE MISSION’s score either. Interesting that you went for that other Glass score, but it’s a great addition!
A sumptuous list to say the least.
Off the top, here are a dozen that easily come to mind.
Hermann’s – Psycho
Waxman – Rebecca
Rota’s – The Godfather
Barry’s – Goldfinger
Hermann’s – Taxi Driver
Williams – Jaws
Hermann’s – Vertigo
Karras – The Third Man
Waxman – Sunset Blvd
Rozsa – Double Indemnity
Goldsmith – Chinatown
Chaplin – City Lights
Glad to see we do agree on several here John, but no question your own additions are fully deserving for such a venture! Waxman’s SUNSET BOULEVARD score came very close to making my list, as did Rota’s for THE GODFATHER. (I opted for his ROMEO AND JULIET).
Are we considering these as separate works of art or are we assessing these soundtracks for what they contribute to the film as a whole?
Here’s my list (in no order):
Blade Runner – Vangelis
Days and Nights in the Forest – S.Ray
Star Wars / Superman II – Williams
Hamlet/ King Lear – Shostakovich
Psycho – Herrmann
Sympathy for Mr Vengeance
That’s all I can remember for the moment.
Stephen: It’s really a combination of both considerations, though I’ve always felt the greatest scores also stood on their own, whatever their crucial complicity in the films they appeared in. It’s a fine line of differentiation, but as always it’s also an issue of taste and musical preferences. Still, it’s obvious that a number of scores are seen by many as truly great. Fine additions there!
One of my favourite recent scores is Shigeru Umebayashi’s score for 2046. It is so swooningly romantic, yet dark and mysterious. The main theme gets to me every time.
You know David, I compltely overlooked that Umebayashi score for 2046. That’s a brilliant choice on your part!!!
Wow, this is a tough one but I would say, my picks, in no particular order are:
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Ennio Morricone
Chinatown – Jerry Goldsmith
Cape Fear – Bernard Hermann
The Godfather – Nino Rota
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – Angelo Badalmenti
The Third Man – Anton Karas
Suspiria – The Goblins
Rumble Fish – Steward Copeland
Harold and Maude – Cat Stevens
Star Wars: A New Hope – John Williams
Halloween – John Carpenter
Blade Runner – Vangelis
Out of Sight – David Holmes
The Year of Living Dangerously – Maurice Jarre
Candyman – Philip Glass
The Right Stuff – Bill Conti
Dead Man – Neil Young
Double Indemnity – Miklós Rózsa
The Thin Red Line – Hans Zimmer
Thundberball – John Barry
Punch-Drunk Love – Jon Brion
Bullitt – Lalo Schifrin
Birth – Alexandre Desplat
The World of Henry Orient – Elmer Bernstein
Thief – Tangerine Dream
J.D., you’re a crackerjack at these kind of lists, and sure enough this is a rich, diverse and altogether winning scroll. Alexander Desplat deserves mentioning for at least one of his scores, and the Brion, Zimmer, Herrmann and Copeland nods are inspired. I went with John Barry for his Walkabout score in honorable mention, but his Bond work has always been enormously respected and beloved.
That Bernstein score for THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT is quite the brilliant chice. I have that Film Score Monthly CD, and it’s a keeper! Thanks for this awesome list.
Thanks for the kind words, Sam. It was tough picking my fave for some of these composers. And I too have that Film Score Monthly CD for HENRY ORIENT and listen to it often and it always conjures up images of the film of which I love dearly.
What a great post, Sam. If only you could link to audio files or embed them (it’s possible, but trust me, the formatting can drive you crazy).
“Music often serves as far more than the aural underpinning of a motion picture and in the best possible scenario is the component that fuels and inspires the emotional reaction.”
So well put, Sam – love that idea. In place of my own all-time list, I’ll shamelessly redirect to a post I recently did highlighting the 12 Best Scores of 2009 (including embedded audio that I fought tooth and nail to get to fit correctly): http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-of-2009-part-3.html
Not at all shameless Dan! I just checked out your great post and placed a comment. I also urged you to see A SINGLE MAN. You had some great scores on that list Thanks for the kind words. That audio idea is a good one, though I am not the most technological guy out there! Ha!
Thanks, Sam – I’m sure you’ll have all kinds of audio and video up here in due time!
I’m surprised you didn’t have Maurice Jarre’s score for “Lawrence of Arabia” Sam, but this is a terrific list with so many gems. The Alfred Newman score for “The Soung of Bernadette” and even Max Steiner’s for “Gone With the Wind” are other possibilities. For Williams I’d go with “E.T.,” though I know you love the score for “Empire of the Sun.”
Yes, I do love that Williams score for the Spielberg Peter, and your few additions there are inspired. Thanks so much!
This is in no particular order:
1. Bernstein – To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Cooder – Paris, Texas
3. Karas – The Third Man
4. Greenwood – There Will Be Blood
5. Desplat – Birth
6. Desplat – The Painted Veil
7. Glass – Kundun
8. Glass – Candyman
9. Nyman – The Piano
10. Nyman – The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
11. Steiner – Gone with the Wind
12. Hermann – North by Northwest
13. Hermann – Taxi Driver
14. Williams – The Phantom Menace
15. Burwell – Fargo
16. Badalementi – Blue Velvet
17. Horner – Braveheart
18. Kilar – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
19. Mansell – Requiem for a Dream
20. Barry – Dances with Wolves
21. Marianelli – Atonement
22. Goblins – Suspiria
23. Morriconne – Once Upon a Time in America
24. Preisner – Blue
25. Rota – The Godfather
Ever notice, too, how Oscar almost always missed the boat with best scores (though sometimes they get it right like with Marianelli for Atonment)? How on earth was Kilar’s Dracula not even nominated?
David, this is quite a list. You are one that always comes through in a big way. I would have added those two Nyman’s but I stuck with only the one for GATTACA. But I love THE COOK, THE THIEF too, and obviously love Marianelli’s score (which I chose) and a number of others here!
Some great choices here, some I agree with… but most are rather obvious. Meaning yes, most Morriconne or Hermann is great but that’s to ‘easy’ to list.
Lets try for some genuinely unique picks, just for fun.
I name Chu Ishikawa’s industrial tinged score for TETSUO (THE IRON MAN), Jonny Greenwood’s modern score for THERE WILL BE BLOOD, and Danny Elfman’s ‘classic’ score for BATMAN RETURNS.
Seriously, listen/watch BATMAN RETURNS you’ll be amazed how great that score is/was, it’s a modern masterpiece.
Jamie, I know that BATMAN RETURNS score well, and I agree with you!!! And the other additions are distinguished too, with the Greenwood quite popular with many.
Not quite the question posed, but a little bit of anarchy is hopefully to be tolerated! Anyway, quite liking the work of the following contemporary composers:
* Clint Eastwood (the Michelangelo of cinema!)
* Gustavo Santaolalla
* Jan Kaczmarek
* Johan Soderqvist
* Jon Brion
* Jonny Greenwood
* Max Richter
* Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Also, for fans of drone rock (that would be, um, me!), the soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch’s “The Limits of Control” is quite good, even if it is not an original recording.
Eastwood’s music has grown tiresome with me Longman, but I fully respect your position, especially since I did once share it. I’ll agree he’s a guy with a number of talents. Santaolalla’s score for BABEL was superb, and Jan Kaczmarek’s score to FINDING NEVERLAND was lovely. Similarly Jon Brion’s work on ETERNAL SUNSHINE was magnificent, and Cave and Ellis composed a modern masterpiece for JESSE JAMES. Thanks for greatly enriching the discussion here!
Nino Rota for…..the Godfather? ….Romeo & Juliet? How about 8 1/2, La Strada, La Dolce Vida, and the Leopard?
Do you honestly prefer Elmer Bernstein’s To Kill a Mockingbird to the Magnificent Seven? Why? Because it wasn’t highjacked by Philip Morris to sell cigarettes? And Elmer nailed the cheesiness of Airplane! perfectly.
Holy cow. What a great compilation, Sam! I just don’t have anything more to add at all, except may be a few Fellini movies, The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Dead Man, Satantango, Baraka etc. This is amazing, Sam. Fabulous list.
Thanks again for your graciousness JAFB! Always appreciated! Your additions are quite excellent, one and all.
Let’s see… 1. Sergei Prokofiev-ALEXANDER NEVSKY 2. Bernard Herrman-VERTIGO 3. Phillip Glass-KOYANISQATSI 4. Max Steiner-KING KONG 5. Zbigniew Priesner-BLUE 6. John Williams-SUPERMAN 7. Maurice Jaree-LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 8. Howard Shore-THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 9. Jerry Goldsmith-ISLANDS IN THE STREAM 10. Anton Karris-THE THIRD MAN 11. Charlie Chaplin-CITY LIGHTS 12. Jonny Greenwood-THERE WILL BE BLOOD 13. Bernard Herrman-PSYCHO 14. Miklos Rosza-BEN HUR 15. Woljec Kilar-BRAM STOKERS DRACULA
Ah Dennis, I knew you’d get ISLANDS in there and that’s fair enough. So many of the others are great, and as we discussed on the phone I completely forgot Harold Shore’s THE RETURN OF THE KING, which would surely have to rank with the greatest scores.
Lots of great scores identified here by Sam and others. But it just seems impossible to list the best of all time. Like films themselves, sorting through and ranking so much brilliance probably benefits from at least being broken down by decade. Off the top of my head, standout scores include Blade Runner, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, 2001, Alien, Body Heat, The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover. One could go on and on. Many scores don’t necessarily work as standalone experiences but so perfectly enhance the film being experienced.
Alas you make an excellent point there sartre. The problem with being obsessed with lists is that you need to be more selective. At some interval in time we may run decade film score polls, and those would requir far more than just a general consideration. Certainly the others who note yourself there are top-rank, even if the Kubricks owe much to classical sources.
Often overlooked is Hugo Friedhofer’s score for One Eyed Jacks. Friedhofer admired Brando & put a lot effort into this music, composing several beautiful themes. Friedhofer did his own maserful orchestrations. The excellent LP has never been re-released on CD in the United States. The music itself stands apart from both Tiomkin’s work & the Coplandesque style popularized by Elmer Bernstein, & oddly looks looks forward in parts to Morricone – one can almost hear the electric guitars that aren’t there.
some interesting choices. when making a list of what i think are the 20 greatest film scores, i feel as if i need to consider not only its quality but its historical significance too.
in chronological order…
CITY LIGHTS (chaplin, 1931)
KING KONG (steiner, 1933)
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (waxman, 1935)
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (korngold, 1938)
GONE WITH THE WIND (steiner, 1939)
CITIZEN KANE (herrmann, 1941)
LAURA (raksin, 1944)
SPELLBOUND (rozsa, 1945)
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (friedhofer, 1946)
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (north, 1951)
VERTIGO (herrmann, 1958)
PSYCHO (herrmann, 1960)
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (jarre, 1962)
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (bernstein, 1962)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (morricone, 1968)
PLANET OF THE APES (goldsmith, 1968)
THE GODFATHER (rota, 1972)
JAWS (williams, 1975)
STAR WARS (williams, 1977)
KOYAANISQATSI (glass, 1982)
thanks for reading.
1# The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – The Motion Picture – Howard Shore.