Favorite Movie Score

[SimonDoom]

And also comparisons to Holst.

Speaking of Holst, there are very obvious similarities between Holst's "Mars" and some of the battle music in Hans Zimmer's Gladiator.

 

[SimonDoom]

Ennio Morricone - Ecstasy of Gold. The powerful scene from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly with Tuco running through the graveyard while in the clutches of greed is followed by a truly epic score. Ennio is one of the greatest movie composers of all time in my opinion, who focuses on emotional music and exotic instruments, although his music isn't as harmonically rich and complex as Williams'

The music that plays while the three of them square off, almost agonizingly slowly, for the three-way duel at the end is a great sequence and a wonderful blend of music and scene.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The music that plays while the three of them square off, almost agonizingly slowly, for the three-way duel at the end is a great sequence and a wonderful blend of music and scene.

That one is just as good for me, although, unlike the Ecstasy of Gold, it wouldn't work nearly as well without the actual movie scene in my opinion, so that is why I made my pick.

 

[Two21B]

I probably would have said The Last of the Mohicans, but since it's been mentioned, I'll throw in a wildcard. Days of Thunder (Hans Zimmer). Great score to a mediocre movie. Also, while I know it's not the same thing, the soundtrack to The Crow is a personal favorite and I think it's one of the best albums to come out of the 90s.

 

[Djmac1031]

If we're talking about how a score can make or break a scene, another prime example is The Map Room: Dawn.

Watch this scene without the music and there's literally no tension. Nothing really HAPPENS in this scene other than the beam of light.

it's the MUSIC that creates all the tension, the drama, the anticipation.

 

[intim8]

Call it cliche, but when I was twelve and that first chord burst over the giant starship, back when nobody had seen anything like it. it was a moment I will never, ever again be able to recreate. So yeah, Star Wars will always be my favorite, no matter how much I like so many others.

You never forget your first time.

Edit, just watched it again, and the score came before the starships scene. So while you never forget your first time, you don't always remember it correctly.

 

[Djmac1031]

Call it cliche, but when I was twelve and that first chord burst over the giant starship, back when nobody had seen anything like it. it was a moment I will never, ever again be able to recreate. So yeah, Star Wars will always be my favorite, no matter how much I like so many others.

You never forget your first time.

Edit, just watched it again, and the score came before the starships scene. So while you never forget your first time, you don't always remember it correctly.

It's forgivable.

I was ten years old in the theater when the lights went dim, then those iconic words appeared:

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."

BLAM! John Williams changes my life forever. And then that Star Destroyer? Yeah, you never forget that.

Special effects have come a long way but for guys like us, no CGI can ever replace that.

 

[DarkWhispers2U]

Some of my favorite movie scores that I used to own on cd were: Jurassic Park, Dragonheart, The Rock (1996), Beetlejuice and Speed. I also loved Star Wars and quite a bit of the music from the Star Trek franchise. I'm sure there are many I adored and have just temporarily forgotten.

 

[intim8]

John Williams changes my life forever.

People who grew up with Star Wars and quality SFX movies already a part of the cultural background will never get it. This was new, this wasn't done. Sure, there had been 2001, but that was art. That came from the head.

Star Wars came from the balls. There was a combination of things in that opening theme, the crawl and the first scene that were like nothing that had come before. I don't know that anything with that kind of impact has come since. And it is always the music that brings the experience back in full. It was already telling a story from it's first stunning chord.

I almost cry when I think of what the franchise has become.

 

[OffNSFW]

I almost cry when I think of what the franchise has become.

With Star Wars, I have to content myself with the thought that it just isn't for me anymore, that there's still an audience for it, even if I'm no longer in it. I've made peace with that.

I have fond childhood memories and a trilogy of absolute bangers. I think I'm good.

 

[Voboy]

I always liked James Horner's score for Willow.

(Obviously I like a bunch more, but they've already gotten love here)

 

[Voboy]

Special effects have come a long way but for guys like us, no CGI can ever replace that.

This needs to be shouted from the rooftops, though I'm probably wrong for doing it in this thread.

I pity those who've never known films made with practical effects, but on the other hand? Without CGI, there are stories that would never have been filmable. I dislike the need for it, but I can't pretend the need isn't there.

 

[SimonDoom]

Call it cliche, but when I was twelve and that first chord burst over the giant starship, back when nobody had seen anything like it. it was a moment I will never, ever again be able to recreate. So yeah, Star Wars will always be my favorite, no matter how much I like so many others.

You never forget your first time.

Edit, just watched it again, and the score came before the starships scene. So while you never forget your first time, you don't always remember it correctly.

I'm not sure I'd call the Star Wars score my favorite movie music, but I think I would have to say it had the biggest impact. I completely share your impressions of the first few minutes of that movie. The quiet beginning "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," and then the fanfare of horns, the credit crawl, and then the space ships appearing in the screen. I'd never seen anything like it. It was the perfect music for the moment, and it's almost certainly the most recognizable movie music theme of all time. I think many people today would not recognize the theme of Gone With The Wind, which probably was the most famous theme from Hollywood's Golden Age.

 

[Zootonius]

Showing my age, but two come to mind, The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven.

 

[Zootonius]

Just saw a documentary on the making of Casablanca. Fun fact, Max Steiner, who wrote the score, didn't like As Time Goes By and pushed to get it out. Except they already filmed Bergman humming it, so it stayed. In turn, Steiner went with it and incorporated the song into the score.

 

[Zootonius]

While I can't say it's something I'd listen to repeatedly, 2001: A Space Odyssey is iconic. The dominant timpani in the opening scene really sets the tone.

Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss.

Edit: Richard Strauss. As I recall, a waltz by Johann Strauss was used as well.

 

[Zootonius]

Ennio Morricone, The Mission. Morricone might be my favorite movie composer. He wrote the music for the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, which is amazing, but I think The Mission is his most memorable and beautiful score. It's both sad and uplifting, like the movie.

For your amusement, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly performed by the The Danish National Symphony Orchestra

 

[Djmac1031]

This needs to be shouted from the rooftops, though I'm probably wrong for doing it in this thread.

I pity those who've never known films made with practical effects, but on the other hand? Without CGI, there are stories that would never have been filmable. I dislike the need for it, but I can't pretend the need isn't there.

Oh I'm not AGAINST CGI either. There just needs to balance.

You know, like with The Force.

 

[Nay_Nay01]

John Williams' Schindler's List

 

[AchtungNight]

The Rings of Power was just trash in every way, but Bear McCreary's score was excellent.

If we’re adding video game scores, Bear McCreary did a great job with the two most recent God of War games. I wrote one of my stories to his work.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss.

Edit: Richard Strauss. As I recall, a waltz by Johann Strauss was used as well.

The Blue Danube, when the spaceship docks with the circular space station.

 

[nice90sguy]

1950's: David Raskin's "Stripper theme" made "The Big Combo" one of my favorite Noirs of all time
1950's: Hermanns score for Hitchcock's North by Northwest . Philip glass appeared to have lifted that in his own music.
1950's: Herbie Hancock: "Lift to The Scaffold".
1960's: Quincy Jones: "The Italian Job"
1960's: Ligeti's "Atmosphere's", in "2001: A Space Odyssey". I saw Ligeti live in concert -- odd man, odd music. Funny and spooky.
1980's: Carly Simon's recurring theme song for "Working Girl"

John Williams: Nearly everything he does is Gold. I love his music for the Harry Potter series.
Hanz Zimmer's music for "Dune 2" which I watched for a second time yesterday is perfect for the movie -- so much sub-bass!

 

[AchtungNight]

Other excellent video game scores include the series Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and Super Mario. Other excellent movie scores include Blues Brothers, Apocalypse Now, and any other film that uses Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. And The Pink Panther.

 

[MrPixel]

The Blue Danube, when the spaceship docks with the circular space station.

Interesting tidbit about the music score for 2001. From Wikipedia:

From early in production, Kubrick decided that he wanted the film to be a primarily nonverbal experience that did not rely on the traditional techniques of narrative cinema, and in which music would play a vital role in evoking particular moods. About half the music in the film appears either before the first line of dialogue or after the final line. Almost no music is heard during scenes with dialogue. The film is notable for its innovative use of classical music taken from existing commercial recordings. Most feature films, then and now, are typically accompanied by elaborate film scores or songs written specially for them by professional composers. In the early stages of production, Kubrick commissioned a score for 2001 from Hollywood composer Alex North, who had written the score for Spartacus and also had worked on Dr. Strangelove. During post-production, Kubrick chose to abandon North's music in favour of the classical pieces which he had earlier chosen to guide North's score. North did not learn his score had been abandoned in favour of the temporary music pieces until he saw the film at its premiere.

 

[SimonDoom]

Another good one: the score for the original Planet of the Apes (1968), by Jerry Goldsmith, which was highly avant-garde.