Favorite Theme Song/Score in a movie?

Hello All,

First off, I'm a Star Wars fan, not a fanboy per say, but I dig the movies, grew up on them and I'm looking forward to Episode II, so with that out of the way..

What is your favorite theme song/score in a movie? What is the best score in a movie?

I mention the Star Wars bit because it's theme is popular and well known by many. The Emperial March is great and Williams is just proven as a writer of great and memorable music.

My favorite though might have to be the theme to "Halloween"... Simple, classic, and edgy..

Other notables..

Jaws
Raiders of the lost Ark

For those who perhaps aren't Williams fans.. I also like the opening theme to Star Trek "First Contact" I believe that Goldsmith's work. The love theme from "Meet Joe Black" gets stuck in my head often and "Vie Cor Meium" from Hannibal is another great piece IMO.

[Kronos]

Raiders of the Lost Ark, period.
But I also like the musical score from McVicar.

[Cheese Biscuits]

Gattaca. Damn, that's some fine music.

[Rogue, courteous Halfling]

I absolutely love Vide Cor Meum!!!

The score to the Fellowship of the Ring is waaaaaay up there for me!

I also really liked the main theme to Castaway, The Usual Suspects, Meet Joe Black and Romeo and Juliet.

[Adam Price-qatsi]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Ennio Morricone

[Duke]

Aside from the usual John Williams stuff (Raiders, Star Wars, Jaws, Superman, etc), one of my favorite scores is by James Horner for Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. I thought it was far superior to Jerry Goldsmith's Trek music.

And while I can't remember who did the score for Voyage Home, it was definitely the weakest of the franchise.

[Subotai]

Good call, Cheese. Michael Nyman did an amazing job with Gattaca.

I also like Lisa Gerrard's work. She did part of Gladiator w/ Hans Zimmer and did much of The Insider.

Midnight Run also has a kickass soundtrack, by Danny Elfman IIRC.

[Chavez]

Fave score has to be Braveheart; very evocative.

And for theme songs, well, it's tough to go wrong with the Bond franchise (For Your Eyes Only, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Nobody Does it Better) - although there are a few turkeys, it's tough to top the overall track record.

[Clarence Beaks]

Just as I can't settle on a best film of all time, I struggle to single out one classic soundtrack. Let's try this.....

5 Soundtracks That You Should Own:

NORTH BY NORTHWEST - Bernard Hermann
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD - Elmer Bernstein
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST - Ennio Morricone
THE FURY - John Williams
LA DOLCE VITA - Nino Rota

5 Great Scores for Bad Movies

ORCA - Ennio Morricone
RED DAWN - Basil Poledouris
WYATT EARP - James Newton Howard
WILLOW - James Horner
HOFFA - David Newman

[Tony Ryan]

Oh fuck yes, The Fury is pure underheard Williams.

[Richard Dickson]

Duke:
And while I can't remember who did the score for Voyage Home, it was definitely the weakest of the franchise.

Leonard Rosenman, who also did the score for Bakshi's Lord of the Rings film, did Star Trek IV, and you can hear a lot of his Rings score in the Trek score.

[Richard Dickson]

Clarence Beaks:
5 Great Scores for Bad Movies

ORCA - Ennio Morricone

YES!!!

Great score, never fails to hit me where I live.

[Subotai]

Good call on Hoffa, Beaks - there's a bit there that has been used again for many movies.

I just watched Romeo is Bleeding - umpteenth time - and one of the reasons I love it is Isham's haunting score, especially at the diner dequence at the end.

[Tony Ryan]

Poxy Von Sinister:

Leonard Rosenman, who also did the score for Bakshi's Lord of the Rings film, did Star Trek IV, and you can hear a lot of his Rings score in the Trek score.

And two great Planet Of The Apes Scores "Battle For" and "Beneath".

Really, really great scores.

[Micah Robinson]

Dan Jones - Shadow of the Vampire
Ennio Morricone - Once Upon a Time in The West/For a Few Dollars More
Bernard Hermann - Vertigo/Cape Fear
Michael Andrews - Donnie Darko
John Williams - Superman/Empire Strikes Back
Jerry Goldsmith - Star Trek: First Contact/Hollow Man/
Alan Silvestri - Back to the Future/Predator
Vangelis - Blade Runner
Michael Kamen - Highlander
John Ottman - The Usual Suspects

[Richard Dickson]

The single best score of all time is John Williams's score for The Empire Strikes Back. Downright operatic, epic, and sweeping, it is everything movie music should be. Every other score I own pales in comparison to it.

Best of the rest would include:
-- Conan the Barbarian, Basil Poledouris
-- The Dark Crystal, Trevor Jones
-- Jaws, John Williams

Copying Beaks's Great Scores for Bad Movies concept:
-- Hook, John Williams
-- Krull, James Horner

[Tony Ryan]

mikah912:
Dan Jones - Shadow of the Vampire

Again, fuck yeah!

[4496 aka Joe Sixpack]

The Goonies.

I don't know who scored it, but it SOUNDS like Williams, don't know who it is though.

Peace.
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[Tony Ryan]

The goonies is Dave Grusin. And it never fucking got a score album, which pisses me off.

Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet
- Requiem for a Dream

[deanbcurtis]

Vertigo, Jaws, Halloween, all fine selections. Although, if there was ever a soundtrack I craved unlike any, that honor goes to Rushmore.

[Viper220]

I'll chime in and say that the film Glory had a fantastic score. Not my favorite, but it's high on the list.

-Brian

[Jherek]

Big Lebowski: Gypsy Kings' Hotel California

From Dusk Til Dawn: Tito and Tarantula's After Dark

[Michael Rabattino]

Anything by Morricone or Williams.

And yeah Cheese, Gattaca was some EXCELLENT music.

[Charlie Brigden]

Poxy has it down on the Best Score: The Empire Strikes Back

Best Themes:
The Force Theme (best used in 'Funeral Pyre' in Return of the Jedi)
'Across the Stars' from Star Wars: Episode II
'Harmonica's Theme' from Once Upon A Time in the West
'Many Meetings' from The Fellowship of the Ring
'Spock's Death' from The Wrath of Khan
'The Raiders March'
'The Asteroid Field' from The Empire Strikes Back
'The Battle' from Gladiator

[Brian Ross]

Damn tough question. I love all the Star Wars scores but I think I'll have to pick Jurassic Park
Since it was the first movie score I bought and it turned me into a movie score fiend.

[moovyphreak]

James Horner - A Beautiful Mind, Braveheart, Willow, Glory

Ennio Morricone - The Mission, etc.

Danny Elfman - Batman, etc.

Thomas Newman - American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile

Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven

John Williams - Superman, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Star Wars films

John Barry - Out of Africa

Marice Jarre - Lawrence of Arabia

Carmine Coppola & Nino Rota - The Godfather Trilogy

Hans Zimmer - Gladiator, The Thin Red Line

Howard Shore - Fellowship of the Ring

Angelo Badalamenti - The Straight Story

John Corigliano - The Red Violin

[Frost]

Viper220:
I'll chime in and say that the film Glory had a fantastic score. Not my favorite, but it's high on the list.

-Brian

Good call, Glory was the first non-Star Wars score I owned. For years my favorite score was Graeme Revell's for The Crow, but last month I bought the Donnie Darko score and holy shit, it's amazing. Very haunting and inventive.

[Smilin' Jack Ruby]

Morricone's score to "Violent City" is one of my favorites as is "Man With a Harmonica" from "Once Upon a Time in the West."

Kilar's score to "The Ninth Gate" is another fave.

[AJ]

Remembrance/sorrow theme in The Crow - by Graemme Revell

Sneakers - by James Horner
Game of Death - by John Barry
Predator - by Alan Silvestri
Superman - by John Williams
Strange Days - by Graemme Revell

[Micah Robinson]

Smilin' Jack Ruby:
Kilar's score to "The Ninth Gate" is another fave.

Nice one, SJR. I'd forgotten. both that and his "Dracula" score rule all.

[Cheese Biscuits]

I'm quite partial to the Robocop theme.

[Michael Rabattino]

Final Duel/Into the Death Star from Return of the Jedi is one of the greatest things ever composed.

Hey Folks,

Thanks for the replies.. some great movies that I'll have to rewatch to see if it's worth picking up the soundtrack..

I don't think I saw it, but another that I like was the first Batman movie (not the 60s version, the late 80s Michael Keaton flick).

I'm surprised I didn't see "The Exorcist" Tublar Bells seems to have a cult following, maybe not this cult

[Agent 86]

I can't believe this isn't anyone's favorite.
Shame.

Lawrence of Arabia
then:
The Pink Panther
The Godfather I, II, III
Star Wars I, II, IV, V, VI
Indiana Jones Trilogy
Hell, all of John Williams' Scores
Batman
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Back to the Future Trilogy
12 Monkeys
Ghostbusters

[LlamaRama]

I can't believe no one has said Schindler's List yet. It's possibly the most haunting and beautiful theme I've ever heard. (Okay, so technically it fits under "all of John William's work, but this one deserves special mention.)

[CTDeLude]

Been awhile 86 where have you been?

LOL Kai en tai rulz!

[Agent 86]

Doing school.

[Eyeball Kid]

Great choices all around (especially Star Trek Two and Requiem For A Dream), but I'm partial to Carter Burwell:

Miller's Crossing
Hudsucker Proxy
Raising Arizona
Blood Simple
Rob Roy

Angelo Badlementi has the goods as well.

Twin Peaks (TV and Fire Walk With Me)
Mulholland Drive
etc

[Eyeball Kid]

double post

The new Across the Stars theme is moving into my top list. The Bridge of Khazad Dum from LOTR is definately one of my favs.

Donnie Darko. The whole score is mesmerising.

Yeah, Donnie Darko is good.

Star Wars, of course, Superman too (yay Williams).

I agree with the posts on Gattaca. I also love Graeme Revell's score to Frank Herbert's Dune and Jerry Goldsmith's "Total Recall" score.

I'm shocked no one picked Danny Elfman's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS's score. Also UNBREAKABLE's was pretty good. For the previously mentioned, BRAVEHEART and HALLOWEEN's are classic. I don't know if THE CROW's was mentioned but that's one of my favorites. Oh and FIGHT CLUB...and...well, I could just keep going.

[Mad Man Mundt]

Superfly by Curtis Mayfield

[Clarence Beaks]

Props to eyeball kid for bringing Carter Burwell into the discussion. Along with those you mentioned, I also dig:

THE SPANISH PRISONER
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (aside from the lovely Beethoven nocturnes).
FARGO
CONSPIRACY THEORY (even though it didn't fit that well into the film)

[Michael Rabattino]

Speaking of favorite themes, who just saw the Across the Stars music video?

Kickass footage, and God that song is beautiful.

It's definitely my favorite of the love themes, but I don't know, it might be tied with Princess Leia's theme.

[Jonathan Hawks]

Favorite Score: Braveheart, gotta go with the popular choice.

Favorite Theme: Tie between Fargo, October Sky, and Requiem for a Dream. There was only one time I ever cried in the theater, and it was during the final 6 minutes of October Sky, and they were happy tears, that theme was just so damn perfect for the last scene.