Variety recently polled 40 active film composers and asked them to name the three best original movie scores of all time in order of preference. Have a look at their top 10 (11) scores and composers after the jump.
They measured the results of their poll by taking each composer’s top three, and awarded three points to the highest ranked score, two points to the next, and one point for the score they ranked third. Then, with the assistance of ASCAP and BMI, they tallied the numbers to arrive at the top ten (which, thanks to ties, became a top eleven). Ennio Morricone’s theme from The Mission (1986) surprisingly topped their list, while John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars) was the most recognized composer.
Below their selections you can see my own personal list, and feel free to rank yours in the comments.
The Top 10 Scores:
The Top 10 Composers:
My Top 10 Film Scores:
- Star Wars (John Williams)
- The Godfather (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola)
- The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman)
- Jaws (John Williams)
- Doctor Zhivago (Maurice Jarre)
- Psycho (Bernard Herrmann)
- E.T. (John Williams)
- Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre)
- Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)
- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Ennio Morricone)
Related Stories:
Tags: Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Film score, Film Scores, Jaws, John Williams, Maurice Jarre, Star Wars music
27 Comments
sorry but hans zimmer also creates masterpiece of film score.
JOURNEY TO THE LINE
THE LION KING
GLADIATOR
ssada(Quote) (Reply)
I would have included Bridge on the River Kwai by Malcolm Arnold
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Very high on my list as well. So many choices… so little spots to fill. The theme from The Third Man is another of my favorites.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
Thinking on some of the older films. Another one was “On The Beach” with all of its variations on the theme of “Waltzing Matilda” including a full symphonic version with piano for which Ernest Gold won the Golden Globe. He followed that up with the Oscar for Exodus.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Either of Sergei Prokofiev’s two scores for Eisenstein (ALEXANDER NEVSKY or IVAN THE TERRIBLE) blow THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION’s score out of the water.
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
1) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly by Ennio Morricone
2) Psycho by Bernard Herrmann
3) Rumblefish by Stewart Copeland
4) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Alex North
5) O Lucky Man! by Alan Price
6) Shaft by Isaac Hayes
7) Gone With The Wind by Max Steiner
8) Star Wars by John Williams
9) Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre
10) Local Hero by Mark Knopfler
11) Chinatown by Jerry Goldsmith
12) The Black Stallion by Carmine Coppola
13) The Warner Brother cartoons scored by Carl Stalling
14) To Kill a Mockingbird by Elmer Bernstein
15) Giant by Dimitri Tiomkin
16) Taxi Driver by Bernard Herrmann
17) Anatomy of a Murder by Duke Ellington
18) Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin
19) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid by Burt Bacharach
20) The Adventures of Robin Hood by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Dean Treadway(Quote) (Reply)
Chinatown was incredibly hard to leave out of my ten. I see it would just miss yours as well. Lots of great choices!
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
The Mission! Never would have thought I’d see it on there, but that’s a great pick.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Can’t believe I didn’t think of Bernard Hermann! Anything by him.
Gary Swafford(Quote) (Reply)
Too many to choose from without a bit of research but with the help of those above and a few that come to mind the following are all contenders:
THE MISSION, PSYCHO, UNDER FIRE (Goldsmith), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, CHINATOWN, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE GODFATHER PART 2, GONE WITH THE WIND, LOCAL HERO, TAXI DRIVER, PEYTON PLACE, THE BIG COUNTRY, TOM JONES and FAR FROM HEAVEN.
I am sure there are dozens more I have left out.
Martin Bradley(Quote) (Reply)
The lists are strong but forget many great earlier scores: A Place in the Sun, On the Waterfront, The Sea Hawk, etc
Phil Speary(Quote) (Reply)
I’m surprised that Howard Shore’s work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy didn’t get a mention. In my opinion no other score comes close to it.
Alex(Quote) (Reply)
Some damn good picks from the composers, the readers and Mark … but I think the wonderful Michel Legrand more than deserves a place in the “all-time greats” discussion, especially for his indelible work on The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
Robert Hamer(Quote) (Reply)
He wrote such beautiful themes with “La Mer” – Beyond the Sea, And don’t forget The Thomas Crowne Affair and the lovely Les Moulins de Mon Coeur – Windmills of Your Mind
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Great mention, Robert.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
1. The entire Star Wars franchise by John Williams
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone
3. The Pink Panther series by Henry Mancini
4. The Third Man by Anton Karas
5. The Indiana Jones Trilogy by John Williams
6. Sunshine by John Murphy
7. Pan’s Labyrinth by Javier Navarrete
8. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Howard Shore
9. Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell
10. Inception by Hans Zimmer
11. The Mission by Ennio Morricone
12. The Godfather by Nino Rota
13. Once Upon a Time In the West by Ennio Morricone
14. James Bond by Monty Norman
15. The Adventures of Robin Hood by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
16. Jaws by John Williams
17. Psycho by Bernard Herman
18. Jurassic Park by John Williams
19. Charade by Henry Mancini
20. Batman by Danny Elfman
21. The Wolfman by Danny Elfman (what? it’s good music)
Steve Glansberg(Quote) (Reply)
1. Glory- James Horner
2. Titanic- James Horner
3. There Will Be Blood- Jonny Greenwood
4. Pan’s Labyrinth- Javier Navarrete
5. Blood Diamond- James Newton Howard
6. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial- John Williams
7. Beauty & the Beast- Alan Menken
8. Requiem for a Dream- Clint Mansell
9. Pride & Prejudice- Dario Marianelli
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark
11. The Notebook- Aaron Zigman
12. Brokeback Mountain- Gustavo Santaolalla
13. Ghost- Maurice Jarre & Alex North
14. The Cider House Rules- Rachel Portman
15. The Lion King- Hans Zimmer
16. Back to the Future- Alan Silvestri
17. The Empire Strikes Back- John Williams
18. The Dark Knight- Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
19. Star Wars- John Williams
20. Hook- John Williams
Had too many favorites to post just 10. I would have to include James Horner on that list, considering he has done my two favorite scores ever.
missionstatement1224(Quote) (Reply)
I think Santaolalla’s score for Brokeback is another one that will be remembered for a long, long time. It’s just beautiful.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
Where is Miklos Rozsa? The guy has made some of the most iconic Hollywood scores ever. Ben-Hur is one of the best ever btw.
Will(Quote) (Reply)
I’m glad you mentioned Ben-Hur, one of the most underrated scores ever, IMO.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
1.Star Wars (All 6 films by John Williams)
2. Titanic (James Horner)
3. E.T. (John Williams)
4. To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)
5. Gladiator (Hanz Zimmer)
6. The Shawshank Redemption (Thomas Newman)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre)
8. Doctor Zhivago (Maurice Jarre)
9. Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith)
10.The Lord of the Rings (All 3 films by Howard Shore)
11.The Godfather (1 & 2 Nino Rota)
12.Schindler’s List (John Williams)
13.Empire of the Sun (John Williams)
14.A Beautiful Mind (James Horner)
15.Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)
16.Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann)
17.Hook (John Williams)
18.Indiana Jones (First 3 films by John Williams)
19.Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla)
20.The Hours (Philip Glass)
Sam(Quote) (Reply)
Hook!! Yes!!
missionstatement1224(Quote) (Reply)
21.The Color Purple (Quincy Jones)
22.On Golden Pond (Dave Grusin)
23.The English Patient (Gabriel Yared)
Sam(Quote) (Reply)
1 – Howards End (Richard Robbins)
2 – The Hours (Philip Glass)
3 – The English Patient (Gabriel Yared)
4 – The Piano (Michael Nyman)
5 – ET (John Williams)
6 – Gone With the Wind (Max Steiner)
7 – Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman)
8 – Legends of the Fall (James Horner)
9 – The Exorcist (Steve Boeddeker)
10 – A Passage to India (Maurice Jarre)
11 – Schindler´s List (John Williams)
12 – Finding Neverland (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
Mikael(Quote) (Reply)
Doing this off the cuff without reference but here it goes.
1. Gone With The Wind
2.. Once Upon A Time In The West
3. Lawrence of Arabia
3. Doctor Zhivago
4. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
5. Psycho
6. Vertigo
8. Jaws
9. The Godfather
10. Beauty And The Beast (Menken)
11. Out of Africa
12. High Noon
13: 2001: A Space Odyssey
14. The Third Man
15. The Magnificent Seven
16. Bridge on the River Kwai
15. Goldfinger
17. A Man And a Woman
18. Zorba The Greek
19. The Fox
20. Z
jmlatinsir(Quote) (Reply)
My fave composers are:
Howard Shore
Hans Zimmer
Philip Glass
Clint Mansell
James Newton Howard
Matthew Barker(Quote) (Reply)
Shore is one of my favorites as well, and I’m glad you mentioned Glass and Mansell. You don’t hear their names enough and they are without a doubt two of the best working composers today.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)