Favourite Film Score?

[gg.gamble]

I've got abit of film music but recently i've been listening to the music for 'A Beautiful Mind' by James Horner and it's incredible.
I find i can work better to film music rather than what I listen to normally as i'm less inclined to start headbangin and its more background than the classical stuff i have.

Was just wondering if anyone else has a favourite film score? 'coz i'm gonna get some more, becuase i need to work more..

Gav

[richiebee]

Zimmer and his crew get a lot of criticism, but whatever... my favourite film score is, without a doubt, Pirates III - At Worlds End. I don't care who wrote it or how many snippets were stolen from elsewhere, or how predictable it is. The performance is wonderful, expressive and the writing is very melodic and beautiful.

[TonyB]

Porno scores aside, (love those quarter-note bass lines) .... I've always liked the early Bond scores, even Live and Let Die. They seemed to fit that type of movie series.

[EnSkorSang]

I love the amelie film score, Yann tiersen is a genius. Also, Princess Mononoke/Spirited Away/Nausicaa and the Valley of the wind and pretty much anything else by Joe Hisaishi

[recordingDR]

The two that immediately came to mind upon reading this topic were Gladiator (as far as I know this was the last Zimmer movie before he started shamelessly recycling his own shit) and Friday Night Lights (incredible post-rock score by Explosions in the Sky). Little Miss Sunshine has a pretty great score by DeVotchKa as well.

[brandondrury]

I've never been a huge Hans Zimmer fan, although the work he did with Jeff Beck on the Days of Thunder score was amazing. He seems to "dabble" and "tinker" quite often in my opinion. I prefer straight to the point scores where there is no debating what the emotional intent is.

By far, my favorite dude is James Horner. The Braveheart scores is perfection for me. It gets no better. In fact, it's almost like he cheated to make it that good. Just when the music can't get any more powerful, it always does. Other scores that are supposed to be amazing (Gladiator comes to mind) aren't 1/10th this good in my opinion.

I also like James Horner's work in 48 Hours and Commando (basically the same music).

Brandon

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

By far, my favorite dude is James Horner. The Braveheart scores is perfection for me. It gets no better. In fact, it's almost like he cheated to make it that good. Just when the music can't get any more powerful, it always does. Other scores that are supposed to be amazing (Gladiator comes to mind) aren't 1/10th this good in my opinion.


Brandon

+1 I forgot about the Braveheart score. Good call.

[Metaltyme]

It's not really from the silver screen, but I think the score of the recently concluded Battlestar Galactica series (not the one from the 70s) was absolutely incredible. It is epic, triumphant, eerie, tragic, and subtle all rolled up into a spectacular series of soundtracks (Seasons 1-4). It's stylistic range is very diverse, but so cohesive at the same time. Bear McCreary is the genius behind it all. The music he created for that series is the most memorable score I've ever heard. That is saying tons by the way, as I'm a pretty avid movie buff. Anyhow, do check it all out if you get a chance. None will be disappointed. (Bold statement I know).

[Bigduggieface]

No list of top film scores would be complete without mentioning John Williams or Bernard Herrmann. Hell, even Danny Elfman and Ennio Morricone deserve major kudos.

Williams - "Jaws". The music in that film is sparse, but the score is responsible for building the tension and suspense that grabs your attention and throttles you. The iconic soundtrack to this film is utterly classic. This film gets my vote for the most successful use of music to enhance the experience.

Herrmann - "Psycho", "Vertigo" or any of the Hitchcock films he scored!

Elfman - "To Die For", or any of the Tim Burton flicks can be listened to without even the benefit of visuals.

Morricone - Trying to imagine "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" with any other score is unfathomable.

[brandondrury]

While we are at it, I thought Trevor Rabin hit the nail on the head on Armageddon. The movie is essentially a cartoon for childen (which is why it's my girlfriend's favorite movie), but they got the music right. Trevor Rabin did good work on Remember The Titans as well.

Brandon