Greatest Movie Musical Scores

[jimv]

What do you consider the greatest score you ever heard for a movie?   Who was the composer?

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Well, I can only think of a few that even stick out to me and they are completely different genres

"Pink Panther" (Henry Mancini) puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. One of my fondest memories came from a different Mancini song "Baby Elephant Walk" (which I guess he wrote for a movie I never saw called "Hitari"). Anyway, I used to wake up my daughter who was about a year old, by putting my Mancini record on and playing "Baby Elephant Walk" and turning it up. I'd walk into the bedroom to get her and she'd be hanging on to the top of the railing jumping up and down and laughing because she loved that song so much. Boy do I miss those days 

Others

"Sky Fall" (James Bond movie - theme song written and sung by Adele) very dramatic and showcases Adele's talent. Was played as its theme song in Bond's Sky Fall (played by Daniel Craig) in which he appeared to be a goner as he sunk deep into the sea.

"You Could Be Mine" (Terminator 2 - theme song written by Axel Rose, sung by Guns and Roses) radical riffs that pretty much summed up the radical movie...LOL

My vote for single theme song would have to go to Adele's "Sky Fall" for it's perfection in voice quality and synced with the scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XqdBiifUj8

If you mean musical scores throughout entire movies I'd probably go with some of Tarantino's movies. He had a way of putting eclectic songs together that actually enhanced all his movies. He even used "Bang, Bang" an enhanced re-digitized version of Nancy Sinatra used in "Kill Bill" to create the dramatic opening of "killing" Beatrix (The Bride) played by Uma Thurman. Regardless, he always tended to bring excellent (however eclectic) songs into his movies...for example, using a late 50's teen song "Woo Hoo" sung by the modern Japanese band, "5.6.7.8" during a slaughter scene...or Daryl Hannah coming to kill Beatrix while whistling "Twisted Nerve"....LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxJrdCIejus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BzQ0ytaJtk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CamXKi002Q

Tarantino also picked the musical scores for "Desperado" starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Like I said earlier, he had eclectic tastes and married songs to scenes that enhanced the movie. It was cool that the movie used the lead singer Tito as one of the bad guys in the movie (he was the guy who ran his finger across his throat to signal to Cheech to shoot the guy with Tarantino). [as a side note before someone jumps all over me, Tarantino did NOT write Desperado - that was done by Robert Rodriguez who collaborated with his best friend Tarantino to put the music together]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWTOgWybys
A scene from "Desperado" sung by Tito and Tarantula called "Back to the House"


That's all I got. There are some great scores in some Christmas movies, but can't put my finger on any

[Bob In PA]

I am a REAL fan of movie musicals, so for me, there are simply too many to name, but my personal list is probably headed by the Irving Berlin classics (White Christmas, Holiday Inn... I'll stop there!). 

As you all probably know, most (but not all) movie musicals started out as Broadway shows.... so....  I've got to mention the obvious Broadway names (Sondheim, Gershwin, Bernstein, Lloyd-Webber).

But it may be that Steven Schwartz is my favorite, because he's roughly my age, went to school here in PA (Carnegie Mellon) and writes the type of music I often compose.

Some may ask, "Steven who?"  Well, he wrote the music and lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife and... last but not least... Wicked.

IMHO, Wicked could be the greatest Broadway musical ever (truly brilliant music/lyrics... a masterpiece that is on a par with, or better than, the greatest works of any of the above-mentioned Broadway composers).

Bob

[jimv]

THANKS for being the first to answer Jolly.  I love the Baby Elephant Walk.  But I'm not looking for songs.  I'm looking for overall musical scores as the necessary background music.  For example, here's my all-time favorite score:

BEN HUR by Miklos Rozsa.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

THANKS for being the first to answer Jolly.  I love the Baby Elephant Walk.  But I'm not looking for songs.  I'm looking for overall musical scores as the necessary background music.  For example, here's my all-time favorite score:

BEN HUR by Miklos Rozsa.

Okay...thanks for clearing that up. I believe music is instrumental (no pun intended) to the success of movies, shows, etc. There are some brilliant composers out there like my favorite Gershwin or Aaron Copland. I personally thought Henry Mancini was a genius, but he defined a completely different genre than Gershwin or Copland

[Bob In PA]

THANKS for being the first to answer Jolly.  I love the Baby Elephant Walk.  But I'm not looking for songs.  I'm looking for overall musical scores as the necessary background music.  For example, here's my all-time favorite score:

BEN HUR by Miklos Rozsa.

jim: Thanks for reminding me that I missed a chance to mention the "music-without-lyrics" guys like John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman. 

I revere all three of them and consider them on a completely different "plane" from my meager vantage-point (on the bottom looking up!!!).

I also want to give "honorable mention" to the guy who composed the theme to the Perry Mason original TV show.  LOL!!!  His name is Fred Steiner.

Bob

[jimv]

Here's a couple more on my list:

2.  BIG Country by Jerome Moross

3.  MAGNIFICENT SEVEN by Elmer Bernstein

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I've never had the opportunity to watch a Broadway show in NYC, but I did watch two shows while in London back in the 90's. However, the music was irrelevant in both. Being a pianist (not exactly Chopin, but I can hammer out some songs) I ended up playing a bit of classical stuff in my life...my favorite probably being Beethovin's, Sonata 14 (better known as Moonlight Sonata to most) that I play quite well. I also got pretty good at Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, but never good enough to want to be on stage playing it before a crowd. I spent half my life trying to perfect Malague

[ozzie]

I have watched my fair share of musicals. Anything with Fred Astaire in it is accompanied by a great score. If I have to choose though, my favorite movie scores are:

Holiday Inn - Not sure of the composer
Yankee Doodle Dandy - George M. Cohan
&
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman

There are a lot of great ones though.

[jimv]

I have watched my fair share of musicals. Anything with Fred Astaire in it is accompanied by a great score. If I have to choose though, my favorite movie scores are:

Holiday Inn - Not sure of the composer   IRVING BERLIN
Yankee Doodle Dandy - George M. Cohan
&
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman

There are a lot of great ones though.

Still NOT what I'm looking for.  THANKS anyway, ozzie.

[GIANTS1]

not sure but here goes.
Rocky - Bill Conti

The Godfather- Nina Rota

The Good Bad Ugly -Ennio Morricone

[Bill Brown]

The Princess Bride.  Or maybe it just that I think Mark Knopfler is a incredible musician.

Bill

[LennG]

I was also going to say the Good, The Bad and the Ugly as my #1
After that
Rocky
Jaws
Any of the Indiana Jones Movies
Nigh Noon
Magnificent Seven
ET
The Godfather
Psycho
Star Wars
Any of the Pink Panther movies (come on, I stasrt humming it as soon as I think of it)
The Third Man

[Bob In PA]

I was also going to say the Good, The Bad and the Ugly as my #1
After that
Rocky
Jaws
Any of the Indiana Jones Movies
Nigh Noon
Magnificent Seven
ET
The Godfather
Psycho
Star Wars
Any of the Pink Panther movies (come on, I stasrt humming it as soon as I think of it)
The Third Man

Len: Good list.  I never seem to think of either The Godfather or The Third Man when answering a question like this, but those IMO are two great choices.  Bob

[Jolly Blue Giant]

A movie that I just thought of that should probably be on this list...Chariots of Fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSav51fVlKU