Top 10 Movie Scores
Music is one of the greatest parts of film. While some films choose to use soundtracks of both new and original songs, some use scores instead to convey emotions in a film. There are many great examples of this, and an award is even given out every year at the Oscars to the ‘Best Original Score.’ There are really two GOATs of film score. Hans Zimmer who appears twice on my list and John Williams who alternates as every other entry on this list. John Williams is legit. I want everyone to know that it was really a fight for me not to be like dun dun dun dun and let you play the songs in your head. Anyways, let’s get into this.
‘Dune’ by Hans Zimmer- One of the most recent addition on the list, Hans Zimmer bring Arrakis to life with this score. Zimmer’s score all throughout the film provides the perfect audial background to what is already such a visual experience.
‘Harry Potter’ by John Williams- There are some film scores you just know as soon as you hear the first few notes. And it’s incredible how many of those were written by John Williams. His first entry on my list shares a common thread with his others, in that the main theme is incredibly iconic. In this instance ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ stands out from the rest, but I am also personally a fan of ‘Christmas at Hogwarts.’
‘Interstellar’ by Hans Zimmer- I think this really is Zimmer’s best work. The way each songs blends perfectly together, but also stands apart for each world and situation is utterly brilliant.
‘Jaws’ by John Williams- Duh duh. Duh duh. Duh duh duh duh duh duh. I had to do it at least once. Everyone knows that song. There are some films that have a song like (e.g. ‘Psycho’ or ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’), but ‘Jaws’ is the main one to me where the song has surpassed the iconicity of the movie.
‘Lord of the Rings’ by Howard Shore- Considered one of the greatest trilogies of all-time, few parts of these films are underrated due to the mass love for them. But I feel as though amongst all the praise and positive aspects, sometimes the music gets pushed aside. However, I think that Howard Shore’s score brings Middle-Earth to life nearly as much as the visuals.
‘Jurassic Park’ by John Williams- Hello again Mr. Williams. Sometimes I wonder if the reason John Williams is so successful is because he just gets really lucky and attached to the right films. If you really dive in though, even the lesser-known films are incredibly well scored. So maybe he is the secret sauce. I can’t think of anyone else who could write a song for the audience experiencing dinosaurs on screen for the first time and it being literally perfect.
‘Oppenheimer’ by Ludwig Göransson- The newest addition on the list and the most recent winner of the Academy Award for Best Score, the score of ‘Oppenheimer’ manages to fit every scene and lets us feel the music in Oppenheimer’s head. Can you hear the music Robert?
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ by John Williams- Another one where I was just tempted to go ‘Doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo.’ Yea you know it.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl’ by Klaus Badelt- My mom used to play ‘The Black Pearl’ all the time around the house. Our house always felt like a pirate ship.
‘Star Wars’ by John Williams- The greatest score of all-time. Both ‘Main Title,’ and then in ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ ‘The Imperial March.’ And then you better believe I’m not going to not mention ‘Cantina Band.’ The real theme of the Lego Star Wars video games.
