Top Film Scores: 46-34

46. The Patriot (2000), John Williams. This film evokes the spirit of American pride and courage as the founding fathers fight for their freedom. Williams aptly brings the piccollo to the forefront of his orchestration many times to give us a sense of the time period we’re in.

45. Shakespeare in Love (1998), Stephen Warbeck. This score has a wonderful theme that poignantly encompasses both the emotions of love and the artist’s inspiration (two emotions that I believe are almost the same, and thus conveyed perfectly in the singular motif of the film). One almost feels the excitement that Will Shakespeare enjoys as he creates the masterwork Romeo and Juliet. It is a feeling of heightened excitement, euphoria, like walking on air as they say.

44. Amistad (1997), John Williams. The film opens with a sobering lament as a ship full of slaves bobs across the Atlantic to America. This gut-wrenching melody sets the tone for the entire film.

43. 12 Monkeys (1995), Paul Buckmaster. If you want to hear an inventive and entertaining usage of the accordion, listen to this score. This is one of my favorite movies from one of my favorite directors, Terry Gilliam (but not as good as his film “The Fisher King”)

42. The Goonies (1985), Dave Grusin. Grusin wrote a lot for movies in the 80’s and early 90’s. The music for this classic is quite fun and adventurous. Of note musically is the car chase scene with the Fratellis, the battle of the kids against the Fratellis in the cave, and the moment the pirate ship makes its appearance at the very end.

41. The Secret Garden (1993), Zbigniew Preisner. This is a beautiful little film based on the novel by Francis Hodgson Burnett. There is a wonderful moment–both visually and musically–as Mary discovers the garden for the first time with Dicken.

41a. A Little Princess (1995), Patrick Doyle. I thought I’d throw this one in there as well, as it is a screen adaption of a novel by the same author as “The Secret Garden”. Also a worthwhile film.

40. Schindler’s List (1993), John Williams. This is a powerfully moving film that gives us a glimpse into the horrors of the Holocaust. Williams has written an equally tragic score with poignant violin solos by Itzhak Perlman.

39. The Matrix (1999), Don Davis. This is a very unique and imaginitive score for a film that absolutely blew me away the first time I saw it. Memorable moments include a seven-note ostinato as Neo and his friends enter the Matrix to vist the Oracle, a very striking motif of stacked minor triads separated by a minor second played by the brass, and a hero’s theme that is introduced as Neo saves Trinity from a crashing helicopter.

38. Batman Begins (2005), James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. This movie features a collaborative effort by two of the greats in the business. We get both the power of Zimmer and the graceful string music of Newton Howard. The brilliance of this score lies in its simplicity–the whole score is built from a small germ, two notes oscillating in a minor third. This is heard perhaps best as the young Bruce Wayne scales a snowy mountain in Asia, approaching a palace at the summit.

37. Angela’s Ashes (1999), John Williams. A lot of times, when I’m watching a movie for the first time I like to try and guess the composer before I see the credit. I could have sworn this was a James Horner score. The style just reminded me so much of Horner. It turns out I underestimated John Williams once again. Maybe he really can compose in all styles and genres. This film features one of the most moving phrases in strings I’ve heard in a movie. It is achingly beautiful.

36. Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Jerry Goldsmith. When I think of some of the favorite scores I’ve heard from Goldsmith, one of the words that jumps to my mind is ‘noble’ or ‘majestic’. The music for this film features just such majesty, accomplished by a beautiful french horn melody and strings.

36a. Star Trek orignial theme, Alexander Courage. Since I’ve mentioned “First Contact” I had to throw this in as an addendum. The moment we hear those ever-memorable stacked fourths we are thrust into the world of the starship Enterprise, floating serenely through space in a mission to “seek out new life and new civilization.” This simple motif is an instant classic in both TV and cinema history.

36b. Star Trek: The Next Generation theme, Jerry Goldsmith. Most Star Trek fans no doubt appreciate the theme written for ST: The Next Generation. We’ve heard it mostly in the opening credits of the TV show; but even more wonderful is the careful rendering of this melody in the STNG movies, brought to you of course by Goldsmith himself…french horn, strings…all over again. It’s wonderful.

35. Titanic (1997), James Horner. Yes, Titanic. I know what you might be thinking. We’re all tired of hearing about this over-hyped movie that all the teenage girls went to see twenty times in the theatre, especially that infamous Celine Dion song. But this has nothing to do with Celine Dion, or Jack or Rose. Did you know that there’s actually a lot of good music in this film? I’m not talking about “My Heart Will Go On”. The love theme of Jack and Rose is actually quite nice (before it was sentimentalized and lyricized), and the music accompanying the departure of Titanic from Southampton is quite exciting.

34. Chariots of Fire (1981), Vangelis Papathanassiou. What can I say about this film? I believe it’s the quintessential running man’s film. The opening scene of runners on the beach, accompanied by that inspiring theme is so good that it’s enough to catapult it to #34. Many people love to reference the theme when they’re mimicking the accomplishment of some feat of athleticism. For instance, I knew this melody years before I had even heard of the movie.