The Best 100 Film Scores of All Time
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
It has been a few months, but we have finally reached the last music related list of my decades project: the best one hundred original film scores. What this means is that these are musical pieces written specifically for the big screen. That means no popular music compilations, no batches of original songs (you may find one or two on some of these albums that are mostly original orchestrations, however), and no albums released as separate companions with songs that aren’t necessarily within the film (there is a unique exception here at one point). These are the compositions that are meant to bring scenes to life, highlight characters or settings, or extract a certain emotion for an audience to feel.
There are a couple of stipulations. A couple of films that made my soundtracks list may be here, because they have had a score and soundtrack album release. Some examples of films that contain both won’t be here, like A Clockwork Orange, Drive, or Blue Velvet (which made my soundtracks list), since their releases included both the popular tracks/compositions and the original recordings, so if you’re looking for those and can’t find them, this is why. I won’t life: it has been a little tricky for me to separate soundtracks and scores in some instances, so you may feel the need to argue that some of the inclusions here should actually be on the other list according to my guidelines, and vice versa. If the album in question was included at all, then at least it’s being recognized, right? These bonus lists are meant to be more fun and casual than my top film lists, so I wouldn't take any of this too seriously.
Nonetheless, I’m hoping you’ll like this list and my rankings. I will say that this was one of the hardest of any of these lists to rank (even with the fun side of the experiment). I love music almost as much as I love film (maybe just ever so slightly less), and I identify far more with cinematic scores than I do soundtracks, so I already have had so many favourites I have been eager to share. Which of these scores work the best in context? What about outside of their cinematic domicile? There are many — and I do mean many — releases that I wish were here but are not, so there may be some pain that you and I both share when it comes to some exclusions. Furthermore, I have taken note of all eras, and have noticed that contemporary scores can be on the same level as some of the classics of yesteryear. You will find a sizeable number of recent releases here, and some maybe in some surprising positions. You have been warned, but I felt it was necessary to stay true to my heart. Here are the best one hundred film scores of all time.
100. Sweet Bunch
Attached to a film of complete and utter debauchery is an incredibly stunning synth score from Giorgios Hatzinasios: the capturing of spirit within the deepest depths of sin.
99. The Master
Balancing a corrupted mind and a forceful cult is Jonny Greenwood’s uneasy score, which tiptoes between sanity and hysteria (with the Radiohead multi-instrumentalist’s iconic classical touch) at every turn.
98. Beauty and the Beast
Before Disney’s Beauty and the Beast wowed us with its own music (see my soundtracks list), there was Georges Auric’s score that acted as the previous best version of musical accompaniment for the Barbot de Villeneuve tale.
97. Black Swan
Featuring Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake composition in reverse, as well as other daydreaming vignettes, Clint Mansell’s Black Swan score is as hectic as it is graceful; it truly is a dance in and of itself.
96. Death Wish
The main attraction of Death Wish is hearing Herbie Hancock trying his hand (rather hands) at making a jazz-orchestral fusion to merge the worlds of cinematic scores and the freedom of the electric jazz era.
95. Joker
Hildur Guðnadóttir was only the first woman to ever win an Academy Award for film score composing. This is a devastating fact attached to powerful music that surpasses the flaws of Joker and renders the film at least worth experiencing once (next to Joaquin Phoenix).
94. Wait Until Dark
One of the most underrated films of all time — Wait Until Dark — pairs up nicely with a similarly-under-experienced piece of art: Henry Mancini’s haunting score. Part Old Hollywood and part prophecy of the future of horror and thriller music, Mancini’s score is as chilling as can be.
93. The Fly
Howard Shore is able to pinpoint the scarier elements of The Fly with the more intense moments of his score, but it’s his ability to find the beauty within the horrific that has helped make David Cronenberg’s magnum opus one of the greatest horror films of all time. I never signed up for crying at the end of such a gruesome flick!
92. La La Land
Next to the string of original songs in La La Land is Justin Hurwitz’s equally fantastic score, with moments that take you to the stars, if not as far as your mind and heart are willing to go.
91. Charade
Henry Mancini could always come up with a slick melody that would reel you into a film’s core, but it really is nice to hear him have some fun as well with the genre bending Charade. Do you want a legitimately mysterious overtone? A fun, fleeting song of curiosity? A romantic blanket of harmony? Mancini was able to do it all here.
90. Monos
As far as I’m concerned, Mica Levi can’t miss. Their harrowing score for Monos is an exercise in minimalist dread that takes an already heavy film and makes it titanic. No one’s talking about the Monos score right now, but they damn well should be.
89. Dead Man
Neil Young is the kind of guy who could just come up with something golden out of nothing. That’s precisely what he did for the Dead Man score, as he improvised the score on his guitar whilst watching a cut of the film; you somehow would never guess he made it up on the spot if you didn’t know.
88. E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial
As overly sentimental as John Williams can be, you’ll find him on this list a number of times. He was one of the best conjurers of entire lifetimes within a few notes in film history. E.T., for instance, contains all of the explorations across galaxies that the feature film portrays, and you relive it every time the theme — or any song from the feature — is played.
87. Contempt
In one of Jean-Luc Godard’s most empathetic films, Contempt’s score is equally as emotional, with enough moving moments to keep you stunned well after the film wraps up.
86. Annihilation
As Annihilation progresses, the more it corrodes. The same can be said for its inventive score, which evolves from an acoustic-guitar slice of minimalism and dives head-first into a world of glitch and synthetic ambience.
85. The Untouchables
It’s interesting to see Brian De Palma try to place heart within a gangster film, but Ennio Morricone was at the ready with the music that’s as warm as it is daring, placing a sense of prestige on a film of death and corruption.
84. The Fountain
The Fountain has been reassessed as the years have gone on, and maybe it is, in fact, time to revisit Darren Aronofsky’s once-maligned film. Part of the appeal is just how beautiful Clint Mansell’s music is here: the kind of compositions that make you revisit your entire life as a series of memories, with the knowledge of time’s unforgiving nature in your midst.
83. Midnight Cowboy
Underneath a counterculture film is a score that tries to tie together the heart of America and the endlessness of forever. There was John Barry to bring some sort of solace in one of the most taboo works of the ‘60s.
82. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Assassination of Jesse James doesn't feel overlong, thanks to the brilliant music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis; the duo crafted a folk score for the ages, where universes of emotions can be felt by the fewest amount of notes.
81. The Mission
Ennio Morricone was usually writing for films that were of his calibre. The Mission is okay, but it’s Morricone’s adventurous music that elevates it to something much more meaningful; the score sounds like one of the rare times Morricone was willing to play ball within the realm of ‘80s music (but even then he was untouchable).
80. Interstellar
With his partnership with Christopher Nolan, it has become expected of Hans Zimmer to create musical perfection. Well, it’s been seven years, and I feel comfortable enough saying that Interstellar is one of his finest efforts worthy of such a discussion; if anything, it could be Zimmer at his most moving.
79. Touch of Evil
While Henry Mancini was writing some of the most thrilling music of his time, it only made sense that he would pair up nicely with an Orson Welles opus; his Touch of Evil music adds to the film’s tension and explosive nature.
78. Akira
As bizarre as the world in Akira is, Shōji Yamashiro’s music was just as pessimistic, futuristic, and void of warmth. His aim was to replicate the anime classic’s chaotic world. He accidentally went further and made music that would be mimicked or referenced for decades.
77. Uncut Gems
Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) worked before with the Safdie brothers (Good Time sadly just barely missed the cut), and his bond with the filmmakers only got tighter with his music for Uncut Gems, which is as magical as it is unnerving.
76. Requiem for a Dream
Clint Mansell’s often-referenced work in Requiem for a Dream was a welcome to the twenty-first century, with a classical-esque score that contained anxiety, dread, and the lowest of lows; let’s hope we never experience these downfalls ourselves.
75. Paris, Texas
Wim Wenders loved using his films as a means of highlighting the kind of music he loved, and one such spotlight is Ry Cooder’s usage in Paris, Texas: a fittingly quaint score for a film that is purely driven by internal thought and broken hearts.
74. The Great Silence
Ennio Morricone shines in one of the bleakest films of all time; his score provides the mute protagonist of the wild, frozen west a voice. Morricone’s music with stay with you as long as one of cinema’s most shocking conclusions.
73. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
James Bond films are known for their music, and the finest case you’ll find is in the George Lazenby film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Setting the tone for all of the 007 flicks afterwards with a fully-realized landscape of poise, John Barry’s score feels untouchable here.
72. The Virgin Suicides
Even early on in her career, Sofia Coppola knew exactly what kind of music will accompany her films. For The Virgin Suicides, there was Air, who supply a sublime, ethereal soundscape fit for a film from the tail end of the ‘90s.
71. Rosemary’s Baby
The score for Rosemary’s Baby through and through is fantastically creepy, but Krzysztof Komeda’s biggest moment comes from the fantastically eerie lullaby that pops in and out throughout the film: a Mia Farrow sung chant that will lull you straight to hell.
70. The Bridge on the River Kwai
Before Maurice Jarre would do his best work with David Lean, there was Sir Malcolm Arnold and his gigantic compositions for The Bridge on the River Kwai. These helped usher out the Golden Age of Hollywood with some of the era’s finest examples melodies.
69. A Beautiful Mind
James Horner’s painfully exquisite score for A Beautiful Mind feels intellectual at times — mimicking the brain of John Nash — as well as sincerely heartfelt (representing the love radiating from wife Alicia).
68. Double Indemnity
In the height of the film noir movement, Double Indemnity aimed to be the noir to end all noirs. Well, if that wasn’t the case, it certainly seems that way with Miklós Rózsa’s compositions: traditional pieces that vowed to dive as deeply into the pits of despair as possible.
67. Phantom Thread
For once, Paul Thomas Anderson was asking Jonny Greenwood to work via elegance for Phantom Thread, and Greenwood was happy to comply. These shimmering string orchestrations carry the bulk of the film’s passion amidst all of its quarrelling and hidden agendas.
66. Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (For All Mankind)
Even though not all of the music from Apollo made it into For All Mankind (and vice versa), Brian and Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois’ extraordinary ambient music is a must to include here. Firstly, as a traditional score, Apollo is a transcendent experience. Secondly, many films from Traffic and 28 Days Later have found solace in these songs as well.
65. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Everyone knows John Williams is a legend, but I somehow can’t help and feel that he still has an under discussed score within his filmography. I’d easily consider his music for Close Encounters of the Third Kind one of his finest hours (don’t worry; there’s still much to come), because it’s a score that allows you to wander around within it, rather than it carving its own path.
64. On the Waterfront
You’re guaranteed to have a great score if you have the iconic Leonard Bernstein on board, so it’s no wonder that On the Waterfront is as hypnotically grandiose as it is; like feeling the outpour of broken souls clashing together to finally be heard in this tale of the underdogs.
63. Edward Scissorhands
Naturally, you’d expect Danny Elfman to be a part of a Tim Burton production, but even then his cinematic opus — the music for Edward Scissorhands — feels fully transcendent of these expectations. It’s impossible to not feel like a wide-eyed child experiencing magic, love, and hurt for the first time listening to Elfman’s luminous music.
62. Letter from an Unknown Woman
Despite being very much of its time, there’s something about Daniele Amfitheatrof’s score for Letter from an Unknown Woman that feels forward-thinking and ahead of the ‘40s; as if these Old Hollywood orchestrations expected the upcoming desire for swelling musical melodrama that would await American cinema.
61. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
One of Michael Nyman’s more unorthodox scores, the musical mastermind found the necessity to match Peter Greenaway’s taboo content in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover with a pulsating, haunting score that cuts right to the core.
60. Back to the Future
In this edition of “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Williams!”, Alan Silvestri’s unforgettable music for Back to the Future feels so whimsical, inspirational, and exciting in the way that perfectly replicates the endlessness of the film’s subject matter; we don’t need roads for this adventure either (except for maybe a highway to bullet down).
59. Doctor Zhivago
I feel like Doctor Zhivago is great but not quite as strong as David Lean’s previous two opuses, but Maurice Jarre didn't get that memo with his explorative score that aimed to find new ideas within the evolution of the Golden Age of Hollywood conventions.
58. Upstream Color
Considering Shane Carruth doesn’t have much experience with composing music outside of his films, it should feel more like a surprise that his work on Upstream Color is on such a list. That isn't the case, especially since it is so inexplicably breathtaking in such a spiritual way; the score to Upstream Color absolutely belongs here.
57. Sunset Boulevard
To usher in a new age, we must be aware of what has gone. Franz Waxman’s score for Sunset Boulevard feels like the final nail in the coffin of films noir everywhere as if the films of old were finally gone; his score acts as the apparitions of cinematic music and themes of yesteryear, haunting (yet dazzling) us one last time.
56. Breathless
Not much music could fit in with Jean-Luc Godard’s debut Breathless, especially since the film is so scattershot and jarring. However, a jazz musician like Martial Solal was perfect, and his emphatic music felt like the only melodies that could have even remotely worked here.
55. The Wizard of Oz
Outside of the original songs that led us to different parts of our imaginative consciousnesses, there was Herbert Stothart’s score for The Wizard of Oz that always reminded us that we weren't in Kansas anymore: a wonderland of mesmerizing compositions that continue to transport us to this day.
54. Halloween
John Carpenter was in such control of his films, and this occasionally included the music of his features. His biggest musical payoff was the iconic score for Halloween: a spooky-yet-intimate confrontation where less is more, and Carpenter was certain of which notes were the right ones to terrify you forever.
53. The Magnificent Seven
If John Sturges was going to adapt Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, he needed to be as close to the masterful source material as possible. This included having powerful music (more on that later), and Elmer Bernstein’s compositions fit the bill, turning this standard western epic into the work of mythological proportions.
52. The Thin Blue Line
You know that attaching Philip Glass to your film (especially in the ‘80s) was a guaranteed success in your musical department, but his score for the chilling documentary The Thin Blue Line goes so much further past any form of expectation. His minimalist masterworks elevate this uneasy film towards a spellbinding echelon.
51. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
If you thought the soundtrack for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai went hard (see my soundtrack list for more information), then you haven’t heard the original score for the same film; this time, you get straight-up uninhibited RZA compositions. From a hip hop producer who pieced together film sounds and melodies to make his own tracks, he was destined to make a score with such a pulse.
50. Laura
Part of Laura’s legacy is the film’s mysticism, and David Raksin's score helps create this sensation tenfold. This essential film noir set of compositions pairs up with any existential crises quite nicely.
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
In order to bring the wuxia genre back from the grave, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had to incorporate the mythology of such a genre as well as possible. With such a spiritually exquisite score to open up the 2000’s, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is undeniably enriched with the magic of entire previous generations of cinema.
48. The Red Shoes
To mimic the kind of illusionary musical experiences that such a revised fairy tale could bring, The Red Shoes needed the right music to bring this epic to life. With the epic orchestrations underneath some of cinema's finest dance numbers, this mission was achieved, resulting in some of the more transcendent sequences of the ‘40s.
47. The Pink Panther
Henry Mancini's score — especially that theme — is so strong that it doesn't even need the iconic comedy-mystery film (or the rest of its series and animated spin offs) to help it survive. In the same way that the opening animations developed into its own series of characters, so did Mancini’s sneaky, cheeky score that creeps its way into all of our hearts.
46. Inception
With a booming undercurrent that every trailer has tried to steal ever since, Hans Zimmer’s Inception score is as clever as it is bold, with the slowing-down of an Edith Piaf staple that becomes one of the most gargantuan epic compositions of the 2010’s. Suddenly, the typical Hollywood blockbuster score — as well as Hans Zimmer’s career — was completely transformed.
45. The Last Emperor
To get a score this lush and singular, you’d need a diverse team like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cong Su, and David Byrne. With all of the genre and nation bending here, The Last Emperor is gifted a score that feels inventive yet era-appropriate, as if it is a meta interpretation of the film in a musical sense.
44. Trouble Man
If only we could have heard Marvin Gaye score more films. You can tell the Trouble Man accompaniment was made when the Motown legend was recording his opus What’s Going On, since this score also acts as one long suite full of grooves, power, and layers upon layers of melodies.
43. Romeo and Juliet
It’s amazing how much life the 1968 Romeo and Juliet has sustained as the possible superior adaptation that isn’t West Side Story, and part of that staying power comes from the triumphant score by Nino Rota. It has affected listeners ever since, from most romantic epics to Lana Del Rey. It’s tough to recreate the passion from this score nonetheless.
42. Rocky
The common movie lovers of today forget how small-scale Rocky was as a passion project made by the neglected members of Hollywood. Bill Conti made sure that you never remembered that you were watching this low-budget project with some of the most soaring music in all of sports cinema. Regardless of how you feel about Rocky, you’ll undeniably be transfixed and feel triumphant after hearing this sensational score.
41. Seven Samurai
Seven Samurai is one of the greatest epics of all time, and Fumio Hayasaka’s score perfectly matches with the intensity of such a classic. Unfortunately, Hayasaka would pass away before he would see what a monumental impact that his Seven Samurai score would leave even just a short time after its release.
40. The Social Network
Now, we expect Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to just deliver gold, and I’m sad that there aren't more of their scores here (if Watchmen wasn’t considered television, you bet its score would be here). Remember back when their score for The Social Network was still revolutionary? The digital fuzz and obsidian brooding of these minimalist tracks actually feel current now, whereas they were once the sounds of the distant future.
39. Chinatown
To usher in the new age of the neo noir (meant to completely kill and rejuvenate the films noir of yesteryear), Chinatown has a familiar sound that still kept a prophecy of where the New Hollywood movement would go: a sinister glare amidst the sounds of a morose city.
38. Anatomy of a Murder
Simultaneously Duke Ellington made both one of the best jazz records and scores of the ‘50s when he wrote the music for the courtroom classic Anatomy of a Murder; it’s the kind of accompaniment that lingers and lunges exactly when it needs to, adding to the film’s tension.
37. Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi is a meditative, aesthetic documentary, and no one could have fit the bill to score the film better than Philip Glass, who turns a series of mantras and fluttering arpeggios into a pilgrimage of your mind whilst you watch all of the corners and corridors of the world.
36. The Adventures of Robin Hood
One of the earliest scores to make a statement after the silent era is Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s influential compositions for The Adventures of Robin Hood. While most other films were testing the waters, The Adventures of Robin Hood set its sights much further to try and establish itself as a one-of-a-kind experience, especially with its ambitious music.
35. Solaris
If there was ever an Andrei Tarkovsky film that needed a score as moving as the one that Eduard Artemyev made in 1972, then Solaris was just the film that required it, particularly for its more exquisite scenes that are guaranteed to bowl you over.
34. Moonlight
Barry Jenkins set out to make his own Wong Kar-Wai film with Moonlight, and he succeeded emphatically. Part of this illusion came from Nicholas Britell’s swirling score, which carries tons of emotional weight, and hugs its audience with such empathy and understanding.
33. Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is certainly an aesthetic treat of a film, and Vangelis makes the picture worth your while. The opening iconic theme actually isn't the best song of the score, which says a lot about how phenomenal his writing is here. Sports cinema would forever remain transformed.
32. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
One can't pick just a sole score from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so let’s include them all. Howard Shore pulled a John Williams by making his version of what Star Wars did decades prior: unmistakable franchise music that warranted the massive name attached to them, because they told as much of the story as anything else in these films did.
31. Suspiria
One of the most beloved scores of the horror genre is Goblin’s psychedelic freakout in the original Suspiria, full of demonic voices, archaic percussion, and all sorts of other sinister sounds that plagued listeners even on the drive home. Luckily no one has even attempted to try and rip off this score, because any imitators would fail.
30. The Godfather Parts I & II
Nino Rota’s scores for both of the first Godfather films go hand-in-hand together, as if he was aware that there was still work to do after the first picture. Both films carried some of the greatest melodies of the gangster genre, especially because a level of prestige was now presented in a previously purely gritty category.
29. Citizen Kane
Bernard Herrmann was destined to be one of the greatest composers in cinema (we’re not done with him yet) ever since he took part in the film that made anyone attached to it a legend: Citizen Kane. In a picture that vowed to break every rule in every department, Herrmann’s score felt like the anchor that held every fleeting spirit together.
28. Eraserhead
Of course, a score that’s almost purely ambient (in a white noise kind of way) could only be better understood years after its midnight releases of the late ‘70s. For brief moments, the Eraserhead score is in “heaven” (literally once the ballad pops up), but otherwise you are in a buzzing, cacophonic hell of suburban America; yet everything is fine.
27. The Red Turtle
If I could pinpoint one of the most under-heard masterpieces of cinematic scores, I must reflect on Laurent Perez del Mar’s beautiful music for The Red Turtle. When it isn’t being playful and inspirational, it is fully operatic to the point of shaking you to your core (like Ennio Morricone reborn). I feel like this score will definitely be discussed in years to come, but I want to make sure that this is heard now.
26. Casablanca
Casablanca marked the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and Max Steiner’s score is a sterling example as to why. With exactly all of the right notes of a Hollywood score before other composers could milk them beyond substance, Steiner pieced together compositions that could carry entire histories, waves of emotions, and all of the nostalgia that one could muster.
25. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
For part of the Aguirre, the Wrath of God score, Popol Vuh jam like it’s nobody’s business, with Krautrock parties for days. Otherwise, Popol Vuh go the effective synth route, where the purity of nature shines through with such clarity.
24. In the Mood for Love
The plucked strings of Michael Galasso’s tip-toeing theme for In the Mood for Love are the kind of notes that will hit you as soon as you hear them; this is destined to be iconic for all of time. Parts romantic and parts ridden with guilt, the score for In the Mood for Love is dripping with passion, hesitation, presumption, and — most of all — heartbreak.
23. Vertigo
Bernard Herrmann was most certainly a composer of the early days of the Hollywood epic, but Alfred Hitchcock was able to get him to come up with some of his most imaginative music. His compositions in Vertigo either lure you in and make you feel hysterical, help you find the deepest pits of romance, feel like you’re on another planet as you drift away, or act as the punctuation mark on the film’s most damning scenes; this becomes a thriller that goes beyond the norm.
22. The Third Man
There aren’t many scores as complimentary as Anton Karas’ zither masterwork in The Third Man, where the music is as much of a mysterious character as the titular question-marked figure. This is a full display of a solo instrumentalist speaking on behalf of an entire orchestra. Forget its stature in films noir: Karas’ score here is a staple of cinema period, as well as a massive musical achievement.
21. The Piano
When the main character is mute and she speaks mainly through her piano playing, the score’s quality is crucial. Luckily, Michael Nyman is a strong composer, and his magnum opus here can tell a tome of histories and tales just within a few combined melodies. There’s a great chance you’ve heard his music from The Piano without ever having seen the film, because it was destined to have a legacy.
20. Jaws
If this list was based on just two notes, then Jaws would be the top selection. What John Williams could do with just an F and an F# will never be forgotten; the key to instant dread was discovered. Otherwise, Jaws has Williams performing in top form before his strongest works; we still have a prophecy of what was to come, and the remembrance of Old Hollywood when New Hollywood took over.
19. The Battle of Algiers
On one hand, Ennio Morricone has military tunes at the ready, as they march their way through your very core. Lest we forget who we are talking about here, since you’ll find that Morricone also has placed so much beauty within the score of The Battle of Algiers; in the wake left by his more anxious, pummelling songs are ghostly wails that are bound to send shivers up your spine.
18. Jules et Jim
French New Wave is hard to pin down overall, but — to me — there is one score that encompassed the endless nature of the movement: Georges Delerue’s music in Jules et Jim. At times, the love triangle feels almost like a carnival act with the livelier melodies, but everything is anchored down to Earth once more with the prettier songs that stroll through life with a sense of wonder and the search for a purpose; essentially, this is music to get lost in.
17. Cinema Paradiso
In this next Ennio Morricone case, we have a tag team effort by father and son (Andrea Morricone) for one of Italy’s most affecting films (Cinema Paradiso). In usual circumstances, Ennio juggles between moving songs and other kinds of sounds, but his work with Andrea here is like a collection of the late great composer’s most emotional resonances.
16. Taxi Driver
Occasionally, Bernard Herrmann can soothe you with city scape melodies in Taxi Driver: that calming saxophone ushers in the nighttime smoothly. He doesn’t forget what the tale is truly about, however, and that’s when you really feel the composer at his edgiest with Taxi Driver’s most damning moments: a snare drum rolling alongside the tensest of brass sections, underneath images of hate, violence, and explosiveness.
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Steven Spielberg wanted to tip his hat to the adventure works of yesteryear with Raiders of the Lost Ark, and John Williams was happy to comply. Instead, Williams made what sounded like an instantly memorable television theme song that was destined to headline a series of franchises (as well as a collection of dynamically enticing compositions to accompany discovery, mystery, and the element of surprise).
14. Elevator to the Gallows
Miles Davis could fulfill any sound, thought, or emotion with the use of just his trumpet (look at the many different jazz genres he took part in or revolutionized). Having the musical legend create the soundscape for such a cold and alienated film like Elevator to the Gallows is a case of perfect casting: his playing acts as the thoughts of the isolated, the fearful, and the neglected.
13. Once Upon a Time in America
Sorry, Godfather. For me, the greatest music in any gangster film is the swelling, nostalgic melodies of Ennio Morricone in the crime epic Once Upon a Time in America: the kind of songs that carry decades of hurt and the yearning of the better life that was once promised by greed and violence. With the use of instruments saluting falling characters and warning us about others, Morricone was able to grant Sergio Leone one last series of brilliances.
12. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Philip Glass was at his absolute best in the ‘80s, operating with an abstract sense of minimalism and forward-thinking orchestrations that felt like classical was bound to be reincarnated as these glassy-textured soundscapes. His cinematic opus is Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, with a score that feels like it came straight from a utopia from the afterlife.
11. Under the Skin
I’m going to go on record and proclaim Mica Levi already as one of the finest cinematic composers of all time. If Under the Skin is one’s first composition for the medium, then they are bound to be here. Levi is beyond frightening here with the most creatively haunting strings since Psycho (more on that very soon). Their understanding of ambience as a means to both soothe and damage is spot on, and they have granted us the true sounds of torment from another reality.
10. Mulholland Drive
Other composers want you to feel a specific emotion or idea with their songs. Angelo Badalamenti operates within the areas of the unknown, and this is explored the most during his score for Mulholland Drive. What is that main theme? Love? Hurt? Nostalgia? Guilt? Life? Death? Surreality? Awareness? I’m not quite sure, but I know it’s the indescribable sensations we all face daily that labels just cannot pinpoint. Somehow, Badalamenti has been able to conjure up these impossible sensations time and time again, and he made Mulholland Drive full of them, as to make us feel unsure — yet vaguely familiar — at all times.
9. Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List had Steven Spielberg trying to operate outside of his typically-safe wheelhouse, and it was a call-to-action for John Williams as well. Occasionally, Williams is as triumphant and impactful as ever here, but you’re otherwise hearing a classic composer trying to push their boundaries in the name of telling the truths of the countless fallen and anguished. Spielberg famously told Williams that he was the only person for the job, since all of the other best composers were already dead. I’d like to think it wasn’t Spielberg’s way of saying that Williams is the best living composer, but rather the last link to the Golden Age of Hollywood music that we have.
8. Jackie
It’s insanely bold to place such a recent score this high, but I sincerely think Mica Levi has created one of the greatest pieces of cinematic music in Jackie. Whereas they were exploring new worlds with Monos and the depths of the human (and alien) psyche with Under the Skin, Jackie is Levi reinventing what traditional scores can sound like in the twenty-first century. Levi explores the usage of economical writing (a couple of notes that can tell entire stories), but their experimentation with lavish instrumentation is a reminder as to their creative palette: even when playing by the rules, Levi is so ahead of the pack.
7. Once Upon a Time in the West
Sergio Leone was just about finished with the western genre, and I believe Ennio Morricone was right alongside him. In order to celebrate the end of an era, Morricone places emphasis on lone instruments that speak out of turn (a harmonica, a blazing electric guitar, or an operatic voice) as if we are hearing the final words of civilizations and states of mind. These songs introduce and conclude the durations of main characters often enough that these themes become instantly identifiable; even when we hear them for the first time, their impact is immediate, and that first watch will forever be unforgettable.
6. Psycho
If Jaws could stick with you by using just two notes, then Psycho wins for what it could do with just one. The appropriately stabbing sounds of Bernard Herrmann’s string section — followed by the cellos from hell — help to turn Alfred Hitchcock’s visions into iconic horror moments. The rest of the film almost feels like a sadistic approach to the classical film scores that came before, like this would be Herrmann’s send-off (in the same ways that Hitchcock was aiming to bother traditionalists as well).
5. There Will Be Blood
Before Mica Levi, there was Jonny Greenwood, who was viciously reinventing what Hollywood scores could sound like in the twenty-first century, whilst coming from a rock background. The music in There Will Be Blood undeniably carries its own identity as a scratchy, eerie set of looming torment amidst Paul Thomas Anderson’s unique take on the American rat race. Percussive instruments are used as ticking clocks. String sections are howling wails. The entire film is uneasy because of Greenwood’s refusal to succumb to normalcy and complacency, and the music of cinema has benefitted from this imagination ever since.
4. Lawrence of Arabia
Even during the overtures, Maurice Jarre’s iconic music for Lawrence of Arabia places you exactly where you need to be: in the middle of the Ottoman Empire during the first World War. You can feel the heat of the desert and the gusts of wind just from hearing his score; not many scores can transport you as effectively as this one. Furthermore, Jarre matches the scale of David Lean’s grandiose opus with an orchestration that is equally as enormous. As strong as Jarre has been before and since, his certain masterpiece is this one here: the quintessential epic score.
3. Star Wars (Pretty Much All of It)
Come on. John Williams’ greatest achievement is a series of accomplishments. Firstly, his various themes — meant to accompany characters and settings — became their own characters and settings that one can identify instantly. Secondly, he was able to array a series of notes in such a specific and untouchable way a number of times for Star Wars. Then, he did so again for The Empire Strikes Back. Then again. And again. And again. And again. I won’t pretend like his most recent Star Wars scores hold up nearly as well (although they’re just as great as you’d expect), but there’s no sense in separating any of these works. John Williams is the lifeblood of Star Wars through and through.
2. Blade Runner
Vangelis was setting out to make music for dystopias with his Blade Runner score and its many ethereal synths. He actually helped change the landscape for electronic music entirely. I guess that’s what happens when you try to make the music of the future, right? Whether it’s creating anthems for a new age, wrapping up with the most exciting end credits rhythms of all of cinema, or presenting you with the angelic harmonies of a world destroyed by technology, Vangelis’ Blade Runner score is unmatched, and as listenable as an album on its own as it is effective within a science fiction classic.
1. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Never has a score been its own character — let alone at least three (but debatably more) — like Ennio Morricone’s masterpiece in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: the greatest film score of all time. Everyone comes for the whistle of the Man with No Name that has been spoofed and referenced ad nauseam. If not that song, then it’s “The Ecstasy of Gold”, which has been included in the music and traditions of popular artists (from Metallica to Jay-Z). They stay for the countless other singular songs that may astound listeners: how did these songs not get brought up a billion times like the others?
That’s the power of Ennio Morricone, and this was North America’s first major exposure to cinema’s greatest musician. That’s not why this score is placed first; it truly is his opus (although my heart does consider Once Upon a Time in the West the same sometimes). It's just important to remember how impactful Morricone’s first impression over seas was, especially since he was already well established in Europe by this point. He would forever dominate cinema from there on out, but he made sure that he struck at the right moment with memorable melodies, insurmountable ambition, and the perfect musical palette that a film of any sort could muster.
When a character runs around on screen for four minutes and it feels like it’s the most intense scene of all time, that’s the power of Morricone’s music. When you can hear the same few notes as an introduction, a callback, a punchline or a resolution, that’s the wiseness of Morricone’s writing. When you feel inspired to enjoy and explore an entire genre (westerns), time period (the ‘60s), and cinema as a whole, that’s the impact of Morricone’s instant legacy. Never will you hear music — cinematic or not — the same way again once you get introduced to Ennio Morricone. The score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a testament to that, and it disputably remains the greatest score of all time.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.