Your Favourite film score?

[Melody]

This topic was quite popular on the old MusicWeb forum so I thought I'd revive it and let you all have your say again.

So.... what's your favourite film score?

I personally love the new Pride and Prejudice score composed by Dario Marianelli. It's beautiful. Has anyone heard it or tried to play it?

[Mrsix]

Oooh.. hard one.

Lots, but lately my favourites are the 28 days later soundtrack,
Batman Begins, and the soundtrack to an odd French film called Recycled (composed by Blixa Bargeld of the Badseeds).

All good!

[reith]

Yes, SO difficult because:

i) I tend to separate a good film score from good music used in a film. A good film score is one that enhances the film for me without being obtrusive (excluding musicals, of course). If I start humming it or wondering how the composer did it while I'm watching the film it might be great music but doesn't work for film for me, like others might think differently.

ii) there is so much good music written specially for film but turned into a suite or similar later.

Like Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antartica & Bernstein's On the Water Front.

[Gopher]

I can't narrow it down to a single one either. I'm pretty much a sucker for most things Hisaishi, and other noteworthy soundtracks (that is, music written specifically for the movie) include tracks 1-4 on the Band of Brothers CD and the end credit rolls for Indiana Jones (take your pick) and Jurassic Park. To name but a few. Plenty more out there.

[Thorolf]

I haven’t seen too many film scores, but I got one of my favourites:

The score to “Star Wars” (1977) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/ by John Williams, which is so insanely well composed and orchestrated that it sits right up there with the best scores by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Debussy, etc…
“Star Wars Suite” has been recorded just as any symhonic suite by e. g. Zubin Meta with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Another concept is music not originally written for film, but utilised by a clever director. Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Oddysey” (1968 ) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/ is great in this respect, with Johann Strauss, Richard Strauss and György Ligeti etc. filling different aspects in a virtuoso way.

A third concept is the other way around: Composing film for music, the music video way. Disney’s original “Fantasia” (1940) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/ is still a favourite after 66 years…

The fourth concept, is the filmatic redering of live concerts. “URGH! A Music War” (1981) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138902/ is great in this respect.

Regards

[Whataguy!]

It's funny, Thorolf, that you mentioned the soundtrack to Kubrick's 2001. Yes, I thought it was great. Nevertheless, it was a temp track. Kubrick hired Alex North to score the film who, at the film's premier, was shocked to find out that his score wasn't used. In fact, it broke his heart to the point where he fell ill and never really recovered. Varese Sarabande released North's score with Jerry Goldsmith conducting. I forgot which UK orchestra they used. The music was beautiful, and in many ways, I felt, matched the film better than Kubrick's final choices. But North's score would not have the commercial success that the temp track did. It all came down to people's familiarity with the music and hearing it up agaist such great cinematography. C'est la vie...

[ascottk]

Por Una Cabeza (by a head) by Carlos Gardel which is a tango used in "True Lies", "Scent of a Woman" and "Schindler's List". I think the best arrangement was by John Williams on "Cinema Serenade" with Itzhak Perlman on violin. It's tasty

[MaestroX]

Originally Posted by ascottk

Por Una Cabeza (by a head) by Carlos Gardel which is a tango used in "True Lies", "Scent of a Woman" and "Schindler's List". I think the best arrangement was by John Williams on "Cinema Serenade" with Itzhak Perlman on violin. It's tasty

After seeing that film "True Lies" I went and found the music to that piece. I liked it too

[Boneman]

Lets face it if the credits have John Williams.......!

[MaestroX]

He is probably one of the best film composers about today...if ever?