20 Beautifully Scored Films
A collection of 20 films which are graced by a beautiful score, some of them popular, some of them more obscure, but all of them really beautiful in their own way. This list is far from comprehensive, but I tried to find a nice balance between the popular and the more obscure.
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- DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWhen an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.It's exciting, it's grand, it's emotional, it's mysterious and it's otherworldly... This is one of those instances where the score seems to perfectly match with the film, creating in inseperable whole. Perhaps the best film score ever. Composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottDavid HemmingsGilbert RolandAn isolated sculptor is visited by his three sons just before the start of WWII.The inner troubles of the Hemmingwayesque Hudson captured to perfection with a melancholic theme of extraordinary beauty. A marlin fishing sequence is graced by the most majestical music Jerry Goldsmith wrote and his sea motive exactingly mirrors the rhythm of the waves. Restrained perfection.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsSean ConneryMichelle PfeifferRoy ScheiderA British publisher is sent a manuscript detailing Soviet Union nuclear missile capabilities. British Intelligence intercept it and recruit him to investigate the author's editor, a beautiful Russian woman he claims never to have met.Central to this score is a hauntingly beautiful jazzy theme, portraying Barley's love for Russia and for Katya. This theme dominates the film and with its beauty makes us fall in love with Russia too. There's also some great suspense music, portraying a sense of danger and paranoia inherent to the espionage business. Jerry Goldsmith wrote another masterpiece.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJeanne MoreauOskar WernerHenri SerreDecades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.This score expertly portrays the joi-de-vivre and energy of Jules, Jim and Catherine. But when everything turns more and more tragic, Georges Delerue delivers some of his most tragic music. The score's as lyrical, romantic and tragic as the film and is another great example of images and music melting together to create a greater whole.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.E.T. could very well be the ultimate embodiement of the term "Hollywoord magic", with its story about the bond between a little boy and a lost alien. John Williams responds to the magic onscreen with some magic of his own and makes this film the magical and emotional experience it is.
- DirectorDon BluthStarsElizabeth HartmanDerek JacobiDom DeLuiseTo save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.The magic, the love, the mystery and the innocence, all captured in this miracle of a score. Not just supporting the drawn images, but extending beyond them and creating a world of its own. Composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsDaniel Day-LewisPaul DanoCiarán HindsA story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.Barren deserted lands, dirt, oil and ruthless ambition. That's There Will Be Blood in a nutshell and Jonny Greenwood takes a great approach with his score. The music can be unnerving, but it can also be graceful, yet it is always building the tension or extending the emotions boiling beneath the surface. Often mixed upfront, the score sometimes even dictates them, adding another layer to this already masterfully layered film. Not an easy listening experience, but a very rewarding one: chilling, yet beautiful.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.One of the most famous pieces of music Hollywood has produced. Who doesn't instantly recognize the Raider's March? A tremendously fun and exciting score and an all around masterpiece by John Williams.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudKika MarkhamStacey TendeterAt the beginning of the 20th century, middle-class young Frenchman Claude Roc meets young Englishwoman Ann Brown in Paris. They become friends and she invites him to spend holidays at the house where she lives with her mother and her sister Muriel, for whom she intends Claude. During these holidays, Claude, Ann, and Muriel become very close and he gradually falls in love with Muriel. But both families lay down a one-year-long separation with no contact before agreeing to the marriage. So Claude goes back to Paris and has many love affairs before sending Muriel a break-off letter.One of Georges Delerue's most all out romantic scores. It really brings the images to life and provides the film with a great depth. In many scenes François Truffaut lets Delerue's music carry the love story forward, giving it a place almost above his narrative. It truly reaches into the depths of your heart.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaCharles NapierRambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.The film is a mess, but the score almost transforms this into an 80's action masterpiece. The thunderous and overly heroic action music seems to drive the film forward instead of the other way round. And that chainsaw sound (or whatever you want to call it) is extremely cool... Jerry Goldsmith at his best!
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsGeorge LazenbyDiana RiggTelly SavalasBritish agent James Bond goes undercover to pursue the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world to ransom.Oh, that iconic main theme... and no, I am not talking about the James Bond theme, but about this film's title theme, with the bass guitar. The love theme is gorgeous too, providing a rich emotional enviroment for the film. Everything a Bond score should be and then some more, brought to us by John Barry.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?It all begins so lovely, with a warm and beautiful theme for the Thorn family, yet when all is over, that theme is no more than a few extremely sad notes, completely deprived of its loving warmth. And then there's the satanic chanting, which is as menacing as the horrors on screen. "Ave Satani" remains one of the most chilling pieces Jerry Goldsmith wrote and absolutely perfect for the film.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsOskar WernerJulie ChristieCyril CusackIn an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.Exciting, tense, beautiful, even poetic and very typical Bernard Herrmann. To put it short: a great score. It creates a great set of themes for the film and when the last scenes unfold, Herrmann astonishes with such poetic music, fitting perfectly with the film's poetic ending, that you can't help but shed a tear.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.You only have to watch the scene of the helicopter flying over the forested island, with John Williams' magnificent theme playing over it, and you know why this score is on this list.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DeverePaul SorvinoA marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.The love between a man and a dolphin, embodied in one of Georges Delerue's most romantic themes. This score provides a rich emotional palette to the images, making the film so much more involving. Also some nice sonar like effects in the suspense cues. Delerue at his best: romantic, gracious and delicious.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDustin HoffmanRobin WilliamsJulia RobertsWhen Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.A score which covers a great deal of terrain, but which remains a joy to listen to. The film is a bit of a mess and doesn't really succeed, but John Williams delivers quite an inspired score. It goes from joyfull and playfull to very dramatic with great ease.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.Driving rhythms pushing the action forward, gracious cues supplementing the forrest surroundings and some great romantic writing. This score delivers in all departments and matches the images and pace of the film in a great way. Coming from Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsDaniel Day-LewisMichelle PfeifferWinona RyderA tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.A score as refined as the film it belongs too. Elmer Bernstein creates a rich, classicaly inspired soundscape for this masterpiece about the New York upperclass. It helps you to completely loose yourself in this tragic love story, set in times long gone by.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJulie ChristieDonald SutherlandHilary MasonA married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.Upon hearing this music for the first time, you might think: "not exactly a score I would associate with a horror film." It works wonders in the film though, creating an overall romantic atmosphere, but also delivering some unnerving moments. Pino Donaggio penned this beauty.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.The film is almost like a meditative experience, and Philip Glass' score captures the same feeling. Graceful and making you feel calm, thus capturing the heart of the film.