Film music scores that are musical masterpieces
The phenomenon started perhaps in the second half of the last century, when film scores became “hits” and widely popular, with composers like Maurice Jarre (“Doctor Zhivago” and Lara’s theme, “Lawrence of Arabia” orchestral suite), Nino Rota (“The Godfather”, with the subsequent hit song “Speak softly love”), Francis Lai (“Love Story”), and Michel Legrand (“The Thomas Crown Affair” and its “Windmills of your mind”, “Summer of 42” and its “The Summer Knows”).
As movie songs are mentioned (though this page is dedicated to orchestral works) there were hit songs before the mid-sixties which were reprised as instrumental versions by many famous orchestras, familiarizing the tunes to millions of listeners. Among such songs are "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" as early as 1939, "Three Coins in the Fountain" and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" -from the films of the same title in the mid 1950's- and "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 1961.
John Barry signed the iconic James Bond music (with two of the best ever James Bond songs: “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice”). Other masters include of course John Williams (“Harry Potter”, “Star Wars”, and several Steven Speilberg mega hits) and Ennio Morricone (Spaghetti westerns, “The Mission”, “The Untouchables”).
The following list tries to focus on lesser known compositions or more recent ones, as certain musical pieces can rightly be considered as “Classics”, especially by two modern masters, Hanz Zimmer and Alexandre Desplat, along with other outstanding great composers.
As movie songs are mentioned (though this page is dedicated to orchestral works) there were hit songs before the mid-sixties which were reprised as instrumental versions by many famous orchestras, familiarizing the tunes to millions of listeners. Among such songs are "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" as early as 1939, "Three Coins in the Fountain" and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" -from the films of the same title in the mid 1950's- and "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 1961.
John Barry signed the iconic James Bond music (with two of the best ever James Bond songs: “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice”). Other masters include of course John Williams (“Harry Potter”, “Star Wars”, and several Steven Speilberg mega hits) and Ennio Morricone (Spaghetti westerns, “The Mission”, “The Untouchables”).
The following list tries to focus on lesser known compositions or more recent ones, as certain musical pieces can rightly be considered as “Classics”, especially by two modern masters, Hanz Zimmer and Alexandre Desplat, along with other outstanding great composers.
List activity
1.4K views
• 8 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
13 titles
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.The film opens with Scarlett Johansson walking the streets of Seventeenth Century Delft, standing one brief moment at crossroads in the city. Alexandre Desplat’s music for this scene is truly magnificent.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchSteve CooganSophie Kennedy ClarkA world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.Alexandre Desplat caught the emotions of the mother who is on a quest to find out about her son taken from her for adoption when he was a child. The musical score (tracks tiltled "Mary" and "Anthony's story") when Judy Dench has teary eyes watching old photos or videos of her son is sublime (especially the keyboards and the strings) with melodies that linger, like the memories in the movie.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppGeoffrey RushOrlando BloomBlacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.Hanz Zimmer compositions will certainly fill classical concerts’ programs in future, like the concerts we attend today for the great classical masters of the 17th-18th-19th centuries, and deservedly so. Among his outstanding compositions (most of them are) It is difficult not to mention the wonderful music he wrote for the “Pirates” films, or even earlier on in the Nineties of the last century his music for the action thriller “The Rock” with its almost symphonic touches. As for his masterpiece, to date, it deserves a separate entry ( “The Da Vinci Code”).
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksAudrey TautouJean RenoA murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.Hanz Zimmer here surpasses himself, with one of the most beautiful film scores ever written, and perhaps the subject of the film inspired him. We are treated, especially in the ending scenes when professor Langdon (Tom Hanks) figures out the “Royal Blood” trail and walks through the streets of Paris at night right to the Louvre museum, to a spiritual and ethereal melody that goes sweepingly “crescendo”, with discreet bells at the beginning and background choir near the end, and part of the string instruments marking the beat with distant unobtrusive drums, dominated by floating orchestral music; the word “uplifting” could never be more appropriate.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJames StewartDean MartinRaquel WelchMace Bishop (James Stewart) masquerades as a hangman in order to save his outlaw brother, Dee (Dean Martin), from the gallows, runs to Mexico chased by Sheriff July Johnson's (George Kennedy's) posse and fights against Mexican bandits.Jerry Goldsmith has a rich and varied legacy of memorable film scores and his immense talent cannot be given justice in such a short note. The opening music of the western “Bandolero” is a masterpiece withstanding time, with its playful "whistling" and extremely catchy tune. The same melody is reprised in the closing scene with complete orchestra adding to the grandeur of the theme.
One other absolutely brilliant score by Jerry Goldsmith is the music of “Under Fire” when children in the un-named Latin American country carry a portrait of their rebel leader Rafael and start running in the streets in every direction… the music that accompanies the scene ("The Rebel March") underlines the joy of these kids; Jerry Goldsmith even incorporated a Latin American musical instrument (a Peruvian panpipe ?) adding to the authenticity of the setting. With a rich orchestration and gradually upbeat pace it is a beautiful musical composition. - DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsJulie ChristieAlan BatesDominic GuardA tale of torrid and forbidden love between a couple in the English countryside.Michel Legrand is already mentioned in the introduction to this list, and even though he is justifiably famous for many beloved tunes, his work for the "Go-Between" is in a class of its own. The film score is a gift to all piano lovers (need a virtuoso to play it?) and deserves a place in the classical repertoire.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsYul BrynnerDeborah KerrRita MorenoA widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.Even though this list is not concerned with musicals, the opening theme of “The King and I” 1956 production is absolutely grandiose (I am referring to the music of the opening credits immediately following the famous “20th Century Fox” landmark signature opening title). This overwhelming tune, majestic, a bit strange and enigmatic, is heard again when princesses and princes are presented to Deborah Kerr, and also when Yul Brynner is accompanying Deborah to the stately banquet. The composer is of course Richard Rogers –partner of Oscar Hammerstein- geniuses whose great musicals including “The Sound of Music” shaped our culture and our time.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsRussell CroweElizabeth BanksLiam NeesonA married couple's life is turned upside down when the wife is accused of a murder.Danny Elfman has record compositions for very popular and successful films at the box office, proof that his contribution is fundamental to make these films stand out. His “Batman” score (the 1989 film directed by Tim Burton with Michael Keaton as Batman) is memorable, the main theme conveying mystery and danger with an upbeat rhythm literally bringing on the Batman universe (listening to this music inevitably brings the images of the Batmobile racing and the famous sign projected on the clouds!).
In “The Next Three Days”, a very interesting film, Danny Elfman really captures, with his score titled “They’re off”, the plight of Russel Crowe’s family: He is driving them frenetically to escape injustice. The score underlines the doubt (will they make it?), suspense, fast pace at which he is driving, and longing for freedom. A music loaded with emotions, wide, scenic, and so evocative. - DirectorEttore ScolaStarsFrancesco AnniballiMaria BoscoGiselda CastriniFour generations of a family live in a shantytown in the outskirts of Rome. The household engages in various forms of sexual idiosyncrasies, land swindles, incest, drugs and adultery.Armando Trovaioli (also written Trovajoli) wrote the score for this 1976 film tiltled “Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi” (which translates to “Ugly, Dirty and Bad”) directed by Ettore Scola. The story is about an extended family (not the conventional type...) living in the slums of Rome.
In the course of events, after having attended the baptism of a baby (during the baptism one family member is trying to steal the church’s money collected from candle sales…), the whole family rides a bus and heads for a beach to have a meal and celebrate. The problem is they intend to “murder” the patriarch of the family during this meal (by poisoning his pasta...) in order to collect his physical disability money. The film is a tragicomedy, and the patriarch doesn’t die.
We hear a song (over 4 minutes) all throughout this scene (family leaving church, loaded bus heading for the beach) that is quite extraordinary (I unfortunately don’t understand the words) but the music, the beat, the chorus, and even the use of synthesizer among the musical instruments (synthesizers were fashionable in the seventies) all add up to this eerie and unforgettable scene, and the song, truly addictive and putting one in a trance, is a masterpiece. - DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsRobert ShawMary UreTy HardinGeorge Armstrong Custer's love of the heroic traditions of the Calvary and his distaste with the coming of industrialization leads him to his destiny at the Little Big Horn.Military marches are rarely considered the stuff of “refined music”, but Bernardo Segall’s “Custer’s March”, though barely one minute forty seconds long, is an absolute gem, with its intense dramatic meandering melody accompanied by the unrelenting drums. The tune is reprised elsewhere in the film in a soft piano version (lasting 1 minute 17 seconds!) and is awesomely beautiful.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.This list deals with film soundtracks that could rank among the finest classical music, but what the composer Wendy (Walter) Carlos did with the March from the “Funeral Music for Queen Mary” by Henry Purcell for “A Clockwork Orange" is so original and modern, making this newer “twin” version of the older master’s composition another classic!
On a similar note, Javier Navarette took a classical music piece and gave it a contemporary arrangement: The re-visited Asturias by Isaac Albeniz, which accompanies the opening credits of “Mirrors”, is so dramatic and rich I suggest you listen to it using headphones to fully appreciate its width and depth; The film is in the horror genre (not this writer's cup of tea...I admit seeing only glimpses of it) but this music seems to successfully convey the atmosphere of the film; despite being short -less than 2 minutes- it deserves a place among distinguished classic orchestral works. - DirectorJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.Alfred Newman should rank among the best American classical composers as the film scores he created simply don't age, and one example is the main theme of "How The West Was Won", with its powerful tune and wind instruments orchestration, especially the bold opening with French Horns (an absolutely monumental version of this music is performed by the Orchestra at Temple Square -Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square).
The traditional American songs re-arranged which can be heard during the "Overture", the "Intermission" and the closing scenes of the film are a delight to listen to and should belong in the school curriculum of US schools. - DirectorJames FargoStarsAnthony QuinnMichael SarrazinChristopher LeeIn 1948, at the U.S. embassy in Zadestan, a young diplomat is ordered to find the missing daughter of an influential U.S. Senator.Mike Batt wrote the score for this film; in his "Caravan Theme" not only did he capture the mood of the setting (desert cinematography, pace of camel caravans, searing sun) he managed to incorporate dramatic tones with the beat and drums and a very rich orchestration. His composition stands the test of time, and you can't, you simply CAN'T, listen to it and stand still !!