in no particular order
Pride and Prejudice (2005)- Dario Marianelli
All of the Jane Austen movies made in recent years have great scores, but this one is my favorite. The scene where Mr. Darcy walks through the fog? swoon
Clearly this composer understands the romantic desires of women, or is really good at faking it.
Hamlet (1964) – Dmitri Shostakovich
Shostakovich is best known for his symphonic works, but he also wrote film scores (full list here). I played this with my college orchestra and it was exhilarating. It’s pretty hard to find a copy of this version of Hamlet (it was out of print for many years, then only available with Dutch subtitles), but it is a true gem. It’s got that intense je ne sais quois only found in Russian productions.
Planet of the Apes (1968) – Jerry Goldsmith
Many elements of this movie can be described as “groundbreaking,” and the percussive, atonal score is no exception. In the hands of a lesser composer the story would have seemed much more cheesy. No one would have appreciated the score of There Will Be Blood if Planet of the Apes hadn’t come first.
Fun fact of the day: the author who wrote Planet of the Apes, Pierre Boulle, also wrote Bridge on the River Kwai.
The Sand Pebbles (1966)- Jerry Goldsmith
Another gem of a movie that was out of print for many years. It’s got Steve McQueen, it’s about racism and colonialism, and it’s heartbreaking. So is the score. Great horn parts.
An American in Paris (1959) – George Gershwin
MGM had to pay more than $150,000 for the movie rights to Gershwin’s titular tone poem (he was long dead by this time), and it cost more than half a million dollars to film the extended dance scene near the end of the movie. It was worth every penny. The best part is the trumpet solo when the two main characters are dancing in the fountain – whoever played trumpet on the studio recording gives the most searing rendition I’ve ever heard. No other recordings I’ve heard hold a candle to the one in the film.
Shawshank Redemption (1994) – Thomas Newman
To me, this is a perfect movie. Nothing else needs to be said.
West Side Story (1961) – Leonard Bernstein
I guess technically this should not be a part of my list because it was originally written for the stage, but I’m keeping it in because it is the best musical ever captured on film. I’m not saying it has the best plot or the best characters, but it definitely has the best music.
Motorcycle Diaries (2004) – Gustavo Santoalalla
Why Gustavo Santoalalla didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for this score is a mystery to me.
Black Orpheus (1959) – Luiz Bonja and Antonio Carlos Jobim
This movie (winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes) is an important primary source in music history because it was the world’s introduction to Bossa Nova. It’s a modern adaption of the Orpheus tale set during Carnival in Rio. I spent my final semester of college studying Bossa Nova and wrote my senior thesis on it, so I could go on forever…. This is a great movie for film or music nerds.
And the greatest film score of all time,
To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) – Elmer Bernstein
Film composers have a hard job trying to make great stories greater and it’s even more difficult when you’re trying to orchestrate a classic book. Elmer Bernstein’s score is restrained and poignant, with a hint of mystery. In a word: perfect.
I know this will make me sound like an old coot, but they don’t write film scores like they used to. I can count the composers currently working in film who I really think are “great,” on one hand:
1. John Williams – he’s written music for a ton of classic movies, but it’s his lesser known ones I like the best: Hook (1991) and Sabrina (1995)
2. Gabriel Yared – The English Patient (1996)
3. Dario Marianelli – Pride and Prejudice (2005), Atonement (2007)
4. Gustavo Santoalalla – The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Babel (2006)
5. Thomas Newman – Shawshank Redemption (1994), American Beauty (1999)
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