Does anyone else love film scores (not soundtracks)?

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Kathryn Price
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Does anyone else love film scores (not soundtracks)?

Post by Kathryn Price »

I've looked all over this forum and noticed that very few people have been talking about film scores. Film scores are my passion and I wish more people listened to them so they could know how beautiful they are.

I have to say that Harry Gregson-Williams' score for Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is my most favorite of all, though I have trouble picking favorites. It was the first score I ever heard and the one that got me interested in film music in the first place. I always come back to it.

Some of my other favorite scores include:

Hans Zimmer - POTC: At World's End, The Lone Ranger, Interstellar (actually anything by Zimmer, really)

Brian Tyler - Now You See Me, Thor: The Dark World

Alan Silvestri - The Polar Express, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Forrest Gump

John Williams - Schindler's List, Star Wars, Harry Potter

Danny Elfman - Avengers: Age of Ultron (with Brian Tyler), Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands

Michael Giacchino - Star Trek, Up, The Incredibles

Ramin Djawadi - Iron Man, The Great Wall

There's really too many to count, but it's a pretty lengthy start. Comment below if you love film scores too, or want to start listening, and list some of your favorites!
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Post by Essentially_Literate »

I enjoy listening to film scores when I'm doing homework for my college classes. I don't really have a favorite yet. I like some soundtracks as well as film scores. Hearing music from The Matrix series is actually what got me interested in film scores. :D
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Post by KRay93 »

Sure, I could easily consider it as my favorite genre of all. Here's my top ten:

1 - Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring being my favourite of the three)
2 - Miklos Rozsa - Ben Hur
3 - Hans Zimmer - Gladiator
4 - John Williams - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
5 - John Powell - The Bourne Ultimatum
6 - Alan Silvestri - Back to the Future
7 - John Williams - Riders of the Lost Ark
8 - Vangelis - Blade Runner
9 - John Williams - Star Wars Original Trilogy (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi being my favourite of the trilogy)
10 - Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight

There are many others, but I especially like those of which I also liked the movie a lot (after all, sound and particularry music play a major role in a cinematic experience). LotR is incomparable for being one of the first movies that I went to see to a theather; that epic soundtrack, the themes for each faction, the battles... Ben-Hur is the first major modern epic score, Gladiator a fine tribute to that style, Williams works at another level (for me, he's the one who better defines what a soundtrack for a movie has to be), Powell's work in the Bourne movies with his unique percussion style remarkable, and Vangelis marked a turning point in the use of synthesizers.

I stay with John Williams as my favorite composer (the one who makes the best use of classical instruments and their variations) and Hans Zimmer as a close second (for his use of computerized elements in search for unique and distintive sounds).
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Post by Kathryn Price »

KRay93 wrote: 03 Mar 2018, 13:14 Sure, I could easily consider it as my favorite genre of all. Here's my top ten:

1 - Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring being my favourite of the three)
2 - Miklos Rozsa - Ben Hur
3 - Hans Zimmer - Gladiator
4 - John Williams - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
5 - John Powell - The Bourne Ultimatum
6 - Alan Silvestri - Back to the Future
7 - John Williams - Riders of the Lost Ark
8 - Vangelis - Blade Runner
9 - John Williams - Star Wars Original Trilogy (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi being my favourite of the trilogy)
10 - Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight

There are many others, but I especially like those of which I also liked the movie a lot (after all, sound and particularry music play a major role in a cinematic experience). LotR is incomparable for being one of the first movies that I went to see to a theather; that epic soundtrack, the themes for each faction, the battles... Ben-Hur is the first major modern epic score, Gladiator a fine tribute to that style, Williams works at another level (for me, he's the one who better defines what a soundtrack for a movie has to be), Powell's work in the Bourne movies with his unique percussion style remarkable, and Vangelis marked a turning point in the use of synthesizers.

I stay with John Williams as my favorite composer (the one who makes the best use of classical instruments and their variations) and Hans Zimmer as a close second (for his use of computerized elements in search for unique and distintive sounds).
That's awesome! It's really great to see that other people like this music too, and that the music isn't just sitting out there with no one listening to it. I love your list, though I would never be able to make a top 10 list myself - there's too many good ones to choose! :D And I definitely agree that I like scores better if they belong to a movie that I enjoy - I may not have understood the Interstellar soundtrack, and maybe even gotten bored with it, if I hadn't seen the movie and known the background and atmosphere of the story.

I actually like John Williams less than other composers, though I'm not sure why. Nothing against his music, that's for sure, though a lot of his scores are so similar that I can sing Star Wars while listening to Superman. But it's most likely because everyone likes John Williams, even people who don't regularly listen to scores. I tend to look for the less conventional options when picking a favorite.

Have you seen Hans Zimmer's Masterclass on film composing? My parents bought it for my for my birthday and I love it! It's super inspiring and I watch the videos whenever I start getting discouraged with my own composing.
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Post by Clinical1 »

When Star Wars first came out, by brother purchased the musical score on LP - yes, vinyl. That music vibrated your bones, it was so powerful. I wish we had not thrown it out 3 years ago when we emptied the house because vinyl and Star Wars together would be a great collectible.
I find that Disney movies also have fabulous scores. It is difficult to compare with the score from Fantasia.
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Post by R-Myra »

Essentially_Literate wrote: 28 Feb 2018, 17:19 I enjoy listening to film scores when I'm doing homework for my college classes. I don't really have a favorite yet. I like some soundtracks as well as film scores. Hearing music from The Matrix series is actually what got me interested in film scores. :D
I would totally agree with you.
-R
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Post by Bighuey »

Ive always liked film scores, I have many favorites. Some are;
Dollars Trilogy-Ennio Morricone
Once Upon A Time In America-Ennio Morricone
Gojira 1954-Akira Ifukube
Day The Earth Stood Still-Bernard Herrman
The 1952 TV series Victory At Sea-Richard Rodgers
Good Night And Good Luck-Diane Reeves
Godzilla Tokyo SOS-Michiru Oshima. Mediocre movie, but the music sounds like something you might hear on Judgement Day. Ms. Oshima is pure genius.
Also the score from a terrible low budget B movie The Choppers but a great jazz-rock score by Alexander Courage.
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Post by EllieA »

I love playing film scores in the background as ambient music! People have put up some great suggestions :) I would add on:

Thomas Newman- Road to Perdition, WALL-E, The Green Mile
Hans Zimmer- The Last Samurai
John Williams- Empire of the Sun, Memoirs of a Geisha
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Post by EllieA »

Quick edit to add in:

Trevor Jones and Randly Edelman: The Last of the Mohicans
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Post by Poppy Drear »

Since I played in an orchestra for the better part of a decade, I absolutely cannot listen to orchestral film scores alone. So often, they focus entirely on a single theme and give a really awful part to the violas, cellos, basses, et cetera. I had to play the theme song to Jurassic Park, and I don't think I've ever hated a single piece of music more by the end of it! That's just personal preference, though.
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Post by Bighuey »

Ive got to add one I heard last night from a 1950's film, The H-Man. Really cool crimejazz score by Paul Dunlap.
Another great crimejazz score is Anatomy Of A Murder by Duke Ellington.
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Post by TaaraLynn »

I've recently found this station that plays all types of classical music. On certain days they do themes, live concerts, history . . . you name it. A few times, I've caught them doing scores; who was involved, how the music came about. Very interesting tidbits.
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Post by Bighuey »

A person can find an appreciation of classical music in odd places. For me it was Bugs Bunny cartoons, Ive got a recording of classical pieces from the cartoons. I guess I can say my classical music teacher was Bugs Bunny. :lol:
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Post by rik17 »

Anything from Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone. A lot of 1940s noir film scores still are really really catchy, 'A Third Man', 'Detour' and 'Woman on the Run' just to name a few.
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Post by Russell Burke »

Film scores do a lot to amplify movie experiences (and are often great music in their own right), so I love them too! Some of my favorites not mentioned above are National Treasure (Trevor Rabin), WALL-E (Thomas Newman), Spirited Away (Joe Hisaishi), and the Pink Panther movies (Henry Mancini)
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