Movie/TV/Game Scores Through The Ages - Alan's Personal Favourites

The FSM version of this game is now up to 2003, so I already have my lists ready there for the next few years, but will paste them in here when Alan decides to continue.

It is, especially because they're spread over a gazillion threads with different titles and stuff. This one's much neater, although it seems to have slowed down to a halt (for understandable reasons).

1999 - Titus - Elliot Goldenthal

This year has three scores that stand out for me - and they all in some ways are different to the "mainstream". Goldenthal's score is a monumental achievement in my eyes. He throws a whole series of musical styles at this film - and the all stick (probably because the film - which is brilliant - is so weird too). The score elicits the entire span of emotions in me: from pure love through to extreme dislike. I could spend ages going through the score as a whole, but the title track is an orchestral and choral powerhouse of a track that could be my favourite track of 1999. I am lucky enough to have the expanded 2-CD version of this: though I very rarely listen to the entire piece in one sitting.

The other two scores that are up with Titus this year is Don Davis' The Matrix (a brilliant, modern score) and Howard Shore's eXistenZ. I think I chose Shore's score as my choice last time (and listening to it at the moment I am in two minds whether to swap the Goldenthal for this!) eXistenZ is an amazing score to my ears and it leaves an impression that runs a lot deeper than the music itself would suggest that it should. But that's the quality of Shore's writing. Goodness, this is a hard choice.

This year really sees the beginning of Spanish music featuring in my collection. It was not collected at the time, but much later and these few Spanish scores have been amassed during my back-catalogue searches. Ángel Illarramendi's scores such as Cuando Vuelvas A Mi Lado and El Celo feature some great tracks and Carles Cases' Amic/Amat (with the classical baroque tone) is a highlight of the year (I remember hearing this at the first SONCINEMAD and wanting to track this down immediately when I got home.) A classical feel to Janusz Stoklosa's Wszyscy Moi Bliscy is what elevates this score above the majority of the others from this year.

Gabriel Yared's Message In A Bottle (the track "Where The Boundaries Are" is super) and Mychael Danna's Girl, Interrupted (another recent discovery) and Ride With The Devil are other highlights from this year.

A couple of scores from this year highlight how great the mystery clips contest we used to have was at introducing more obscure scores. Stephen Endelman's Jawbreaker and Joe Hisaishi's Kikujiro contain several stand-out tracks.

And videogame scores at last make a definite impression with Lennie Moore's excellent Outcast and Michael Giacchino's Medal of Honor. These orchestral scores (particularly Outcast) are of a quality that puts them alongside film scores in terms of how they sound and composition.

I am still wondering between Titus and eXistenZ...

TITUS is indeed a good pick, Alan! You would have loved Goldenthal's live performance of this score in Ghent in 2010 and 2011. Goosebumps galore!

1999 was quite a strong year, as mirrored in the picks below.

For me, the honorable mentions would be SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS (James Newton Howard), STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE (John Williams), ANGELA'S ASHES (John Williams), TITUS (Elliot Goldenthal) 13TH WARRIOR (Jerry Goldsmith), AMERICAN BEAUTY (Thomas Newman), FIGHT CLUB (Dust Bros.), THE GREEN MILE (Thomas Newman), IN DREAMS (Elliot Goldenthal), THE MATRIX (Don Davis), SLEEPY HOLLOW (Danny Elfman), TARZAN (Mark Mancina) and ANNA AND THE KING (George Fenton).

But ultimately, I would have to pick what is probably my alltime favourite Goldsmith score, especially on album:

THE MUMMY (Jerry Goldsmith)

...and that stands even now that my taste has veered away from this kind of action adventure scoring. That says a lot.

It IS very quietly mixed and the wonderful 'Tarawa' sounds murky, I like the album a lot but it does owe a BIG favour to composer Arvo Part....BIG TIME!

I am surprised that no-one is pressuring me for my 2000 selection yet!

Did I!! My memory must be going.

There doesn't seem to be much love for John Williams STAR WARS : THE PHANTOM MENACE? Surely the best score of the whole "space fight" trilogy.

Anyway, this was a tough year IMO, and such a darned good year for film music, particularly from Williams, Morricone, Goldsmith, Davis, Newman, Shore, Goldenthal & Fenton.

For me though, the best score this year wasn't to a film but to a TV series...

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS by Benjamin Bartlett

Fantastic in scope, moving, dramatic and full of great melody, this beats everything else and as a bonus there's no cheesy apocalyptic choirs.

For me the closest runners up are Wojciech Kilar's THE NINTH GATE and PAN TADEUSZ, and Bruno Coulais HIMALAYA.

DURANGO is my pick for 1999. It's still my favorite McKenzie score. I also really enjoy the Cider House Rules and Angela's Ashes. Wasn't Doyles' EAST-WEST from '99? If so I'll throw that in there, too.

I will have something soon...

And I've yet to listen to it.
Tom

Crikey!

You're skipping a LOT of crowd favourites there, Alan (although I'm really pleased to see my own personal number two choice of that year, the absolutely gorgeous Andes To Amazon in your list).

I would certainly add Bregovic' powerfully bittersweet Balkan love song to the Romanian gypsy culture Czas Cyganow I Kudiz in there (even though he recycles his own track Ederlezi yet again!).

Also Williams lovely (and in my opinion greatly and unjustly underrated) Patriot, Rabin's thunderous, mega-electric and energising Gone In 60 Seconds on the excellent Varese representation, Morricone wistful Mission To Mars (a great personal favourite in its almost eery sadness), Beltrami wonderful neo-gothic stylings on Dracula 2000 (great score!), Zimmer's magnum opus Gladiator (!!!), Newton Howard's absolutely magnificent Dinosaur (another score I should revisit soon! It is just so very enjoyable!), and Young's ever so sweetly nostalgic and lovely The Wonder Boys.

But for me, as in previous incarnatios of this thread, the number one spot remains well and truly reserved for that mother of all feel-good scores, the absolutely gobsmackingly brilliant and excellent Chicken Run!

I mentioned he mentioned Andes To Amazon.