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  1. So I think I have my Top 10 Favorite Scores of All Time figured out. It was rough. I had to be brutal, because in general, I’ve never met a score I didn’t like or appreciate in some way. I asked myself, “If I was never able to hear them again, or play them on the piano again - which scores would I be most devastated to lose and never get to enjoy again?” These would be them.

    1. Apollo 13 (James Horner)

    2. Wyatt Earp (James Newton Howard)

    3. The Shawshank Redemption (Thomas Newman)

    4. Hook (John Williams)

    5. The Kite Runner (Alberto Iglesias)

    6. Legends of the Fall (James Horner)

    7. The Cider House Rules (Rachel Portman)

    8. Man of Steel (Hans Zimmer)

    9. Van Helsing (Alan Silvestri)

    10. The Mists of Avalon (Lee Holdridge)

    I was thinking that Favorites lists like these are not just musical preferences, and music that I may love most, but may also be tied to certain times in my life or scores that are associated with life memories that maybe bring them up above the rest.
  2. It's an interesting list, Cailin. And I think that you're right when you say that lists such as this are tightly linked with life events, etc. Which is why they are "favourite" lists rather than "best" lists.

    The thought of thinking through all the music I have listened to and picking out 10 favourites is a daunting thought! Particularly when I think that there are so many gaps where I don't know the music as well as I should.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  3. Thanks Alan! I do think my list carries the scores that I have the most love for in terms of both melodies and meaning. But I have a long list of those that barely missed the cut which I would want to add if I could for a more complete picture of my music taste (maybe I'll have to do a top 50 or something). I was working from almost 800 scores to make my list of top ten favorites...I can't even imagine working from a collection of your size!!! shocked That would be SO incredibly daunting!!
  4. Filmscoregirl wrote
    Thanks Alan! I do think my list carries the scores that I have the most love for in terms of both melodies and meaning. But I have a long list of those that barely missed the cut which I would want to add if I could for a more complete picture of my music taste (maybe I'll have to do a top 50 or something). I was working from almost 800 scores to make my list of top ten favorites...I can't even imagine working from a collection of your size!!! shocked That would be SO incredibly daunting!!

    Go for it! A Top 50 list would certainly be more comprehensive. Would you put 11-50 in a curated order or just lump them together as it is so difficult to separate them?
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 5th 2021
    Nice list, Cailin. A mix of 'iconic' classics and some less talked about. Not a big fan of THE KITE RUNNER or VAN HELSING myself, but glad that you are. THE MISTS OF AVALON was another nice surprise. I believe I have that somewhere, but haven't listened to it in a long time. Might do that now.
    I am extremely serious.
  5. Thanks Thor! It's certainly hard to veer too far from some of the "classics" - they're amazing for a reason, haha! smile And I can't imagine NOT loving The Kite Runner or Van Helsing, lol.

    To get a more complete picture of my music taste, I thought I'd add the rest of what would make my Top 50. I didn't have time to rank them in any order, so I just added them alphabetically.

    I'm curious what you can determine about me, if anything, from this more complete list of favorites...I feel like there MUST be some patterns here! So here's 11-50.

    Argo (Alexandre Desplat)
    The Bourne Supremacy (John Powell)
    Braveheart (James Horner)
    Cinderella (Patrick Doyle)
    Cold Mountain (Gabriel Yared)
    Black Hawk Down (Hans Zimmer)
    Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard)
    Dinosaur (James Newton Howard)
    Dragonheart (Randy Edelman)
    Edward Scissorhands (Danny Elfman)
    E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (John Williams)
    Fly Away Home (Mark Isham)
    Gladiator (Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard)
    The Greatest Game Ever Played (Brian Tyler)
    The Green Mile (Thomas Newman)
    The Help (Thomas Newman)
    Hidalgo (James Newton Howard)
    Jurassic Park (John Williams)
    K-Pax (Edward Shearmur)
    A Little Princess (Patrick Doyle)
    Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
    Little Women (Thomas Newman)
    Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore)
    Malena (Ennio Morricone)
    The Martian (Harry Gregson-Williams)
    Meet Joe Black (Thomas Newman)
    Mighty Joe Young (James Horner)
    To Kill A Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)
    The Mummy (Jerry Goldsmith)
    The Perfect Storm (James Horner)
    Practical Magic (Alan Silvestri)
    The Rock (Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams)
    Rudy (Jerry Goldsmith)
    The Russia House (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Saving Private Ryan (John Williams)
    Sense & Sensibility (Patrick Doyle)
    Solo (John Powell)
    The Third Miracle (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
    True Grit (Carter Burwell)
    Viceroy’s House (A.R. Rahman)

    I'm curious what you all think?!
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 5th 2021
    I guess it tells me that you tend to prefer classically symphonic/orchestral scores -- perhaps with the occasional "world music" element. Pretty great list of scores, though!
    I am extremely serious.
  6. Cool, yeah, that sounds about exactly right to me! biggrin
  7. Great effort Cailin! Some excellent score in your extended list. Perhaps your list won't overlap much with my own.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  8. FalkirkBairn wrote
    Perhaps your list won't overlap much with my own.


    Haha, that's totally okay Alan! :D Looking forward to seeing your list some day and discovering some new scores that are your favorites that I've likely never heard before, but I'm sure I'll also love!
    •  
      CommentAuthorFalkirkBairn
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2021 edited
    It's really difficult trying to tie down favourite scores but I did have a list partly made so I have finished it off. This list is my own personal favourite film scores rather than what I consider to be the best film scores.

    1. Star Wars (John Williams)

    2. The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)

    3. Psycho (Bernard Herrmann)

    4. Looking for Richard (Howard Shore)

    5. The Final Conflict (Jerry Goldsmith)

    6. eXistenZ (Howard Shore)

    7. Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)

    8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Bernard Herrmann)

    9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ennio Morricone)

    10. Aliens (James Horner)

    And here's 11-50:

    Alien (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Alien 3 (Elliot Goldenthal)
    Backdraft (Hans Zimmer)
    The Car (Leonard Rosenthal)
    The Cell (Howard Shore)
    Conan The Barbarian (Basil Poledouris)
    Crash (Howard Shore)
    The Dead Zone (Michael Kamen)
    The Egyptian (Alfred Newman & Bernard Herrmann)
    The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
    The Fly (Howard Shore)
    Goldfinger (John Barry)
    Halloween III: Season of the Witch (John Carpenter & Alan Howarth)
    Jaws (John Williams)
    The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones)
    The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)
    The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
    One Million Years BC (Mario Nascimbene)
    Orca (Ennio Morricone)
    Planet of the Apes (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Poltergeist (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Rambo - First Blood Part II (Jerry Goldsmith)
    The Ring (Hans Zimmer)
    RoboCop (Basil Poledouris)
    Seven (Howard Shore)
    The Shipping News (Christopher Young)
    Signs (James Newton Howard)
    The Silence of the Lambs (Howard Shore)
    Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (James Horner)
    Steamboy (Steve Jablonsky)
    The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (David Shire)
    The Thing (Ennio Morricone)
    Titus (Elliot Goldenthal)
    Tora! Tora! Tora! (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Total Recall (Jerry Goldsmith)
    Tron: Legacy (Daft Punk)
    Under The Skin (Mica Levi)
    The Usual Suspects (John Ottman)
    You Only Live Twice (John Barry)

    A bit of a Howard Shore/Jerry Goldsmith love-fest but that's the way the list came out! I am pretty happy with the list. There probably could be one or two minor changes (some titles may be included because of extra special themes rather than the score as a whole but I have tried to minimise that as much as possible).
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorErik Woods
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2021
    I presented my ten favourite scores (And two honourable mentions) on my 20th anniversary episodes of CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO. You can listen to the shows by going...

    Here
    http://www.cinematicsound.net/ep-27-20t … al-part-i/

    and here.
    http://www.cinematicsound.net/ep-30-20t … l-part-ii/

    -Erik-
    host and executive producer of THE CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO PODCAST | www.cinematicsound.net | www.facebook.com/cinematicsound | I HAVE TINNITUS!
  9. FalkirkBairn wrote
    A bit of a Howard Shore/Jerry Goldsmith love-fest but that's the way the list came out!.


    Wow, what an amazing list! And so many that I have not heard! Even legendary ones (eek, have not heard Vertigo other than a suite)! But I have heard Star Wars, LOTR, Psycho, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (which also almost made it into my top 50) which are all fantastic of course. I just got The Final Conflict recently, but haven’t listened to it much yet. I’m embarrassed to say that I have very little Goldsmith in my collection, so my exposure to him has been limited. I think this was mainly due to the fact that:

    a) He’s always been so popular, which is probably why I didn’t find too many of his scores secondhand. (Which was primarily, like 90%, how I grew my score collection, especially during my teen and 20s). Now I’m letting myself buy newer ones with earnings through my hobby/business on Etsy.

    b) Other than The Secret of N.I.M.H. that I saw as a child, and loved the music, my earliest memory of one of his scores was to the movie Forever Young from 1992, which I loved when I was 10, so I saved up my money to buy the score. I remember not really loving it as much standalone as I did in the movie, so perhaps that somehow didn’t set me out on the right foot with him. At least to venture too far backwards to his earlier scores. But I did venture forwards to Rudy, First Knight, Power, L.A. Confidential, and Air Force One (a great score that I just listened to yesterday) and others. And of course to The Mummy (in my top 50).

    And I really need to see those Alien movies! I’ve missed the culture-boat there as well!

    I’m saving your list Alan, so I can revisit your favorites, because I have underlistened to Howard Shore and Jerry for far too long and want to hear more your top picks of their work! Thanks for taking the time to make your list!
  10. Howard Shore can be a bit of an acquired taste but I think his music does reward the effort.

    I don't think that Looking for Richard is available to stream but it can be listened to on YouTube. I will add a link when I get the chance.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2021
    I've come around on Howard Shore...at least a bit. I didn't like him in the 90s, and I still have issues with certain parts of his sound (primarily a lot of the 'droney' stuff he does for Cronenberg etc.), but post-LOTR, I've discovered many things I've liked. Some recent highlights that I even own in my iTunes collection include ROSEWATER, MAPS TO THE STARS and THE SONG OF NAMES.
    I am extremely serious.
  11. Thor wrote
    I've come around on Howard Shore...at least a bit. I didn't like him in the 90s, and I still have issues with certain parts of his sound (primarily a lot of the 'droney' stuff he does for Cronenberg etc.), but post-LOTR, I've discovered many things I've liked. Some recent highlights that I even own in my iTunes collection include ROSEWATER, MAPS TO THE STARS and THE SONG OF NAMES.

    I like the 'droney' stuff. I find it very evocative, mirroring a psychological aspect of rhe movie. Obviously, I am not so keen on his post-LOTR scores.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2021
    Yes, we seem to be yin and yang there. But I aim to re-explore some of the 80s and 90s scores again at some point, just to see if I feel any differenty now -- starting mildly with things that are easier on the ears, like MRS. DOUBTFIRE and that kind of stuff.
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorLSH
    • CommentTimeApr 7th 2021
    APOLLO 13 - JAMES HORNER

    THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION - THOMAS NEWMAN

    SIGNS - JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

    JURASSIC PARK - JOHN WILLIAMS

    THE ROCKETEER - JAMES HORNER

    AMERICAN BEAUTY - THOMAS NEWMAN

    E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL - JOHN WILLIAMS

    DINOSAUR - JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

    TOTAL RECALL - JERRY GOLDSMITH

    THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - HOWARD SHORE
  12. What an awesome list Lee! It makes me so happy to see Apollo 13 in your top spot, because it's also in mine! biggrin I can't argue with this list one bit, it's fabulous!
    •  
      CommentAuthorFalkirkBairn
    • CommentTimeApr 7th 2021 edited
    FalkirkBairn wrote
    Howard Shore can be a bit of an acquired taste but I think his music does reward the effort.

    I don't think that Looking for Richard is available to stream but it can be listened to on YouTube. I will add a link when I get the chance.

    Here's a link to Shore's Looking for Richard: https://youtu.be/4yK3DCeO33U

    (@00:00) 1. Richard, Duke of York (04:09)*
    (@04:09) 2. Queen Margaret (03:13)
    (@07:22) 3. Lady Anne Neville (10:29)
    (@17:51) 4. George, Duke of Clarence (11:42)*
    (@29:32) 5. William, Lord Hastings (05:22)*
    (@34:54) 6. Ghosts (04:05)*
    (@39:01) 7. Henry, Earl of Richmond (06:02)

    The film is a documentary (Al Pacino's directorial debut) that features enacting of key scenes from Shakespeare's Richard III and Shore's music mostly scores these scenes. But the music is very low in the mix so it's hard to hear it a lot of the time.

    Apparently, Shore wrote these cues as character pieces for some of the main protagonists rather than writing to the image and Pacino cut-and-pasted the music into the scenes. I'd read somewhere that the choral text is Latin translations of text from the play.

    I would very much recommend that people, who may not be familiar with this score, give it a listen from start to finish. It's well worth it and you may hear a side of Shore that gave Peter Jackson confidence for his Lord of the Rings scores.

    *My particularly favourite tracks
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
    ha e you hit any ohhtdr? Thanks
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
    Sorry ghat was nbgbt hi say Burt
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
  13. You know, people get banned for this ... shit wink
    waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Where's my nut? arrrghhhhhhh
  14. Thomas Glorieux wrote
    You know, people get banned for this ... shit wink

    Or at least the alcohol is placed just out of reach.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 26th 2021
    James' drunken rants are even more incomprehensible than the ones I used to do years ago.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 27th 2021
    So....do Southalls experience drinker's remorse?
    I am extremely serious.