My 100 Favorite Original Film Scores (In progress)

he Seven Samurai is one of the best films ever made, but this remake did everything right and added a far more memorable score to boot. The cast is amazing as each was trying to make their way up the food chain by attempting to steal every scene possible from each other and even the star Yul Brynner. I think this rivalry makes the film even more enjoyable to watch as each of the seven put their own stamp on each scene and character. I have due to multiple watching come to love each character in their own right just like the Seven Samurai because each is given such human qualities. Charles Bronson is a great example as he is in the beginning shown chopping wood, but we learn that he used to be an expensive gun to hire, but now he through some means or other has fallen to chopping wood to pay his rent. We can relate and grow to love him for the love and care he shows to the three little boys that look to him as a hero. It most of all never loses sight of the greatness of the farmers just like the Seven Samurai. I feel it lost next to nothing in the transfer save the great Japanese culture which Kurosawa fleshes out in the original. A rare remake that can stand up to its foreign original.

From the opening music chords to the dashing swashbuckling finale, this film is the ultimate of that genre as well as Errol Flynn's crowning achievement. He makes Robin Hood a fun and jolly hero with honor and ever quality imaginable that a leader should possess. He may not be British, but he is close enough and has the right accent. Michael Curtiz, the man behind the other Errol Flynn films that made my list those being The Sea Hawk, and Captain Blood, directs this with a fun, but serious air although he can't take all the credit as William Keighley directed first off, but was replaced by Curtiz early in production. Erich Wolfgang Korngold composed a masterful score for this. I could go on, but I will suffice to say that this is a dashing film that stands as one of the best of the Action/Adventure genre.

The middle film to the trilogy is the best and most entertaining to me. The love scenes aren?t mushy as the two characters seem to grind against each other, Luke digs deeper and meets the illustrious Jedi Master that taught Obi-Wan, and some much more works for this. It utilizes the fact that we can travel to many different planets as we jump from icy Hoth, to the cold of space, to the humidity of Dagoba, and even to the beautiful yet deceiving Cloud City. Each is given a unique score by John Williams and we get some of the best music from the Star Wars series including Lando?s Palace, Yoda?s Theme, and the Imperial March better known as Vader?s Theme by some. It is everything you could ask of middle film as it develops characters, moves the story along, and introduces extremely key components. And I will admit to being a chronic Star Wars fans at times.

Mel Gibson’s epic tale of William Wallace and his struggle for Freedom is a bit inaccurate, but nonetheless very moving and powerful. The thing that always starts it off for me is the amazing musical score by James Horner which captures so much of the spirit of the film and the land. Then we are given amazing settings which the cinematographer exhibits with such magnificent. The opening shot is gorgeous. The fighting is extremely graphic, even more so it seems than Gladiator, because it doesn’t have the quick cuts. Ultimately the film works because we have been given great characters who we have come to care for and each one that is ripped away is brutal and yet we understand.

The second motion picture Star Trek film utilizes a great idea, bring back a villain with whom the fans are familiar from the television series. It works great because the character is already there and it can just build from there. That is exactly what first time Star Trek director Nicholas Meyer did and he did it adding a naval style atmosphere to these space crafts. Ricardo Montalban recreates his superior villain of Khan and the usual crew of the Enterprise headed by the triumvirate of James T. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy exuded their great chemistry. James Horner adds the right twist on the Star Trek theme and thus we have the ultimate Star Trek film.

Every time I watch this film or here the music I believe that John Williams must have had a ball with this film for its musical atmosphere. The musical conversation between the humans and the aliens near the end is quite fun to listen to and see in the array of lights. The film is so different from much of Spielberg?s other work, but it still retains much of the innocence and fun of that work. It is just a different type of fun. Richard Dreyfuss captures the obsessed Roy Neary extremely well and his moment of carving the vision in the mash potatoes is not only a bit funny, but a simple way of showing his growing obsession. François Truffaut, the famed French director, lends an interesting tone as one of the coordinators. All around this is a joy to watch for me.

Arguably Spielberg?s best film. Peter Benchley?s bubblegum story makes a perfect film. A shark stakes out Amity Island as its feeding grounds and is practically served up a smorgasbord as the town?s people don?t want to compromise their business to get this killing machine. Spielberg may not have meant to make this film so suspenseful, by not showing the audience the shark until midway through, but it works perfectly for this film. John William?s score does an excellent job of adding to that suspense or maybe the score makes the suspense whatever the case it works perfectly. The greatest feature of this film is the great acting and chemistry between the leads, Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper), Roy Schneider (Chief Brody), and Robert Shaw (Quint). The constant bickering between them when they are cooped up on that boat together is great. The shark scenes are certainly great, but the complementary of this great cast is the factor that makes this film so excellent.

While George Lucas may have broke a lot of ground with Star Wars visually, Spielberg utilized that technology and more to create a monumental film which visually can still stand up with the effects of even film of this day. I remember freaking out when I first saw the Raptors and have nightmares at night from all these incredible creations. While not nearly as good as the novel, I wish he had started it differently, it is a great thriller which I can enjoy over and over again. The score by Williams is both thrilling and soaring.

A fabulous retelling of the classic novel is even better than expected with a more romantic setting and characters.

I can hear the music already. The final installment of the Sergio Leone Spaghetti westerns that made Clint Eastwood a star is grand and scale and Leone?s supreme achievement. While Eastwood may play the The Good, it was Eli Wallach?s crazy Tuco that stole the show for me just his whole crazy style of exacting revenge and his constant almost nervous talking. The finale duel is one which I find to be the best of all the westerns.

A great little screwball comedy about an inept inspector, whom Sellers plays to perfection. I always jump back and forth between this and its sequel over which is better, both are marvelously paced and have highly memorable scores from Henri Mancini although the score to this is much more well-known thanks to those spin-off cartoons. The title sequence spawned a tv show, great stuff.

Orson Welles maybe considered one of the premiere directors ever, but to me his best work still lies in his acting ability and that is best showcased in this master of the Film-Noir genre. Much like The Maltese Falcon it has a nice twisted story befitting the genre as well as some great dialog, although not as quickly delivered in rapid succession as in The Maltese Falcon. What really give this the little bit of edge over The Maltese Falcon making it slightly superior film in my mind is the better set pieces. There?s more action to be had here, but in that it becomes less of a talky affair as an ambiance and to a small degree thriller. Joseph Cotton has never been better than as the friend caught up the web forced to make choice of friendship or the law and Orson Welles is overpowering in a performance that does not even come to play until almost midway into the film. But Welles is stupendous and scene stealing in everyway in this film. Carol Reed crafted something special here with that Anton Karas zither music and all.

I believe this is Hitchcock?s most commercially fun film. Cary Grant just got to cut loose play the character he had developed so much before which is really just Cary Grant personified. Eva Marie Saint is dashing beautiful which is basically all she has to do, and James Mason with his wonderful voice gets to play that illustrious bad guy pulling the strings. Even though he is not featured in a big role Martin Landau, who would later go on to win an Oscar for his fantastic portrayal of an aged Bela Legasi in Ed Wood, manages to give an impressive performance as the henchman. I blame it on those eyes of his. Bernard Herrmann?s score is perfect as always. Thus this Hitchcock film is the complete package, not as psychological as many of his other films, but a masterpiece nonetheless.

The highly anticipated beginning to the trilogy delivered in gold. Although the film never quite lived up to my imagination as I read the novel many times over, it did the novels justice in as much as a filmmaker can hope to. Peter Jackson solidified himself as a director with this film and the subsequent parts. Everything about this film is praiseworthy from the acting in which I would include casting, editing, visual effects, and all that artistry. It was a stunning achievement and one I have enjoyed watching again and again. The extended version is even better.

Steven Spielberg is one of my favorite directors of all-time and this beginning to the Indiana Jones trilogy is a great ride of fun. Harrison Ford was perfect for the role with his ruggedness and great presence. This film is iconic with the beginning based off the Paramount logo and the falling rock as well as the laughter in the jungle. Plus it gives a sneak preview of Doc Ock with Alfred Molina covered in tarantulas. John Williams score is brilliant with the march and love theme. A film that can be enjoyed multiple times and lose none of its grandeur and fun.

One of the longest epics I have ever watched and undoubtedly the king of the genre. Charlton Heston is in top form as the fiery hero of this adaptation of the great Lew Wallace novel. He is surrounded by an incredible cast of actors who support him brilliantly as well as offer him some of the greatest challenges of his life especially his best friend Messala, played with an equal passion by Stephen Boyd. The pairs fight in the chariot race is undoubtedly one of the most memorable scenes in film history and still wholly engrossing. Add to this the sweeping scale this story which covers vengeance, love, betrayal, and part of the Christ story as well and this film packs a wallop in its three hours plus running time. But that is perfectly fine with a film that offers an intermission some of the greatest music in cinema history from Miklos Rozsa, one of the best composers ever not named John Williams.

The best classic superhero film with a great balance of comedy, wonder, and romance. The second film got really carried away with the humor while this one only had it about half way when Lex shows up, before that is the great intro with the superb score and still pretty decent visual effects chronicling the early years of Kal-El.

Great homage to the classic swashbuckling Zorro films of Tyrone Powers and Douglas Fairbanks. Antonio Banderas is ideal and Hopkins is better than expected.

A nice feudal age tale of a nice who loses his way and is helped back on course by a magical beast that originally turned him off course. Dennis Quaid is brilliant as the knight and Sean Connery as great as ever as the voice of Draco. The soundtrack is the best element of this film though. The dragon flies, the hero stands tall, and the score elevates them both.

My second Errol Flynn film is another classic swashbuckler, but this time Basil Rathbone is nowhere to be found. Instead we are given two villains one the sophisticated Claude Rains who doesn?t really get his hand dirty, and Henry Daniell who ends up being the challenger with the sword. The film is highflying fun from beginning sea fight to the final duel. Erich Wolfgang also composed a beautiful, thrilling seafaring score for this voyage. Michael Curtiz, the master director of this genre, does a terrific job as usual and the man Alan Hale is Flynn?s right hand man again. The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces from Captain Blood, and The Adventures of Robin Hood. I wish the compact disc I have of this film?s score had the singing, but the instrumental only soundtrack is fantastic anyway. It is great fun for everyone.

Hmm...Not one of my favorite Spielberg film, but also among his best because of its sheer charm and John Williams' soaring score. Hard to believe that is a young Drew Barrymore. "E.T. phone home!" Truly glad I could see this on the big screen when it was re-released.

I must say Hayao Miyazaki certainly has excelled these past few years pumping out quite a few masterpieces. This one is one of two his that have captured my imagination and cracked my list. The animation of this film is stunningly beautiful and the voice work phenomenal. What I always find amazing about each of these is the fantastic stories which are told, but each with a completely different style of their own.

An epic tale of a slave once again challenging the principle ruler of Rome, but this character does not start off as a slave, but general turned into a gladiator and then hero. Russell Crowe is fantastic as the hardened Maximus who is asked not only to stop the man who killed his wife and son, but save an empire. Fantastic production with great actors abounding from Joaquin Phoenix to Richard Harris and Oliver Reed as well as a fantastic score by Hans Zimmer similar in some respects to the Pirates score which came later.

?Is this heaven??
?No, it's Iowa.?
This was such a brilliant idea film for a film. It was at one time America?s sport, although the recent steroid fiasco and stuff have hurt its rep, but this film harkens back to a day when baseball players played for love of the sport not for million dollar houses. It is a sports fantasy film, but it may very well be heaven for some. I think the whole spirit of the film is summed up in James Earl Jones? moving speech, ?Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.? My favorite sports film hands down.

One of Hitchcock's best. Stewart is fantastic as the man with vertigo. Great use of the camera here as well.

Childhood repeat film which I have run to the ground, thus I have bought the new unaltered version. I am a purist where this trilogy is concerned and I don?t care what its creator says, you don?t mess with phenomena?s like this. From the opening space battle to the final Death Star explosion, this film has always and probably will for most of time captivate me. The brilliant score by John Williams sets the tone and there are few more iconic voices than James Earl Jones who will forever more, be remember as the voice behind Darth Vader.

Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough head this amazing all-star cast in this prisoner of war film. It has wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein to start us out and wonderful set pieces for the camp. It has a great balance of fun, drama, and action. It is also quite long, but you don?t notice because it has captured you with its great cast of not only actors, but characters and their great interaction. Even the German officers are given a human face. Nothing beats McQueen on a motorcycle, well practically nothing.

Alright here's my thoughts on this funny and beautiful film. John Wayne is great as the leader of this group of animal catchers who are joined by Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro a photographer for the zoo that is willing to buy their animals. This film is quite dazzling with its beautiful shots of Africa's wildlife. Red Buttons in fuses a lot of humor into this film as the team driver "Pockets". Henry Mancini's score as I mentioned above also adds a great deal. This is fun light-hearted adventure which is a gem.

Fantastic film of two runners and their dreams and values. Vangelis' score is highly memorable.

This is an incredibly filmed missionary journey back to a time when Faith, Fame, and Fortune were king. The Jesuits are determined to convert more of the natives, and are quite successful at it, but this is not good because the settlers don?t like the competition of the Church. An inevitable conclusion is the biggest mar against this fantastic and absorbing look at the faith of two men and their similar conclusions.

Vivien Leigh is elegant, determined, underhanded, coldhearted, and all sorts of things in the tour de force film which focuses on the way one determined southern belle handles the destruction that the Civil War caused to the south. Few films are as ambitious and succeed as much as this film did. It was the ultimate box office hit of its time and still is an astounding achievement today. David O?Selznick the producer who ultimately played the biggest role in the transfer of the highly popular book to the big screen certainly deserves a lot credit for the amazing film it became.

The only film done in the Hitchcock style which can stand up to Hitchcock?s best. Stanley Donen, best known for directing Singin? in the Rain, captures the essences of a great Hitchcock film with a great sense of fun, adventure, romance, and humor. Cary Grant is wonderful as always and Audrey Hepburn is more than perfect as the lovely wife of Charles Lambert recently deceased and now not quite what he seems. James Coburn is supremely menacing and seemingly calculating in this film, but it Walter Matthau who is the guy to watch. Henri Mancini provides a brilliant score for this film which is both thrilling and fun.

I am a big sucker for sentimental sports films and this is one of the best ever made. Sean Austin is fantastic in the title role as a feisty, never say die son of a steel mill boss who wants more than anything else to play football for Notre Dame. The story moves me every time I watch it and it is definitely Austin?s best acting work outside the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The score by Jerry Goldsmith is also very uplifting and beautiful.

The ultimate movie about the Mafia, focuses on family issues as Vito Corleone has built up an empire of trust and certain balance. Still through the events of the film it shown to be a very fragile balance which is needing of a strong leader with neither too much rage or tepidness. The story begins at the wedding of his daughter. He is mostly back in the house meeting members of the family either swearing allegiance or asking for favors. Vito handles it all with fantastic grace that sets a tone that he is thought so highly of throughout the film and when he leaves a void with his near death from shots in the street it is understood just what it means to come into the family business and run it all. At first the eldest son, Sonny, played like a lightning rod by James Caan, takes the reins, but he is quite unsuccessful as he is too head strong rushing into things including a gruesome demise. It then falls to the youngest son, Michael Corleone, who is played by a young Al Pacino, who at first seems tepid, but throughout the course of the film shows an extreme growth to become in the mold of Vito through pain and excitement. What makes this film standout amongst others of its kind of pulp fiction like is the fact that it has such an outrageously great cast. They are fuelled by the leader Marlon Brando to turn out the best performances they could possibly do, this stands especially true of Al Pacino and James Caan whom never really matched their greatness in this film save Pacino in the second film in which he got to delve deeper in to the darkness. This is one of the ultimate crime sagas ever created and well deserving of its love.

Who could take a shower or bath without being paranoid after seeing this one? Any takers?

This film is easily Hitchcock's scariest. The acting is superb, and add a scary score to that and you have the complete package.

In the opening sequence, we witness a fatal motorcycle accident. There is not explanation, no character development or even a face shot for us to remember the character by. As it turns out, this sequence is a little out of order, but it proves to be a very appropriate beginning.

After the rather disorienting opening, we are introduced to the main character T.E. Lawrence. He is a rather unique individual from what background we learn. He does not seem to be a staunch British patriot. This is exemplified by his continual disregard for orders once he is in the desert. He causes his superior officer to exclaim, ?Damn it, Lawrence! Who do you take your orders from?? Interestingly enough, at the beginning it is hard to picture Lawrence as a leader. With his seemingly timid ways his initially shy and reserved image is radically changed during his journey.

Peter O?Toole, with his strikingly blue eyes, is perfect embodiment of T.E. Lawrence. I have heard that this is his feature debut as the star. Well this is on gosh darn fantastic way to start your career as a star. I still do not understand how he lost for Best Actor at the Oscars that year.

O?Toole is surrounded by a typical David Lean, all-star cast. The standouts include Sir Alec Guinness as the Prince Feisal, Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi, and, of course, Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali. Lawrence has a different appeal to each of these characters through out the film. Some you would be surprised to discover their actual interest in the young lieutenant.

The next key component, perhaps the best part of the film all together is the cinematography. Freddie Young, the photographer, does a fantastic job at capturing the sheer size, beauty, and horror of the desert. Probably the most talked about shot or sequence in the whole film is incredible mirage like appearance of Sherif Ali. Lawrence is staring out into the desert following what seems to be a dot on the horizon. Slowly through the waves of heat which appear to be ripples of water in the distance, a figure forms. It is truly a great sight to watch. I also love that sequence because at the end of it Lawrence delivers to Ali one of my favorite lines of the film: ?So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are.? This he exclaims because Ali kills Lawrence?s Arabs guide as soon as he is range. The reason for the death was the fact that the well is by rights Ali?s. This would also prove to be another key point for the film.

The final component of the film which I would like to highlight is the score. I have heard some say it is underrated. Far be it. Just last year at the Hollywood Bowl, AFI released its top 25 original film scores of all-time, and this film came in 2nd only to Gone With the Wind and Star Wars. I agree it is that good. The score is majestic, and memorable. You could close your eyes while listen to it, and all you would see would be desert, desert, and more desert.

In conclusion, the film is outstanding in most every respect for me, the only minus coming from a depressing story, and at times a wandering plot. These to points are probably are very big for some, but if you can become involved in Lawrence?s adventure and come to care for him. You will be taken on a journey you won?t forget.

One of the groundbreaking and trend setting science fiction films of the fifties, the film works not for the visuals which are quite outdated, but the great story, and acting. The film really grabbed me for the incredibly symphonic and high pitched score which Bernard Herrmann in all his genius composed for it. It is a theme that can be heard in quite a few following science fiction films. The film?s affects not nearly