TOP 10 MOVIE SCORES

 Top 10 Movie Scores

 

Alright. For a non cinephile, the title is probably misleading. When I say ‘score’ I don’t mean I am going to give movies a score out of 100. No. A score means the music that is played throughout the movie. The background music to be specific. For Bollywood movies the score usually means the songs that are played in between where there is dance or drama, according to the movie requirements. But when I talk about Hollywood, the film scores mean the epic orchestral music that uplifts the film during scenes. Maybe this article might not appeal to everyone because not everyone notices the background music intently in a movie. In that case you can skip this article. Suffice to say, I am one of the nerds who jams the film scores instead of listening to current pop music that normal teenagers listen to. So, here’s my ranking of the top 10 best movie scores of all time!

 

 

10. Mission Impossible

If you are still here, then I am sure you know which music I am talking about.

The famous opening credits music that plays in the MI franchise has long been a fan favourite. It has influenced pop culture so much and has been reused in so many events and movies that almost everyone knows about it.

This epic morse-codish music was first curated by Lalo Schifrin and then made popular by Lorne Balfe. I am not going into the details of what instruments it uses and what tempo it plays on, as I don’t wish to put you or me to sleep, but in case you’re a music fan then do check it out and let me know in the comments.

Listen to: Light the Fuse by Michael Giacchino

 

9. Indiana Jones

If you haven’t heard of this music yet, don’t go ahead and listen now. Instead watch the movie. The theme perfectly complements the events of the movie and captures the essence of Indiana Jones.

Harrison Ford infamously hates this theme as he has said in many interviews, “that damn music follows me everywhere”. Indeed, the score for Indiana Jones by John Williams is so iconic that I believe it deserves to be preserved in a museum.

Listen to: Raiders March 

8. Harry Potter

I am sure every Potter-head will be quite content to see this list. Harry Potter’s magical world needed a score that made you believe that all this magic is indeed real and will be coming to you one day. And guess what, this is another score composed by John Williams.

It feels as if he woke up one day, went to Hogwarts, experienced all the magical events that happen there, came back home and created the music for the movie. John Williams, in case you don’t know, is one of the most famous music composers in the whole world. The infamous American-ish theme in Superman was also made by him. Another extremely famous franchise was also scored by Mr. Williams as you will soon see ahead.

Listen to: Hedwig's Theme 

7. The Lion King

And now let’s move on to the most famous and probably the greatest music composers to ever live – Hans Zimmer.

Back when Disney cared about creativity and originality, they were in the making of one of the greatest animated movies of all time. And they hired someone relatively well-known, but a man who had never scored an animated film before. At first, Zimmer was not interested in the film but when he read the story and understood the emotions, it really drove him to create art that was never heard before. The Lion King, in my opinion, is what really launched Hans Zimmer to heights of success. Even today if you go to any crowded place, stand on higher ground and start reciting the African words from the song, everyone will join in. This movie gave me chills.

Listen to: Remember 

6. Star Wars

I grew up in Mumbai in the 2000s. But if given a chance, I would happily teleport into a child’s body in the American summer of 1980, just so that I could watch The Empire Strikes Back in the theatres with my friends and families.

Star Wars is one of the most famous and one of the most iconic franchises of all time. And as a matter of fact, the Indiana Jones franchise was created by the same person, George Lucas. And just like Indiana Jones, Star Wars was also scored by John Williams. The Darth Vader sequence, along with the plot twist at the end, was something that humans could experience only once in their lifetimes.

 Listen to: Star Wars (Main Theme)

Listen to: The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)

 

5. Pirates of The Caribbean

Another masterstroke by my favourite composer Hans Zimmer. Pirates of The Caribbean, in my opinion, does not receive enough attention. Those movies are wickedly funny and visually aesthetic. The score by Zimmer only uplifts the entire experience.

‘One Day’ by Hans Zimmer is easily one of the greatest music ever created. While it was curated to compliment the love arc between Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, it can be used in many other scenarios too. Just listen to the music once and you’ll realise what I am talking about. Any time before a big exam, an interview, a sports match, open YouTube or Spotify and listen to One Day. I am pretty sure it will give you a boost of confidence.

 Listen to: Jack Sparrow

Listen to: He's a Pirate

Listen to: One Day

 

4. The Dollars Trilogy

I am really enjoying writing this article as I get to talk about my favourite films. The Dollars Trilogy is one of the greatest trilogies in cinematic history. In fact, I would go as far as to say that among the entire list of movies’ music that I will give you in this article, The Dollars Trilogy’s music is the most iconic, the most popular and the most renowned amongst all.

What is the Dollars trilogy you may ask? They are 3 western movies directed by Sergio Leone featuring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad and The Ugly. These are their names and I am 99% sure you might have heard of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. There is an extremely famous soundtrack that is used by popular media franchises when they wish to depict a Western setting. Obviously since I am writing, I can’t tell you what it sounds like. But whenever someone mentions cowboys, you think of Texas, rattlesnakes, boots, hats, saloon, sheriff, revolvers, cactuses, horses, etc. Well, all of that was made popular by The Dollars Trilogy. I consider these 3 movies as the forefather of western movies. So if you go online and listen to ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (2004 Remaster)’ then you’ll understand what I am talking about. And not just this one but there’s another famous track called as ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ which is just pure cinema. The scene actually shows one of the main characters running around in circles but according to me it is peak cinematic experience. And even the main track featured as ‘The Trio’ does not disappoint.

Listen to: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (2004 Remaster)

Listen to: The Ecstasy of Gold (2004 Remaster)

Listen to: For A Few Dollars More (Main Theme) 

3. Tron Legacy

This one might come as a shocker but trust me, I was even more aghast when I listened to the soundtrack.

The Tron franchise in itself has never lived up to its potential. All 3 of its movies are mediocre. But the 2^nd one is relatively better than the other two. The only thing that I have liked about the Tron movies are its soundtracks. And trust me when I say this that Daft Punk absolutely unleashed their 100% creative power when they decided to score Tron Legacy.

Each and every one of its songs is an absolute masterpiece. But the one that stands out is ‘End of Line’. End of Line is probably one of the greatest cinematic music that has ever blessed my ears. It is pure adrenaline and heroism. My top 3 favourite apart from End of Line are ’Fall’, ‘The Game has Changed’ and ‘Flynn Lives’. It is fine if you don’t watch the movie but be sure to listen to the soundtrack online.

 Listen to: End of Line

Listen to: Flynn Lives

Listen to: Fall

Listen to: The Game has Changed

Listen to: The Grid

 

 

2. Blade Runner (1982)

I could do a PhD on this movie. And I probably would’ve if I wasn’t pursuing engineering. Blade Runner is not a movie. It is art. It should be studied. It is culturally and aesthetically significant. But I will talk about this film in a separate blog.

For now, let’s come to the soundtrack. The fact of the matter is that I love Blade Runner’s soundtrack primarily for two reasons –

1) It perfectly complements each and every scene. There is not a single scene in the movie that I feel was not scored properly. Everything is perfect, down to the last bit.

2) It has a lot of variety. If you listen to ‘Damask Rose’ it feels like an Indian classical music. While if you switch to ‘Tales of the Future’ it has a very ‘Arabian nights’ sort of a vibe to it. Of course out of all the tracks, ‘Blade Runner Blues’ stands out to be the best as it completely summarises the whole movie. I would urge you to not watch this film if you are not into science fiction and philosophy. And especially not, if you cannot handle slow-burn movies. To me, Blade Runner is one of the most perfect movies to ever exist.

 

 

1. Interstellar

I think everyone knew this. Interstellar has a very large fan base by now. In fact, quite a few of those YouTube shorts and Instagram reels about space facts use Interstellar’s music to make it seem more dynamic. There is no movie in this world that has ever surpassed Interstellar. It is the best movie ever made by man. Everything is perfect. You can change a lot of things about that movie to make it even more better but nothing can be changed to make it more ‘perfect’. It already is perfect.

I don’t think you should go online and listen to Interstellar’s music. Rather you should watch the movie and feel it yourself. I don’t think I need to say anything further. It speaks for itself.

 

 

 

 

Honourable Mention: Superman

I was finding it difficult to place the Superman movies in the list as almost all of them have had good music. Hence, I place them here in the honourable mentions section.

Superman probably has the most recognizable theme music out of all of these. Every child’s dream, every young man’s nostalgia, it has been around for quite a while now. The original theme was curated by John Williams for Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman. This was the movie that really made him one of the world’s most popular and loved superheroes. The moment you start listening to it, all the hair on your skin will stand up. It is not just a theme, but a calling.

Later on, it was heavily modified by none other than Hans Zimmer in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. (Note: I skipped Superman Returns 2005, as it does not add value to this list). Man of Steel’s theme, particularly ‘Flight’ takes itself literally. It is just a scene of Henry Cavill’s Superman finding out that he can fly. And the music suits that scene perfectly. Once in a while I listen to ‘Flight’ and imagine myself flying all over the world.

And most recently, John Murphy and David Fleming perfected John William’s original theme from 1978 and made it better for James Gunn’s Superman, 2025. It sounds more modern, yet has the same originality and nostalgia from the 1978 score. It adds more flavour and makes it ‘smoother’. I am not sure if it makes sense or not but this is what I felt at least.

 

 

So that was it folks. This article might have been one of my most boring ones as all I did was talk about music, less about movies. But I hope the true cinephiles amongst you enjoyed this read. Be back soon!