THINK ABOUT THE GREATEST movies of all time and then think of music. It's not easy to come up with a list that narrows it even to the top 75 greatest music scores.
Why 75? To be truthful, we couldn't come up with a shorter list, without shortchanging someone.
Feel free to disagree, as you surely will. Warning: It may be impossible to read through the list without humming to yourself.
1. "Gone With the Wind" (1939) Max Steiner
2. "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) Maurice Jarre
3. "The Godfather" (1972) Nino Rota
4. "Ben-Hur" (1959) Miklos Rozsa
5. "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) Elmer Bernstein
6. "Captain from Castille" (1947) Alfred Newman
7. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) Elmer Bernstein
8. "On the Waterfront" (1954) Leonard Bernstein
9. "Duel in the Sun" (1946) Dimitri Tiomkin
10. "How the West Was Won" (1962) Alfred Newman
11. "Psycho" (1960) Bernard Herrmann
12. "High Noon" (1952) Dimitri Tiomkin
13. "The Big Country" (1958) Jerome Moross
14. "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) Alex North
15. "Star Wars" (1977) John Williams
16. "Doctor Zhivago" (1965) Maurice Jarre
17. "Jaws" (1975) John Williams
18. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) Erich Wolfgang Korngold
19. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) Howard Shore
20. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) John Williams
21. "Spellbound" (1945) Miklos Rozsa
22. "Shane" (1953) Victor Young
23 "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" (1955) Alfred Newman
24. "Out of Africa" (1985) John Barry
25. "The Barefoot Contessa" (1954) Mario Nascimbene
26. "Born Free" (1966) John Barry
27. "All About Eve" (1950) Alfred Newman
28. "Titanic" (1997) James Horner
29. "Exodus" (1960) Ernest Gold
30. "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) Victor Young
31. "Captain Blood" (1935) Erich Wolfgang Korngold
32. "Laura" (1944) David Raksin
33. "War and Peace" (1956) Nino Rota
34. "Never on Sunday" (1960) Manos Hajidakis
35. "E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) John Williams
36. "Hawaii" (1966) Elmer Bernstein
37. "The Guns of Navarone" (1961) Dimitri Tiomkin
38. "Green Dolphin Street" (1947) Bronislau Kaper
39. "Brokeback Mountain" (2005) Gustavo Santaotalla
40. "The Heiress" (1949) Aaron Copland
41. "The Lion in Winter" (1968) John Barry
42. "Madame Bovary" (1949) Miklos Rozsa
43. "Moulin Rouge" (1952) Georges Auric
44. "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) Richard Rodney Bennett
45. "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) Bronislau Kaper
46. "The Nun's Story" (1959) Franz Waxman
47. "Patton" (1970) Jerry Goldsmith
48. "Raintree County" (1957) Johnny Green
49. "Rocky" (1976) Bill Conti
50. "Samson and Delilah" (1949) Victor Young
51. "Topkapi" (1964) Manos Hajidakis
52. "The Third Man" (1949) Anton Karas
53. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961) Henry Mancini
54. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) Max Steiner
55. "A Man and a Woman" (1966) Francis Lai
56. "Atonement" (2007) Dario Marianelli
57. "Vertigo" (1958) Bernard Herrmann
58. "King Kong" (1933) Max Steiner
59. "Sunset Blvd." (1950) Franz Waxman
60. "La Strada" (1954) (Nino Rota)
61. "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) David Raksin
62. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) Malcolm Arnold
63. "Ruby Gentry" (1952) Heinz Roemheld
64. "Quo Vadis?" (1951) Miklos Rozsa
65. "The Robe" (1953) Alfred Newman
66. "Spartacus" (1960 )Alex North
67. "Peyton Place" (1957) Franz Waxman
68. "A Place in the Sun" (1951) Franz Waxman
69. "Walk on the Wild Side" (1962) Elmer Bernstein
70. "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959) Duke Ellington
71. "Auntie Mame" (1958) Bronislau Kaper
72. "Now, Voyager" (1942) Max Steiner
73. "Chariots of Fire" (1981) Vangelis
74. "Wuthering Heights" (1939) Alfred Newman
75. "A Summer Place" (1959) Max Steiner
Now, shall we second-guess our own choices, right along with you?
Clearly the most prevalent genre amongst our musical score choices is the Western, represented by "The Big Country," "High Noon," "Shane," "The Magnificent Seven" and others. Just as obvious is that a plentiful number of historical epics have spawned musical excellence: "Quo Vadis?" "The Robe," "Ben-Hur," "Spartacus."
We tried to focus on American films, but couldn't avoid the plaintive trumpets from "La Strada" (Italy)," the romance of "A Man and A Woman" (France) or the joyful novelty of "Never on Sunday" (Greece).
Our most frequently named composer, somewhat to our own surprise, was Alfred Newman. Coming close was perhaps the most prolific of all screen composers, Max Steiner, who wrote the scores for more than 200 movies.
We tried to consider entire scores, but have to admit that sometimes a single "song" or "theme" - as with "Ruby Gentry" or "High Noon" - can win the day.
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a guilty pleasure that sneaked in at No. 75, but then it is one of the biggest record-sellers of the entire bunch. And don't write off "Peyton Place." It is America personified.
Even with persistent doubts, we'll stick with this list.
Mal Vincent, (757) 446-2347, mal.vincent@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
