100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century
This is a list of scores from films released between the 1930s and 1990s.
No musicals or movie songs are included since
they are separate genres.
Recommended DVD
If you enjoy music from older films, this DVD is highly recommended. It is hosted with great candor by John Mauceri and includes music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, David Raksin, Max Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Franz Waxman, and all the film scores mentioned are on the 100 Essential Film Scores list below.
This DVD is well worth adding to your collection:
Music for the Movies: The Hollywood Sound
Selected by Roger Hall
Film Music Historian and Editor, Film Music Review
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Preparing a survey list on any topic is always a problem.
Which ones to choose and which ones to leave out?
So this is not meant to be the definitive film score list -- I don't believe that is possible.
Instead it is meant to be representative of the many outstanding film scores
composed during the 20th century.
You may or may not agree with my choices.
It is not possible to please everyone, yet 22 of the titles listed below
are also on
AFI's Top 25 film scores survey.
It was a very difficult task to place one great film score ahead of another great one. The numbering is not set in stone and is just meant to establish some order
for the 100 film scores.
The list is a revised one from what appears in my reference book,
A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores
Each film score was chosen as representative of significant originality and also for their popularity with audiences over the years.
Yet some popular scores didn't make the list.
For example, audience favorites like James Horner's STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982) and Maurice Jarre's DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965). These film scores, while very popular, were not judged to have enough significant originality to make the list. The only series scores to make this list were for STAR WARS,
with two films listed at Nos. 16 and 14.
All the numbers have film title, date, and the film composer's name.
Click on the underlined links for CD reviews.
100 Essential Film Scores, 1933 - 1993
+ = American Film Institute's "100 Years of Film Scores" = 22 of the Top 25 scores are on this list
100. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968) -- Ennio Morricone
99. BATMAN (1989) -- Danny Elfman
98. COCOON (1985) -- James Horner
97. GOLDFINGER (1964) -- John Barry
96. TAXI DRIVER (1976) --Bernard Herrmann
95. +THE PINK PANTHER (1964) -- Henry Mancini
94. THE LOST WEEKEND (1945) -- Miklos Rozsa
93. ANTHONY ADVERSE (1936) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
92. RAINTREE COUNTY (1957) -- Johnny Green
91. THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1958) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
90. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) -- Max Steiner
89. THE
UNINVITED (1944) -- Victor Young
88. THE NATURAL (1984) -- Randy Newman
87. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965) -- Alfred Newman
86. TRUE GRIT (1969) -- Elmer Bernstein
85. JULIUS CAESAR (1953) --Miklos Rozsa
84. +OUT OF AFRICA (1985) -- John Barry
82. ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984) -- Ennio Morricone
81. THE QUIET MAN (1952) -- Victor Young
80. LUST FOR LIFE (1959) -- Miklos Rozsa
79. HAWAII (1966) -- Elmer Bernstein
78. AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1956) -- Victor Young
77. THE SEA HAWK (1941) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
76. THE OMEN (1976) -- Jerry Goldsmith
75. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) -- Bernard Herrmann
74. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) -- Jerry Goldsmith
73. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1940) -- Alfred Newman
72. HATARI (1960) -- Henry Mancini
71. THE HURRICANE (1937) -- Alfred Newman
70. SHANE (1953) -- Victor Young
69.
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) -- Max Steiner
68. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1962) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
67. THE HEIRESS (1949) -- Aaron Copland
66. CASABLANA (1943) -- Max Steiner
65. DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
64. NOW VOYAGER (1942) -- Max Steiner
63. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) -- Elmer Bernstein
62. THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952) -- David Raksin
61. EL CID (1961) -- Miklos Rozsa
60. +A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) -- Alex North
59. SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961) -- Elmer Bernstein
58. +CHINATOWN (1974) -- Jerry Goldsmith
57. HENRY V (1944) -- William Walton
56. THE INFORMER (1935) -- Max Steiner
55. CAPTAIN FROM CASTILLE (1947) -- Alfred Newman
54. +THE MISSION (1986) -- Ennio Morricone
53. THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
52. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) -- Franz Waxman
51. FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966) -- Bernard Herrmann
50. +SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) -- Franz Waxman
49. +JAWS (1975) -- John Williams
48. POLTERGEIST (1982) -- Jerry Goldsmith
47. THE LION IN WINTER (1968) -- John Barry
46. OUR TOWN (1940) -- Aaron Copland
45. RED RIVER (1948) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
44. +LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) -- Maurice Jarre
43. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) -- Alfred Newman
42. THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (1957) -- Franz Waxman
41. +PLANET OF THE APES (1968) -- Jerry Goldsmith
40. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943) -- Alfred Newman
39. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) -- Miklos Rozsa
38. THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) -- Jerry Goldsmith
37. KINGS ROW (1942) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
36. +E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) -- John Williams
35. +HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1963) -- Alfred Newman and Ken Darby
34. PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952) -- Miklos Rozsa
33. THE SEARCHERS (1956) -- Max Steiner
32. SUPERMAN (1978) -- John Williams
31. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961) -- Henry Mancini
30. CLEOPATRA (1963) -- Alex North
29. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) -- Franz Waxman
28. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1946) -- Bernard Herrmann
27. THE ROBE (1953) -- Alfred Newman
26. KING OF KINGS (1961) -- Miklos Rozsa
25.
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) -- Elmer Bernstein
24 .PATTON (1970) -- Jerry Goldsmith
23. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) -- John Williams
22. ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (THE DEVIL & DANIEL WEBSTER,1941) -- Bernard Herrmann
21.THE BIG COUNTRY (1958) -- Jerome Moross
20. THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
19. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) -- Bernard Herrmann
18. SPELLBOUND (1945) -- Miklos Rozsa
17. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) -- Bernard Herrmann
16. +STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977) -- John Williams
15. +THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) -- Elmer Bernstein
14. STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) -- John Williams
13. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) -- John Williams
12 .+GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) -- Max Steiner
11.
+PSYCHO (1960) -- Bernard Herrmann
10. SPARTACUS (1960) -- Alex North
9. +LAURA (1944) -- David Raksin
8. +THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
7. +HIGH NOON (1952) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
6.THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) -- Hugo Friedhofer
5.
+KING KONG (1933) -- Max Steiner
4. +TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) -- Elmer Bernstein
3. +VERTIGO (1958) -- Bernard Herrmann
2. +BEN-HUR (1959) -- Miklos Rozsa
+ = American Film Institute's "100 Years of Film Scores" = 22 of the Top 25 scores are on this list
And the top film score is from what is generally regarded as the greatest American film...
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) -- Bernard Herrmann
CD Review
Number of film composers on the 100 Essential Film Scores list = 25
Film composers with 3 or more scores on the Essential Film Scores list:
Bernard Herrmann = 10
Miklos Rozsa = 9
Alfred Newman = 8
Max Steiner = 8
Dimitri Tiomkin = 7
John Williams = 7
Elmer Bernstein = 6
Jerry Goldsmith = 6
Erich Wolfgang Korngold = 4
Franz Waxman = 4
John Barry = 3
Henry Mancini = 3
Ennio Morricone = 3
Alex North = 3
Victor Young = 3
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