100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century
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This is a list of memorable scores from films released
between
the 1930s and 1990s.
No musicals or movie songs are included on this list.
They are listed here
More recent soundtracks are listed at
Best Film Music Releases
Film Music Web Poll
Here is your chance to pick some of your favorite Hollywood movie songs
and film scores from the past 75 years (1933 to 2008).
The titles don't have to be what you consider to be the greatest or most popular film music. They are your choices of film music you especially enjoy, both songs and scores.
Send your list of up to 20 favorites (songs or scores in any order) to:
My favorite movie music
See the film scores and movie songs selected thus far at this link:
Film Music Web Poll
Recommended DVDs
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
Essential Film Scores list.
This DVD is well worth adding
to your collection:
Music For The Movies: The Hollywood Sound
This DVD is also highly recommended about the distinguished career of the greatest of all past film composers:
Music For The Movies: Bernard Herrmann
100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century 
Selected
by Roger Hall
Film Music Critic
Managing Editor, Film Music Review
Preparing any survey of film scores presents a problem.
Which ones to choose and which ones to leave out?
This is not meant to be the definitive film score list.
I don't believe that is possible. Tastes change over time as well.
This survey is meant to be representative of the essential scores
from films in English. No foreign language films are included.
It covers the years from 1933 to 1993.
You may or may not agree with my choices. It is not possible to please everyone.
It was a very difficult task to place one great film score ahead of another great one. The numbering is meant to establish some order
for the 100 film scores and is obviously a matter of opinion -- mine.
The list is a revised one from what appears in my reference book, now available on a mult-imedia DVD,
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.
The only series to make this list were for STAR WARS,
with two films listed at Nos. 14 and 25.
All the numbers have film title, date, and the film composer's name.
Click on the underlined links for CD reviews.
This list was first posted in June 2006 and revised every year. The latest revision was made in
April 2013.
100 Essential Film Scores
+ = American Film Institute's "100 Years of Film Scores"
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. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1998) -- Jerry Goldsmith
95.TAXI DRIVER (1976) --Bernard Herrmann
94.THE NATURAL (1984) -- Randy Newman
93.+THE PINK PANTHER (1964) -- Henry Mancini
92. THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) -- Jerry Goldsmith
91. RAINTREE COUNTY (1957) -- Johnny Green
90. THE ROBE (1953) -- Alfred Newman
89. THE UNINVITED (1944) -- Victor Young
88. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) -- Miklos Rozsa
87. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965) -- Alfred Newman
86. TRUE GRIT (1969) -- Elmer Bernstein
85. THE OMEN (1976) -- Jerry Goldsmith
84. +OUT OF AFRICA (1985) -- John Barry
83. OUR TOWN (1940) -- Aaron Copland
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. PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952) -- Miklos Rozsa
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. SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961) -- Elmer Bernstein
69.
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) -- Max Steiner
68. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1962) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
67. QUO VADIS (1951) -- Miklos Rozsa
66. CASABLANA (1943) -- Max Steiner
65. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) -- Alfred Newman
64. NOW VOYAGER (1942) -- Max Steiner
63. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
62. THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952) -- David Raksin
61. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) -- Max Steiner
60. +A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) -- Alex North
59. SHANE (1953) -- Victor Young
58. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) -- Elmer Bernstein
57. IVANHOE (1952) -- Miklos Rozsa
56. THE INFORMER (1935) -- Max Steiner
55. CAPTAIN FROM CASTILLE (1947) -- Alfred Newman
54. +THE MISSION (1986) -- Ennio Morricone
53. THE RED PONY (1949) -- Aaron Copland
52. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) -- Franz Waxman
51. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) -- Elmer Bernstein
50. +SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) -- Franz Waxman
49. +JAWS (1975) -- John Williams
48. +CHINATOWN (1974) -- Jerry Goldsmith
47. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) -- John Barry
46. RIO BRAVO (1959) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
45. FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966) -- Bernard Herrmann
44. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961) -- Henry Mancini
43. KINGS ROW (1942) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
42. TARAS BULBA (1962) -- Franz Waxman
41. +PLANET OF THE APES (1968) -- Jerry Goldsmith
40. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943) -- Alfred Newman
39. CLEOPATRA (1963) -- Alex North
38. ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (1976) -- Jerry Goldsmith
37. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) -- Herbert Stothart
36. +E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) -- John Williams
35. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) -- Bernard Herrmann
34. SPELLBOUND (1945) -- Miklos Rozsa
33. THE SEARCHERS (1956) -- Max Steiner
32. SUPERMAN (1978) -- John Williams
31. RED RIVER (1948) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
30. EL CID (1961) -- Miklos Rozsa
29. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) -- John Williams
28. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1946) -- Bernard Herrmann
27. +LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) -- Maurice Jarre
26. KING OF KINGS (1961) -- Miklos Rozsa
25. +STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977) -- John Williams
24 . ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (THE DEVIL & DANIEL WEBSTER, 1941) -- Bernard Herrmann
23. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) -- Miklos Rozsa
22. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) -- Franz Waxman
21. PATTON (1970) -- Jerry Goldsmith
20. THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
19. +HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1963) -- Alfred Newman and Ken Darby
18. THE BIG COUNTRY (1958) -- Jerome Moross
17. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) -- Bernard Herrmann
16. THE ALAMO (1960) -- Dimitri Tiomkin
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. +THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) -- Erich Wolfgang Korngold
9. +LAURA (1944) -- David Raksin
8. SPARTACUS (1960) -- Alex North
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 (1950) -- Miklos Rozsa
And the top film score is from what is generally regarded as the greatest American film...
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) -- Bernard Herrmann
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
Elmer Bernstein = 7
Jerry Goldsmith = 7
Dimitri Tiomkin = 7
John Williams = 7
Franz Waxman = 4
John Barry = 3
Erich Wolfgang Korngold = 3
Henry Mancini = 3
Ennio Morricone = 3
Alex North = 3
Victor Young = 3
Total = 85 scores
Most of these composers are mentioned or discussed in this book available on a multimedia DVD-R with bonus audio and video features:
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A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC
Best Film Music Releases
14th Annual Survey: Best Film Music Releases of 2011
13th Annual Survey for 2010
12th Annual Survey for 2009
11th Annual Survey for 2008
10th Annual Survey for 2007
9th Annual Survey for 2006
8th Annual Survey for 2005
20 Essential Movie Musicals
Favorite Movie Song Poll
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