You can’t underestimate the impact a good score can have on a movie— whether it’s a comedy, love story, horror, action, western, or futuristic sci-fi, the musical signature can not only enhance the overall experience, but in some cases, make or break it. Music on screen has a tricky balancing act, to be both as unobtrusive and present as possible, to be a background accompaniment at some points, and lead player in the next. As musical tastes have changed since the advent of silent pictures, the score has evolved along with it.
From 1933’s King Kong, the very first complete score written for a film, to the era of composer John Williams in the 1970s (and 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and on), to the 90s' introduction of hip hop soundtracks into the world of cinema (Beat Street, Breakin’) through the millennium, and on to today, in our world of super HD and Real 3D –the purpose of the score remains the same, to create a kind of emotional pace and rhythm for what you’re about to see before the opening scene even appears and what you just watched after the last credit rolls.. Try watching your favorite moving picture without it, without that emotional underpinning beneath it provided by an orchestrated composition of sound that, if done right, both elevates the film and literally guides you on how to feel. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll walk out of the movie theater– or your own living room– humming along. Here are our list of the best movie scores of all time.
John Williams
Why does Mr. Williams get his own category? Other than the fact that he’s the greatest film composer in history, there are almost too many landmark scores on his resume to name. He’s not only a great film composer, he’s an equally popular film composer— nearly half of the top 20 highest box office films of all time (soon to go up with Jurassic World and Star Wars The Last Jedi) feature his compositions— both elevating the form and making it as accessible to audiences everywhere. The guy has won 23 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards (hell, he’s been nominated 50 times! Only Walt Disney got more). And, at 85, he’s still going strong. Williams composed the score for eight of the top twenty highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation). Let’s take a brief journey through the cinematic musical world of John Williams.