I'd say it's a pretty good list, although Nino Rota should have been on there about a half dozen times.

I would add a few:


Bernard Herrmann for:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (music was a HUGE part of the effect of this film!)
Journey to the Center of the Earth



Miklos Rosza for:

King of Kings
El Cid
Spellbound <-can't believe they left this one off


And I also have to add: they left off one of the best integrated/most powerful soundtracks in the history of film (IMO)

Ennio Morricone's CINEMA PARADISO

~Shame, that.

"Some things about this list stand out to me. The first is the fact that there are no scores from the late 1980's and beyond."

Isn't that partly because about 90% of contemporary films use troglodyte pop-rock-rap songs for their soundtracks in order to attract the 'young' crowd?

Oh, and I'd trade "The Mission" for ALL of the spaghetti westerns.

C'mon, those are some of the most famous musical riffs in film history!

What about Howard Shore's score for the Lord of the Rings?

I know it might not seem classic to anyone else but I still love Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" score.

American Beauty, absolutely.

when i saw the movie for the first time, i had to restart it after several minutes because the music was so mesmerizing that i actually stopped watching.

i'd also vote for:

Last Temptation Of Christ
Diva

NOW I AM A STAR WARS GEEK BUT I BELIEVE IT IS NUMBER ONE FOR MANY REASONS ONE OF WHICH IS THE FACT THAT IT IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE OF THE LIST, YOU WOULD KNOW THE STAR WARS THEME WAY BEFORE YOU WOULD KNOW GWTW OR L.O.A.PLUS I BELIEVE THE SCORE FOR ALL THE STAR WARS MOVIES HELP WITH THE FEEL AND MOVEMENT OF THE MOVIE NOT JUST A MUSICAL INTERLUDRE TO THE NEXT SCENE OR A GREAT SOUDTRACK. I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO WATCH THE SW MOVIES AND JUST LISTEN TO THE MUSIC ITS LIKE WATCHING AN OPERA SET IN SPACE ESPECIALLY WITH THE LAST THREE MOVIES YOU KNOW WHEN THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN GOOD OR BAD JUST BY THE TONE OR INFLICTION OF THE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND,ALSO ITS NOT JUST ONE SONG THAT PEOPLE KNOW LIKE THE JAWS THEME OR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS IT THE INDIVIDUAL SONGS OF THE WHOLE MOVIES LOOK AT THE SOUNDTRACKS READ THE TITLE TO EACH SONG THEN LISTEN TO IT AFTER VIEWING THE MOVIE THE MOOD OF THE SONGS REALLY DO THE MOVIES JUSTICE AND I COULDNT REALLY IMAGINE THE STAR WARS SAGA WITHOUT THESE SONGS,BUT I AM JUST A STAR WARS GEEK WHAT DO I KNOW.

I third the vote for the American Beauty soundtrack. That music was perfect for the film. The composer Thomas Newman also did a great score for The Shawshank Redemption.

One point of nitpicking to the poster: The Imperial March (aka the Darth Vader theme) was actually premiered on The Empire Strikes Back score, not on Star Wars.

Lastly, while I doubt it is Top 25 material, for a great "modern" score, I suggest the music for Fight Club by the Dust Brothers. It was well done and quite pertinent to the content.

>>One point of nitpicking to the poster: The Imperial March (aka the Darth Vader theme) was actually premiered on The Empire Strikes Back score, not on Star Wars.

Thanks for the info. I'll edit the post appropriately.

Newman also did the score for "The Road to Perdition" which I quite loved (in fact liked it much more than the movie).

I have only heard "The Shawshank Redemption" pieces from watching the movie. I need to get the OST album so I can listen to it more closely.

I still think that Danny Elfman's score to Edward Scissorhands is one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces of music ever written.

Miklos Rosza for:

King of Kings
El Cid
Spellbound <-can't believe they left this one off

I personally can't believe they left any of these off. I was totally blown away by the musical score to King of Kings. It nearly brought a tear to my eye lol.

Isn't that partly because about 90% of contemporary films use troglodyte pop-rock-rap songs for their soundtracks in order to attract the 'young' crowd?

I feel that statement is rather inaccurate. Most of the contemperary musical scores I've heard are orchestral. The only problem is that few of them are memorable. Besides I'm only 15 and rap music in movies does not attract me or anyone else I know.