For some reason, my interest in film scores has greatly increased. I don't know why. Recently, I have found myself sitting at my desk at work, and, having the ability to be my own DJ, I have been turning to film scores.
I always enjoyed some movie music, but there were only a few that I found myself listening to for any length of time, and they usually began with the words Star Wars. These original three John Williams compositions stand as my favorite film scores of all time. There was actually a time when I could listen to them and watch the film in my head, I could tell you where we were in the movie just by listening to the music. I can't quite do that anymore, but I still love listening to the music.
Back to the matter at hand, I have found them to be the perfect music to work to. They work beautifully as background music while you go about your business, and when those familiar themes and motifs arise, my mood gets better and I am transported into the films they represent.
I have always been, and will probably always be, a metal guy when it comes to my music tastes, but this respect and admiration that I have for film scores is growing fast. Perhaps it is the next extension of my maturation progress as a film lover. The music can stand on its own as a beautiful work that can inspire any variety of emotions and can be just as engaging as the film itself.
I admit to not having that many scores in my collection, and that fact has urged me to look for sites to gain recommendations. Outside of the films that have made a big impact on me, I needed a place to turn to for reviews. The reviews help remind me of the films that I had forgotten, and also lead me towards the works that stand as complete works in and of themselves, there are those out there that need the movie to listen to and I would like to avoid them.
Article comments
1 - John R.
Chris, I was in the same head back in the early 1970's when I was getting into soundtracks. My suggestion is to seriously check out the best scores from Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, and the amazing Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann's music for Hitchcock films is classic, so are his scores for science fiction and fantasy films, and so is Jerry Goldsmith's music for Planet of the Apes, Patton, and for Star Trek: the Motion Picture. Any John Williams score for the mid-Seveties on has something good on it, but his work with Spielberg and Lucas is the best. John Barry did terrific work on the James Bond films with Sean Connery, too.
2 - Boxclocke
Good to see someone else has started to get into film scores. I've been a huge fan of film music every since I was six years old, trying to pound out the theme from Jurassic Park on a Casio keyboard.
You should get into James Newton Howard. This is the guy who, among other things, has done the scores for all of the M. Night Shyamalan films (the cue "The Hand of Fate" from Signs is fantastic), King Kong, and Batman Begins. My favorite score of his is actually from Disney's Dinosaur. Not a great film, but an absolutely rich and amazing score.
Also, for straight-up fun, Michael Giacchino, who has mostly done game and TV stuff, has put out two fantastic brassy/jazzy action film scores in the last two years: The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible III.