For me, the experience of a great film is largely tied to its score. Now, there are plenty of great movies that use minimal music, but it’s pretty few and far between. A great score enhances a story ten fold and then lives inside you long after the credits role. Even more so, these great orchestral competitions represent the highest form of the musical arts and getting to experience a composer like Hans Zimmer or John Williams love is truly the modern equivalent to Beethoven or Bach. Which is why my list here is less about just how well some ambient score works in a film like Johan Johannson’s superb work in ‘Arrival’ or Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow’s soundscape of a score for ‘Annihilation’ last year.
This list is about music and the best musical scores you can experience as music and with the film. Also, this is probably my most personal list, because I’ve spent more time listening to this music than watching or playing anything. Every album on here, including the ‘Best of the Rest’ section, could have been in the top twelve. So, I highly suggest listening to all this music and the masterful artists who composed it.
12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
11. Inside Out – Michael Giacchino
10. The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat
9. Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood
8. Bridge of Spies – Thomas Newman
7. Creed – Ludwig Gorannson
6. The Theory of Everything – Johan Jóhannsson
5. La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
4. Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
3. The Social Network – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
2. War Horse – John Williams
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ6uMfqKckw
1. Man of Steel – Hans Zimmer
Best Individual Theme of the Decade
Marvel’s The Avengers – Alan Silvestri
Best of the Rest
Kubo and the Two Strings – Dario Marianelli
Inception – Hans Zimmer
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – John Williams
The Tree of Life – Alexandre Desplat
Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer
The Dark Knight Rises – Hans Zimmer
The Master – Jonny Greenwood
Black Panther – Ludwig Gorannson
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Dan Romer & Ben Zeitlin
Jane Eyre – Dario Marianelli
The Revenant – Ryuichi Sakamoto
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Cloud Atlas – Tom Tykwer, Johnny Kilmek, Reinhold Heil
First Man – Justin Hurwitz
Blade Runner 2049 – Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch
Skyfall – Thomas Newman
Hanna – The Chemical Brothers
Drive – Cliff Martinez
Hugo – Howard Shore
Like Crazy – Dustin O’Halloran
Super 8 – Michael Giacchino
John Carter – Michael Giacchino
Steve Jobs – Daniel Pemberton
Perks of Being a Wallflower – Michael Brook
The Imitation Game – Alexandre Desplat
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat
Whiplash – Justin Hurwitz
W. E. – Abel Korzeniowski
Mad Max: Fury Road – Junkie XL
Carol – Carter Burwell
People Like Us – A. R. Rahmann
Water for Elephants – James Newton Howard
Little Women – Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Alexandre Desplat
Gone Girl – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
The Handmaiden – Cho Young Wook
Wonder Woman – Harry Gregson-Williams
King Arthur – Daniel Pemberton
A Ghost Story – Daniel Hart
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
1917 – Thomas Newman
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