My Top 5 Movie Themes

The power of music!

I don't think anyone can deny that the music behind a movie is very important. It makes a film go just as much as a story, or an actor's performance. Can you imagine Indiana Jones fighting his way through the Temple of Doom without that trademark score? Nor can I.

There are a lot of music pieces that stick with me, but here are my top five. Yeah, I'm probably leaving out one or two popular picks, but I've probably got some in the five too.

5. Superman (1978)

Where superhero movies began. It's going to be strange seeing a Superman film released this year, and not have this classic piece by John Williams.

4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The first Trek movie I saw as a kid. James Horner (Oscar winner for Titanic), mixes the classic TV theme with a piece that somehow creates a feeling of peril. Makes sense, given them movie's cat-and-mouse game played by Kirk and Khan.

3. Batman (1989)

As I recall, this was the first live action movie I ever saw as a kid. It was pretty awesome for a 7 year old, and Danny Elfman's Gothic composition made it even more memorable.

2. Back To The Future (1985, 1989, 1990)

Even today, the Back To The Future trilogy is my top movie series. The cast, the car, the quotable script. All excellent. So is Alan Silvestri's theme music.

1. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

One of the most beloved novels became one of the most beloved movies in 1962. Elmer Bernstein weaves a hauntingly beautiful theme here, amplified somehow when that marble hits the other. Fantastic. Bernstein is also remembered for his works on The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape and Ghostbusters.

That's all I've got. What movie music is your favorite?

Thanks for reading.

Comments

I like this list. Especially Back to the Future! I would also add the obvious Star Wars and anything that John Williams has ever done. The Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore is a really great soundtrack as well.

How could you not have the music from terminator 2 on your list? When I think of amazing movie scores Terminator 2 would definitely be up there at the top for me!

As a trumpet player it's cool to see how many songs have my instrument leading the charge! Thumbs up, cool article!!

You know, Superman is like the President of the US, whenever he enters a room he should be accompanied by a piece of music. That piece of music has already been written by John Williams. I totally agree with you on number 5, I guess the new SM movies are too good for John Williams or something.

To Kill A Mockingbird as #1, huh? A great movie that's based on an equaly great book. I remember it being one of our reading books back in high school. Our teacher would have us read a book and then we would watch the movie that was based on it. The other one that I fondly remember is The Grapes Of Wrath which is another great story. Nice article too. I have one about the works of John Williams but I'm afraid that most of the youtubes have been shut off, go figure. Thumbs way up!