Favorite Movie Themes

[kitamurafan]

We have a Top 5 TV Theme thread so here is one for movies. Please list your favorite movie themes or tracks from soundtracks. List your Top 10 (I find 10 easier than 5) if possible, if you can only think of less than 10 that is all right too.

Most of my favorite themes tend to be the main title/ending credits pieces of music. So here is my list (in no particular order.

-Heart to Heart ("Azumi")
-Superman Theme by John Williams
-Birth of the Penguin ("Batman Returns" by Danny Elfman)
-Con Air Theme
-Hummell Gets the Rockets ("The Rock")
-Ending Credits from "Broken Arrow"
-James Bond theme
-Alive ("Alive" by Morino Nobuhiko and Yano Daisuke)
-The King of Monsters (Godzilla: Final Wars" by Yano Daisuke)
-Theme From Armageddon

 

[tharpdevenport]

JUST ten? Talk about fucking hard!!!

In no order, ten random favorites:

1. Dances With Wolves: "The John Dunbar Theme" (John Barry)
2. Conan the Barbarian: "Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom" (Basil Poledouris, R.I.P.)
3. The Mission: Re-recorded suite, live by Ennio Morricone himself (a fantastic re-recording at that!)
4. The Great Escape: "Main Title (AKA: March)" (Elmer Bernstein, R.I.P.)
5. The Omega Man: "Main Title" (Ron Grainer, R.I.P.)
6. The Journey of Natty Gann: "Main Title" (James Horner)
7. Rudy: "Main Title" (Jerry Goldsmith, R.I.P.)
8. The Big Blue: "Main Title" (Bill Conti; U.S. rescore)
9. Hannie Caulder: theme (Ken Thorne)
10. Signs: "Main Title" (James Newton Howard -- one of the top three greatest overall films scores he has done, period)

 

[stj]

Just ten? That's f--oh, somebody already said that.

Also in no particular order...

Tara's theme from Gone With the Wind
The theme from Exodus
The charioteers' march from Ben-Hur
The shower sequence from Psycho
The preparation for the assault from Glory
Suicide is Painless from M*A*S*H*
The Godfather "waltz" (I've forgotten the actual name!)
The theme from Stargate
The theme from Jaws
The zither theme from The Third Man

 

[Kirkman1987]

I'm not even going to attempt this list, but I will say the theme from Brazil is stuck in my head right now.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

1)Indiana Jones theme
2)Vertigo theme
3)Superman theme
4)Batman theme (Danny Elfman version)
5)Legends of the Fall theme; actually the soundtrack
6)Donnie Brasco theme
7)Battle of Hoth theme from Star Wars
8)A Beautiful Mind opening theme
9)Glory theme
10)Sonatine theme

I have more, but these are off the top of my head....

 

[Lt. Brannigan]

With the exception of the first two they are not in order.

1) Superman: Fanfare and March [John Williams]
2) Star Trek First Contact: Main Theme [Jerry Goldsmith]
3) Highlander: Endgame: Killing An Old Friend [Nick Glennie-Smith]
4) Transformers: Optimus [Steve Jablonsky]
5) The Sixth Day: Adam Goes Home [Trevor Rabin]
6) Jesse Stone: Going Home Again [Jeff Beal]
7) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Battle [Harry Gregson-Williams]
8) The Peaceful Warrior: Training Montage (Bennett Salvay)
9) Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie :Zordon Is Saved (Graeme Revell)
10) The Never Ending Story: Bastian's Happy Flight (Giorgio Moroder)

 

[tharpdevenport]

I'm surprised more people didn't replky to this topic.

To maybe spark some more interest, how about ten favorite "TV" themes? And I mean themes as in more than an opening credit piece.


1. Batman: The Animated Series: Clayface's theme/ Hagen's theme (Shirley Walker, R.I.P.)
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy & Angel love theme (Christophe Beck)
3. Due South: Frasier & Ray theme (Jack Lenz, Jay Semko, & John McCarthy)
4. Due South: "Victoria's Secret" (Jack Lenz, Jay Semko, & John McCarthy)
5. Knight Rider: Michael's theme/some other scoring from that episode (Don Peake)

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Waking Willow" (Christophe Beck)
7. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: "Faith's Song" (first 1:58; Joseph LoDuca)
8. MillenniuM: "Paper Dove" (Mark Snow)
9. The Pretender: "Jarod's Mom" (Velton Ray Bunch)
10. Gunsmoke: Score from the episode "Chato" (John Parker)

 

[Hermiod]

This is frakkin' tough. There's no way I can put these in any kind of order. The title says "themes" so I'm going with main title themes only for the first list:

"The Dream" from Total Recall by Jerry Goldsmith
"Prelude and Main Title March" from Superman: The Movie by John Williams
"Star Wars and the Revenge of the Sith" from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by John Williams
"Bullitt, Main Title" from Bullitt by Lalo Schifrin
"Extreme Ways (Bourne's Ultimatum)" from The Bourne Ultimatum by Moby
"From Russia With Love" from From Russia With Love by Matt Munroe and John Barry
"The Prophecy" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Howard Shore
"Serenity" from Serenity by David Newman
"Overture" from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country by Cliff Eidelman
"Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams

And for the second list, tracks from anywhere in the movie:

"Phoenix Rises" from X-Men: The Last Stand by John Powell
"Bim Bam Smash" from The Bourne Supremacy by John Powell
"The Battle of Hoth" from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams
"Rock Shop" from Robocop by Basil Poledouris
"I'm Not a Hero" from The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
"Confrontation with Dooku and Finale" from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by John Williams
"Surprise Attack" from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by James Horner.
"Nailin' the Kelvin" from Star Trek by Michael Giacchino
"Roar!" from Cloverfield by Michael Giacchino
"Gollum's Song" from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by Torrinim Emiliana

Ask me tomorrow and I'll probably come up with an entirely different list.

 

[Aeon]

This is really, really hard! Damn it!

Assault On Precinct 13 by John Carpenter.
Crimson Tide by Hans Zimmer.
Jurassic Park by John Williams.
Kingdom Of Heaven by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Predator by Alan Silvestri.
Robocop by Basil Poledouris.
Terminator 2 by Brad Fiedel.
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly by Ennio Morricone.
The Rock by Hans Zimmer.
The Time Machine by Klaus Badelt.

 

[Admiral Shran]

No particular order....

1.) Any music from Ben-Hur (1959).
2.) The Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back)
3.) The Raiders March (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
4.) The Back to the Future Theme
5.) The Emperor's Theme (Return of the Jedi)
6.) The Bridge of Khazad-Dum (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
7.) Gollum's Song (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
8.) Minas Tirith Theme (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
9.) Main Title Music (Rudy)
10.) The Hunt for Red October Main Title Music

Runners-Up....
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Jurassic Park
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Main Title Music
Superman Fanfare and March

 

[Mistral]

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly by Ennio Morricone

Overture from The Jesus Christ Superstar(God, anything from that, really)

Day By Day from Godspell

Suicide Is Painless from MASH

Don't You(Forget About Me) from The Breakfast Club

For Your Eyes Only, (Sheena Easton?) from the Bond movie

Live And Let Die by Wings from Bond as well(which I've always thought stole bits from Superstar)
Don't know enough to name others-But I always loved the opening of Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Not to mention the rich soundtrack, end to end, of The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and Mary's Theme from It's A Wonderful Life. I think that's what its called.

 

[Admiral2]

Most of my Faves are by John Williams.

-Superman
-Raiders of the Lost Ark
-Star Wars
-Jaws
-1941
-Jurassic Park

And the rest:

-Apollo 13
-Beetlejuice
-Batman
-GIJOE: The (animated) Movie

 

[Aeon]

How the hell did I forget Back To The Future? Am I dumb? Don't answer that!

 

[V'ger]

Bad Boys Theme
The Rock theme
and all the others have been said

 

[SlyCardie]

The Pirates of The Caribbean theme has always struck a cord with me. Also, if you're into the trance genre, Tiesto's remix of the song is a great one IMHO.

 

[Too Much Fun]

1. "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974)

- Coolest, funkiest movie theme ever. It made me want to sit and stare at the DVD menu for hours just listening to it over and over again.

2. "Star Trek: First Contact".

- So beautiful and touching. Every time I hear it, I feel like crying...with joy. .

3. "Catch Me If You Can"

- Very underrated Williams score. I just love getting that bouncy theme stuck in my head, perfect audio equivalent of playful chasing.

4. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"

- Big nostalgia bias here. I'll always remember the first time I saw those badass title credits with the steel font and flames, perfectly complimented by the immediately haunting and foreboding music. It so powerfully conveys that some terrible terrible things are going to happen, but they are going to look awesome. And they did and do every time.

5. "X2: X-Men United"

- It's basically a rip-off of a John Williams superhero score (and the composer pretty much admitted it), but I love it. I admit, a lot of my affection for this one is also very nostalgia-influenced because I loved the movie so much.

6. "Twelve Monkeys"

- I love that freaky accordion!