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Most Memorable Pieces of Movie Music

Mojochi

Mojochi

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Most often when I think of some of the most distinctive musical moments in movie history, I'm drawn to the work of Ennio Morricone, or John Williams. Bernard Hermann comes to mind as well. Even James Horner has struck a chord or two that are iconic & unforgettable

But if I'm going to select one piece of movie that is more distinctive than anything ever recorded for a movie, I have always thought that honor should go to the main theme from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Not only does it perfectly capture the tone & absolute oddball heterodoxy of the film. I have to imagine that it may well be the only piece of music ever recorded, that combines a musical saw & a glass armonica in a duet for it's primary theme. It gives me goosebumps to this day, hearing it.
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John Williams is the obvious choice for me having made so many memorable themes that have stood the test of time and become utterly iconic - Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, ET, Jaws, Jurassic Park, everybody knows these themes. Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner have also done a lot of great work down the years, but to me 70s/80s Williams is king.

I think if I had a gun to my head and I had to pick one, I'd maybe go for the Superman theme. It actually makes you sing the word 'Superman' when you hear it, just so iconic, grand and fun too. Incredible piece, but the others in that list are all close contenders and I wouldn't really argue with anyone who picked one of them.
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
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So much Ligeti in that film. Interesting you choosing that piece from that movie, instead of the more commonly remembered Also sprach Zarathustra. I personally still get haunted by Gayane Ballet Suite from Khachaturian. That music is exactly the music I imagine when thinking about deep space... kind of a tone of abyss to it
 
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Aside from the obvious ones, like the "Raiders" theme, I'd have to go with the theme from "Somewhere in Time." I think it really enhanced the film and even made it more effective. My hubby had always liked it, too. We danced to it at our wedding.
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I would also add Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe." It actually made the film better--expressing the themes of the film in heartbreakingly lovely music.
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Claudia's Theme from Unforgiven.
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This is my favorite version of Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. You can listen to the credit theme if you want to. Ecstasy of Gold begins at 2:36.

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Be warned, it stops on a dime.
 
I am always really moved by this piece from "Rudy." In fact, I think it's this music that makes the final 20 minutes of that film so great. It gives it the "epic" feel that it needs to be so very effective.
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Mojochi said:
So much Ligeti in that film. Interesting you choosing that piece from that movie
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"Requiem" gives me the creeps, but in a good way.

And I would LOVE to see what the sheet music looked like when they recorded it. I bet the singers were all like, "So you want us to go OOOOOOOEOEEOEOEOOOOOOOO" for 10 minutes?" :lol:
 
Basil Poledouris elevates the movie to another level:
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Did you ever notice how the composer for the "Xena: Warrior Princess" theme used The Anvil of Crom as their starting point for coming up with an appropriate theme for a female badass in the Conan mold?
 
@FormerLurker more likely in the vein of Wagner, Holst or Mirzoyan. Definitely in that family of bombastic, operatic Ride of the Valkyries type music. Not necessarily a lift straight from Poledouris though.
 
Oh. listen to the three main stanzas again. First the opening, bombastic theme, then the quiet romantic one, then the bombastic one again before the ending flourish. No, it's not note for note, nor should it be, and the Xena theme is about half as long (because TV), but the similarities are striking.
 
Arthur Bliss' magnificent score for Things to Come (1936) has always been one of my favorites.
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John Barry's melodic and evocative music for the 1976 King Kong deserved a better movie.
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FormerLurker said:
Oh. listen to the three main stanzas again. First the opening, bombastic theme, then the quiet romantic one, then the bombastic one again before the ending flourish. No, it's not note for note, nor should it be, and the Xena theme is about half as long (because TV), but the similarities are striking.
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Agree to disagree.
 
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