My personal fave score might be The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, honestly just a beautiful accompaniment which amplifies the film.
Also a big fan of the music in Beasts of the Southern Wild
It’s Nick Cave I believe (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - also subject of some documentaries “One More Time With Feeling” and “This Much I Know To Be True”) and someone else in the band whose name escapes me
The Empire Strikes Back is Williams at his finest, IMO. The Battle of Hoth, the Asteroid Field, Yoda raising the X-Wing, and of course The Imperial March. But there is one scene that always gives me a lump in my throat...it’s the escape from Bespin as the music bubbles and crescendos and R2 finally opens the bay door to a cymbal-crashing climax! Gets me every time!
I think his work on the prequels just kept getting better. In Episode I you have Duel of the Fates... Episode II you get Across the Stars... and then Episode III brings it all home with the Battle of the Heroes. Whether or not George Lucas or any of the actors believed the stories they were telling... John Williams believed.
The Lord of the Rings.
Howard Shore had composed an enormous amount of music, encompassing six film scores and five concert pieces, all of which based on the same basic motifs, which develop into many different themes ("leitmotives") in association with the onscreen action.
It is a remarkable achivement of long-form musical development and use of sound, with the use of a multitude of non-orchestral instruments.
https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35172-analysis-john-williams-and-howard-shore-the-perfect-wagnerites/#comment-1934710
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
(Specifically *The Ecstasy of Gold* and *The Trio,* for standout sequence with no dialogue that heavily rely on score.)
I know *Once Upon a Time in the West* Is often considered Morricone's masterpiece, but *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*'s score has that little bit of a ragged edge, it (and its accompanying score) always works just a hair more for me in the way it you can watch it evolve from a more traditional action western into an epic, almost in real-time.
I'd heard the song as the opener for Metallica so many times, then I finally saw that scene and had goosebumps the whole way through. Absolutely Electric.
I love that chase sequence. Best on foot chase sequence ever (maybe Point Break gives it a run for it's money)
I listen to that chase track sometimes when I wanna feel motivated/inspired.
The Vangelis OST was definitely more spirited. 2049 has a good soundtrack by Zimmerman obviously, but that OST (and the entire movie in general honestly) didn’t have the moody vibes and sounds of the original.
Thanks for posting. I didn't realise it was an obvious question. Loved Tron Legacy, great to be able to share all those concepts from a film my 11 year old considered too old fashioned to enjoy.
There are too many great ones out there. Here are a few of my favorites:
- The Piano
- Once Upon a Time in America
- Interstellar
- Arrival
- Last and First Men
- Harry Potter
- Blade Runner 2049
- Gladiator
- The Tree of Life
I was really enthralled with the soundtrack of ANNIHILATION.
Its an acoustic set until they actually encounter the ‘entity’, then it goes into this incredibly complex electronic music style.
Also features the insanely beautiful Helplessly Hoping by Crosby Stills and Nash that works so well it’s like it was written in anticipated of the movie decades prior
So, I read Requiem for a Dream before I ever seen the movie. I was a child of the early internet, and I had heard about a rather gruesome movie with an even more gnarly book. I was a junior in high school, maybe 2004-5. The book was indeed gritty and gnarly as fuck. I was raised in a rather druggy home as a child so a lot of those themes really, really hit close to home for me. Nevermind I was a raging junkie at that point in life, too.
Then I seen the movie. There are key details that the book has that the movie either glosses over or ignores, but there are a few really key scenes. I remember when Harry is visiting his mother after his "success," and he discovers that she has developed some ... issues of her own. The SFX and music during the mother's struggles is absolutely fucking haunting.
Nevermind the theme song of the movie. Anytime I hear that, it takes me to this very unpleasant and scary place.
TBH that movie is a fucking monster, too. The score for the film absolutely matches the tone of despair and desperation that the book conveyed oh-so-well.
Now you're talking. This is exactly what I'm talking about. The score is an integrated part of the experience. I think that final track (the one that plays through that absolutely tragic montage at the end) was used in LOTR too, but nowhere near as effective.
It's that special alchemy where sound and image add up to something special. 2+2 equals something completely new.
A bit unrelated, but there's a documentary on YouTube w/ Jerry Cantrell(Alice in Chains) about the making of some newer music, I think Brighten. There's an interview with a vocalist who harmonized with Jerry and he commented that it was like ... the two unique voices combined and made something totally new. Then, Jerry pops in and was like "It's like when 1+1=3."
It defies all logic and is honestly the real marker of great art, I think.
Baby Driver: A double disc of fabulous songs. Not only are the songs good by themselves, they fit the movie so well they feel like a score.
Also, find me a song/scene that intertwines better than Getting coffee to the Harlem Shuffle. …I’ll wait
I think the Dune score is very good in the context of the movie, but it is (intentionally) so different than any other soundtrack/popular song that when listening to it alone it doesn't hold up.
My favorite soundtrack ever is the original Star Wars. I also just recently sat down and watched Blade Runner 2049 and I must say I was struck by how powerful the entire sound and visual experience was, including the soundtrack.
I also want to mention my actual favorite soundtrack ever is a TV series soundtrack - Cowboy Bebop. But that is not a movie. It deserves recognition though.
I just saw Babylon and one thing's for sure Justin Hurwitz will surely go down as one of the greatest ever to do it.
Whiplash, La La Land, First Man and Babylon all of them had god-tier soundtrack imo.
Totally. Little else is cooler.
The same approach was taken to the soundtrack to "Great Freedom." I can't find it on YouTube, which is a total shame, but if you watch the [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaWQzi1OHhg) you get the gist. Really, really good movie too.
You need to make the distinction between soundtrack and score.
Soundtracks are collection of songs, usually popular ones, peppered throughout the film. Some songs may have been written specifically for the film, some may be classic songs. Scores are original music written by a composer specifically for the film.
Some of the greatest soundtracks ever are Goodfellas, The Crow, Pulp Fiction, etc.
It seems like you were asking for the greatest film score ever though, in which case my vote (along with many film scholars) goes to The Mission by Ennio Morricone.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The music elevates the scenes so much and so much entertainment value just listening to the music alone. Daniel Pemberton is a genius. I wonder why Guy Ritchie ditched him. He made King Arthur watchable with the music for me.
The assassination of Jesse James
Haunting and beautiful , the whole thing has a sense of deep sorrow with really good instrumentation by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
There have been some great answers here but I'll submit a few that haven't been said.
Original score: Tie between There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men (which is very minimalistic, but fits the tone of the movie absolutely perfectly, to the point where you barely notice there's music underneath).
Compilation soundtrack: Pulp Fiction (the song selection isn't full of everyone's favorite songs or anything, but the songs selected fit the movie perfectly and its hard to imagine the movie without most of those songs being in it, specifically the surf rock music and Son Of A Preacher Man)
The Mission by Morricone even though I don’t love the movie has an excellent score, and is usually what I think of when it comes to excellent scores
Ravenous also has an amazing and eclectic score that I listen to often
My favourite is Drowning by Numbers. I listen to the soundtrack fairly often and it is used and cited in many other films. If you haven't seen or heard it check it out.
Conan the barbarian. Basil Poledouris.
And interstellar. Hanz Zimer
Curiously nobody said Forest Gump ! Alan Silvestri made a great job. And for back to the futur to.
Once Upon a Time in the West. The way Morricone uses the harmonica in the score throughout the film that leads directly into the end was perfect. I've never had a movie's score have an impact on me like that one.
not the best score ever written, but Basil Pouledoris's work in Conan is fantastic. I love a score that can help convey emotions. Conan is a movie where the main lead barely talks but the score does all of the heavy lifting for arnold (no pun intended) and it fucking works.
SPOILERS FOR RETURN OF THE JEDI
So I felt this about a lot of the star wars scores as well, but then they redid the ending of Return of the Jedi where Vader now says "No, NO" before he defends Luke and that addition fucking pisses me off because I feel like we knew more than enough about Vader's internal conflict because John Williams already told us with the soundtrack, like we didnt need vader saying "No!", we get it.
Any Hans Zimmer or Carter Burwell soundtrack but if I had to pick one it would probably be Dunkirk. Probably the best example I can think of for a soundtrack carrying a narrative.
I don't think anyone will ever agree on one choice for something so subjective, as we can see in these comments.
I don't have a particular favourite, but some movies with an OST I really liked are the 5 Michael Bay Transformers movies, the 1986 Transformers movie, Man Of Steel, The Last Samurai, Inception, Interstellar, Ender's Game, all 3 John Wick movies, and Aquaman.
I don't think Reservoir Dogs is the type of thing I'm talking about. It's got some great songs but I don't think it's the same as what Hans Zimmer or John Williams does where the score flows with the story. Following the peaks and throughs of the plot in a way that accentuates the movement of it.
The Batman is one of my favourites of late.
It's still a soundtrack even if its not an original score.
The way you worded the question you will get answers that are both compilations of already recorded songs and movies with original scores.
Definitely the Angel's Egg soundtrack. It's very mysterious, mystical and it can have a mix of angelic and a sense of dread to the music at the same time in one song. It's the perfect audio description of what is a dream and a world haunted by its spiritual abandonment and what is left of that presence's foot steps. A world with an history but yet none to really be known. Probably my favorite out of all of them has to be the music, Angel's Fossil. It is absolutely brilliant and it really enhances the scene's plot twist. It's epic, horrifying but paradoxically angelic: https://youtu.be/8a9X57xv6vo
If you wanna listen to the other music, I do highly, highly suggest watching the movie, which is literally on Youtube: https://youtu.be/YopWyb75G7o
Not just one of the best soundtracks but it is in top 3 of my favorite movies of all time for its rich symbolism, its gothic and dreamlike atmosphere and its gorgeous animation. I also think it has a very great sound design. The sound of the water sounds like it is actually in your room and this movie came out in the 80s. It's a masterpiece of visual storytelling.
Super 8's ending soundtrack is so beautiful. This piece of music could encapsulate my entire being. Every note holds so much weight. It feels like letting go of something precious and knowing that although you may never see it again, you are beyond gracious to have existed with it.
Remember that bad things happen, yet we can still live.
We can still live.
The Crow
Still my favorite.
Every night I burn Dream the crow black dream
It can’t rain all the time
Best movie, best sound track. No argument.
That movie stinks lol. Some good songs tho
The Crow: City of Angels was underrated
My personal fave score might be The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, honestly just a beautiful accompaniment which amplifies the film. Also a big fan of the music in Beasts of the Southern Wild
Beat me to it. Assassination (...) is the first score soundtrack I ever bought. Love it.
I’ve found my people , my favourite film of all time
Is the the Bob Dylan soundtrack?
It’s Nick Cave I believe (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - also subject of some documentaries “One More Time With Feeling” and “This Much I Know To Be True”) and someone else in the band whose name escapes me
Don't forget about Warren Ellis.
The Empire Strikes Back is Williams at his finest, IMO. The Battle of Hoth, the Asteroid Field, Yoda raising the X-Wing, and of course The Imperial March. But there is one scene that always gives me a lump in my throat...it’s the escape from Bespin as the music bubbles and crescendos and R2 finally opens the bay door to a cymbal-crashing climax! Gets me every time!
This guy John Williams.
IMO, E.T. is Williams' best score, followed by Raiders.
Love Raiders soundtrack as well! Actually, that is my all-time favorite movie!
Phantom Menace is John Williams at his very best in my opinion.
I've never heard anyone else mention that moment, but yeah, always stuck out as a favorite for me too.
I think Revenge of the Sith has the best Star Wars soundtrack
I’ve listened to his score for the Anakin vs Obi Wan fight so much I know where they are in the fight for entirety of listening to the music
I think his work on the prequels just kept getting better. In Episode I you have Duel of the Fates... Episode II you get Across the Stars... and then Episode III brings it all home with the Battle of the Heroes. Whether or not George Lucas or any of the actors believed the stories they were telling... John Williams believed.
That falls under score. Two different things.
The Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore had composed an enormous amount of music, encompassing six film scores and five concert pieces, all of which based on the same basic motifs, which develop into many different themes ("leitmotives") in association with the onscreen action. It is a remarkable achivement of long-form musical development and use of sound, with the use of a multitude of non-orchestral instruments. https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35172-analysis-john-williams-and-howard-shore-the-perfect-wagnerites/#comment-1934710
Score vs Soundtrack
This is the correct answer
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. (Specifically *The Ecstasy of Gold* and *The Trio,* for standout sequence with no dialogue that heavily rely on score.)
Morricone wrote a lot of scores before the film was done and Leone shot the scene with the music playing because it’s just that good!
I know *Once Upon a Time in the West* Is often considered Morricone's masterpiece, but *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*'s score has that little bit of a ragged edge, it (and its accompanying score) always works just a hair more for me in the way it you can watch it evolve from a more traditional action western into an epic, almost in real-time.
I'd heard the song as the opener for Metallica so many times, then I finally saw that scene and had goosebumps the whole way through. Absolutely Electric.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly is the best overall, but my favorite single piece is the theme for A Fistful of Dollars
One of those classics where the name of the film has me humming the music (and I've never seen the film).
Yes!
O Brother, Where Are Thou surely belongs on this list, it actually won an emmy for album of the year in 2002!
Grammy?
Yes dear? Would you like some more cookies?
Drive 2011.
F*CK yeah. One if my all time favourites. Probably top 3 for me
*real human bean*
Last of the Mohicans...specifically the elk hunt and the last chase/fight scene starting with the mercy killing of Duncan.
I love that chase sequence. Best on foot chase sequence ever (maybe Point Break gives it a run for it's money) I listen to that chase track sometimes when I wanna feel motivated/inspired.
Came here to say this.
Came here to say this. I'm glad I'm not alone. It's probably the only original score soundtrack I ever bought.
Empire Records
What’s with today, today?
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Yes good shout. I've seen it. The new score is amazing too.
Blade Runner
…2049 Jk I love them both
The Vangelis OST was definitely more spirited. 2049 has a good soundtrack by Zimmerman obviously, but that OST (and the entire movie in general honestly) didn’t have the moody vibes and sounds of the original.
2049 is one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time and is not talked about enough imo
How did I forget this! Vangelis created a work of art. It is so hand-in-hand.
Finally, the right answer.
For real man it's sucks
Judgment Night
Yes - indie rock /hip hop crossovers before everyone did it
You played yourself. Just kidding. Good choice, but folks forget about the Singles soundtrack.
The Social Network
If we are talking soundtrack and not score. Dazed and Confused.
Score should be a separate question.
Interstellar is absolutely fantastic imo
They said soundtrack, not score
You and I obviously know the difference between a soundtrack and score, but for those who read your comment and don’t, care to elaborate?
I would also like to see it explained for others
They said score in the post description so I think they’re using interchangeably
/sigh. We get this what, every two weeks? The answer is always the same. Tron: Legacy
This is the way. Also love Interstellar soundtrack.
Thanks for posting. I didn't realise it was an obvious question. Loved Tron Legacy, great to be able to share all those concepts from a film my 11 year old considered too old fashioned to enjoy.
Once upon a time in America-Ennio Morricone
Absolute classic. The pan pipes "Noodles, I slipped"
Cinematography and music film at its best...
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Rocky Gladiator The Godfather Taxi Driver Magnolia Top Gun
Magnolia soundtrack re-introduced me to a forgotten artist, Aimee Mann. Became a lifelong fan.
Yes! The music made the gut-punch scenes hit that much harder.
There are too many great ones out there. Here are a few of my favorites: - The Piano - Once Upon a Time in America - Interstellar - Arrival - Last and First Men - Harry Potter - Blade Runner 2049 - Gladiator - The Tree of Life
Yes, The Piano! I love that one
The Fountain has a gorgeous score by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet. I have listened to it countless times.
Good shout! I'm gotta rewatch that.
Midnight cowboy
Came here to say this
Schindler’s List
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Love this soundtrack.
I was really enthralled with the soundtrack of ANNIHILATION. Its an acoustic set until they actually encounter the ‘entity’, then it goes into this incredibly complex electronic music style.
Also features the insanely beautiful Helplessly Hoping by Crosby Stills and Nash that works so well it’s like it was written in anticipated of the movie decades prior
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Cabaret The Buddy Holly Story The Exorcist
The Portuguese Bowie covers in “The Life Aquatic” have my heart.
the lotr soundtrack is absolutely perfect
Yes this. Even the Hobbit trilogy. Any moment in the film where there is a glimpse of hope the sounds of the shire can be heard. Brilliant
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me. The series has my favorite soundtrack period, but the movie’s is great too!
Something about How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack just makes me emotional everytime
I love this one, too. Actually, I love the soundtrack for the second one even better!
James Horner's Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan. His music tells the story and makes this the best Star Trek film
Heavy Metal 1981 Conan the Barbarian 1982 Amadeus 1984
So, I read Requiem for a Dream before I ever seen the movie. I was a child of the early internet, and I had heard about a rather gruesome movie with an even more gnarly book. I was a junior in high school, maybe 2004-5. The book was indeed gritty and gnarly as fuck. I was raised in a rather druggy home as a child so a lot of those themes really, really hit close to home for me. Nevermind I was a raging junkie at that point in life, too. Then I seen the movie. There are key details that the book has that the movie either glosses over or ignores, but there are a few really key scenes. I remember when Harry is visiting his mother after his "success," and he discovers that she has developed some ... issues of her own. The SFX and music during the mother's struggles is absolutely fucking haunting. Nevermind the theme song of the movie. Anytime I hear that, it takes me to this very unpleasant and scary place. TBH that movie is a fucking monster, too. The score for the film absolutely matches the tone of despair and desperation that the book conveyed oh-so-well.
Now you're talking. This is exactly what I'm talking about. The score is an integrated part of the experience. I think that final track (the one that plays through that absolutely tragic montage at the end) was used in LOTR too, but nowhere near as effective. It's that special alchemy where sound and image add up to something special. 2+2 equals something completely new.
A bit unrelated, but there's a documentary on YouTube w/ Jerry Cantrell(Alice in Chains) about the making of some newer music, I think Brighten. There's an interview with a vocalist who harmonized with Jerry and he commented that it was like ... the two unique voices combined and made something totally new. Then, Jerry pops in and was like "It's like when 1+1=3." It defies all logic and is honestly the real marker of great art, I think.
I know exactly what you mean. It's magic.
I think the song was just used in the trailer, not that movie.
Sicario, DGG Halloween trilogy
Sicario really stood out. The music when they were driving into Juarez felt like Jaws music. It was perfect.
The Big Chill
Drive. It feels cliche to even say it at this point, but it was crucial to the atmosphere throughout the movie.
Flash Gordon.
Flash ah ah he saved everyone of us
The Dark Knight
The Bodyguard
I have two that I actually purchased - love them both, but I'm old. Garden State - Absolutely great soundtrack Forrest Gump - Love every song in it.
The original Spielberg ‘Jurassic Park’. Williams in his prime.
Baby Driver: A double disc of fabulous songs. Not only are the songs good by themselves, they fit the movie so well they feel like a score. Also, find me a song/scene that intertwines better than Getting coffee to the Harlem Shuffle. …I’ll wait
Purple Rain
Dune 2021 and The Dark Knight imo are some of the best
Dark knight was great. I didn't enjoy the Dune score as much as I thought I would though.
I think the Dune score is very good in the context of the movie, but it is (intentionally) so different than any other soundtrack/popular song that when listening to it alone it doesn't hold up.
Friday
You ain't nothin' but a hoochie mama! :D
Batman (1989) for the combination of Danny Elfman and Prince. Either that or Return of the Living Dead.
My favorite soundtrack ever is the original Star Wars. I also just recently sat down and watched Blade Runner 2049 and I must say I was struck by how powerful the entire sound and visual experience was, including the soundtrack.
I also want to mention my actual favorite soundtrack ever is a TV series soundtrack - Cowboy Bebop. But that is not a movie. It deserves recognition though.
I just saw Babylon and one thing's for sure Justin Hurwitz will surely go down as one of the greatest ever to do it. Whiplash, La La Land, First Man and Babylon all of them had god-tier soundtrack imo.
Elevator to the Gallows. Miles Davis just improvising the quintessential jazz noir soundtrack. It’s 100% mood.
Totally. Little else is cooler. The same approach was taken to the soundtrack to "Great Freedom." I can't find it on YouTube, which is a total shame, but if you watch the [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaWQzi1OHhg) you get the gist. Really, really good movie too.
28 Days Later. Introduced me to Grandaddy and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
You need to make the distinction between soundtrack and score. Soundtracks are collection of songs, usually popular ones, peppered throughout the film. Some songs may have been written specifically for the film, some may be classic songs. Scores are original music written by a composer specifically for the film. Some of the greatest soundtracks ever are Goodfellas, The Crow, Pulp Fiction, etc. It seems like you were asking for the greatest film score ever though, in which case my vote (along with many film scholars) goes to The Mission by Ennio Morricone.
Soundtrack or score? Reddit never seems to know the difference in these threads
The Lost Boys.
That sax player, right?!
Blade runner 2049
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The music elevates the scenes so much and so much entertainment value just listening to the music alone. Daniel Pemberton is a genius. I wonder why Guy Ritchie ditched him. He made King Arthur watchable with the music for me.
This has been my workout soundtrack for years!
Baby Driver
Conan the barbarian (basil poledouris)...awesome soundtrack.
The assassination of Jesse James Haunting and beautiful , the whole thing has a sense of deep sorrow with really good instrumentation by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Soundtrack or score? You mentioned both. Anyways for score I'd argue Howard Shore's LOTR score are way up there.
In the Mood for love Mulholland Dr Interstellar
Flash Gordon. There is no other answer. DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
My personal favorite is Deathly Hallows Part 2. I like listening to it when I’m driving to pretend I’m in the movie
There have been some great answers here but I'll submit a few that haven't been said. Original score: Tie between There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men (which is very minimalistic, but fits the tone of the movie absolutely perfectly, to the point where you barely notice there's music underneath). Compilation soundtrack: Pulp Fiction (the song selection isn't full of everyone's favorite songs or anything, but the songs selected fit the movie perfectly and its hard to imagine the movie without most of those songs being in it, specifically the surf rock music and Son Of A Preacher Man)
Howard Shore’s work on LOTR.
Ok, Star Wars
i love matrix and predestination soundtrack sm!
The Mission by Morricone even though I don’t love the movie has an excellent score, and is usually what I think of when it comes to excellent scores Ravenous also has an amazing and eclectic score that I listen to often
Score - The Social Network Soundtrack - Dazed and Confused, The Crow, Judgement Night
Donnie Darko
My favourite is Drowning by Numbers. I listen to the soundtrack fairly often and it is used and cited in many other films. If you haven't seen or heard it check it out.
Lost Highway
Conan the barbarian. Basil Poledouris. And interstellar. Hanz Zimer Curiously nobody said Forest Gump ! Alan Silvestri made a great job. And for back to the futur to.
Annihilation
Mad Max: Fury Road All the soundtracks
Top gun
Grand Budapest Hotel
Once Upon a Time in the West. The way Morricone uses the harmonica in the score throughout the film that leads directly into the end was perfect. I've never had a movie's score have an impact on me like that one.
Akira OST by Geinoh Yamashirogumi. It blows me away every time. A mix of rock, gamelan, traditional Japanese music, electronic, and just magic.
not the best score ever written, but Basil Pouledoris's work in Conan is fantastic. I love a score that can help convey emotions. Conan is a movie where the main lead barely talks but the score does all of the heavy lifting for arnold (no pun intended) and it fucking works. SPOILERS FOR RETURN OF THE JEDI So I felt this about a lot of the star wars scores as well, but then they redid the ending of Return of the Jedi where Vader now says "No, NO" before he defends Luke and that addition fucking pisses me off because I feel like we knew more than enough about Vader's internal conflict because John Williams already told us with the soundtrack, like we didnt need vader saying "No!", we get it.
Transformers: The Movie (1986). For those that dare, and those that dare to be stupid.
American Graffiti Most John Williams movies Conan the Barbarian Barry Lyndon Amadeus Last of the Mohicans
Any Hans Zimmer or Carter Burwell soundtrack but if I had to pick one it would probably be Dunkirk. Probably the best example I can think of for a soundtrack carrying a narrative.
Dunkirk! Yes that's a perfect example.
Repo Man.
Queen of the Damned
I don't think anyone will ever agree on one choice for something so subjective, as we can see in these comments. I don't have a particular favourite, but some movies with an OST I really liked are the 5 Michael Bay Transformers movies, the 1986 Transformers movie, Man Of Steel, The Last Samurai, Inception, Interstellar, Ender's Game, all 3 John Wick movies, and Aquaman.
Queen of the Damned.Period
Conan the Barbarian Nausicae Blade Runner
Inception is the only correct answer.
Interstellar and Your Name
Tron legacy, Interstellar
Interstellar.
Garden of Sinners 5. Mugen Rasen.
Wickerman (1973)
Adding to the list. Thanks
Last of the Mohicans
Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Reservoir Dogs.
I don't think Reservoir Dogs is the type of thing I'm talking about. It's got some great songs but I don't think it's the same as what Hans Zimmer or John Williams does where the score flows with the story. Following the peaks and throughs of the plot in a way that accentuates the movement of it. The Batman is one of my favourites of late.
It's still a soundtrack even if its not an original score. The way you worded the question you will get answers that are both compilations of already recorded songs and movies with original scores.
Yeah I hear ya but there's something else going on too, like it's not just with scores, know what I mean?
City of God, Crooklyn, Deathproof, Oceans 11, Batman Forever
Drive or the OG Top Gun. Both are incredible.
Drive's soundtrack was so pitch perfect with the film.
The soundtrack to TG:M was the only disappointing part of the experience for me. It wasn’t bad. I just had high hopes for it.
Definitely the Angel's Egg soundtrack. It's very mysterious, mystical and it can have a mix of angelic and a sense of dread to the music at the same time in one song. It's the perfect audio description of what is a dream and a world haunted by its spiritual abandonment and what is left of that presence's foot steps. A world with an history but yet none to really be known. Probably my favorite out of all of them has to be the music, Angel's Fossil. It is absolutely brilliant and it really enhances the scene's plot twist. It's epic, horrifying but paradoxically angelic: https://youtu.be/8a9X57xv6vo If you wanna listen to the other music, I do highly, highly suggest watching the movie, which is literally on Youtube: https://youtu.be/YopWyb75G7o Not just one of the best soundtracks but it is in top 3 of my favorite movies of all time for its rich symbolism, its gothic and dreamlike atmosphere and its gorgeous animation. I also think it has a very great sound design. The sound of the water sounds like it is actually in your room and this movie came out in the 80s. It's a masterpiece of visual storytelling.
Heaven’s Gate
Super 8's ending soundtrack is so beautiful. This piece of music could encapsulate my entire being. Every note holds so much weight. It feels like letting go of something precious and knowing that although you may never see it again, you are beyond gracious to have existed with it. Remember that bad things happen, yet we can still live. We can still live.
I'm gonna check that out. That sounds like what I'm after.
The Commitments and Grosse Pointe Blank, although this is probably not what you’re looking for.
Kingpin
I’ll go off the beaten path with Thief. Tangerine Dream music playing under a Michal Mann film. So good.
I was thinking The Keep, also directed by Mann with a Tangerine Dream score. Great stuff.
Godfather.. definitely, the best movie soundtrack I have ever seen
American Graffiti To Live and Die in LA.