What are some good soundtracks from movies (symphonic, particularly)?

Question

I like to listen to soundtracks from movies, mostly fantasy like from the Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Wars, and mostly things that are symphonic. I'm looking for some good music to listen to and don't know what to look up. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hehe, I actually got to sing High School Musical with my choir :) ET, Jaws and Narnia also have good music, I never thought of that :) Thanks!

Answer 1

Just look for anything by John Williams. He is the conductor/composer for pretty much all of the iconic and great scores from the past 30 years. Notable works: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan, E.T. Jaws, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Superman, Home Alone, Schindler's List, and many, many others. In addition to the classic themes of all these films, the rest of the scores are equally amazing.

Answer 2

Johb Willams, composer, has all great soundtracks. research his catelogue. Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith also are very good.


Danny Elfman's movies are unknown gems: Great music

1. The Sixth Element (2008) (in production)
2. Ripley's Believe It or Not! (2009) (pre-production)
3. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) (filming)
4. The Kingdom (2007) (completed)

5. Meet the Robinsons (2007)
... aka Beetle (Philippines: English title: review title)
6. Charlotte's Web (2006)
7. Nacho Libre (2006)
8. Deep Sea 3D (2006)
9. Corpse Bride (2005)
... aka Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Singapore: English title) (USA: complete title)
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
... aka Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
11. No Experience Needed (2005)
12. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
... aka Spider-Man 2.1 (USA: recut version)
... aka Spider-Man 2: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
13. Big Fish (2003)
14. Hulk (2003)
15. Chicago (2002)
... aka Chicago (Germany)
16. Red Dragon (2002)
... aka Roter Drache (Germany)
17. Men in Black II (2002)
... aka MIB 2 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka MIIB (USA: promotional abbreviation)
18. Spider-Man (2002)
19. "HBO First Look" (1 episode, 2002)
- Spider-Man (2002) TV Episode
20. Barry Sonnenfeld's Intergalactic Guide to Comedy (2002) (V)
21. Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space (2002) (V)
22. Creature Featurettes (2002) (V)
23. Rick Baker: Alien Maker (2002) (V)
24. Planet of the Apes (2001)
25. Mazer World (2001)
26. Spy Kids (2001)
27. The Family Man (2000)
28. Proof of Life (2000)

29. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
... aka Sleepy Hollow (Germany)
30. Anywhere But Here (1999)
31. Instinct (1999)
32. A Civil Action (1998)
33. A Simple Plan (1998)
... aka Einfacher Plan, Ein (Germany)
... aka Un plan simple (France)
34. Good Will Hunting (1997)
35. Flubber (1997)
... aka Disney's Flubber: The Absent Minded Professor (promotional title)
36. Men in Black (1997)
... aka MIB (USA: promotional abbreviation)
37. Mars Attacks! (1996)
38. Extreme Measures (1996)
39. The Frighteners (1996)
... aka Robert Zemeckis Presents: The Frighteners (USA: complete title)
40. Mission: Impossible (1996)
... aka Mission Impossible
41. Freeway (1996)
42. Dead Presidents (1995)
43. To Die For (1995)
44. Dolores Claiborne (1995)
45. Black Beauty (1994)
46. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
... aka Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (USA: complete title)
... aka Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D (USA: promotional title)
47. Sommersby (1993)
48. Batman Returns (1992)
49. Article 99 (1992)
50. Amazing Stories: Book Two (1992) (V) (segment "Family Dog")
51. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
52. Darkman (1990)
53. **** Tracy (1990)
54. Nightbreed (1990)
... aka Clive Barker's Nightbreed (UK: complete title)

55. Batman (1989)
56. Scrooged (1988)
57. Face Like a Frog (1988)
58. Hot to Trot (1988)
59. Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
60. Midnight Run (1988)
61. Beetle Juice (1988)
62. Summer School (1987)
63. "Amazing Stories" (2 episodes, 1985-1987)
... aka Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories (USA: complete title)
- Family Dog (1987) TV Episode
- Mummy Daddy (1985) TV Episode
64. Wisdom (1986)
65. Back to School (1986)
66. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1 episode, 1986)
- The Jar (1986) TV Episode
67. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
68. Forbidden Zone (1980)

Answer 3

Can't complain with any of the answers given so far. However, I haven't seen mention of one of the GREAT soundtracks: The Omen (the original), music by Jerry Goldsmith. It is some of the most chilling, suspenseful music you'll listen to. Here is the Editorial Review from Amazon:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Jerry Goldsmith's chilling soundtrack music for Richard Donner's 1976 Antichrist-themed thriller The Omen was very nearly the score that never was; an unusual, last-minute budget extension was granted solely to secure the composer's services. That decision turned out to be one of the wisest the studio could make. Goldsmith's music would go on to score him his first Oscar® and a Grammy award and become the crucial thematic glue that held the entire Omen trilogy together. Standing the traditional requiem form on its head, Goldsmith in essence created Satanic liturgical music. As chorally ominous as Orff's Carmina Burana, yet infused with the composer's own compelling sense of drama and color, The Omen instantly became both a genre classic and one of the musician's greatest achievements. Varese's 25th anniversary edition has largely resequenced the track order to match the film and expanded it by nearly a third with seven previously unreleased cues. These new tracks add dimensions of both pastoral calm and mounting suspense, making the familiar "Ave Satani" theme even darker and more spine tingling by contrast. Edition producer Robert Townson's detailed new notes also carefully place each cue in its cinematic and musical context. --Jerry McCulley

Answer 4

Anything by John Williams

Star Wars
Hook
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Harry Potter series
Stepmom
Indiana Jones
Jurassic Park
Schindler's List

Howard Shore
Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Thomas Newman
Little Women

James Horner
Titanic

Answer 5

Want Excellent Movie Music?
Try:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jurassic Park
Harry Potter
Spiderman
Fantasia
Superman
Star Wars
Legend of Zelda (Koji Kondo rocks)
Mission Impossible
Indianna Jones
E.T.
Anything John Williams has done is good.

Answer 6

Hi there.Here are some soundtracks from movies made many years ago. You may not be familiar with some of them but they are excellent pieces of music .

Mozart
AMADEUS

Miklos Rozsa
BEN -HUR
EL CID
KING OF KINGS

Ernest Gold
EXODUS

Maurice Jarre
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Nino Rota
ROMEO & JULIET

Francis Lai
LA DOLCE VITA
LOVE STORY

Max Steiner
GONE WITH THE WIND
A SUMMER PLACE

John Williams
JAWS
SUPERMAN
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Michel Legrand
SUMMER OF 42

Bill Conti
ROCKY

Michael Gore
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

John Barry
OUT OF AFRICA

Vangelis
CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Alfred Newman
HOW THE WEST WAS WON

Oliviero
MONDO CANE

Henry Mancini
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
THE PINK PANTHER
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS

Dmitri Tiomkin
55 DAYS AT PEKING
GIANT

Lionel Bart
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Jerry Goldsmith
FATE IS THE HUNTER

Answer 7

John Williams' compositions are masterpieces (but has been mentioned quite a bit)...

These non-John Williams soundtracks are fantastic but some of these might be hard to find, but worth it...

Batman - Danny Elfman *
Meet Joe Black - Thomas Newman *
Cutthroat Island - John Debney
Dances With Wolves - John Barry (Can't believe it hasn't been mentioned) *
DragonHeart - Randy Edelman
Excalibur - Trevor Jones
Independence Day - David Arnold
Lonesome Dove (TV) - Basil Poledouris
Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves - Michael Kamen
RoboCop - Basil Poledouris
The Rocketeer - James Horner *
Rudy - Jerry Goldsmith (fabulous!) *
Atlantis - Howard Shore
Somewhere In Time - John Barry (already mentioned) *
Spider-Man - Danny Elfman
Star Trek II - James Horner
The Time Machine - Klaus Badelt *
Van Helsing - Alan Silvestri
Waterworld - James Newton Howard

*My ALL-TIME favorites

Answer 8

Don't forget about some of the great Bernard Herrmann scores! North by Northwest is fantastic (and a great movie, to boot). But he also wrote music for Psycho, The Birds, and other Hitchcock films.

You can also check out Bernstein's "On the Waterfront." I love this movie, and the music too, but (IMHO) the music is actually a bit distracting at times. But by itself, it's incredible.

John Williams is cool, too. But he tends to "borrow" from a lot of classical pieces...so you might enjoy checking out the originals. As an example, the original Star Wars score contains LOTS of music very similar to Holst's "Planets" suite, and Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring."

Answer 9

High School Musical

Answer 10

I know movies like "Somewhere in Time" and "Love Story" have some wonderful soundtracks in the classical music or symphonic mode. I strongly advise these two outstanding movies for beautiful music. I'm sure you'll be pleased!