Lord of the Rings - greatest film score - Discuss

[Uncle Spielberg]

Lord of the Rings has been voted by Classic FM, the greatest film score ever written for the 2nd year running. Its ok but never the greatest film score. I give below for consideration.

Schindler's List - John Williams
Somewhere in Time - John Barry
Gladiator - Hans Zimmer
Titanic - James Horner
ET - John Williams
Saving Private Ryan - John Williams
The End of The Affair - Michael Nyman
The English Patient - Gabriel Yared
Close Encounters of the Third Kind- John Williams

Any others to throw in the mix ?.

 

[fatbadger]

What no Bernard Herrmann?

All those Hitchcock films (he it was that did the Psycho score), Taxi Driver (dedicated to him after he died during its making), and many others.

 

[zefarelly]

The Italian Job - Quincy Jones

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Star Wars - or better still The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams
Dances with Wolves - John Barry
Out of Africa - John Barry

 

[Icy Gull]

2001 - various dead composers

or doesn't that count

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Good calls for John Barry, he must be the greatest composer of all time behind John Williams. The soundtrack for Somewhere in Time will probably go down as the greatest ever film score for me, breathtakingly beautiful.

 

[crasher]

Taxi driver gets my vote. Can't imagine the film without the music - brilliant.

 

[Easy 10]

Gladiator is a splendid soundtrack, it catches the mood perfectly.

Rain Man is a goodun as well (also Hans Zimmer).

 

[Italiaseagull]

The score in Platoon was fantastic! It made the film.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Italia, agreed about Platoon but it is not an original work, it is a score by Samuel Barber, Adagio for strings which has also been in Lorenzo's oil and countless other films including Kevin & Perry go Large !.

It is probably the greatest ever piece of classical music but not an original film score.

 

[Dave the OAP]

The music from Bond films are rubbished by the "intelligencia" but I recon Thunderball and You Only Live Twice ( John Barry/ Monty Norman) are classics

Also

Errico Morricone - The Good The Bad and the Ugly

 

[Italiaseagull]

Lawrence of Arabia, a brilliant film all round if a little long.

 

[Dave the OAP]

gareth......


Addagio...the Greatest Ever Piece of Classical Music

I could bore you with countless pieces that IMHO is better, but if you get a chance, listen to Mozart's Requiem, La Crimosa - and I defy you not so say that is not the mosty sublime bit of music you have heard. It is also an absulote joy to sing!!!!

Faure wrote a piece of music called Le Cantique De Jean Racine....absolutely fabulous

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Dave

Adagio for strings is the greatest piece of classical music ever, why because I said so and I am never wrong. Now get back in your pit and pipe down mate.

ps - are you going through the male menopause or something as you've become a crotchety old git recently !.

Kind regards our fat friend - Gareth.

 

[Wilts]

Trainspotting... surely the greatest film soundtrack of the 90s!

Not really a film score though...

 

[Hannibal smith]

Last of the Mohicans - no idea who by. Fanatstic score. Also agree with Easy - Gladiator is likewise fantastic.

Lord of the Rings isn't the greatest score, In fact when I first saw it I thought that all that was missing from the film was one.

 

[Biscuit]

Safeway is Lord of the Rings!
:safeway

 

[Dave the OAP]

Gareth...LOL

Its called old age mate!!!

Seriously though. I will do you a copy of Requiem and you can listen for yourself.

Dave the crotchety old git

 

[Muzzman]

Personally I love the 'Conan the Barbarian' soundtrack by Basil Poldouris. How I rate rate film soundtracks is by listening to them without the visuals and hearing whether it stands alone as a piece of classical music... and this one does. Lord of the Rings is very good though.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

OK what about original film scores written by classical composers :

Henry V ; Sir William Walton

The Battle of Britain ; Sir William Walton / Ron Goodwin

Alexander Nevsky ; Sergei Prokofiev

Ivar The Terrible ; Sergei Prokofiev

Scott of the Antartic ; Ralph Vaughan Williams

West Side Story ; Leonard Bernstein

The Gadfly ; Dimitri Shostakovich

Not to mention those by Sir Malcolm Arnold, Michael Nyman etc.

As a piece of music, Lord of the Rings is very formulaic, and frankly, a bit dull without the film to back it up.