BOT's TOP 100 Film Scores: The Fourth Will Be With You, Always --- RECOUNT DONE, NEW TOP 100 POSTED

[4815162342]

#13 The Godfather (1972)

 

Composed by Nino Rota

 

 

 

652 Points

Top 10 Placements: 4

 

2015 Placement: #12 (-1)

 

2017 Placement: #12 (-1)

 

 

Nino Rota's work for the mob epic is another model of consistency for the Top 100. Rota's submission of the score was nearly rejected by the producers as being too "highbrow", but Coppola was able to fight to keep it in. While considered original enough by the forum for the purposes of the Top 100, the score was the subject of controversy when the Academy rescinded its Oscar nomination on the basis that one of the film's musical themes was a reworked version of a theme from an earlier work of Rota's.
 

[4815162342]

#12 Superman: The Movie (1978)

 

Composed by John Williams

 

 

 

652 Points

Top 5 Placements: 1

Top 10 Placements: 3

Top 10 Tiebreaker over The Godfather

 

2015 Placement: #9 (-3)

 

2017 Placement: #8 (-4)

 

 

Squeaking in by The Godfather on the basis of a single Top 5 placement is the original iconic superhero music (apologies to the Batman TV show). Jerry Goldsmith was originally slated to compose the music for the film, but had to drop out after scheduling conflicts. The result, in connection with the fact that the film was being filmed simultaneously with its sequel, caused the music to be one of the last things finished for the film. The score holds a distinction of being one of the very few superhero movies to be nominated for Best Score at the Oscars.
 

[cannastop]

Man where the fuck is one of my favorite scores? I know I voted it high.

[cannastop]

5 minutes ago, cannastop said:

Man where the fuck is one of my favorite scores? I know I voted it high.

Never mind, just checked the rest of the list. Pretty sure it's getting a pimp spot now.

[4815162342]

#11 Psycho (1960)

 

Composed by Bernard Herrmann

 

 

 

680 Points

Top 5 Placements: 1

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: #35 (+24)

 

2017 Placement: #31 (+20)

 

 

Our final Hitchcock/Herrmann collaboration just misses the Top 10. Featuring one of the most iconic and identifiable cues in film music, the score masterfully underlays the tension and mood of the thriller. Herrmann came close to not even doing the film since it was done on a low budget and he would have to take a reduced fee. He turned the lower budget to an advantage by simply focusing on a string ensemble, rather than a full orchestra. His work though from the time filming ended was considered to be perhaps the most important single element of the movie, and very unusually, Herrmann is given the penultimate credit in the opening credits for the movie. Originally, Hitchcock intended for the infamous shower murder to play with no music, but changed his mind after hearing what Herrmann had composed for it.

 

 

 

 

And with that, we have reached the Top 10. #10-6 will be posted over the course of tomorrow.
 

[cannastop]

6 hours ago, cannastop said:

Never mind, just checked the rest of the list. Pretty sure it's getting a pimp spot now.

Getting pretty nervous.

[4815162342]

#10 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

 

Composed by Maurice Jarre

 

 

 

717 Points

#1 Placements: 1

Top 5 Placements: 4

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: #11 (+1)

 

2017 Placement: #6 (-4)

 

 

David Lean's signature epic appears in the Top 10 for the second time in a row (only just missing in 2015). Maurice Jarre was little known at the time of production, and was only chosen after multiple prior preferences were found unavailable for the film. This resulted in Jarre only having a handful of weeks to compose the score to the mammoth nearly 4-hour production. Production issues also forced Jarre to take on the conducting duties as well. The main theme for the film remains one of the most recognizable pieces of music developed in the 20th Century.
 

[4815162342]

#9 Spirited Away (2001)

 

Composed by Joe Hisaishi

 

 

 

744 Points

#1 Placements: 1

Top 5 Placements: 3

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: NOT RANKED

 

2017 Placement: #68 (+59)

 

 

What an escalation of triumphs for this film. In 2015 not a single person even voted for it, then in 2017 it lands a solid position on the countdown, and now it has cracked the Top 10. Changing Demos do matter. The music is of course heavily inspired by Japanese folk lore and received substantial acclaim in Japan upon release. It will be very interesting to see if the Miyazaki/Hisaishi collaborations continue to increase in support in the future.
 

[TalismanRing]

11 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

#9 Spirited Away (2001)

 

Composed by Joe Hisaishi

 

 

 

744 Points

#1 Placements: 1

Top 5 Placements: 3

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: NOT RANKED

 

2017 Placement: #68 (+59)

 

 

What an escalation of triumphs for this film. In 2015 not a single person even voted for it, then in 2017 it lands a solid position on the countdown, and now it has cracked the Top 10. Changing Demos do matter. The music is of course heavily inspired by Japanese folk lore and received substantial acclaim in Japan upon release. It will be very interesting to see if the Miyazaki/Hisaishi collaborations continue to increase in support in the future.
 

I think the Top 100 Animation lists also helped - people kept recommending it and more on this board have now seen it and other Ghibli films over the past few years.

[TomCruiseTop]

1 hour ago, 4815162342 said:

#9 Spirited Away (2001)

 

Composed by Joe Hisaishi

 

 

 

744 Points

#1 Placements: 1

Top 5 Placements: 3

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: NOT RANKED

 

2017 Placement: #68 (+59)

 

 

What an escalation of triumphs for this film. In 2015 not a single person even voted for it, then in 2017 it lands a solid position on the countdown, and now it has cracked the Top 10. Changing Demos do matter. The music is of course heavily inspired by Japanese folk lore and received substantial acclaim in Japan upon release. It will be very interesting to see if the Miyazaki/Hisaishi collaborations continue to increase in support in the future.
 

Watching this on acid was wild, another one I loved via that route was Paprika. Mind blowing.

[DAR]

That’s um surprising

[cannastop]

5 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

#9 Spirited Away (2001)

Holy shit.

[cannastop]

3 hours ago, DAR said:

That’s um surprising

Well I kind of saw it coming when My Neighbor Totoro was at #100.

[titanic2187]

42 minutes ago, cannastop said:

Well I kind of saw it coming when My Neighbor Totoro was at #100.

Joe is a legend, I hope he can get his Oscar for best original score one day like other greatest composer,

[4815162342]

#8 Blade Runner (1982)

 

Composed by Vangelis

 

 

 

753 Points

#1 Placements: 1

Top 5 Placements: 3

Top 10 Placements: 4

 

2015 Placement: #17 (+9)

 

2017 Placement: #55 (+47)
 

After a bit of a plummet last time around, the moody sci-fi noir advances into the Top 10. Greek composer Vangelis dominates the film's score with his trademark use of synthesizers to echo the artificial and almost otherworldly nature of the setting. The film does depart from synthesizers in some situations, most notably the saxophone dominated romantic theme for Deckard and Rachel. An official release of the soundtrack did not occur for over a decade, which resulted in an alternative all-orchestral score being released at one point, which needless to say, did not resemble the movie music much at all.

[4815162342]

#7 Jaws (1975)

 

Composed by John Williams

 

 

 

767 Points

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

2015 Placement: #7 (NO CHANGE)

 

2017 Placement: #7 (NO CHANGE)

 

 

We now reach perhaps the most iconic two-note sequence in film music history, and it seems BOT is very satisfied with the level of respect for it, as the film hits Lucky Number 7 three times running. Funnily enough, when Williams first demonstrated the two-note progression on piano, Spielberg laughed it off as a joke. The theme for the shark is meant to emulate a relentless, omnipresent threat, with much of the rest of the score taking a more nautical jaunty flair to echo a high seas adventure.
 

[4815162342]

#6 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

 

Composed by John Williams

 

 

 

818 Points

Top 5 Placements: 2

Top 10 Placements: 2

 

2015 Placement: #4 (-2)

 

2017 Placement: #4 (-2)

 

 

It was always a given that John Williams would feature heavily in the Top 10, though we do see another effect of the Williams Embargo in that his work for the first Indiana Jones movie is knocked out of the Top 5 for the first time. The iconic Raiders march is the result of Williams composing two different cues and being unsure which one to use, and Spielberg insisting that both be used together.

 

 

 

 

The final five will arrive tomorrow. For an interesting fact, the most sizable gap between movies is between this film and our #5, with a 173-point separation between the two. The Top 5 truly did end up being regarded in a class of their own.

[Hydrogen]

1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
2. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
3. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
5. Titanic

 

Is my guess for top 5. 

[4815162342]

#5 Titanic (1997)

 

Composed by James Horner

 

 

 

999 Points

#1 Placements: 6

Top 5 Placements: 1

Top 10 Placements: 2
 

2015 Placement: #27 (+22)

 

2017 Placement: #18 (+13)

 

 

The titan of the Camerons deploys now. For about 2/3 of all lists submitted, this was firmly in the #1 spot, until the final gamut knocked it down to the fifth spot. The film that overtook it is the film that ultimately is out #1 for 2019. Cameron originally offered Irish musician Enya a chance to compose for the film, but she declined. He then reunited with Horner after a decade separation after listening to his work for Braveheart. "My Heart Will Go On" was written in secret by Horner and he waited for the right time to convince Cameron to include it in the music.

[4815162342]

#4 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

 

Composed by John Williams

 

 

1000 Points

#1 Placements: 3

Top 5 Placements: 2

Top 10 Placements: 2

 

2015 Placement: #5 (+1)

 

2017 Placement: #3 (-1)

 

 

The consensus pick for the best Star Wars film continues to nest comfortably in the Top 5 of the Top 100 scores. This is the film that introduced the world to the iconic Imperial March, a tune that has become immensely ingrained in pop culture and regularly features in sporting events. Aside from the main theme and the Force theme, the Imperial March is the most recurring piece of music in the franchise. The music also introduces notable themes for Yoda and the romance between Han and Leia.