BOT's Top 100 Film Scores Countdown (2021): Fast Five Edition (TOP 10 WEDNESDAY EVENING EST)

[4815162342]

It's time for the countdown. Participation was a bit down from last time but we have a good turnout bump in the final days. A total of 579 unique film scores were submitted, and the cutoff to make the Top 100 was 189 points. A total of 185 films had at least 101 points or higher.

 

 

Before we move forward, here is the breakdown of how the rankings were done:
 
Films were sorted by their total points, from high to low. Ties were broken in the following ways:
 
First, by number of votes. If two films had 200 points, but Film A had 6 votes and Film B had 5, Film A would be ranked higher since it had support from more members.
 
If two films had the same point total and the same number of votes, I would look to their rankings in the Top 10 (#6-9), Top 5 (#2-5), or #1 placement. A Top 10 ranking would be worth 1 tiebreaker point, a Top 5 ranking 3, and a #1 ranking 6. Therefore, if Film A had two Top 10 Rankings and Film B had a single Top 5 ranking, Film A would have two tiebreaker points and Film B would have three, so Film B would be ranked higher.
 
With regards to how film scores will be posted in the countdown, I will post those Top 1/5/10 rankings separate positions. So if a film had one list in the Top 10, one in the Top 5, and one as #1, its post in the countdown would read as:
 
Top 10 Placements: 1
Top 5 Placements: 1
#1 Placements: 1

 

 

With those explanations out of the way, it's almost time to begin. The ten honorable mentions just outside the cut will be revealed momentarily, and the countdown proper shall start tomorrow morning.

 

 

@Cap @Eric Belov If I could have this thread stickied when you have the chance

Edited July 21, 2021 by 4815162342

[Eric Duncan]

Pinned and ready to go!  

[4815162342]

The honorable mentions will be revealed in two batches of five, in alphabetical order. Here is the first set.

 

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS 1-5

 

 

Aladdin (1992)

 

Original Music by Alan Menken

 

 

 

 

Castle in the Sky (1986)

 

Original Music by Joe Hisaishi

 

 

 

 

For a Few Dollars More (1965)

 

Original Music by Ennio Morricone

 

 

 

 

Hook (1991)

 

Original Music by John Williams

 

 

 

 

The Pink Panther (1963)

 

Original Music by Henry Mancini

 

 

[The Panda]

1 minute ago, 4815162342 said:

The honorable mentions will be revealed in two batches of five, in alphabetical order. Here is the first set.

 

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS 1-5

 

 

Aladdin (1992)

 

Original Music by Alan Menken

 

 

 

 

Castle in the Sky (1986)

 

Original Music by Joe Hisaishi

 

 

 

 

For a Few Dollars More (1965)

 

Original Music by Ennio Morricone

 

 

 

 

Hook (1991)

 

Original Music by John Williams

 

 

 

 

The Pink Panther (1963)

 

Original Music by Henry Mancini

 

 

Good misses, minus Morricone!

[4815162342]

And here is the second batch:

 

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS 6-10

 

 

The Red Shoes (1948)

 

Original Music by Brian Easdale

 

 

 

 

The Thin Red Line (1998)

 

Original Music by Hans Zimmer

 

 

 

 

Sicario (2015)

 

Original Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson

 

 

 

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

 

Original Music by Howard Shore

 

 

 

 

Sorcerer (1977)

 

Original Music by Tangerine Dream

 

 

[4815162342]

Some of the Honorable Mentions came tantalizingly close to making the 100. The Thin Red Line and For a Few Dollars More were 1 point away from the #100 spot, and Sorcerer was only 2 points away.

 

 

Come back tomorrow around mid to late morning for the proper kickoff to the Top 100!

[Ethan Hunt]

7 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 The Thin Red Line was 1 point away from the #100 spot

I'm going to burn down BOT

[The Panda]

14 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

And here is the second batch:

 

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS 6-10

 

 

The Red Shoes (1948)

 

Original Music by Brian Easdale

 

 

 

 

The Thin Red Line (1998)

 

Original Music by Hans Zimmer

 

 

 

 

Sicario (2015)

 

Original Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson

 

 

 

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

 

Original Music by Howard Shore

 

 

 

 

Sorcerer (1977)

 

Original Music by Tangerine Dream

 

 

RIP

[DAR]

Saw a few selections already of mine already 

Edited July 10, 2021 by DAR

[Fancyarcher]

Well I see this list is already off to a very interesting start. 

[4815162342]

 

 

 

 

100. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

 

Original Music by Alan Silvestri

189 Points

 

 

 

Prior Placements:

2015- #99
2017- Honorable Mention

 

 

Kicking off the 2021 Top 100 is a film that has found its niche at the list's beginning, never ascending beyond the second-to-last spot, with a brief hiatus in 2019. Alan Silvestri's first of four musical scores for the Marvel Cinematic Universe plays heavily on patriotic tropes and classic style bombast, most notable in the main theme for Cap himself, which fits right into the old school marching band style of heroic motif. The film score was well-received for its old-school and direct style. Silvestri's work on this him would lead him to parlay it into developing an even more iconic bombastic superhero theme not long afterwards.
 

[4815162342]

99. The Untouchables (1987)

 

Original Music by Ennio Morricone

 

 

194 Points

 

 

Coming in at #99 is a film that makes its debut in the Film Score countdown, having never come that close to making the 100 or an honorable mention before. Brian De Palma's sweeping Prohibition-era crime flick relies heavily on the music of Italian legend Ennio Morricone to provide a sense of scale, drama, and tension to the titular underdogs going up against the man who ruled Chicago in all but name. Morricone's work would be nominated for an Oscar, but would come up short, losing to The Last Emperor, which came in at 239th on this Score list.
 

[4815162342]

98. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

 

Original Music by Brad Fiedel

 

 

195 Points

Top 10 Placements: 1

 

Prior Placements:
2015- Honorable Mention
2019- #69

 

 

Dropping almost 30 spots from it's nice placement in 2019 is James Cameron's explosive sequel to his directorial breakout, and depending on whom you ask, the last Terminator film made. Brad Fiedel brings back the iconic Terminator theme and expands on it with a higher musical budget to create music with even more punch and sharpness, perhaps exemplified most by the T-1000 motif, which is a sharp and crisp repetition of notes occasionally interrupted with some jagged electronic noise. Fiedel's score spent six weeks on the Billboard Top 200. Fiedel's work for the first Terminator would come in on this list at 130th.
 

[The Panda]

17 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 

 

 

 

100. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

 

Original Music by Alan Silvestri

189 Points

 

 

 

Prior Placements:

2015- #99
2017- Honorable Mention

 

 

Kicking off the 2021 Top 100 is a film that has found its niche at the list's beginning, never ascending beyond the second-to-last spot, with a brief hiatus in 2019. Alan Silvestri's first of four musical scores for the Marvel Cinematic Universe plays heavily on patriotic tropes and classic style bombast, most notable in the main theme for Cap himself, which fits right into the old school marching band style of heroic motif. The film score was well-received for its old-school and direct style. Silvestri's work on this him would lead him to parlay it into developing an even more iconic bombastic superhero theme not long afterwards.
 

I take it back! Put literally anything else on here instead please!

[4815162342]

97. Sunshine (2007)

 

Original Music by John Murphy and Underworld

 

 

197 Points

 

 

Prior Placements:
2015- #52
2019- #83
 

 

Dropping perilously close to falling out of the 100 for a second time is John Murphy and Underworld's work for Danny Boyle's sci-fi thriller. Boyle had the score created in two stages. First, when the film was almost complete, he sent it to the band Underworld to work on, and their compositions were influenced by György Ligeti's music featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey. After finishing their part, they passed their work on to Murphy, who completed the film's score. A commercial release of the film score was delayed as a result of a legal dispute between Underworld and Universal, but its track Adagio in D Minor has subsequently been heavily sampled in both theatrical trailers and in movies themselves, most notably/infamously in a very recent 2020 film.

[4815162342]

96.  Starman (1984)

 

Original Music by Jack Nitzsche

 

 

200 Points

 

 

Coming in at #96 is our second film that is a brand new baby to the Score Countdowns, having missed being an honorable mention in 2019 by 8 points. The sci-fi film flopped on initial release but has since garnered more appreciation, in part for its film music. Nitzsche's work would be nominated for a Golden Globe award, though it lost to Maurice Jarre's work for A Passage to India, and would later be covered by  various groups, including forming part of Dan Black's single "Symphonies" featuring Kid Cudi.

 

[4815162342]

That concludes the first pod. The next set of five will come this afternoon after the BOT Film Club screens Johnny Guitar, which I recommend you all join us for

[Cap]

Hilariously, I didn’t power rank TFA at all. It’s just there cause it’s just that good. 

[chasmmi]

After seeing so many of my list be honorable mentions, not sure to be relieved or disappointed that I did not see more of my choices turn up here. 

[titanic2187]

So far the honourable mention is better than the actual list