# Underrated Scores



## Nate Johnson

Harald Kloser - The Day After Tomorrow 

I needed to put on a ‘dumb’ movie this morning, to clear my head and relax a bit. I’ll be damned - this movie was actually better than I remembered and wow - the score was gorgeous. Never heard of the composer.

What are some other scores you think are totally underrated, but absolutely wonderful?


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## Nate Johnson

Another recent discovery:

Danny Elfman - A Simple Plan (1998)

The opening immediately caught my attention, before his name even came up on screen. The orchestration is creative and the crazy juxtaposition of uneasy atonal-clustery-mess against the clarity of melody is frickin weird and awesome. The spirit of Morricone, Elfman style!


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## GGaca

Steve Jablonsky - Your Highness (2011)

Fantasy genre with '80s synth vibe.


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## doctoremmet

I just learned about this one (very brass heavy action packed western score) by Bruce Broughton (Silverado OST, 1985)... it was apparently nominated for an Oscar, but I had never heard of either movie or composer & score...


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## Mark Kouznetsov

John Williams - Rosewood


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## Haakond

I love the soundtrack from Goosebumps 2, by Dominic Lewis!


I remember I listened a lot to the score from Johnny English 1 a couple of years back too


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## mscp

Clint Mansell - Requiem For A Dream.


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## chrisr

Good to see Mr Zimmer helping out on that session! (@1.36 - looks like he's mouthing something none-too-complimentary about the part writing though!)


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## dcoscina

Mark Kouznetsov said:


> John Williams - Rosewood



Sleepers as well. Great John Williams score.


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## dcoscina

Maybe not underrated but not as well celebrated as his other scores... and I love his riff on Strauss’ Zarathustra


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## DimensionsTomorrow

I’m always digging around for funky soundtracks from the 1960-70s (as one might guess from my other posts) and I recently came across this gem from Japan from 1976. The Inugami Family OST by Yuji Ohno. It’s a Japanese detective film, but the OST has almost a horror vibe to it.


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## Toecutter

dcoscina said:


> Maybe not underrated but not as well celebrated as his other scores... and I love his riff on Strauss’ Zarathustra



The chord progression 0:10 always makes me laugh... Horner didn't even try to hide the fact he stole it from Goldsmith


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## dcoscina

Toecutter said:


> The chord progression 0:10 always makes me laugh... Horner didn't even try to hide the fact he stole it from Goldsmith


True eh?


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## José Herring

I've got literally got thousands of examples. I'll share some of my favorite underrated scores mostly because the movies sucked. 

Jerry Goldsmith Supergirl:


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## ed buller

One of his finest. Often overlooked.



Fantastic Score from a dreadfully underrated composer



Such a great score...such a dreadful film !



Underrated score, Underrated Movie !



Fabulous composer !

Best 

ed


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## José Herring

David Raksin A Force of Evil


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## José Herring

Bruce Broughton Tombstone:


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## Toecutter

José Herring said:


> Bruce Broughton Tombstone:



I was going to recommend this one to @doctoremmet since he mentioned Silverado, great score and badass movie!


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## dcoscina

I love JN Howard’s Wyatt Earp personally 

and Unbreakable of course


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## José Herring

Toecutter said:


> I was going to recommend this one to @doctoremmet since he mentioned Silverado, great score and badass movie!


Loved both as you did.


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## José Herring

Jerry Goldmsith:

The Shadow


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## Toecutter

ed buller said:


> Underrated score, Underrated Movie !


Shearmur was not goofing around here, so underrated!!


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## José Herring

This never gets mentioned among people as one of Hans' Great Scores but I loved everything about this:

Hans Zimmer: Black Rain


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## JohnG

How about something more recent? A number of these movies are mighty ooooollllld


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## nolotrippen

Toecutter said:


> The chord progression 0:10 always makes me laugh... Horner didn't even try to hide the fact he stole it from Goldsmith


And Goldsmith wasn't too fond of Horner.


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## nolotrippen

José Herring said:


> David Raksin A Force of Evil



Raksin is underappreciated because he wasn't interested in having his scores released separately from the movies. But his music is marvelous.


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## nolotrippen

Here's a John Barry score many may have missed. So haunting. 1967's The Whispers.


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## Toecutter

nolotrippen said:


> And Goldsmith wasn't too fond of Horner.


Didn't Horner date Goldsmith's daughter for a while? I thought they were "family" and only had a musical beef if any.


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## cuttime




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## Mark Kouznetsov

*BTW, John Williams was making modern trailer music before it became the new hip:

*


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## mussnig

I am really a fan of this particular piece by Thomas Newman.


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## dcoscina

JohnG said:


> How about something more recent? A number of these movies are mighty ooooollllld




lesser know very good scores are Chris Willis' The Personal History of David Copperfield and Anthony Willis' (no relation) Promising Young Woman. 


Jackman's Kong Skull Island has some really nice moments as well.


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## Poirot45

dcoscina said:


> lesser know very good scores are Chris Willis' The Personal History of David Copperfield and Anthony Willis' (no relation) Promising Young Woman.
> 
> 
> Jackman's Kong Skull Island has some really nice moments as well.


Yesss I love Christopher Willis - his score for "Death of Stalin" is marvellous


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## dcoscina

Poirot45 said:


> Yesss I love Christopher Willis - his score for "Death of Stalin" is marvellous


Yes it's brilliant. I don't think it's underrated though since it got wide acclaim. Just perhaps not as well known as the bigger scores....


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## ed buller

JohnG said:


> How about something more recent? A number of these movies are mighty ooooollllld


true.....


dcoscina said:


> lesser know very good scores are Chris Willis' The Personal History of David Copperfield and Anthony Willis' (no relation) Promising Young Woman.
> 
> 
> Jackman's Kong Skull Island has some really nice moments as well.


also true. i think HE is an underrated composer. 

best

e


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## darkogav

Max Richter's Perfect Sense.


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## Fry777

JohnG said:


> How about something more recent? A number of these movies are mighty ooooollllld


Here's a few more recent ones :


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## South Thames

Comedy scoring is easy to under rate and I always think Harry Gregson Williams' Team America score was great earnest old-fashioned dramatic/action scoring, which was a perfect foil for the comedy.

Fuck yeah.


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## darkogav

Masakatsu Takagi work on Wolf Children


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## TimCox

The score for The Birds is never talked about


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## ed buller

it's old but breathtaking:



best

ed


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## Michael Antrum

How About some Ron Goodwin.....




Or Richard Addinsell...


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## re-peat

Sublime from its first second to its last: *David Shire's "Return To Oz"*




And the same applies to one of *Jerry Goldsmith*'s lesser known scores: "*The Great Train Robbery"*



_


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## dcoscina

re-peat said:


> Sublime from its first second to its last: *David Shire's "Return To Oz"*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And the same applies to one of *Jerry Goldsmith*'s lesser known scores: *The "Great Train Robbery"*
> 
> 
> 
> _



Glad to see love for Shire’s Oz because it’s fabulous. Shire is pretty much underrated even though he’s penned some fabulous scores throughout his career.


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## Dave Connor

I don’t know if this is underrated as much as unknown but I could listen to it every day.


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## Pincel

DimensionsTomorrow said:


> I’m always digging around for funky soundtracks from the 1960-70s (as one might guess from my other posts) and I recently came across this gem from Japan from 1976. The Inugami Family OST by Yuji Ohno. It’s a Japanese detective film, but the OST has almost a horror vibe to it.



Dude, I kid you not... I was listening to that soundtrack while I was reading this thread! Amazing coincidence for such an obscure thing! Haha
Love it too!


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## dcoscina

Dave Connor said:


> I don’t know if this is underrated as much as unknown but I could listen to it every day.



Nice. Here is another fabulous entry by Mancini who is not well known for his non jazz or comedy scores.


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## Dave Connor

Great score Dave! I’ve never forgotten being in a video store within a year of that film’s release and hearing this incredible music that seemed to be outdoing John Williams’ space music by miles. I asked the guy behind the counter and found out it was that film. Mancini was truly incredible and incredibly versatile.


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## ed buller

Mancini...so versatile :



best

ed


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## Dave Connor

I was wondering when someone was going to post that : ) Another gem from the guy.


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## dcoscina

Dave Connor said:


> Great score Dave! I’ve never forgotten being in a video store within a year of that film’s release and hearing this incredible music that seemed to be outdoing John Williams’ space music by miles. I asked the guy behind the counter and found out it was that film. Mancini was truly incredible and incredibly versatile.


What I love about Mancini is the economy of his orchestration. When I was in uni back in the late 80s I remember being told to study his jazz arrangements because of how well conceived they were. Life force is fantastic because it’s active but not floury. Every line and instrument has its purpose. It’s a great example of really effective writing.


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## Kent

I could (and do) listen to this on repeat:





Michiru Ōshima is brilliant though. She also did the soundtrack to the original (2003) _Fullmetal Alchemist_, including:




What a command of emotional nuance she has!


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## Dave Connor

dcoscina said:


> What I love about Mancini is the economy of his orchestration. When I was in uni back in the late 80s I remember being told to study his jazz arrangements because of how well conceived they were. Life force is fantastic because it’s active but not floury. Every line and instrument has its purpose. It’s a great example of really effective writing.


That’s the thing about Mancini: Everything’s a clinic. I’ve been catching his work on Peter Gunn on late night TV and the inventiveness and serious Jazz writing is simply not to be believed. Groundbreaking stuff I’ve never heard from anyone.


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## LauraC

I've always loved this score from Sneakers and thought it fit the movie, perfectly.


and no self-respecting Trekkie could fail to mention this:


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## robgb

dcoscina said:


>



One of my favorites.


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## DimensionsTomorrow

Pincel said:


> Dude, I kid you not... I was listening to that soundtrack while I was reading this thread! Amazing coincidence for such an obscure thing! Haha
> Love it too!


That’s amazing! 😂 

This YouTube comment says it best:


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## GNP

I actually love John William's War Of The Worlds. One of his most minimalist action scores to date.


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## dcoscina

robgb said:


> One of my favorites.


I love the tone rows Shire used for the theme. I mean who would pull this off nowadays? Sigh... the 70s was such an open arena for this kind of fertile creative exploration. Filmmakers were a little more open minded it seems, compared to today (some exceptions do exist however)


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## dcoscina

LauraC said:


> I've always loved this score from Sneakers and thought it fit the movie, perfectly.
> 
> 
> and no self-respecting Trekkie could fail to mention this:



Great scores- Sneaker is what I would call lesser known or underrated. WOK on the other hand propelled Horner, only 29 at the time, into fame and is highly regarded across the board.


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## Nate Johnson

LauraC said:


> I've always loved this score from Sneakers and thought it fit the movie, perfectly.
> 
> 
> and no self-respecting Trekkie could fail to mention this:



Wrath of Kahn is definitely one of the greatest sounding scores of all time, in my opinion!


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## Nate Johnson

ed buller said:


> Mancini...so versatile :
> 
> 
> 
> best
> 
> ed



ack. frickin brilliant. Soooo good!


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## TomislavEP

Having watched and rewatched a ton of movies, especially those from before 2k, I could probably put together quite a list. But I don't have such patience (and time), so I'll be a bit predictable here and take Hans Zimmer for an example. IMO, his music for "Rain Man", closely followed by the one for "Thelma & Louise" still remain his best work to date. Starting from their music, instrumentation, and atmosphere, I would personally give all the "Time" in the world just for these two.


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## dcoscina

TomislavEP said:


> Having watched and rewatched a ton of movies, especially those from before 2k, I could probably put together quite a list. But I don't have such patience (and time), so I'll be a bit predictable here and take Hans Zimmer for an example. IMO, his music for "Rain Man", closely followed by the one for "Thelma & Louise" still remain his best work to date. Starting from their music, instrumentation, and atmosphere, I would personally give all the "Time" in the world just for these two.


I think Thelma and Louise is underrated too. Great film and the score is perfect


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## ed buller

Hans get's a lot of pressure to repeat Himself. He fights against temps, with his own scores, a lot. IMHO he doesn't get credit for his versatility but as is always the case with any film composer , what we end up hearing, is what the director and sometimes ( if they are powerful and vocal ) the producers wanted .

best

ed


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## darcvision

i think Riz Ortolani is underrated composer because he composed very controversial movie/documentary such as mondo cane, africa addio, addio zio tom, and cannibal holocaust. i love his soundtrack, but those movies gave me phobia and nightmare.


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## doctoremmet

For some reason I have this vague notion that Stewart Copeland did a soundtrack for one of the Deathwish movies - involving a lot of Carpenter style synths and stuff. But when I just looked for that I found out that the very first one was scored by Herbie Hancock and the remake with Bruce Willis was scored by Ludwig Goransson. Time to dive in.


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## doctoremmet

Wait! Deathwish is a Police song, no?


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## re-peat

It sure is. It's on Reggatta de Blanc. And any track which manages to be on Reggatta without breaking that album's magnificent spell, has to be a grrrreat track.

_


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## doctoremmet

Great album. When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around!

Wait, that’s Zenyatta haha. I’m seriously screwing up my Police titles here...


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## doctoremmet

doctoremmet said:


> Wait! Deathwish is a Police song, no?


Somehow this fact had evolved into him having done a score for the movie haha. My bad.


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## Kent

doctoremmet said:


> For some reason I have this vague notion that Stewart Copeland did a soundtrack for one of the Deathwish movies - involving a lot of Carpenter style synths and stuff. But when I just looked for that I found out that the very first one was scored by Herbie Hancock and the remake with Bruce Willis was scored by Ludwig Goransson. Time to dive in.


He _did_ do the _Spyro the Dragon_ soundtrack—not underrated by any means, but it's definitely under-recognized by most fans that Copeland was the source.


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## Kent

which leads to this lovely video


---

But really though, a lot of the _Spyro_ stuff would not be totally out of place on _Reggatta_ or _Zenyatta_


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## doctoremmet

What a great drummer. I shall now go and listen to one of the best recordings of drums ever. It sounds gorgeous. And those breaks are ridiculous...


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## doctoremmet

This one had better not been underrated. Mister Henson @christianhenson for sure created a brilliant piece of music, that to this day instills nothing but fear in me.

I hope that this score is revered in the games industry, because it is an absolutely brilliant piece of work. In fact, I would love to hear or read more about it and the way it was created...


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## Stringtree

Alright, if anything fit the horror of the movie of Michael Nyman's score to Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover:



Those disgusting double reeds. A horrifying Shepard tone of sinking into even worse terribleness and loss. A continuo of disgusting.

Hey, and it's got Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon. That deserves a f*ck yeah!!!


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## LauraC

dcoscina said:


> I think Thelma and Louise is underrated too. Great film and the score is perfect





dcoscina said:


> I think Thelma and Louise is underrated too. Great film and the score is perfect


...and... Pete Haycock’s guitar playing in Thunderbird, is nothing short of sublime.


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## dcoscina

doctoremmet said:


> This one had better not been underrated. Mister Henson @christianhenson for sure created a brilliant piece of music, that to this day instills nothing but fear in me.
> 
> I hope that this score is revered in the games industry, because it is an absolutely brilliant piece of work. In fact, I would love to hear or read more about it and the way it was created...



The opening is right out of Goldsmiths
Original... just saying.


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## David Kudell

For me, it doesn’t get much better than this. One great melody after another.


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## doctoremmet

dcoscina said:


> The opening is right out of Goldsmiths
> Original... just saying.


I know. They did integrate parts of the original, that’s no secret but likely part of the brief


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## fixxer49

If I’m remembering correctly, the film *Amadeus* (a period drama starring Tom Hulce) had quite an interesting soundtrack. Any info on the composer would be appreciated.


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## ed buller

fixxer49 said:


> If I’m remembering correctly, the film *Amadeus* (a period drama starring Tom Hulce) had quite an interesting soundtrack. Any info on the composer would be appreciated.


A guy called Falco:



best

ed


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## Ray Cole

Jon Brion's amazing underscore for _Punch Drunk Love _gets my vote. It is a brilliant example of how the underscore can take a character's internal feelings and externalize them into the film's soundscape so that the audience can feel them too. It's not playing the emotions of the scenes so much as the character's state of mind.

Both the attention deficit disorder/collage aspects of the music and the jangly percussion serve the film extremely well because they mirror the Adam Sandler character's state of mind so expertly. The music makes us feel off-balanced and disoriented, just like Sandler's character. Then the old-school Hollywood musical aspects of the score provide insight into the character's hopes, wishes, and fantasies.

A great score from my perspective and one I hardly ever hear mentioned.


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## ed buller

Ray Cole said:


> Jon Brion's amazing underscore for _Punch Drunk Love _gets my vote. It is a brilliant example of how the underscore can take a character's internal feelings and externalize them into the film's soundscape so that the audience can feel them too. It's not playing the emotions of the scenes so much as the character's state of mind.
> 
> Both the attention deficit disorder/collage aspects of the music and the jangly percussion serve the film extremely well because they mirror the Adam Sandler character's state of mind so expertly. The music makes us feel off-balance and disoriented, just like Sandler's character. Then the old-school Hollywood musical aspects of the score provide insight into the character's hopes, wishes, and fantasies.
> 
> A great score from my perspective and one I hardly ever hear mentioned.


A great score...fab film....He's an awesome musician. Great producer too 

best

ed


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## Nate Johnson

Clint Mansell - High Rise (2016)



Holy shit, this was incredible. @DimensionsTomorrow - you'll especially dig this one!


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## dan_k

I’m a big fan of John Powell, and there is - quite rightly - a lot of love for his work on the _How to Train Your Dragon_ series. However I think his score for _Solo_ passed a few people by, which is fabulous and well worth a listen. 

As well as the “old“ version of the soundtrack there is a deluxe version that came out in 2020: the track below was called “Flying With Chewie” on the original release but has been renamed “Chewie Untamed” on the deluxe one. You’ll definitely hear shades of HTTYD at around the 2.11 mark!


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## Vischebaste

George Fenton's masterpiece of a soundtrack for The Company of Wolves doesn't get anywhere near enough love:



(the whole thing, but particularly for the sublime motif at 3.39)


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## dcoscina

Here is another underrated masterpiece


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## dcoscina

Vischebaste said:


> George Fenton's masterpiece of a soundtrack for The Company of Wolves doesn't get anywhere near enough love:
> 
> 
> 
> (the whole thing, but particularly for the sublime motif at 3.39)



Very true. Have you ever heard his rejected score to Interview with the Vampire? Gorgeous stuff. 

this too


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## dcoscina

Bloody great film and this scene is beautifully scored


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## kitekrazy

The theme to Star Trek Voyager


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## Vischebaste

dcoscina said:


> Very true. Have you ever heard his rejected score to Interview with the Vampire? Gorgeous stuff.
> 
> this too




No, i've not heard these. Thanks - this will be my lunchtime listening!


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## Kuusniemi

David Kudell said:


> For me, it doesn’t get much better than this. One great melody after another.



One of my all time favorites as well.


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## Kuusniemi

I'm going to add a more recent one. Thoroughly enjoy this theme and score from Bear McCreary:


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## Nate Johnson

dcoscina said:


> Here is another underrated masterpiece



ABSOLUTELY. One of my favorite movie watching moments was the first time I watched this movie. I was in the dark, in front of my studio monitors and slightly stoned. Mind blowing. One of my favorite Morricone scores!


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## dcoscina

Nate Johnson said:


> ABSOLUTELY. One of my favorite movie watching moments was the first time I watched this movie. I was in the dark, in front of my studio monitors and slightly stoned. Mind blowing. One of my favorite Morricone scores!


the slow build on this cue in particular is an essay in tension.


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## Consona

I think people don't listen to Miklós Rózsa enough.





This stuff is so high level, jeez. I'm about to delete my libraries again.


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## Niah2

dcoscina said:


> Bloody great film and this scene is beautifully scored



Absolutely, it still gives me shivers. Both the score and this scene.


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## dcoscina

Not underrated but a damned fine score. No one writes like this anymore... :(


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## dcoscina

Another stunner


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## LamaRose

Wow... so many great recommendations to check out... thanks to all the posters! 

Someone already mentioned this, but I'll chime in again as the entire score is wonderful, creepy _and_ beautiful:


Also consider this entire score a sleeper... still fresh and unique:


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## jeremiahpena

One of my all time favorite brutally dark action scores, Reign of Fire by Edward Shearmur. Quite Goldenthal-esque at times. There aren't even good quality versions uploaded to Youtube.


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## Noeticus

Barry Gray did a fantastic score for "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" (1969).


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## mscp

Clint Mansel's Requiem For A Dream.

Genius writing.


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## dcoscina

jeremiahpena said:


> One of my all time favorite brutally dark action scores, Reign of Fire by Edward Shearmur. Quite Goldenthal-esque at times. There aren't even good quality versions uploaded to Youtube.



I dunno what happened with Shearmur. He started off so promising. With Reign of Fire and Sky Captain. Then he kinda disappeared... shame. He could clearly write.


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## Jish

Great point on Shearmur- loved some of those earlier scores. Also like the cue, 'Meet Van Zant'. Perfect example of how a simple motif can elevate the drama around it. Underappreciated film and score.


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## Nate Johnson

Consona said:


> I think people don't listen to Miklós Rózsa enough.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This stuff is so high level, jeez. I'm about to delete my libraries again.





Consona said:


> I think people don't listen to Miklós Rózsa enough.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This stuff is so high level, jeez. I'm about to delete my libraries again.



I frickin LOVE that score


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## dcoscina

Jish said:


> Great point on Shearmur- loved some of those earlier scores. Also like the cue, 'Meet Van Zant'. Perfect example of how a simple motif can elevate the drama around it. Underappreciated film and score.


it was a pretty cool film too. Gerard Butler before his 300 days, Bale before his Batman days


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## Niah2

dcoscina said:


> I dunno what happened with Shearmur. He started off so promising. With Reign of Fire and Sky Captain. Then he kinda disappeared... shame. He could clearly write.


I've always wondered the same thing, love these two scores !


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## wilifordmusic

Niah2 said:


> I've always wondered the same thing, love these two scores !


He does have a fair number of credits (87) with a lot of television and documentaries in recent years. Maybe just a lower profile by sticking with the smaller screen these days.


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## nolotrippen

Topkapi​Manos Hadjidakis


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## Selfinflicted

Two other excellent Shearmur scores are Count of Monte Cristo and K-PAX. He’s very musical. End credits to Monte Cristo shows this off brilliantly.

Certain projects give a score room to do something interesting. Other projects, not so much. I think he just did a string of projects that didn’t leave much room for an interesting score.


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## Niah2

Remembered this one today.


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## mallux

Looks like nobody has mentioned The Final Countdown by John Scott yet... inspiring stuff... apparently they play it over the tannoy on the real USS Nimitz on occasion!


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## Mike Marino

I'd like to throw in the following:
* Lyle Workman - Superbad
* Alan Silvestri - Lilo & Stitch
* John Powell - Bolt
* Thomas Newman - The Help


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## Dylanguitar

LamaRose said:


> Wow... so many great recommendations to check out... thanks to all the posters!
> 
> Someone already mentioned this, but I'll chime in again as the entire score is wonderful, creepy _and_ beautiful:
> 
> 
> Also consider this entire score a sleeper... still fresh and unique:



I just came here to recommend that one. Not sure if this one was posted yet from that score, but what a beautiful piece of music


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## JashandeepReehal

For me, the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton is highly under rated. I love that ost. Especially the piece The Born King.
Also the Man From U.N.C.L.E. soundtrack by him is also very underrated IMO


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