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Hans Zimmer selected his top 40 film scores of all time

Aenae

New Member
I just found that Hans Zimmer picked his favourite film scores a year ago, I thought I would share it.

Elliot Goldenthal and Jerry Goldsmith have the most scores in Zimmer's top 40 apparently with 3 scores each. They are the only two composers with 3 scores on the list, everyone else that is included has two or one. I'm a bit surprised Morricone didn't have more scores in Zimmer's top 40 seeing he is Zimmer's #1 favourite film composer of all time.

Red Sparrow by James Newton Howard, How to Train Your Dragon by John Powell and There Will Be Blood by Jonny Greenwood are the three most recent scores on the list.

Hans Zimmer's top 40 film scores of all time (in no order):

Titus - Elliot Goldenthal
Alien 3 - Elliot Goldenthal
Frida - Elliot Goldenthal
Alien - Jerry Goldsmith
Total Recall - Jerry Goldsmith
Basic Instinct - Jerry Goldsmith
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams
Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone
The Mission - Ennio Morricone
Blade Runner - Vangelis
Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
The Godfather - Nino Rota
La Dolce Vita - Nino Rota
King Kong - Max Steiner
Gone with the Wind - Max Steiner
Red Sparrow - James Newton Howard
The Sixth Sense - James Newton Howard
How to Train Your Dragon - John Powell
United 93 - John Powell
Avalon - Randy Newman
The Natural - Randy Newman
Predator - Alan Silvestri
Back to the Future - Alan Silvestri
Zulu - John Barry
The Quiller Memorandum - John Barry
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - Ryuichi Sakamoto
The Last Emperor - Ryuichi Sakamoto
Kingdom of Heaven - Harry Gregson-Williams
The English Patient - Gabriel Yared
Modern Times - Charlie Chaplin
High Spirits - George Fenton
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Michel Legrand
Midnight Express - Giorgio Moroder
Léon - Éric Serra
There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood
Laura - David Raksin
Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann
Ran - Toru Takemitsu
The Shawshank Redemption - Thomas Newman

Many good choices here, even if I disagree with some and note the omissions.

Thoughts on his choices?
 
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I don’t know. I think it’s a great list. Hard to get it down to 40. I’ll pretend it’s in order even though it’s not and give a special nod to A3. I’m wondering if Leon isn’t known as a different title in the US...
 
People like what they like, what more to say about that.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm surprised there are no Star Wars or Star Trek scores (which are IMO way better than most things on the list). Also, there are some Steiner scores, but why not any Rozsa score? From what I've heard so far from these old-school guys, his work was the most interesting to me. Something like Spellbound, wow...

But again, it's his list, and that's that.
 
Fantastic and very diverse list. My personal favorites from it are "Chariots of Fire", "Blade Runner" and "Once Upon a Time in the West". From the more Hollywood-sounding works, I would pick Goldsmith's scores of "Alien" and "Basic Instinct" as well as Silvestri's "Back to the Future".

Also, not being on the list, I would also add "Batman" by Danny Elfman, "The Village" by James Newton Howard, "Braveheart" by James Horner and Zimmer's own "Rain Man" - in my opinion, his finest work.
 
Hypothetical question, but if he hadn't of made them himself I wonder if he would have included Gladiator, Lion King, Inception, Pirates...I mean, we all (try to) make the music we love right?
 
I don’t know. I think it’s a great list. Hard to get it down to 40. I’ll pretend it’s in order even though it’s not and give a special nod to A3. I’m wondering if Leon isn’t known as a different title in the US...
The Professional dir by Luc Besson. It's a decent movie.
 
People like what they like, what more to say about that.
Yep. I like the soundtracks from the film Pi and the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution better than some of Zimmer's favorites. No accounting for taste.

But I dig this list--some I have to check out or check out again.
 
Yep. I like the soundtracks from the film Pi and the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution better than some of Zimmer's favorites. No accounting for taste.

But I dig this list--some I have to check out or check out again.

Yeah, I don't see the point debating lists. Different sounds speak to different people. That's not me trying to pander to sensitive people, it's just a fact.

Having said that, WHERE THE HELL IS STAR TREK ON THIS LIST!?!?!?

Ok, I've vented my rage. And Deus Ex soundtracks are an absolute favourite of mine.
 
Eric Serra is one of my favorite composers. I love his soundtrack to LEON/The Professional as well as Le Grand Bleu, La Femme Nikita, Goldeneye and The Fifth Element.


Shawshank Redemtion is good but I think Thomas Newman's best work is from his recent soundtrack to the film "Tolkien". I love the melodic themes and very unique and contemporary sound:

 
I love EGs Interview with the vampire... and Alien 3... He brings a new world to the brass sound, like Bruckner and Wagner did a long time ago...

But Jerry Goldsmith was genious... Alien,Poltergeist,Total recall and so on and on... I will always come back to his scores...And its great to see Silvestri in the list... Back to the future is a score, which will face the past and the future...timeless...Blade Runner with Vangelis typical composition is important for all the hybrid stuff today... Interesting... No Morricone in the list... I love "The Mission"... So important for later lyrical ways of composing...ok, i was too fast... The Mission is in the list... puhh good...
Btw RSakamotos last empeor is a wonderful score...its so emotional... So mr.zimmer knows, what was and is important in film scoring...
 
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Pretty darn good list. I'd add:

Cleopatra - Alex North
Sunset Boulevard - Franz Waxman
Tora! Tora! Tora! - Jerry Goldsmith
Star Trek II - James Horner

But BTTF/Silvestri has to be up there; it captured an era.
 
Pretty darn good list. I'd add:

Cleopatra - Alex North
Sunset Boulevard - Franz Waxman
Tora! Tora! Tora! - Jerry Goldsmith
Star Trek II - James Horner

But BTTF/Silvestri has to be up there; it captured an era.
Great list. I wouldn't put the Horner score in there with those three others but we all have our preferences.
 
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