It's pretty much a masterpiece. I draw tons of nerd rage when I say this, but I like the movies better than the books, and the soundtrack is a big part of the reason why. The final scene with Sam and Frodo at the end of Two Towers is my favorite scene in any movie, and the music during it really is what makes it just -perfect-.
Another great one is Shawshank Redemption's legendary soundtrack. It's so good, other directors commonly use it as temp music in their movies until the actual score is produced and added in so they can get the emotional queues right. There's a term for it (they mention it in the commentary), but I can't remember what it is.
Hans Zimmer absolutley anything by that man is amazing and worth listening too. But by far my favorite is this one. Don't click the screen there is some kind of annotation bullshit going on.
The score on Lord of the Rings actively makes me well up without fail. Makes me think of my dad.
But, uh, aside from that, I adore a lot of the music in Blade Runner and The Exorcist. The arrangements of Swan Lake in Black Swan are top notch, too. For licensed soundtracks, not sure you can beat Rushmore by very much.
As a child of the 80s, this is what I think of when you bring up favorite scores in movies. That and a few that have already been mentioned already of course
People keep mentioning the trilogy, we should pick an official GOAT segment somehow. The general theme of the first movie is my favorite (above) but the anthem of the major nations are worthy challengers. I like to think that if Tolkien heard them both, he could accurately guess their allegiance.
The score on Lord of the Rings actively makes me well up without fail. Makes me think of my dad.
But, uh, aside from that, I adore a lot of the music in Blade Runner and The Exorcist. The arrangements of Swan Lake in Black Swan are top notch, too. For licensed soundtracks, not sure you can beat Rushmore by very much.
It doesn't remind me of my dad, but the LOTR soundtrack has the same effect on me. I don't know why. It's just an incredible powerful work of music. Gets me every time.
My very very close second favourite is Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's score for The Assassination of Jesse James. I think it's the most under-appreciated score out there. Should have won an oscar (just like the film itself).
This is the only film soundtrack I've ever listened to with any regularity just because. I'm a NIN fan though, and a number of the tracks are straight out of Ghosts I-IV, which I love, so that isn't really surprising.
But I always notice and appreciate Clint Mansell's work. And I seem to remember Road to Perdition having a quality score as well. And of course The Thing, and LotR, and 28 Days Later, and... Well I could probably keep going and going so I'll stop there.
Hard to make a choice, it depends on the mood. But this soothing score from The Last Samurai is probably one of my favorites, courtesy of Hans Zimmer. When it starts climbing to the climax at the end, goosebumps.
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