Great Scores

Halo [2001]
In addition to revolutionizing the genre and topping all other first-person shooters of its time, Halo packed an original score that became famous in its own right. The credit goes to Martin O’Donnell who wrote a haunting score that tells the story of elite soldiers, alien races, and the mysterious Halo ringworld.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz7dDU2-sZo[/youtube]

Lion King [1994]
Not only did Hans Zimmer compose a fantastic score, but The Lion King also boasted a number of quality original songs including Circle of Life, Be Prepared, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight among others. Anybody who was a kid when the Lion King came out loved it and can probably remember how powerful the music was watching the movie for the first time. The song here is To Die For.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdHv66YB620[/youtube]

Gladiator [2000]
Did you see Gladiator? Did you hear this song at the end? Enough Said. Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerard, Now We Are Free.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fAVQgsM1wY[/youtube]

Silent Hill 1 - Tears Of…
The first Silent Hill debuted in January 1999 for the original Playstation and is widely considered one of the scariest games of its time. Silent Hill 2 pushed the boundaries of the survival horror genre even further with Akira Yamaoka’s score and the game’s creepy atmosphere that defines the series. Very serious and touching music for a video game of its time.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd5WvlXD05s[/youtube]

Silent Hill 2 - Laura Plays the Piano [2001]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6L9Cbs0m_U[/youtube]

Silent Hill 3 - Letter From Lost Days [2003]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7d-HoQFsw[/youtube]

Silent Hill 4 - Wounded Warsong [2004]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3aUGJ2VqmY[/youtube]

Jurassic Park [1993]
We all know about John Williams. This one is just classic Williams. Probably the best he’s ever done. Either this or Star Wars.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6fka74ZnpU[/youtube]

Munich [2005]
Another Steven Spielberg/John Williams collaboration, although this film did not receive nearly as much attention as many of their previous works. The film will polarize audiences but it is very worth watching and boasts a terrific score. This track is deep.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqPDvSq86SA[/youtube]

Star Wars [1977 - 2005]
Here I’m grouping all six films together. Nothing very subtle about the music of Star Wars. Through Williams’s use of leitmotif we are prompted to associate the main characters/forces with certain moods and melodies, for example we have Luke’s Theme/the Force Theme, Leia’s Theme, the Imperial March, and even an Ewok theme. Below is Duel of Fates, which accents the climactic lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul. It is popularly known as Darth Maul’s Theme.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzVBqBosf5w[/youtube]

The Godfather Waltz [1972]
Italian composer Nino Rota’s pensive introductory waltz to the Godfather Trilogy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPUrFHeFUaU[/youtube]

The Godfather Finale [1972]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWeovnGYCyo[/youtube]

TimeSplitters 2 - Siberia [2002]
Perhaps this was Playstation 2’s Halo. Game was ahead of it’s time with its Mapmaker feature and multilayer customization. I reckon it was one of the best shooters for the PS2 and it has a surprisingly robust soundtrack. Just listen to the music of the first Level - have you ever heard video game music like this before?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsetlRd-nvs[/youtube]

TimeSplitters 2 - Wild West
I can think of no better Wild West tribute to set the mood than this from Rare’s TimeSplitters 2. It is spectacular.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLHo_vcQVj0[/youtube]

TimeSplitters 2 - Neo Tokyo
I consider Graeme Norgate something of a genius (he also did the music for the N64’s Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, and Donkey Kong Land for the Gameboy).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zAPk9bGVo4[/youtube]

Batman Beyond [1999]
A slick industrial, cyberpunk intro theme to a more mature and futuristic Batman cartoon. Any fans?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X4wETFqHcM[/youtube]

Batman: TAS [1992]
The predecessor to Batman Beyond, Batman: The Animated Series was dark and gritty for a children’s cartoon and the theme below is fitting. Gotta Love the lightning at the end.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Cvi30-BTU[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - The Artifact & Living [2001]
Michael Andrew’s score is minimalistic compared to some of the grander symphonic scores exemplified above, but it certainly brings to life the surreal and fascinating world of Donnie Darko.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xNTboLs6o[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - Middlesex Times
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y69gu2xv25s[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - Manipulated Living
This track is creepy and absurd!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SScSzRngDr0[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - Liquid Spear Waltz
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnjOTy1LroA[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - Did You Know Him?
Listening to the complete soundtrack always puts me in an odd but amenable funk.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIYP5k2B3HM[/youtube]

Donnie Darko - Mad World
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lch96GIc-WM[/youtube]

Donnie Darko, definitely!
alliteration avenue

also the movie Half Nelson
also the music for the show Parenthood is generally pretty nice
also if I remember correctly Crash had some pretty nice music

I’ll be watching Half-Nelson soon for the first time. It’s near the top of my Netflix queue, so whenever I’m in the right mood I’ll give it a go.

I’ve had this song stuck in my head for a day or so now and I was dissatisfied with the video selection on YouTube (either shit quality or a dumb video accompaniment), so I decided to upload my own. It’s a song called Waiting for You by Akira Yamaoka on the Silent Hill (2006) movie soundtrack. Not exactly “Great Score” material, but I like it a lot.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iBSosRwPwQ[/youtube]

I can’t even come close to describing the excitement I feel when this film opens with this song:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqR71X87H1U[/youtube]

Also:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM7eZj0LvkY[/youtube]

And unrelated but exciting nonetheless and the spectacle I’m about to watch:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewc6kZHeeFY[/youtube]

I soon realised the reason that Donnie Darko was my favourite film for so long was because of the music.

I’ve only ever bought 2 film soundtracks, 1 of which is the soundtrack to Donnie Darko. Though whilst the Michael Andrews stuff is superb, what really did it for me was the song heard when Donnie, Gretchen and Frank are in the cinema, “For Whom The Bells Toll” by Steve Baker & Carmen Daye:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeJ1GaDDgzA[/youtube]

The other film soundtrack I bought was for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, though mostly just because of the Yo-Yo Ma cello in what I guess you could call the theme music in the first two songs of the soundtrack:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqHuDQgp8QY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpwaJ9P2hag[/youtube]

Some video game soundtrack songs I love, that nobody will have heard of because they were on the Sega Saturn:

From Shining Force 3:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kn_EPr0spE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmFKyXiOa6g[/youtube]

Some others I think are worth checking out are “Sorrow”, “The Ramshackle Village”, “Song of Soul’s Rest” and “World of Mystery”.

And from Shining the Holy Ark:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM_Ri3wZqGM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGg8D-4Qwns[/youtube]

Another one I think is worth checking out is “West Shrine”.

Incidentally, the above two video games are the best you’ll ever play.

Battle Royale looks like it’s worth a watch. Just added it to my Netflix queue. Ditto on the Champions League – although I don’t watch regularly I grew up playing soccer and I love the sport. I think it’s one of the most interesting to watch, too.

Silhouette,

Definitely. In addition to the score, DD has an awesome soundtrack:

"Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS – 3:04
"Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears – 4:16
"Under the Milky Way" by The Church – 4:58
"Lucid Memory" by Sam Bauer and Gerard Bauer – 0:46
"Lucid Assembly" by Gerard Bauer and Mike Bauer – 0:52
"Ave Maria" by Vladimir Vavilov and Paul Pritchard – 2:57
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Steve Baker and Carmen Daye – 3:12
"Show Me (Part 1)" by Quito Colayco and Tony Hertz – 2:05
"Notorious" by Duran Duran – 4:00
"Stay" by Oingo Boingo – 3:38
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division – 3:23
"The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen – 5:55

I like that second Shining Force song. I used to play my uncle’s Sega Genesis when I was a kid, but I don’t think he had Shining Force. We mostly played Sonic, Echo the Dolphin, and STREETS OF RAGE!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wsvo0eUQZQ[/youtube]

Objective statement.

Yep. Just try them :stuck_out_tongue: - easier said than done nowadays though.

Glad you liked the song. Well done for the Sega experience, it’s a crime that they died out as a console making company. That Streets of Rage song is pumpin’! I was more of a platformer man in my Sega days though. Sonic :handgestures-thumbupright: :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCt6XPTAPn8[/youtube]

Superb Film. Enjoy.

Tears for Fears, Duran Duran and Echo & the Bunnymen are other highlights for me. The one I linked was #7 in that list.

Indeed!

Get it watched.

I really liked this thread. And what with trevor lamenting the lack of threadage here in The Arts forum, I think it’s appropriate to bring it to attention.

Anyhow, as I mentioned in the My Favorite Video Games Ever. thread (btw, trevor, another good thread that’s been wasting away under layers of dust in The Arts forum!), I’ve been playing through the Final Fantasy classics (I - VI) (working my way through V, now) and I think it’s not too early to say that the soundtracks for IV and V deserve recognition. Although I’m sure Silhouette will make some remark about Shining Force being 10x the game than any classic Final Fantasy, I’m still reveling in the afterglow of freshly played Final Fantasy and it seems that nothing can ruin it for me right now.

Final Fantasy IV [1991]:
My God, the first Final Fantasy to have a few semi-complex characters and a story worth playing through perhaps more than once! Of course, outside Japan everyone thought this was FFII because the real FF2, 3, & 4 were denied release to the rest of the world until more than a decade later. Compared to FFI through III, the music in this game really helped set the tone for a more involved plot with more developed characters.

Suspicion
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3tn5nKGvpM[/youtube]

Into the Darkness
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvAstwDYVqQ[/youtube]

Battle with the Four Fiends
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGrTvlE_DO0[/youtube]

Final Fantasy V [1992]:
Not as big a step music/story-wise as FFIV had been from I-III, but it still offers at least a few memorable tracks. (And the new Job System is amazing! But that’s a whole other story…)

[Will add songs soon]

Shining Force (3) is 10x the game than any classic Final Fantasy.

Don’t know if anybody mentioned 2001 Space Odyssey.

:slight_smile:

True. 2001 is a great movie period. Incidentally, the opening piece that everyone identifies with it (here) was composed in 1896 by Richard Strauss and he called it Also Sprach Zarathustra, inspired by You Know What. It’s also interesting to note that Kubrick rejected the original score requested for his film and decided to go with all classical pieces instead.

I positively love the tracks made by Hans Zimmer to Gladiator, but especially the contribution of the singer Lisa Gerrard, she has an insanely deep and magnificent voice, I saw her live once, it is like seeing to God in which I dont believe or rather the Goddess… but anyway she has made some other inspiring film music mainly that I know of, for the Insider. Listen to this it will send chills up your spine (if you have one).

Never mind and pay no attention to the boring video they put to this song it is a waste to look at it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6DZsEQ82lE[/youtube]

Of course Hans Zimmer can do it well by himself as well this is fucking mind blowing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBTIoL5vaOM[/youtube]

Wagner eat your heart out…

Also a good movie with good music. I love that punch Pitt delivers in that knucklefight.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJL8GjLCGxU[/youtube]

Definitely! Incredible voice and, of course, (what really matters) the feeling carried through the voice.

Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra, op. 30

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJwbwWg8uc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsnenRHcXZY[/youtube]

And here’s some musical montage for the same movie (L’Intrus) in the trailer…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDazyLilB0g[/youtube]

Some great shouts there. Hans Zimmer really is amazing, esp his work on Christopher Nolan’s films (Dark Knight/Inception etc).

What I didn’t know until recently is that Lisa Gerrard (singer who collaborated with Hans Zimmer on Gladiator) is also in a band called Dead Can Dance. Erik posted a couple of their songs in a thread awhile ago which was how I found out about them. Indus and Anabasis. These songs evoke a timeless trance and I feel connected to that which is ancient and mysterious in us and in nature.

Divinity: Original Sin [2014]
Kirill Pokrovsky was a prolific composer for the Divinity series, D:OS being the latest, crowdfunded addition that has been widely praised as an example of a modern classic-style role-playing game (CRPG). Pokrovsky breathes life into the world of Divinity with countless, beautiful airy themes of promise, intrigue, sadness, battle, and reflection. He passed away in June of 2015, but not before leaving behind an entire world in sound.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiR4g0A-83s[/youtube]

More than seven hours of music for the Divinity series alone.