Well, it’s summer, which means we get to plop $10+ down at the local googolplex to watch Michael Bay clobber us repeatedly with CGI robots that turn into, I dunno, Pepsi products. But whatever your take on the current crop of summer releases, even the worst Stephen Spielberg cuddly alien/android-boy flick is bound to have a decent score. So, in recognition of the best excuse ever to consume an over-sized cartons of Milk Duds in one sitting, theFiver proudly presents:
Top 5 Film Scores That Weren’t Composed By John Williams
1. “Fanfare For Rocky,” Bill Conti
I don’t care what you think about the film’s sequels, when you hear the opening trumpets and saw the words “Rocky” in the film’s opening scroll, you know you were in for something grand, almost regal, which is a stark contrast to the title character’s working class roots. While “Gonna Fly Now” shall always be Rocky’s signature tune, “Fanfare,” for me, always kick-starts the adrenaline. Yo.
2. Themes from: “Star Trek: The Motion Picture;” “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier;” “Star Trek: First Contact,” Jerry Goldsmith
The quality of Star Trek films are often the inverse of their soundtrack. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was slow, plodding and humorless, but Goldsmith’s grandiose score practically screams adventure, and has been cribbed by several other Trek films and the series The Next Generation. The same theme is used in Star Trek V, one of the least-loved, most Shatnerized, Trek films. However, this version of the soundtrack is memorable due to the update of the Klingon theme, which sounds absolutely prehistoric. Goldsmith’s music resurfaces again in First Contact, with an additional sweeping, romantic theme. Live long and, well, you know.
3. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Howard Shore
Shore composed distinct themes for the characters and peoples of Middle Earth. From the high wailing of Rohan, to the grandiosity of Minas Tirith, the sorrow of Gollum, and of course the theme of the fellowship, each theme seems to be equally evocative.
4. “The Godfather: Waltz,” Nino Rota
Rarely has a waltz wanted to make you do anything but dance. When you hear that first trumpet, you just know someone’s gonna get whacked. A theme dangerous in its understatement.
5. “The Batman Theme (1989),” Danny Elfman
The main theme to Tim Burton’s dark and quirky Batman seems to perfectly encapsulate the strange world where Michael Keaton can project terror into the heart of Jack Nicolson. As for Prince’s contribution (“The Batdance,” anyone?), well, some things are better left unsaid.
Runners up: “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Serenity,” “The Hallelujah Trail,” “The Ten Commandments,” “2001 (Also Sprach Zarathustra),” “Casablanca,” “The Dark Knight.”
Let’s go out to the lobby: What film scores move you?
