Essential Film Scores of 20th Century

100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century

Selected by Roger Hall
Managing Editor, Film Music Review
Member of the International Film Music Critics Association

Preparing any survey of film scores presents a difficult problem.

Which ones to choose and which ones to leave out?

This is not meant to be the definitive film score list. I don’t believe that is possible. Tastes change over time.

This survey is meant to be representative of 100 essential scores
from films in English. No foreign language films are included.

It covers 60 years from 1933 to 1993.

More than 50% of the titles are in the so-called Golden Age (1930s-1950s). Many believe that the most respected and beloved films were made during those three decades. Of course there have been significant films made in other decades as well, only not as many.

Naturally some people may not agree with my choices. It is not possible to please everyone. There are fans of individual composers who would probably pick just about every film score by one composer.

There are three composers of the mid to late 20th century which have been given more titles because they provided the most memorable film scores: Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams. This doesn’t mean that other film composers are unworthy and more of them would be on a longer list.

It was a very difficult task to select these film scores. Only the Top Twenty are listed in order of my choice.
All the others are listed alphabetically and are a matter of opinion — mine.
Each film score was chosen as representative of significant originality more than just their popularity with audiences over the years.

The only series to make this list were for STAR WARS, with two films listed.

All the numbers have film title, date, and the film composer’s name.

Click on the underlined links for CD reviews.

This list was first posted June 2006 and has been revised every year.

Latest update: December 2022

Top Twenty Film Scores:

20. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) – John Williams

19. PATTON (1970) – Jerry Goldsmith

18. +CHINATOWN (1974)- Jerry Goldsmith

17. +THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)– Elmer Bernstein

16. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1946)– Bernard Herrmann.

15. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) — John Williams

14. +PSYCHO (1960) — Bernard Herrmann

13. CASABLANCA (1942) — Max Steiner

12. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943) — Alfred Newman

11. +GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) — Max Steiner

10. +LAURA (1944) — David Raksin

9. +THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) — Erich Wolfgang Korngold

8. SPARTACUS (1960) — Alex North

7. +HIGH NOON (1952) — Dimitri Tiomkin

6. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) — Hugo Friedhofer

5. +KING KONG (1933) — Max Steiner

4. +TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) — Elmer Bernstein

3. +VERTIGO (1958) — Bernard Herrmann

2. +BEN-HUR (1959) — Miklos Rozsa

+ = American Film Institute’s 100 Years of Film Scores – Top 25

And the top film score chosen is from what is regarded by many
as the greatest American film – starring, co-written, and directed by Orson Welles
with the incredible first film score by one of the best film composers from the past.

My choice for the Top Film Score of the 20th Century is…

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) — Bernard Herrmann

Remaining 80 film scores listed in alphabetical order:

THE ALAMO (1960) – Dimitri Tiomkin

ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (aka: THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER)(1941) – Bernard Herrmann

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956) – Victor Young

AVALON (1990) – Randy Newman

THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952) – David Raksin

BATMAN (1989) – Danny Elfman

THE BIG COUNTRY (1958) – Jerome Moross

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961) – Henry Mancini

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) — Franz Waxman

CLEOPATRA (1963) — Alex North

DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) – John Barry

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962) – Henry Mancini

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) – Bernard Herrmann

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959) – Alfred Newman

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) – Maurice Jarre

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) – Miklos Rozsa

DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) – Dimitri Tiomkin

EL CID (1961) – Miklos Rozsa

+E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) – John Williams

FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966) – Bernard Herrmann [20]

FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964) – Dimitri Tiomkin

FIELD OF DREAMS (1989) – James Horner

+THE GODFATHER (1972)– Nino Rota

GOLDFINGER (1964) — John Barry

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965) — Alfred Newman

HATARI (1960) – Henry Mancini

HAWAII (1966) – Elmer Bernstein

THE HEIRESS (1949) – Aaron Copland

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1940) — Alfred Newman

+HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1963) — Alfred Newman and Ken Darby [30]

THE HURRICANE (1937) — Alfred Newman

THE INFORMER (1935) — Max Steiner

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (1976) – Jerry Goldsmith

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) – Dimitri Tiomkin

IVANHOE (1952) – Miklos Rozsa

+JAWS (1975) – John Williams

JURASSIC PARK (1993) – John Williams

KING OF KINGS (1961) – Miklos Rozsa

KINGS ROW (1942) – Erich Wolfgang Korngold

+LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) – Maurice Jarre [40]

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) – Elmer Bernstein

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) – Bernard Herrmann

THE NATURAL (1984) — Randy Newman

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) – Bernard Herrmann

NOW VOYAGER (1942) — Max Steiner

OBSESSION (1975) – Bernard Herrmann

THE OMEN (1976) — Jerry Goldsmith

+ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) – Leonard Bernstein

+OUT OF AFRICA (1985) — John Barry

OUR TOWN (1940) – Aaron Copland [50]

PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952) – Miklos Rozsa

THE QUIET MAN (1952) — Victor Young

QUO VADIS (1951) – Miklos Rozsa

+THE PINK PANTHER (1964) — Henry Mancini

A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) – Franz Waxman

+PLANET OF THE APES (1968) – Jerry Goldsmith

RAINTREE COUNTY (1957) – Johnny Green

RED RIVER (1948) – Dimitri Tiomkin

THE RED PONY (1949) – Aaron Copland

RIO BRAVO (1959) – Dimitri Tiomkin [60]

THE RUSSIA HOUSE (1990) – Jerry Goldsmith

THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) – Jerry Goldsmith

THE SEARCHERS (1956) – Max Steiner

THE SEA HAWK (1941) — Erich Wolfgang Korngold

SHANE (1953) – Victor Young

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) — Max Steiner

SPELLBOUND (1945) – Miklos Rozsa

+STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977) – John Williams

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) – John Williams

+A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) — Alex North [70]

SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961) — Elmer Bernstein

+SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) – Franz Waxman

SUPERMAN (1978) – John Williams

TARAS BULBA (1962) – Franz Waxman

+THE MISSION (1985) – Ennio Morricone

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) – Elmer Bernstein

THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) – Miklos Rozsa

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) — Max Steiner

TRUE GRIT (1969) – Elmer Bernstein

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) — Alfred Newman [80]

+ = American Film Institute’s “100 Years of Film Scores – Top 25”

By Decade:

1930s = 6

1940s = 23

1950s = 23

1960s = 27

1970s = 9

1980s = 6

1990s = 6

Film composers with 3 or more scores on the Essential Film Scores list:

Bernard Herrmann = 10

Miklos Rozsa = 8

Max Steiner = 8

John Williams = 8

Elmer Bernstein = 7

Jerry Goldsmith = 7

Alfred Newman = 7

Dimitri Tiomkin = 7

Henry Mancini = 4

Franz Waxman = 4

John Barry = 3

Erich Wolfgang Korngold = 3

Aaron Copland = 3

Alex North = 3

Victor Young = 3

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