Best composition of a movie scene?

[SanFranciscoBayAlien]

Does anyone here have a favorite 'movie moment' because of the composition used for that part?

I've aloways thought the Wallace & Gromit shorts had the best soundtrack for any animated short, but the chase scene is always my favorite part - I've always wanted to play it on piano or even conduct it with a youth orcestra or something...Now I've even found the whole scene legally online at Nick Park's production team's blog! You can watch and/or rewatch it here (I'm at the library without headphones so I don't know if they kept the origional score to the scene as I remember it on VHS, so if you notice anything different please let us know):

http://wallaceandgromit.com/forum/view/9/1

[pocoallegro]

Even though it has been overused (to the point of parody) in many films, I find the use of Barber's Adagio at the end of "The Elephant Man" completely appropriate and moving. Also, even though the movies themselves can be a bit silly, the scores to many of the recent Chinese martial arts movies are very well composed and beautifully illustrate the emotions and surroundings of the scenes.

[Yagan Kiely]

All of Williams' Shosta/Dvorak/Mahler inspired works (...much easier to say 'all his movie scores but oh well) are very nice indeed.

And they work well outside the movie (naturally not as well, but arguably ballet scores do not do as well without the dancers as much as movie scores)

[Melodia]

All of Williams' Shosta/Dvorak/Mahler inspired works (...much easier to say 'all his movie scores but oh well) are very nice indeed.

You probably mean "all his bombastic fantasy music", because he wrote far more than just that (I'd laugh at anyone who considered most of his 60s comedy music for instance as Shosta/Dvorak/Mahler inspired).

As someone who owns well over 500 movie scores on CD, I'd be hard pressed to name a favorite myself...


-Lala-

[danielsanbebe]

Hmmm what about "bang bang" by Nancy Sinatra at the start of Kill Bill Vol 1, by Mr Tarantino? THATS taste, and perfectly recreates the situation involving the 2 characters. And the guitar effect sounds uber kool.

[Rachovsky]

Chariots of Fire! A Classic.

[Vivaldi]

Isn't the slow movement of Mozart's piano concerto no. 21 in C major among the best known soundtrack because of its use in Elvira Madigan? I've never seen the movie so I can't really comment.

[Yagan Kiely]

Yes, same with Also sprach Zarathustra.

[Vivaldi]

Ah, you mean its use in 2001: A Space Odyssey? Funny, I seem to recall a segment in Sesame Street using the opening of Also Sprach Zarathustra as well when I was a kid.

[SanFranciscoBayAlien]

Ah! The link's changed to http://wallaceandgromit.com/watch/ (It's in the playlist)! I don't rember the rest of the sound effects on the vhs...the music had a lot more oomph-feel to it and fealt more dramatic when I was...younger

[thefrenchhornguy]

John Williams is hard to beat. His "bombastic fantasy music" definitely ranks 1st place for me. If I had to name a 2nd place though it would be the music from the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. The soundtracks from the 2nd two movies are better I think, because the 1st movie's soundtrack was heavily synthesized, while the last two movies utilized an all natural full orchestra.

[allegroamabile]

Defiantly Dr. Zhivago, the main title theme. You can't get much better than that.

[jkrup]

I personally think anything by Korngold and Bernard Herrmann is much better than most of the scores out today. They really knew how to paint a picture with their music.

[Lyle Neff]

Defiantly Dr. Zhivago, the main title theme. You can't get much better than that.

I've experienced Maurice Jarre's scores in other movies such as Witness, Mosquito Coast, and No Way Out without incident; but Zhivago is definitely on my "schlock" list.

I actually own the LP soundtrack album of his music for Sh?gun, for one reason -- to remind me how NOT to compose a film or TV score.

[allegroamabile]

Another one I love is "The South American Getaway" by Burt Bacharach in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is such a moving song even by itself, though I particularly like the use of it in the movie as well, especially in the lyrical part.