It's difficult to narrow down the list to just 10, but I'll try. These are not necessarily the "best" out there, but the ones that have played important roles in my film score journey and I keep revisiting most frequently.
1. The Lion King (Hans Zimmer)
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Howard Shore)
3. Jurassic Park (John Williams)
4. Dinosaur (James Newton Howard)
5. Titanic (James Horner)
6. Spider-Man (Danny Elfman)
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Hans Zimmer) (the complete version, not the OST)
8. Enthiran (A.R. Rahman)
9. Up (Michael Giacchino)
10. Aladdin (Alan Menken)
Despite a full orchestra involved (slightly under-appreciated), the emphasis was fully on the soloists - all of whom were superb.
Highlights:
A brief but intense suite from The Rock - didn’t expect that to turn up but it was fun
A glorious - and very lengthy - suite from The Prince Of Egypt. This was utterly superb. Parts from the burning bush and chariot sequences, punctuated by some fantastic live vocals.
Gladiator - this was great due to the presence of Lisa Gerrard. The Gladiator Waltz, the wheat stuff… all covered
Fucking hell it’s great reading so many positive comments in this thread and not just vacuous “they’re great” but plentiful reasons as to why they’re great and those details that make them great not just because they have good themes or are exciting or are beautiful or whatever, but an appreciation of all the craft that’s gone into them.
Academy Award-winning director Guillermo Del Toro showing off the brand-new Varèse Sarabande CD Club deluxe edition of Danny Elfman’s score for Hellboy II: The Golden Army! Order your copy now via the link below before it’s too late.
https://found.ee/cdclub-feb24
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=908372004623103&set=a.714721720654800
I thought Elfman's JL score was very underrated. Sure, it may be him on his autopilot action score (kinda like Age of Ultron), but I still think it was pretty decent. Nice themes, fun action and even some emotional moments.
The tracklist indeed looks awesome. Not only does the entire score seem to be covered, but it's really great to see the score alternates included. I just hope there are no glitches, crossfades or missing cues in there this time.
Also it would be nice if they included the score-only version of "Legend of the Lamp", without the dialogue overlay.
The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 20th IFMCA Awards LIVE on the IFMCA YouTube channel on February 22, 2024.
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The nominees are:
SCORE OF THE YEAR
GOJIRA-1.0/GODZILLA MINUS ONE, music by Naoki Sato
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, music by John Williams
KIMITACHI WA DŌ IKIRU/THE BOY AND THE HERON, music by Joe Hisaishi
OPPENHEIMER, music by Ludwig Göransson
THE PIPER, music by Christopher Young
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
LORNE BALFE
LAURA KARPMAN
BEAR MCCREARY
JOHN WILLIAMS
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
SHERRI CHUNG
PAWEŁ LUCEWICZ
MICHAEL “MIKA” PENNIMAN JR.
ŁUKASZ “L.U.C” ROSTKOWSKI
COREY WALLACE
COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
“Can You Hear the Music?” from OPPENHEIMER, music by Ludwig Göransson
“Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Movement 2” from THE PIPER, music by Christopher Young
“Found” from LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE/SOCIETY OF THE SNOW, music by Michael Giacchino
“Helena’s Theme” from INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, music by John Williams
“Leaving Spacedock” from STAR TREK: PICARD, music by Stephen Barton and Frederik Wiedmann
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, music by Alexandre Desplat
NAPOLEON, music by Martin Phipps
OPPENHEIMER, music by Ludwig Göransson
LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE/SOCIETY OF THE SNOW, music by Michael Giacchino
ZNACHOR/FORGOTTEN LOVE, music by Paweł Lucewicz
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
AMERICAN FICTION, music by Laura Karpman
BARBIE, music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
HAUNTED MANSION, music by Kris Bowers
KUREIJI KURUZU/IN LOVE AND DEEP WATER, music by Takatsugu Muramatsu
MON CRIME/THE CRIME IS MINE, music by Philippe Rombi
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES, music by James Newton Howard
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, music by John Williams
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, music by Lorne Balfe
PERTSA & KILU: FAARAON SORMUS/RANGERS OF THE LOST RING, music by Panu Aaltio
SUPERCELL, music by Corey Wallace
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
THE CREATOR, music by Hans Zimmer
FENG SHEN DI YI BU: ZHAO GE FENG YUN/CREATION OF THE GODS I: KINGDOM OF STORMS, music by Gordy Haab
GOJIRA-1.0/GODZILLA MINUS ONE, music by Naoki Sato
PETER PAN & WENDY, music by Daniel Hart
POOR THINGS, music by Jerskin Fendrix
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
A HAUNTING IN VENICE, music by Hildur Guđnadóttir
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, music by Bear McCreary
M3GAN, music by Anthony Willis
THE NUN II, music by Marco Beltrami
THE PIPER, music by Christopher Young
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM
CHŁOPI/THE PEASANTS, music by Łukasz “L.U.C” Rostkowski
ELEMENTAL, music by Thomas Newman
KIMITACHI WA DŌ IKIRU/THE BOY AND THE HERON, music by Joe Hisaishi
MIGRATION, music by John Powell
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, music by Daniel Pemberton
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS, music by Steven Price
LIBRES, music by Oscar Martín Leanizbarrutia
LIFE ON OUR PLANET, music by Lorne Balfe
STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE, music by John Powell
WILD ISLES, music by George Fenton
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
AHSOKA, music by Kevin Kiner
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, music by James Newton Howard
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, music by The Newton Brothers
ONE PIECE, music by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli
STAR TREK: PICARD, music by Stephen Barton and Frederik Wiedmann
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
AVATAR: FRONTIERS OF PANDORA, music by Pinar Toprak
GOD OF WAR: RAGNARÖK – VALHALLA, music by Sparks & Shadows, themes by Bear McCreary
HOGWARTS LEGACY, music by Chuck E. Myers, J. Scott Rakozy, and Peter Murray
PLANET OF LANA, music by Takeshi Furukawa
STAR WARS: JEDI – SURVIVOR, music by Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab
BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE
CHAPLIN, music by John Barry; album produced by Neil S. Bulk, liner notes by Jon Burlingame, album art direction by Scott Saslow (La-La Land)
HEIDI/JANE EYRE, music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by John Takis and Mike Matessino, album art direction by Jim Titus (Quartet)
HOOK, music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by Mike Matessino, John Takis, and Jason LeBlanc, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
LAURENCE ROSENTHAL: MUSIC FOR FILM AND TELEVISION, music by Laurence Rosenthal; the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé, album produced by Thomas Van Parys/Film Fest Gent, liner notes by Laurence Rosenthal, Robert Townson, and Thomas Van Parys, album art direction by Stuart Ford (Silva Screen/Film Fest Gent)
MACARTHUR, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Douglass Fake, liner notes by Jeff Bond and Douglass Fake, album art direction by Kay Marshall (Intrada)
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH/ON DANGEROUS GROUND, music by Bernard Herrmann; the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg, album produced by Douglass Fake, liner notes by Steven Smith, album art direction by Stephane Coedel and Kay Marshall (Intrada)
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, music by James Newton Howard; orchestra conducted by Gavin Greenaway, featured performers Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Hilary Hahn, and Maya Beiser, album produced by Michael Dean Parsons, liner notes by James Newton Howard and M. Night Shyamalan, album art direction nominee to be confirmed (Sony Classical)
THE ROCK, music by Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer, and Harry Gregson-Williams; album produced by Stéphane Humez, liner notes by Kaya Savas, album art direction by Kay Marshall (Intrada)
SÉANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON/KATHERINE HEPBURN, music by John Barry; Orquesta de Córdoba conducted by Fernando Velázquez, album produced by Jose M. Benitez and Leigh Phillips, liner notes by Jon Burlingame, album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes and Jim Titus (Quartet)
A SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION: MUSIC FROM THE STUDIO GHIBLI FILMS OF HAYAO MIYAZAKI, music by Joe Hisaishi; the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Joe Hisaishi, album produced by Joe Hisaishi and Anna Barry, liner notes by Michael Beek, album art direction by Yuka Araki (Deutsche Grammophon)
FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
INTRADA RECORDS, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson
LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys
MOVIESCORE MEDIA, Mikael Carlsson
MUSIC BOX RECORDS, Cyril Durand-Roger, Laurent Lafarge
QUARTET RECORDS, Jose M. Benitez
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Not sure if I posted this but I wrote 7 little pieces (a suite) for 2022 World Cup in Doha, this time not for the opening ceremonies but for a pyrotechnics and fireworks show that played every night for a month over the Arbian Gulf. I wanted to share at least one of the little pieces I recorded with the Qatar Philharmonic. Hope you like it.
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