James Horner's Top 10 Scores

[fommes 153]

1. Legends of the Fall

2. An American Tail

3. Braveheart

4. The Mask of Zorro

5. Clear and Present Danger

6. The Missing

7. Sneakers

8. The Legend of Zorro

9. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

10. Patriot Games

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Top 10:

1. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

2. Braveheart

3. Glory

4. The Perfect Storm

5. The New World

6. Commando

7. Enemy At The Gates

8. Apocalypto

9. Apollo 13

10. The Legend Of Zorro

Honorable Mentions:

11. Aliens

12. Cocoon

13. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

14. The Missing

15. The Amazing Spider-Man

[Naïve Old Fart 9,520]

Sorry, but you are all wrong. The correct listing is:

1 "Brainstorm",

2 "The Name Of The Rose" (JH's one true original score),

3 "Star Trek III",

4 "Gorky Park",

5 "Cocoon",

6-10 take yer pick, I don't gave a damn.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

At least someone else besides me likes your 1 and 2.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Hey, I listed Brainstorm!

[DreamTheater 131]

Strange but I never liked Brainstorm as much when Horner was alive as now when Horner is dead.

It's true what they say, the music of dead men is infinitely better.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,520]

OK, guys, I've found 5 more

6/ "Star Trek II",

7/ "Something Wicked This Way Comes",

8/ "Aliens",

9/ "Red Heat" (no, I'm not joking!),

10/ "The Dresser".

"The Rocketeer", and "Sneakers" get honoury mentions.

[Uni 306]

So . . . looking back at Joey's threads for the Top 10 JW Scores, I was surprised to realize he allowed a whopping 5 months for everyone to collect their thoughts and vote. Granted, this is a Williams board and not the Hornershrine, but is a mere two weeks too short a time for everyone here? Do people need more time? I figure we could give this at least a month if there are folks still struggling to decide. Then again, with this not being a Horner board, people might just as easily lose interest if we wait too long.

I'm willing to postpone the closing of the polls, but it's up to the hoi polloi. What do you guys think? Should we give this another couple of weeks, or has everyone who wants to vote already submitted their choices?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

My polls last year went a lot faster! It's a pity Jason decided not to link to those.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

I'm willing to postpone the closing of the polls, but it's up to the hoi polloi. What do you guys think? Should we give this another couple of weeks, or has everyone who wants to vote already submitted their choices?

Delaying the results by a few months will only make people complain when they disagree with the final results, look at their own rankings and find that they're completely different from what they'd pick now and can't even remember what made them choose the list they posted.

[Hlao-roo 389]

I'm willing to postpone the closing of the polls, but it's up to the hoi polloi. What do you guys think? Should we give this another couple of weeks, or has everyone who wants to vote already submitted their choices?

Delaying the results by a few months will only make people complain when they disagree with the final results, look at their own rankings and find that they're completely different from what they'd pick now and can't even remember what made them choose the list they posted.

You make it sound like film score fans are fickle or something.

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

OK, guys, I've found 5 more

6/ "Star Trek II",

7/ "Something Wicked This Way Comes",

8/ "Aliens",

9/ "Red Heat" (no, I'm not joking!),

10/ "The Dresser".

"The Rocketeer", and "Sneakers" get honoury mentions.

thumbs up for Red Heat

[Balto's Claws 2]

I don't plan on changing mine or doubting my choices. Was actually wondering when this would close so we could see.

[Uni 306]

I'm thinking I'll go ahead and close it down and post the results tomorrow as planned. I just don't think it'll sustain much more interest, for one thing. And at this point I don't think the top 10 is going to change. There's a significant point difference between #10 and #11, almost as though these ten were destined for their places. If it were closer, there might be reason to wait and encourage more people to get involved. But it's looking like it is what it is, and there's not much reason to hold out any longer.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

How do you calculate the final top 10 from all these lists?

[Uni 306]

It's scored by a pretty simple metric gauged by the order everyone uses for their list. Their top choice gets 10 points, their second choice gets 9, etc., all the way down to 1. (That's why the order, and no "ties," was so important.)

It's been a wild competition so far, too. Some big surprises (for me, anyway), and the jockeying for the top 4 positions hasn't stopped since the poll started. In fact, there's currently a tie in the list right now, one I'm hoping someone (Jay, maybe!) will come in and break. I still need to post mine--because of a technical glitch, I won't be able to do so until tomorrow--but I've already added my own into the tabulation, so I can't break the tie myself.

This has been so much fun to watch that I'm considering doing a sort of "recap" of the action, so you guys can see what I watched unfold. It's been a blast!

[Jay 37,353]

Well in the end, my Top 10 contains no surprises at all. I thought listening to as many OSTs of his as I could before voting - including many I had never heard before - would have an impact, but other than probably the order of the 5-10 spots (my top 4 have been locked for a decade +, though the order could be different on any day you ask me), listening to them all didn't really do much.

This is mostly because it just didn't feel right to me to put any score on here that I had only heard one time, and I didn't really have the time to listen to any OST more than once, because I was in the mood to continually find and explore new scores of his. So without further ado here's my list

 

1. The Rocketeer

2. Aliens

3. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan

4. Apollo 13

5. Star Trek III The Search For Spock

6. Willow

7. Braveheart

8. Titanic

9. Krull

10. The Mask of Zorro

 

Basically the scores of his I've loved from when I got into film scores in the mid-90s through the end of the 90s, which includes many of his 80s classics.

 

He has many other great scores though, of course, here are my honorable mentions (basically the rest of my top 25):

Wolfen

Brainstorm

Cocoon

Honey I Shrunk The Kids

Glory

Sneakers

Legends of the Fall

Casper

Jumanji

The Legend of Zorro

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Avatar

Black Gold

The Amazing Spider-man

Wolf Totem

 

I think my top 10 list could be different a year, 5 years, 10 years from now, as some of those scores I couldn't put in the top 10 today (especially Sneakers, Legends of the Fall, and Casper) could very well supplant some in there now.

 

Man, what a legend. RIP!

[Uni 306]

Well in the end, my Top 10 contains no surprises at all. I thought listening to as many OSTs of his as I could before voting - including many I had never heard before - would have an impact, but other than probably the order of the 5-10 spots (my top 4 have been locked for a decade +, though the order could be different on any day you ask me), listening to them all didn't really do much.

This is mostly because it just didn't feel right to me to put any score on here that I had only heard one time, and I didn't really have the time to listen to any OST more than once, because I was in the mood to continually find and explore new scores of his.

This reflects my own experience pretty well. I tried to open the door to some other, lesser-known scores (on my part, anyway), but in the end I just couldn't see listing anything I didn't know really well (except for my #10, which snuck up on me right at the end). It is, after all, my top 10 list, not some removed, academic thesis.

And I do really like your list. For one thing . . . you did break the tie! You also moved one score up a slot. Congratulations.

[Jay 37,353]

Posting tidbits like that could influence people's lists, fyi.

And I truly do think my list will be different years down the road, as some of these scores I checked out that I never had before were really special and I could them inching up the list the more I listen to them. Then again, it will be hard to replace the epic scores I got into in my formative years. We'll see.

[Uni 306]

If someone decides to read the vague "clues" in my message, and deduce from that which scores I'm referring to based on the order in your list, and can think of a way to change their votes in such a way that would have a significant influence to tip the balance on one or two scores in the other direction, and they feel it's worth it to make that sort of gargantuan effort (when if they really want to keep a score's score high, all they have to do is put it at the top of their list) . . . then I suppose we might have to call for a revote for the sake of fairness.

Of course, if anyone was that interested in changing the results, they could simply tabulate all the lists themselves and vote based on that. It's not like this has been by secret ballot or anything.

I don't think we need worry too much about ballot tampering, particularly only a few hours before the results are published.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

A few hours is like three weeks!

[mrbellamy 6,286]

01. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

02. Krull

03. Braveheart

04. The Rocketeer

05. The New World

06. A Beautiful Mind

07. The Mask of Zorro

08. Legends of the Fall

09. Iris

10. Apollo 13

[Uni 306]

Arright . . . this was a tougher haul than I imagined it would be, but I don't think I'm gonna settle things any more specifically than this. As has been the case with others, the order of the first three or four wasn’t easy, but I knew which ones would be vying for those positions. What surprised me more was the fierce competition for the last two spots on the list. Frankly, it's still in contention to some degree, but I could probably go on with this forever, and enough is enough.

I was originally going to do mine as a countdown to the best one, but since the action at the bottom was more interesting anyway, I'll just do it like everyone else (though I couldn't resist some commentary tributes for each one). So here's my list for James Horner's Top 10 Scores:

1. Apollo 13 - He got it so right so many times,you know the top spot was going to be no easy decision to make. Ultimately it came down to the one that not only had me emoting the first time I heard it, but still continues to do so on a regular basis. Whether you take it in consideration with the movie it accompanies or just listen to it on its own, A13 has the most goosebump-inducing moments throughout—and no small amount of variety in mood and texture as well. From the simplicity of the opening sequence to the majesty of "The Launch" to the tensely pensive adagio of "Docking" to the pulsing action of "Master Alarm" to the haunting vocals of "Darkside of the Moon" to the triumphant fanfare of "Re-Entry and Splashdown" and "End Credits," Horner made this story come alive for me. (I was another who had never really heard the account of this mission before seeing the movie, and I had no idea whether that heat shield would hold or not . . . and Horner opening up along with those parachutes became one of the most emotional moments in my own cinematic history.) Other fine scores might've held this spot, and I would've been all right with that, but I have no compunctions about calling this one the best of the best.
   
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - I'm hoping it's not knocking Horner, after a career of more than three decades of greatness, to say that his first big-studio film remains one of his best works. But there's no getting around the fact that a newbie in his mid-20s had no business writing a score this bold, sophisticated, and beautiful—especially for the second entry in a franchise beloved by fans around the world and preceded by an entry considered one of the best works of another modern maestro of film music. He won the job with his score for Battle Beyond the Stars, a fine work that was full of many of his typical tricks and treats in a much less refined package. With TWOK, he revised his approach and nailed it. The result is as good as anything the final frontier ever heard. I think what I love most about it (and the sequel that followed) was you could tell Horner got it. He understood the relationships between the characters, the subtext beneath the science, the operatic scope of the story. Too many other composers would've provided a straight-up sci-fi adventure score. Bless Nicholas Meyer for his superb direction, and his superber decision to offer Horner the job.
   
3. Glory - This one could easily have taken the top spot as well. It takes a quieter, more subdued approach to its subject matter, but it's hard to think of a score that does more to express such complex ideas and emotions with pure, wordless music. The proof of this is in the movie itself, an epic that encompasses and expresses the best and worst of the American Civil War without an overabundance of dialogue. Most of the best-understood sequences need no words to communicate the underlying meaning of matters . . . and most of the reason for this is due entirely to James Horner who, with pieces like "After Antietam," "Lonely Christmas," and especially his personal masterpiece "Preparations for Battle," says everything that needs to be said without requiring the characters to say a thing. It also features yet another of his trademark end credit sequences that expresses all the major concepts of the movie with a slight twist in pacing and texture at the start. Just a classic work.
   
4. Braveheart - People talk a lot about the romantic aspects of Horner's repertoire, and often cite this score as a prime example. I think there's a better word, though, both for the subject of this movie and much of what JH expressed throughout his career: passion. As mellifluous and gorgeous as the purely romantic pieces here are ("The Secret Wedding," "For the Love of a Princess," etc.), Horner rises even higher when elucidating the passions of William Wallace—for freedom, for his countrymen, for his women. That's what gives the best pieces of this score ("'Sons of Scotland,'" the several battle scenes, and the inimitable "'Freedom'/The Execution/Bannockburn") their stunning power. And, like Glory, this one excels at filling in the subtext of the film with a master artist's brush. Another one that could easily have vied for the top spot.
   
5. Krull - This one may come across more as a diamond in the rough, particularly since it's the first score on the list to accompany a truly inferior film. But that's part of what makes it so great: Horner showed himself as capable as the likes of Jerry Goldsmith of treating a bad film with the same respect and serious work ethic he would've brought to an obvious Oscar contender like the films mentioned above. And that serious work ethic is another reason this score rates so highly with me: Horner took the job just as he was becoming one of the most sought-after and prolific composers in Hollywood, and as a result was sick with exhaustion throughout the entire five-week process of writing and recording. Yet to hear it, you would think this music was penned by the most ebullient and energetic musician in the business. It bears all the grandeur (and aforementioned passion) of the best from Korngold and Rózsa, awarding a goofy fantasy picture with a biblically epic feel. He earns his kudos for that, if nothing else (and there's plenty else to be had here).
   
6. Field of Dreams - There are some movies that simply couldn't have been scored by anyone but James Horner. This one stands tall among the preeminent examples. The magic in this film didn't come from an Iowa cornfield. It emerged straight from the conductor's baton. And lest you dismiss this as the exaggeration of a twitterpating fanboy, try watching the scene where Shoeless Joe appears for the first time without any sound (your imagination can easily fill in the click of the lights turning on and the light scraping of a few footsteps). The soundscape Horner lays down here is deceptively simple, yet the scene would have failed utterly without it. The same is true of the rest of the film, which relies on some of Horner's most recognized traits used to their best effect to make us believe something this amazing could actually happen. And as a young man watching in the dark theater the first time, something in me did believe it, almost to the point where I forgot I was watching a movie at all. The beautiful and captivating pieces in the second half of the score—and particularly at the end—sealed the deal, and to this day continue to express something that for me feels more like a familiar personal memory than a recollected cinematic experience.
   
7. Willow – Following Krull, Horner would have to wait five years to score his first successful epic fantasy. Ron Howard gave him better material to work with than Peter Yates did, for sure, and though the results weren’t quite as epic as Krull, they fit the film perfectly and managed to express a wider range of moods, settings, and characters. This was one of the first scores that Horner wrote similarly to a self-contained symphonic work, almost like a ballet, with longer pieces stretching over several sequences and setpieces (such as “Elora Dannon,” “Canyon of Mazes,” “Bavmorda’s Spell is Cast,” and the outstanding finale and end credits suite, “Willow the Sorcerer”). It’s also acknowledged to this day as both a cornerstone and corner-turner in the composer’s career, and one of his most respected works.
   
8. The Rocketeer – Horner did it better than this, but I’m not sure he ever made it look easier than he did here. There’s a good-natured simplicity to this score that’s both beguiling and completely winning, and may be the best instance of the music single-handedly leading us to root for the flying hero since the original Superman—along with another one of the most sweeping love themes to accompany it. Horner excels at anything related to flight, and it was clear that the subject matter and period of the story combined to enchant him into writing music that strikes the perfect balance between heroism, nostalgia, inspiration, and romance. There’s hardly a misstep here from beginning to end, and even if it doesn’t tip the scales of epic as much as some of his others, it’s just right for the movie it represents.
   
9. The Perfect Storm – The surprise entry on my own list, and the only one for which I’ve never actually seen the movie itself. I picked it up during my completist quest, and didn’t listen to it for a while after acquiring it. When I did, I noted that it was a solid piece of writing on Horner’s part, but didn’t give it another serious thought for a while. When I went back to give it another listen months later . . . something clicked. I listened to the first piece (“Coming Home from the Sea”) over and over again, and absolutely fell in love. This is another Horner “passion” work, but rather than that of astronauts, soldiers, or legendary historical figures, this one draws from the passion of the common man—for his job, his family, and for the open sea (which provides the first and takes him away from the second). It’s another one with simple themes, but the way it interweaves them throughout the score is both triumphant and heartrending, sometimes both at once. This is the anchoring work between the great scores of the 90s and the newer movements of the 2000s.

The 10^th place spot was the hardest, and came down to a battle between two Legends. In the end, there could be only one:

1. The Legend of Zorro – This one actually had to win out over two other scores. First there was Legends of the Fall, which I had thought was a shoe-in for top 10. But in the end it was both the magnificent ethnic flourishes and (once again) that incredible passion he brought to the Zorro character that advanced it past the quieter passion of LOTF. As for the other score, I originally had The Mask of Zorro up for the spot . . . until I gave Legend a closer listen, and found it to be the more sophisticated and polished of the two—all of what made the first score great, but mellowed and expanded and given more of those wonderful flourishes. In the end, I couldn’t deny that this is a better work than both of the others (which, in a way, makes it another surprise occupant on my list). And “The Train” stands tall among the best action pieces of other heroic scores (such Willow and Krull).
   

And the runners up:

1. Legends of the Fall – Oh, how the somewhat mighty have sort of fallen. There was a time this would’ve been a fixture in the top 10, but it’s lost just a touch of its shine for me. It’s still a phenomenal epic romance, though, and vital to the movie it represents.
   
2. Cocoon – Not quite top-10 material, but it remains one of the finest of his 80s works, as well as one of the best representations of his particular voice and sound during that period.
   
3. The Mask of Zorro – The only-slighty-lesser sibling to its sequel. If not for Legend, this would’ve taken the #10 spot.
   
4. Searching for Bobby Fischer – This one had a shot, but it’s just a little too pensive to stand out. Still, it has some classically unmistakable Horner moments, and one of my favorite Horner themes.
   
5. Titanic – It’ll never be one of my all-time favorites, but there’s no denying how well it worked in the highest-grossing film of all time. (I still sometimes wonder how much more I might appreciate it if Celine Dion hadn’t crooned the love theme to death on the radio. . . .)