The Official 2015 James Horner Top 10 Scores Tribute

[Uni 306]

It's been exactly three weeks since we lost one of the great composers of the latter half of the 20th century in a tragic accident. Since then, many of us have pretty well saturated our listening time with his works, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's come to an even deeper appreciation of his magnificent talents in that time. He was an extraordinary artist, and a portion of cinema over the next few decades will not be as effective as it might've been had he remained with us.

 

To celebrate and honor his admirable body of work, some of the members of JWFan have submitted their choices for the top 10 best scores of his career. These are the results. They were tabulated by the same means we've used for such lists in the past, i.e. each member's first choice was given 10 points, their second choice 9, and so on. There were no ties (fortunately!), so there was no need to come up with tiebreaking rules.

 

So here it is: the Official JWFan James Horner Top 10 List of Scores:

 

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

2. Braveheart

3. Apollo 13

4. The Land Before Time

5. Willow

6. Legends of the Fall

7. The Rocketeer

8. Cocoon

9. Krull

10. Titanic

 

The runners up:

 

11. Brainstorm

12. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

13. An American Tail

14. Aliens

15. The Perfect Storm

16. The Mask of Zorro

17. Sneakers

18. The New World

19. Avatar

20. Field of Dreams

 

And for those thinking in top 25 terms, the list was rounded off by Glory, The Name of the Rose, The Spitfire Grill, A Beautiful Mind, and Balto.

It's a good list. I kept mentioning a "surprise" contender throughout—surprising to me, at least. That would be The Land Before Time, which started strong and never fell below fourth place. (It spent quite a bit of time in second place, and even a short while at #1.) For fans of the score, this will only seem reasonable, but that's one that never hit me in that spot. It's good to see his animated work garnered some positive attention.

 

There were some other interesting things about the list. We only ran this for two weeks, compared to the five months allowed for the John Williams Top 10 voting a few years ago. In that contest, 87 people took part, compared to 33 in this one—less than half. But where 67 JW scores received votes, in this one, concerning a composer with a smaller body of work and with much less time to vote, there were 63 films represented—only four fewer. That suggests that a broader range of Mr. Horner's work appealed to people (though that may not be all that surprising given that he never had the equivalent of JW's 60s light-jazz rom-com period). It's also interesting to note that, out of a career spanning 36 years, the top 10 scores span a period of only 15 (1982 to 1997).

 

Of those 63 Horner scores, 16 received first-place votes. (TWOK had the most by far with 6 first-place votes.) No score had a vote in all 10 places. (Legends of the Fall came closest, with a vote in every spot except #9.) As for the most votes given, each of the top three were ties: Apollo 13 and Braveheart (19 votes each), followed by TWOK and The Rocketeer (18) and then Willow and Legends of the Fall (17). All of the top 10 scores received 11 votes or more; none of the rest reached 10 votes, save for The Mask of Zorro (which also picked up 11).

 

One other interesting tidbit: if you retabulate the list based on the average placement of all the votes each received—measuring, in a way, how much people liked the scores they voted for—TWOK still wins, but you get a very different list from there on out:

 

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (8.00)

2. Brainstorm (7.71)

3. The Land Before Time (7.21)

4. Braveheart (7.21)

5. Avatar (7.00)

6. Krull (6.64)

7. Cocoon (6.50)

8. Titanic (6.50)

9. Sneakers (6.50)

10. Aliens (6.43)

 

In other words, these didn't get as many overall points as others, but the people who voted for them seemed to feel more strongly about them. And, any way you cut it, everyone seems to agree that Mr. Horner's first big-studio outing remains his best work.

 

I'm going to add the specific numbers for all the scores that received votes, just so everyone can see how things fell out, but I wanted to post this first to get things rolling. Much thanks to everyone who took part. (Maybe we'll do this one again in ten years, too. . . !)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Well at leasty number one was in the runners up list.

[Jay 37,516]

Yea, The Land Before Time is really that good? I guess I should track it down....

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It will blow you away. And your wallet.

[Uni 306]

I never saw the movie, which I think may be part of its charm (and its success—people tend to relate strongly to scores for movies they watched from childhood). It's a good score, to be sure, but it's always just been another JH work to me. Nothing spectacular, and certainly not top 10 material, but a solid bit of composition.

[Jay 37,516]

So what I take away from this is these 9 scores that made the Top 25 of the JWFan community that I have never listened to before

The Land Before Time

An American Tail

The Perfect Storm

The New World

Field of Dreams

The Name of the Rose

The Spitfire Grill

A Beautiful Mind

Balto

In their place on my top 25 are these scores

Wolfen

Honey I Shrunk The Kids

Casper

Jumanji

The Legend of Zorro

Spiderwick Chronicles

Black Gold

The Amazing Spider-man

Wolf Totem

I am just realizing that the entire JWFan Top 25 are scores from 1982-2000, apart from The New World (2005) and Avatar (2009). Interesting.

I think TASM and Wolf Totem are great, surprised neither made the top 25.....

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Nicely done Uni. I am pleasantly surprised to see Land Before Time in the top 10.

[Uni 306]

Here are the final tabulations. Scores are listed by order of points received (with ties listed in alphabetical order). Once the information became negligible, I dropped it off the report. Everything is listed as follows:

- Score

- # of points earned

- # of votes received, and % of the total (out of 33 voters)

- Average point total received

- # of first place votes (where applicable)

So here we go:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• 144 points, 18 votes (55%), 8.00 average, 6 first place votes

2. Braveheart

• 137 points, 19 votes (58%), 7.21 average, 2 first place votes

3. Apollo 13

• 122 points, 19 votes (58%), 6.42 average, 4 first place votes

4. The Land Before Time

• 114 points, 15 votes (45%), 7.60 average, 3 first place votes

5. Willow

• 100 points, 18 votes (55%), 8.00 average, 1 first place vote

6. Legends of the Fall

• 96 points, 17 votes (52%), 5.65 average, 2 first place votes

7. The Rocketeer

• 87 points, 18 votes (55%), 4.83 average, 1 first place vote

8. Cocoon

• 78 points, 12 votes (36%), 6.50 average, 2 first place votes

9. Krull

• 73 points, 11 votes (33%), 6.64 average, 1 first place votes

10. Titanic

• 72 points, 11 votes (33%), 6.55 average, 2 first place votes

11. Brainstorm

• 54 points, 7 votes (21%), 8.00 average, 2 first place votes

12. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• 54 points, 9 votes (27%), 5.67 average, 1 first place vote

13. An American Tail

• 47 points, 9 votes (27%), 5.22 average, 2 first place votes

14. Aliens

• 45 points, 7 votes (21%), 6.43 average

15. The Perfect Storm

• 44 points, 8 votes (24%), 5.50 average

16. The Mask of Zorro

• 43 points, 11 votes (33%), 3.91 average

17. Sneakers

• 39 points, 6 votes (18%), 6.5 average, 1 first place vote

18. The New World

• 31 points, 8 votes (24%), 3.88 average

19. Avatar

• 28 points, 7 votes (12%), 7.00 average, 1 first place vote

20. Field of Dreams

• # points, # votes (%), # average

21. Glory

• # points, # votes (%), # average

22. The Name of the Rose

• 23 points, 4 votes (12%), 5.75 average

23. A Beautiful Mind

• 23 points, 5 votes (15%), 4.60 average

24. The Spitfire Grill

• 23 points, 5 votes (15%), 4.60 average

25. Balto

• 21 points, 4 votes (12%), 5.50 average

26. Iris

• 21 points, 4 votes (12%), 5.25 average

27. The Journey of Natty Gann

• 18 points, 3 votes (9%), 6.00 average

28. The Legend of Zorro

• 15 points, 5 votes (15%), 3.00 average

29. Battle Beyond the Stars

• 13 points, 3 votes (9%), 4.33 average

30. Bicentennial Man

• 12 points, 2 votes (6%), 1.00 average

31. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

• 12 points, 2 votes (6%), 6.00 average, 1 first place vote

32. The House of Sand and Fog

• 12 points, 2 votes (6%), 6.00 average

33. The Missing

• 12 points, 3 votes (9%), 4.00 average

34. Black Gold

• 10 points, 3 votes (9%), 3.33 average

35. Gorky Park

• 10 points, 2 votes (6%), 5.00 average

36. Project X

• 9 points, 2 votes (6%), 4.50 average

37. Something Wicked This Way Comes

• 9 points, 3 votes (9%), 3.00 average

38. The Amazing Spider-Man

• 9 points, 3 votes (9%), 3.00 average

39. The Man Without a Face

• 9 points, 2 votes (6%), 4.50 average

40. All the King's Men

• 8 points, 2 votes (6%), 4.00 average

41. Casper

• 8 points, 2 votes (6%), 4.00 average

42. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

• 7 points, 2 votes (6%), 3.00 average

43. The Four Feathers

• 7 points, 1 votes (9%), 2.33 average

44. Clear and Present Danger

• 6 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

45. Wolf Totem

• 6 points, 1 vote (3%), 6.00 average

46. Commando

• 5 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

47. Apocalypto

• 4 points, 2 votes (6%), 2.00 average

48. Enemy at the Gates

• 4 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

49. In Country

• 4 points, 1 vote (3%), 4.00 average

50. Humanoids from the Deep

• 3 points, 1 vote (3%), 3.00 average

51. To Gillian, on Her 37th Birthday

• 3 points, 1 vote (3%), 3.00 average

52. For Greater Glory

• 2 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

53. Once Upon a Forest

• 2 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

54. Red Heat

• 2 points, 1 vote (3%), 2.00 average

55. The Dresser

• 2 points, 2 votes (6%), 1.00 average

56. *batteries not included

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

57. Class Action

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

58. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

59. Jumanji

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

60. Patriot Games

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

61. Searching for Bobby Fischer

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

62. The Life Before Her Eyes

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

63. The Pagemaster

• 1 point, 1 vote (3%)

[Jay 37,516]

Wha?

I'm the ONLY one who put The Rocketeer at #1? That must mean ET&E didn't vote!

NOBODY put Spiderwick Chronicles on their list anywhere? That must be King Mark didn't vote!

11 people included Mask of Zorro, but only 5 put Legend? Isn't Legend considered the superior score?

The lack of love for Aliens still surprises me.....

I think the voting should have been held open for longer.

EDIT: Hey something's off in your main post - Willow has the same amount of points as TWOK?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I didnt vote.

[Uni 306]

I think that was a copy/paste error, Jay. Willow clocked in at an even 100. (I fixed it.)

I feel some of the same bewilderment/frustration about some of these results. Had a hard time believing Glory couldn't crack the top 20, let alone the top 10. And Searching for Bobby Fischer was third from the bottom, fercryinoutloud. That one would've been in my top 10 at one point.

I think the voting should have been held open for longer.

Well, I asked about that a couple of times, but no one seemed interested in taking it further. I was open to anything.

I didnt vote.

Intentionally? Or did you just miss the window?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I hadn't finished listening to some of the scores I wasnt as familiar with.

[Jay 37,516]

I say leave the voting open for another few months. Post the results in the fall

[Uni 306]

Or just start over again later in the year, maybe even after the beginning of next year. People will be processing through their (likely expanding) Horner collections until then. And there's the new scores to take into consideration as well. We'll just do a new poll at that point. This one . . . well, this was just people registering their favorites at the time of his passing. Who knows how time will change his legacy?

We will, on the other hand, give plenty of time for people to submit their Goldsmith favorites.

[Balto's Claws 2]

Actually, the only one that surprised me is where "Casper" ended up, given how many people say they love "Casper's Lullaby". Maybe one track can't carry a whole score. When I have that album around, I usually seek out the tracks with that theme in it, but still, that's one I think most would remember. Spiderwick Chronicles at one point takes the Casper theme and changes two notes I think...I watched the film once and heard that, and thought, "What was that doing there?"

The rest are not surprising. Avatar especially...didn't like the film, and the music never grabbed me at all.

@Jay - Wolf Totem is good, but its very new. It would take a long time for me to even consider having Wolf Totem knock something off of the top 10 I submitted because I've been listening to those scores much longer.

[Jay 37,516]

Very true.

[JWMike 117]

Uni, I've got a slightly different order to yourself after doing the count. I've got Braveheart and ST II switched and Titanic and Krull switched. We also have a slightly different count for some of the others that don't affect their position. Can't say that my count is correct for sure but I triple-checked the ST II count and got 135 every time.

1. Braveheart (137)

2. ST II (135)

3. Apollo 13 (122)

4. Land Before Time (113)

5. Willow (100)

6. Legends of the Fall (96)

7. Rocketeer (89)

8. Cocoon (83)

9. Titanic (80)

10. Krull (73)

After triple-checking the ST II score, I'm fairly confident that Braveheart takes the number 1 spot (unless I'm missing something). I'm not going to double check the rest of them since it's the same top 10 and there probably will be another poll at some stage.

Thanks for doing the poll. Even though my own top 10 contained only 5 of the overall top 10, this list feels like one I could have come up with by myself.

[Uni 306]

I'll take a look at some point. I've burned out on the statistical thing for the day (I was originally going to post the Top 10 Pieces today as well, but it proved too much to handle). You could be right—and if you are, I'll change the posting.

[EdwardHall 30]

I can't believe "For Greater Glory" ranked so low. It is absolutely beautiful. It was one of the albums I used to break in my new Pioneer speakers.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Its not very well known I'm sure