The Official 2016 James Horner Top 10 Scores Tribute

[Uni 306]

It's been nearly a year since the 2015 tribute. People wanted more time to think through their choices, and they got it. 15 more people added their votes this time around, and some folks amended their lists. I included the lists from people who submitted last year but didn't resubmit this year (assuming they were just leaving things the way they were--I didn't change my list either). 

 

The list itself, however, did change, and in some significant and interesting ways. I'll point some of these features out, but first, let's get to the main event. Here it is, folks, the Official (Updated) JWFan James Horner Top 10 list:

 

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

2. The Land Before Time

3. The Rocketeer

4. Willow

5. Apollo 13

6. Braveheart

7. Titanic

8. Legends of the Fall

9. Krull

10. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

 

The runners up:

 

11. Cocoon

12. Brainstorm

13. Sneakers

14. Aliens

15. The Mask of Zorro

16. Glory

17. Field of Dreams

18. An American Tail

19. Avatar

20. The Perfect Storm

 

And rounding off the top 25 are The New World, The Name of the Rose, The Legend of Zorro, A Beautiful Mind, and Balto.

 

Only four titles in the top 20 stayed fixed in place; not surprisingly, the biggest placeholder was Star Trek II, which took first again by an even larger margin than last time around. I doubt it'll ever get knocked from the top spot, even if we do this again 10 or 20 years down the line. 

 

So what about those changes? The most notable, I think, is that during the same year that it finally received a long-awaited, complete 2-CD release, Braveheart fell four places, from 2nd to 6th. The Land Before Time, which I considered a big sleeper last year, proved that it wasn't a sleeper at all by taking William Wallace's place. The Rocketeer did just as well, jumping four spots to knock Apollo 13 out of place . . . and it didn't need the help of its expanded set, either. Nearly all the votes were in before the new release hit the net (it also got the most total votes--30 in all). Willow took another step up as a Horner classic, and Titanic solidified its place by climbing three spots out of 10th place. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the newest member of the Top 10 list: Star Trek III, which replaced Cocoon. 

 

Ultimately, though, while there was some shuffling going on (especially on the 11-20 list), 24 of the top 25 titles were here last year. The Legend of Zorro got a boost to #23 (replacing The Spitfire Grill), but otherwise everything else is the same. I think the most honorable mention mentionable is The Pagemaster, which wound up being the beneficiary of the biggest change in fortunes. It earned only a single 10th-place vote last year for a measly 1 point; this year, it nearly made the list of 25, coming in just two points behind Balto (a 22-point improvement).

 

I'll post more specific metrics later.  

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Where the hell is Captain EO? CBS News? The Pagemaster??

[Jay 37,353]

No one seems to love ALIENS as much as I do

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

You know, I... I expected more from you. I thought you'd be smarter than this.

[Wojo 2,453]

10 minutes ago, Jay said:

No one seems to love ALIENS as much as I do

 

Do you love the score to Aliens on its own merits, or do you love it because your love of the movie clouds your judgment?

[Jay 37,353]

Well, I don't really know I suppose.  I certainly love the movie, but I love the score.  I've probably listened to it more than any Horner score outside of ST2, and it was also one of the first Horner scores I ever owned.  It has such amazing powerhouse action cues, and the stuff in between is great too!

[Wojo 2,453]

Then you love the score so much because it permits you to watch the movie over and over again in your mind. There's nothing wrong with that, per se. It's just the reason you can't separate the two or understand why the rest of us don't hold it in higher esteem. It's an okay score, but he's done so much better, especially the ones he plundered to write Aliens. There are worse scores you could have on your pedestal, I suppose. 

[Jay 37,353]

Well that's the other thing - I never heard any of the scores that he cribbed from to make Aliens until long after I had already heard Aliens a million times.

[Wojo 2,453]

That great. You have been programmed, brainwashed, whatever into believing it's the best thing ever. It's done and that's part of you now. I have maybe listened to it four times in my life. It annoys me. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

This is still a pretty solid list. Certainly more credible than the John Williams lists where E.T. isn't in the top spot.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

43 minutes ago, Jay said:

Well that's the other thing - I never heard any of the scores that he cribbed from to make Aliens until long after I had already heard Aliens a million times.

 

Thats it. Aliens is a good score but basically a greatest hits of everything Horner had done upto that point. There's not a single original or new thing in it.

[publicist 4,643]

(and Goldsmith)

[crocodile 8,008]

I'm not surprised that Spock made the ten. The older I get the more I think it's a better Trek. FSM's album has a lot to do with it. And yes, I know there is quite a lot of Romeo and Juliet in there.

 

Karol

[Uni 306]

5 hours ago, Nick Tatopoulos's Beret said:

Where the hell is Captain EO? CBS News? The Pagemaster??

 

As I said, The Pagemaster got the biggest jump over the last year than any score. Like, ever. Not a bad performance, really.

 

Captain EO got its first--and only--vote in this year'spoll. (I'd have to check, but I'm assuming that was you. . . ?)

 

4 hours ago, Jay said:

Well that's the other thing - I never heard any of the scores that he cribbed from to make Aliens until long after I had already heard Aliens a million times.

 

4 hours ago, WojinPA said:

That great. You have been programmed, brainwashed, whatever into believing it's the best thing ever.

 

I wonder how many of these scores (and the ones from both JW polls) got their votes from people who'd been similarly "brainwashed"--i.e., we were so enamored with the score on an emotional level before learning of its shortcomings that we still can't dream of keeping it off our own Top 10 lists? There's gotta be more than a few.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

4 hours ago, WojinPA said:

That great. You have been programmed, brainwashed, whatever into believing it's the best thing ever. It's done and that's part of you now. I have maybe listened to it four times in my life. It annoys me. 

 

Hmmmmm...again you are hammering into Jason likes he's killed your dog. What happened?

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

Wow... 6 of my top 10 didn't make the final list (including my #3!).

 

#FreeHouseOfSandAndFog

[crocodile 8,008]

4 minutes ago, Gnome in Plaid said:

Wow... 6 of my top 10 didn't make the final list (including my #3!).

 

#FreeHouseOfSandAndFog

Only two of mine made the ten (or four made the 20).

 

Karol

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I regret not putting Titanic at no.  1.  I wasn't being honest with myself there. 

[crocodile 8,008]

Parts of it are great. Parts of it are quite bad.

 

Karol

[Disco Stu 15,495]

There is literally not one piece of that score I would consider even close to "bad". It deserved all of the praise it got. I think it's the most emotionally resonant score he ever wrote by a wide margin. I guess it's down to personal taste and probably personal history with the soundtrack as well. 

 

I'm just not a "cool" Horner fan. I tend to like his most popular scores the best.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

12 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Parts of it are great. Parts of it are quite bad.

 

Karol

 

None of it is bad!

[crocodile 8,008]

The Enya bits are.

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

They help give the score a specific character. If they were done with an actual choir that would have been lost and Titanic would actually be a little more ordinary.

[crocodile 8,008]

I will, however, admit that the entire Iceberg sequence is one of the finest action setpieces in Horner's career. Not because it's the best composition but how it drives the entire sequence. I can listen to it and remember exactly how it plays out on screen, beat by beat (there are some edits, I know). It's a fantastic sequence.

 

And this one minute below is among the very best James Horner moments ever. It's just so scary and eerie. And greatly enhances the moment:

 

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The film making itself is also stellar in that part of the movie. How Cameron slowly builds tension starting right after the ship hits the iceberg till the moment when the ship breaks in two is truly stellar.

[crocodile 8,008]

As a piece of disaster cinema, Titanic is superb. I've watched that part of it on Netflix quite recently and it really holds up (mostly due to practical effects).

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's not just the practical vs CGI thing. James Cameron is, when it comes to action and suspense, pretty much without peer. Avatar is mostly CGI, yet the action is the second half is completely involving. He's just an outstanding film director. If an average screenwriter.

[crocodile 8,008]

Just now, Stefancos said:

He's just an outstanding film director. If an average screenwriter.

Yeah, absolutely.

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Titanic can only just about keep my interest in the first half, same for Avatar (I'm convinced both are the same film anyway)

[crocodile 8,008]

It's like in that MrPlinkett review, Cameron basically redid every single Titanic movie. Every single cliche is in there, whether fictional or not, and he makes an ultimate show out of it. From what I know, really accurate as well.

 

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The attention to detail is stunning. But it never does feel like something that happened in real life for some reason

Titanic feels like the most ambitious ever disaster film

[Thor 7,495]

2 hours ago, crocodile said:

Only two of mine made the ten (or four made the 20).

 

Karol

 

I had six of the top 10 on my own Top 10 list (and four in the runner-ups), which isn't bad. But my no. 1 (BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS) is nowhere in sight. Also, STAR TREK 2 wasn't even on my list at all. I've never cared for STAR TREK in general, and while the score is fine, it isn't even on my Top 20 Horner.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The movie is executed perfectly. It captures the public imagination for a reason and has stayed relevant since. A fantastic cast that sells every cliche, an amazing score, and great visuals. 

[crocodile 8,008]

I really like Boy. It has a really lovely main theme. Hope it's not lifted from anything, though.

 

 

Karol

[Thor 7,495]

Just now, crocodile said:

I really like Boy. It has a really lovely main theme. Hope it's not lifted from anything, though.

 

Karol

 

I don't think it is, but Horner told me it was supposed to be a "Brahmsian lullaby". Interpret that as you wish.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

The movie is executed perfectly. 

 

In a way yes. It's a perfect execution of a script that's full of Hollywood cliche's.

[crocodile 8,008]

It does sound exactly like his description.

 

Karol

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I think Hollywood cliches can be perfectly pleasurable when deployed sincerely and by a game, talented cast. That movie is definitely sincere. Cameron always is, one of his strengths is a lack of cynicism. 

 

I've been having the Titanic debate for so long now.  At this point, I say it either clicks with you or it doesnt.  To me, it's a perfectly executed grand Hollywood historic romance and a perfectly executed grand Hollywood disaster movie, seamlessly blended together with as much emotion and thrills as you can pack into 3.5 hours or however long it is. Not a wasted minute IMO!

[Thor 7,495]

TITANIC is a superb movie, one of the best of the 90s! I've also tired of defending it against people who always reduce it to a "teen flick" or whatever, so I'm just enjoying it for my own sake.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

1 minute ago, Thor said:

TITANIC is a superb movie, one of the best of the 90s!

 

Up there with SHOWGIRLS!

[Thor 7,495]

5 minutes ago, Sharkus Malarkus said:

 

Up there with SHOWGIRLS!

 

Not sure if you're being ironic or not, but SHOWGIRLS is also a fantastic movie, and finally NOW receiving the kudos it deserves (as opposed to the slaughter it received at the time). Massively misunderstood.