Which are your Top 5 James Horner scores?

[Chen G. 3,949]

9 hours ago, Darth Porkins said:

In Order:

 

Braveheart

 

Finally, someone who gets it right! 

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

James Horner's Greatest according to the above 28 members of JWFan, ranked lists and non-ranked lists. Some may argue a 1 vs 1 poll is more accurate because everyone votes on the issue, while some may argue the below result is more accurate because they're individuals' top favorites.

 

Score	Points Earned	# of Mentions
1. Braveheart	3.6	13
2. Titanic	3.45	11
3. The Wrath of Khan	3.15	12
4. The Land Before Time	2.75	9
5. Willow	2.51	10
6. Aliens	2.2	8
7. Avatar	2	5
8. The Search for Spock	1.75	7
9. Glory	1.58	6
10. The Rocketeer	1.5	6
11. Legends of the Fall	1.36	5
12. The Perfect Storm	1.16	5
13. Cocoon	1	4
14. The Spitfire Grill	1	3
15. Krull	0.83	3
16. An American Tail	0.75	3
17. Brainstorm	0.75	2
18. The Legend of Zorro	0.75	2
19. The Amazing Spider-Man	0.7	3
20. Sneakers	0.66	3
21. Apollo 13	0.5	2
22. Living In The Age Of Airplanes	0.5	2
23. Searching For Bobby Fischer	0.5	2
24. The Boy In Striped Pajamas	0.5	1
25. The Pelican Brief	0.41	2

[Jay 37,356]

Apollo 13 is way too low on that list!

 

Hopefully a new poll, now that the expansion is out, would make it place higher!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Didn't we do a more "official" forum wide poll on James Horner not long after his death?

 

EDIT:

This is what I was thinking of.  Guess it's not any more official than anything 

 

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Braveheart isn't even on my list and it's #1 here overall. Just goes to show how disconnected I am from the people here.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

2 hours ago, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said:

Braveheart isn't even on my list and it's #1 here overall. Just goes to show how disconnected I am from the people here.

 

Wait, you're disconnected because your Top 5 was all Titanic.

 

 Sorry but, I didn't count your entry 5 times.

[Bespin 8,481]

Invalid, because I did'nt vote!
 

According to my personal algorithm, these are some of the "best" Horner's score (well for a basic collection!):

• Titanic (AFI, Oscar winner)
• Braveheart (AFI, Oscar nominee, Saturn nominee)
• Apollo 13 (AFI, Oscar nominee)
• Glory (AFI, Grammy Award winner)
• Field of Dreams (AFI, Grammy Award Nominee)
• Avatar (Oscar nominee, Saturn winner, Grammy Award nominee)
• Brainstorm (Saturn winner)
• How the Grinch stole Christmas (Saturn winner)
• An America Tail (Saturn nominee, Grammy Award Nominee)
• Aliens (Grammy Award Nominee)
• Krull (Saturn nominee)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (Saturn nominee)
• Cocoon (Saturn nominee)
• Honey, I shruck the kids (Saturn nominee)
• A Beaufitul Mind (Grammy Award nominee)

[Naïve Old Fart 9,525]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

Apollo 13 is way too low on that list!

Come on, Jay; APOLLO 13 rips-off BRAINSTORM like COCOON rips-off TWOK.

 

Am I the only person who has any love for THE NAME OF THE ROSE?! His magnum opus?!

Shame on you, JWfan! Shame on all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tom Guernsey 2,284]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

Apollo 13 is way too low on that list!

 

Hopefully a new poll, now that the expansion is out, would make it place higher!

Agreed, always been a favourite of his scores. It might be a strange reason to like a score, but compared to some of his other later scores which are long and full of long tracks which sometimes ramble, Apollo 13 is very concisely written. The longer tracks (The Launch and Re-Entry) have a strong dramatic and narrative arc, as much as the shorter ones, plus he manages to mix the Americana with some really quite beautiful, genuinely haunting writing (Dark Side of the Moon in particular). Yes, it does crib from a number of his other scores, but many of the tropes from those scores are put to their full advantage here. However you look at it, 1995 was an incredible year for Horner when you consider he also produced Braveheart, Casper, Balto, Jumanji  and a couple of other scores that year.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Apollo 13 is embarrassing pompous patriotic Americana. 

[Thor 7,503]

10 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Am I the only person who has any love for THE NAME OF THE ROSE?! His magnum opus?!

 

I wouldn't call it his magnum opus, but it's an interesting and moody score -- brilliant in the film. 

[GerateWohl 4,365]

My trouble is, I am just familiar with about 5 Horner scores and I would not consider all of them top scores, and all the other Horner scores I recongized sounded like one of these five.

 

My favorite Horner score is probably "Aliens", even though I was happy that Cameron cut a lot of it out of the movie, but the way it was used in the film work georgeously.

 

And at the time it came out I was a big fan of "Krull", my first James Horner score, because it sounded so different than any other score I had heard before.

I didn't know Jerry Goldsmith at that time.

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,525]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

 

I wouldn't call it his magnum opus, but it's an interesting and moody score -- brilliant in the film. 

It is his magnum opus, Thor. It's his IMAGES. It's his PLANET OF THE APES. No other Horner before, or since, sounds like it. It's unique, and, because of that, I think that it's his greatest achievement.

[Corellian2019 386]

Can we all agree that Horner was the best at composing or arranging source music in the style of the culture he was trying to emulate? Parts of Vibes and the source music in Jade fooled me into thinking I was listening to an ensemble band instead of a Hollywood composer

[Bespin 8,481]

Non, the best one able to emulate the musical style of a certain culture is John Williams, just think about Amistad, Memoirs of a Geisha and Yub Nub.

[Romão 2,274]

8 hours ago, Thor said:

 

I wouldn't call it his magnum opus, but it's an interesting and moody score -- brilliant in the film. 

 

The Main Titles are absolutely perfect. One of the most striking examples I haver ever witnessed of an opening piece of music immediately setting the tone and feel of the film that will follow.

[GerateWohl 4,365]

2 hours ago, Bespin said:

Non, the best one able to emulate the musical style of a certain culture is John Williams, just think about Amistad, Memoirs of a Geisha and Yub Nub.

At least I would say Williams manages to create something original and recogizable when it comes to traditional or folk music. There are not many film composers who can do this.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,525]

3 hours ago, Bespin said:

Non, the best one able to emulate the musical style of a certain culture is John Williams, just think about Amistad, Memoirs of a Geisha and Yub Nub.

...NEPTUNE'S BAR, MAGGIE SHOOTS POOL, all the bar music, for EARTHQUAKE...

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Titanic Avatar Wrath of Khan SfS Aliens Zorro, shit I like so many

On 2/16/2018 at 6:36 PM, Chen G. said:

Braveheart

Braveheart

Braveheart

Braveheart

Braveheart

Not a big fan

[publicist 4,643]

Name of the Rose is at the very least underappreciated, not least by the composer himself, who hated the experience. It was basically Annaud requesting medieval instruments and barring the orchestra Horner wanted. When Horner told Annaud the instruments couldn't play his notes, they found a compromise, doing it via electronics. This would have been of course much more sophisticated at the time of 'Apocalypto', but in the mid-80's, it barely worked. Both men stopped speaking to each other for 15 years.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,525]

I never knew that. Thanks, @publicist.

Annaud made absolutely the right decision. Although it's not an easy listening experience, the score works so well, in the film.