Hans Zimmer's top 40 film scores of all time - he included 2 John Williams scores

[Lewya 360]

I haven't seen this list posted before on the forum - it was shared in april last year.

 

Elliot Goldenthal and Jerry Goldsmith are the two film composers with the scores in Zimmer's list, the only ones with three scores each in Zimmer's top 40. A bit surprised Zimmer didn't pick more scores by Morricone, as he is Zimmer's #1 film composer of all time.

 

Hans Zimmer's top 40 film scores of all time (in no order):

 

Titus Victorius from Titus composed by Elliot Goldenthal

Adagio from Alien 3 composed by Elliot Goldenthal

Alcoba Azul from Frida composed by Elliot Goldenthal

Main Title from Alien composed by Jerry Goldsmith

The Reactor / The Hologram from Total Recall composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Main Theme from Basic Instinct composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Wild Signals from Close Encounters of the Third Kind composed by John Williams

Washington Ending / Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark composed by John Williams

The Mission from The Mission composed by Ennio Morricone

Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in the West composed by Ennio Morricone

Love Theme from The Godfather composed by Nino Rota

La Bella Malinconica from La Dolce Vita composed by Nino Rota

Titles from Chariots of Fire composed by Vangelis

End Titles from Blade Runner composed by Vangelis

Theme from Back to the Future composed by Alan Silvestri

Main Title from Predator composed by Alan Silvestri

Theme / Isandhlwana from Zulu composed by John Barry

Wednesday's Child from The Quiller Memorandum composed by John Barry

Avalon / Moving Day from Avalon composed by Randy Newman

The Natural from The Natural composed by Randy Newman

Malcolm Is Dead from The Sixth Sense composed by James Newton Howard

Can I Trust You? from Red Sparrow composed by James Newton Howard

Test Drive from How to Train Your Dragon composed by John Powell

Dedication from United 93 composed by John Powell

Main Title from King Kong composed by Max Steiner

Main Title from Gone with the Wind composed by Max Steiner

Coronation from Kingdom of Heaven composed by Harry Gregson-Williams

Main Title Theme from The English Patient composed by Gabriel Yared

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg composed by Michel Legrand

Theme from Midnight Express composed by Giorgio Moroder

Dawn / Buck Up - Never Say Die / Smile from Modern Times composed by Charlie Chaplin

Prologue and Main Title / Castle Plunkett from High Spirits composed by George Fenton

Main Title Theme from The Last Emperor composed by David Byrne

Ballad for Mathilda from Léon composed by Éric Serra

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence from Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Future Markets from There Will Be Blood composed by Jonny Greenwood

Main Title from Laura composed by David Raksin

Main Title from Taxi Driver composed by Bernard Herrmann

Tsurumaru's Flute / Azusa Castle In Ruins from Ran composed by Toru Takemitsu

The Shawshank Redemption from The Shawshank Redemption composed by Thomas Newman

[Edmilson 8,521]

Curious, only two of his padawans were featured on the list, both of them having departed RC/MV long ago, Powell and HGW. 

 

I guess he tried to be as non-biased as possible towards the other apprentices. I've heard that he loved Junkie's Mad Max score.

 

Also, it's interesting that Shawshank is there. I read that, in 94, the year that he won his Oscar for Lion King, he actually voted for Shawshank.

[mrbellamy 6,634]

He called out Shawshank as one of his favorites to Newman himself when they were on an Oscar roundtable together. Also he and Henry Jackman fawned over Predator 2 to Silvestri immediately before that, and I see the first Predator makes the list here. Very sweet!

 

 

It's a nice list. Distributes the wealth, two solid JW picks. And yeah, interesting that Goldenthal and Goldsmith are the two that he just couldn't narrow down.

 

Also I like the spread of the timeline. From King Kong all the way up to Red Sparrow!

[TheUlyssesian 2,538]

Isn't it mostly just concert arrangements? It's basically theme tracks or main titles or end titles for the most part. 

 

Hans picked these because he composes just those - the demos. He does not actually seem to actually "score" any scenes with scene specific music or variation or adaptation or anything of the like.

[Edmilson 8,521]

I dunno.

 

I guess that, if you pick a group of people familiar to Williams' music (but not fanatic like us, lol) and asked them about their favorite tracks, most would choose the Raiders March instead of Desert Chase, for example, or the Star Wars Main Title instead of TIE Fighter Attack, or Hedwiges' Theme instead of Leaving Hogwarts...

[Cerebral Cortex 3,358]

15 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I dunno.

 

I guess that, if you pick a group of people familiar to Williams' music (but not fanatic like us, lol) and asked them about their favorite tracks, most would choose the Raiders March instead of Desert Chase, for example, or the Star Wars Main Title instead of TIE Fighter Attack, or Hedwiges' Theme instead of Leaving Hogwarts...

 

To be fair, I'm pretty sure I'd choose Raiders March over Desert Chase and the Star Wars Main Title over TIE Fighter Attack. 

[mrbellamy 6,634]

There would be tons of concert arrangements in my top 40, I dunno wtf y’all are talking about.

[publicist 4,647]

Curious that he favours early 90's Goldsmith. First time i read someone noticing a cue like 'The Hologram'.

[KK 3,308]

Some fairly boring choices, to be honest. It mostly looks like a general Greatest Hits list assembled with his favourite composers.

[Tydirium 1,224]

3 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

There would be tons of concert arrangements in my top 40, I dunno wtf y’all are talking about.

 

Yes, but virtually every one of Zimmer's picks is a concert arrangement/theme track. Odd choice that "Wild Signals" is one of his only two JW tracks, though.

[TheUlyssesian 2,538]

Also the list is basically - let me pick my  2 fav compoers and then my top 10 favs after that and then 14 others I like.

Randomly pick 3 concert suites for 2 fav, 2 each for Top 10 and the other 14 get only 1 each.

 

Even his list was a hackjob - made in 8 minutes, perhaps longer than it took to write some of his scores!

[Tydirium 1,224]

Where was this list posted, anyways?

[Lewya 360]

31 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

Where was this list posted, anyways?

He took over a big Spotify playlist with many followers where sometimes a director or composer picks their favourite film music, it has since been removed, but the user I posted above saved the tracks before it got removed.

 

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2019-04-03/composer-hans-zimmer-talks-musics-starring-role-in-movies/

[John Dutton 7,209]

Looks like the tracklist for a Varese Sarabande compilation.

[Arpy 4,159]

3 hours ago, TheUlyssesian said:

Also the list is basically - let me pick my  2 fav compoers and then my top 10 favs after that and then 14 others I like.

Randomly pick 3 concert suites for 2 fav, 2 each for Top 10 and the other 14 get only 1 each.

 

Even his list was a hackjob - made in 8 minutes, perhaps longer than it took to write some of his scores!

He had help from the Magnificent Six when compiling this list.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,231]

I'm inclined to agree with the "naysayers". This is, with a few exceptions, a pedestrian, and one-dimensional list. It's what Classic F.M. listeners think is good "movie music".

 

 

On 1/25/2020 at 3:51 PM, Edmilson said:

I guess that, if you pick a group of people familiar to Williams' music...

"Familiar"? Sorry, dude, but this man is paid a lot of money to have his "ear to the ground", when it comes to film scores. It's his job! Anyway, you'd have to be totally deaf not to work as a composer in Hollywood, and not be "familiar" with JW's music. That dog don't hunt.

 

It's interesting to note the composers that he does not list:

Horner

Shore

Korngold

Walton

Jarre

Prokofiev

Waxman

Tiomkin

Copeland

Bernstein, E

Bernstein, L

Herrmann

 

IMO, the man has no proper regard for, or knowledge of, the history of film music. Because of this, this list is meaningless.

Any JWfaner could come with a better "basic" list, than this.

 

[publicist 4,647]

Wait, now the guy is not even allowed to do his own favourite's list? 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,231]

Of course he is, but the list doesn't reflect a 35-plus year career in composition.

What JWfan is appearing to say is that, for a professional musician, the list is rather...well...8th grade.

On the other hand, if that's what he likes, that's what he likes, and no-one can take that away from him.

[publicist 4,647]

It's a Spotify playlist, not a  thesis. 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,231]

For a man who writes film music for a living, it's not enough.

[publicist 4,647]

It obviously is.

[Thor 8,103]

It's a fine list. I had expected more Morricone, given his previous comments about his music.

 

I've actually witnessed Zimmer's enthusiasm for composers like Goldenthal and Moroder "live", during the back stage intermission of his Ghent apparances. The Moroder one was especially fun, as Zimmer bowed reverently for Moroder while greeting him for the first time.

[Brundlefly 2,392]

On 1/25/2020 at 6:00 AM, Lewya said:

The Reactor / The Hologram from Total Recall composed by Jerry Goldsmith

One of few examples on this list that are neither a concert arrangement nor a main or end title.

On 1/25/2020 at 6:00 AM, Lewya said:

The Mission from The Mission composed by Ennio Morricone

So he's talking about the track called "The Mission" and not "Gabriel's Oboe"?

[Joni Wiljami 1,207]

I remember hansu praised CE3K and I thought wow, he isn't that bad. But.. wild signals... seriously? Well that is is the only track in that brilliant score where there is synth sounding tuba and oboe... 

 

Raiders march😜😜😜

[Lamasseux 6]

I don't know. Why do we have to judge his taste in music ?

You know, he has only 40 tracks to choose. It's obvious he had to make a choice.

And it's not beacuse you prefer this or that music, that you don't know and like other music.

[JoeinAR 1,953]

He does not seem to be a reliable or knowledgeable man about what is quality film music. 

[Dixon Hill 4,236]

On 1/25/2020 at 12:37 AM, TheUlyssesian said:

Hans picked these because he composes just those - the demos. He does not actually seem to actually "score" any scenes with scene specific music or variation or adaptation or anything of the like.

 

Inaccurate bullshit.  Par for the course though.  This forum is unreadable at times.

[MedigoScan 329]

God forbid a man has different tastes from what is deemed the superior taste.

[JoeinAR 1,953]

6 hours ago, MedigoScan said:

God forbid a man has different tastes from what is deemed the superior taste.

Ahhh a Z defender. "Deemed" how kind of you!. 

[Thor 8,103]

MedigoScan is right, though, Joe. If you don't share the enthusiasm for his selections, then it's just that -- different taste. Neither superior nor inferior.

[Jurassic Shark 12,806]

It's every man's right to have a bad taste in music!

[Thor 8,103]

True, but I don't understand how anyone with their head attached to their bodies could label the aforementioned tracks 'bad taste' in any shape or form. Most of them are brilliant and established classics. It even runs the gamut, so whatever taste you have, you'll find something to your liking.

[KK 3,308]

I just find it funny that from all of JNH’a vast body of work, he lists a nondescript suspense cue from Red Sparrow. Makes me wonder if he had scores in mind more than he did actual cues...

[Lewya 360]

On 2/11/2020 at 11:41 PM, KK said:

I just find it funny that from all of JNH’a vast body of work, he lists a nondescript suspense cue from Red Sparrow. Makes me wonder if he had scores in mind more than he did actual cues...

I just checked and dammit, you are right, it seems like he meant his favourite scores of all time and not necessarily individual tracks:

 

 

Although it seems like it could be also his favourite track from his favourite scores - I am not sure. As you say, some of his picks are a bit weird, especially the Red Sparrow track. I updated the first post saying scores, not tracks, although I kept the names of tracks that were in the list for reference.

[Pieter Boelen 744]

On 1/25/2020 at 6:00 AM, Lewya said:

Washington Ending / Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark composed by John Williams

Indy over Star Wars? I approve!