What's your favourite movie theme?

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Nov 6, 2014

• #1

Is it a classic John Williams theme like Star Wars or Superman? John Barry's Bond theme? Something by Hans Zimmer? Post your favourite movie theme as a YouTube video and - added difficulty - explain why this is your favourite.

This isn't a "think of a theme somebody hasn't posted yet and post it before anybody else does" thread, as these things tend to become. You have to explain, specifically, why the theme you posted is your favourite theme. You can mention others in your explanation, but only post one video.

For me, it's always been the John Williams Superman theme. I admit that Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Bond are close rivals. And Back to the Future and Jurassic Park are both up there. The 1990s Burton Batman theme is also something I'm fond of, and also the understated and underrated Nolan Batman theme. But the theme from the original Superman movies hold the top spot. They capture the optimism of those first couple of movies perfectly.

[video=youtube;BjIlBoGrVJM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjIlBoGrVJM[/video]

[video=youtube;CvFo5BijsHs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFo5BijsHs[/video]

 

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J

Jhaelen

First Post

• Nov 6, 2014

• #2

The Bladerunner theme by a wide margin! Vangelis' soundtrack is definitely contributing a lot to my fascination with this movie. It has an ageless quality about it (in that regard it's aged better than the visuals, although I still consider those to be stunning) and I never get tired listening to it.

 

Ryujin

Legend

• Nov 6, 2014

• #3

Danny Elfman is the king of cranking out movie themes and the "Beetlejuice" theme is my favourite. It's just so happily and unapologetically evil

[video=youtube;HlGxcekfsho]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlGxcekfsho[/video]

 

RangerWickett

Legend

• Nov 7, 2014

• #4

The Superman theme is my ringtone now. I need to change it, though, because I want to let the song keep playing and ignore the calls.

But for classic, favorite movie theme, I dig Star Wars, particularly the Use the Force-ish music. The thing is, I can't find a good video that just has the theme. This one's good:

[video=youtube;LxDm-4Jrg9w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxDm-4Jrg9w[/video]

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2014

was

Adventurer

• Nov 7, 2014

• #5

I have always loved the Superman theme song best. It reminds me of sitting on top of my dad's van at the drive-in theater.

 

MarkB

Legend

• Nov 7, 2014

• #6

I do love a good John Williams soundtrack, whether it's Star Wars, Superman or Raiders of the Lost Ark, but one that I've always found very nice and evocative is the theme music from The Rocketeer. It's a strange kind of nostalgia - it feels like it takes me back to an era I've never experienced in real life, only in classic adventure movies.

[video=youtube;BXbL0iukdCo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXbL0iukdCo[/video]

I also have to give an honourable mention to the theme of the Pink Panther movies, by Henry Mancini. My current ringtone is a version by the Alan Tew orchestra which I heard on the radio recently, which took the original and added an extra helping of 70s funk (starting around 0:40).

[video=youtube;T4Yep6GxqXs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Yep6GxqXs[/video]

 

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

Staff member

Supporter

• Nov 7, 2014

• #7

James Bond and Blade Runner are 2 of my all-time favorites. The Terminator and Conan themes are also beloved, and the Pink Panther is a classic (my youngest dog LOVES it). And let's not forget the classic spaghetti western themes from by Ennio Morricone.

There are some other soundtracks/scores that are more unusual that I also love:

1) Neil Young's Dead Man- Neil essentially improvised this raw, sparse, quasi-western score on the fly while watching the movie footage. It is an impressive piece of musicianship.

2) Alex North's 2001: A Space Odyssey- the soundtrack Kubrick commissioned but didn't use. What we hear when we see the movie is excellent. Kubrick chose those pieces to help set the mood and provide North with guidance...and then simply kept using it. Personally, I think it is damn good, and Kubrick made a mistake in not using it.

[video=youtube;ekDscvvYOFg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekDscvvYOFg&sns=em[/video]

3) Eurythmics 1984- they did an excellent job of capturing the angst & oppression of the story. Darker than almost everything else those two ever did as a duo.

4) Various Artists: Heavy Metal- timeless rock soundtrack

5) Various Artists: Judgement Night- a lesser known but important soundtrack featuring one-time-only partnerships between the hot rap and rock artists of the day.

6) Jesus Christ, Superstar- solidly epic rock opera

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2014

delericho

Legend

• Nov 7, 2014

• #8

Superman.

 

Dog Moon

Adventurer

• Nov 10, 2014

• #9

For some reason I've always enjoyed this song immensely. It just has so many cool things to it:

[video=youtube;DOtEdhKOMgQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOtEdhKOMgQ[/video]

 

Hand of Evil

Hero

Epic

• Nov 10, 2014

• #10

The Raider's March from Raiders of the Lost Arc.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KCGWRk1hoj8?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Magnificent Seven also comes to mind.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9iteRKvRKFA?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And the best yet to me, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AFa1-kciCb4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Last edited: Nov 10, 2014