I love movie soundtracks. Film music is the most emotional music there is, especially compared to Rock, or Pop, or other popular genres. They can scare your nose off, make you cry, and smile uncontrollably all in one song. So here’s my favorites.
#1: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, by Hans Zimmer
This is overall my favorite soundtrack in the universe. It has everything you expect in a soundtrack. Furious action, gentle sections of amazement and mystery, epic statements, and quirky, unexpected parts.
The action music in the near 11 minute long “I Don’t Think Now is the Best Time” is absolutely stunning. There’s spiccato violin throughout the whole song underneath the layers of brass and cellos/basses.
My favorite track has to be “Up is Down.” It has great percussion, and a definite Celtic influence, bouncing along through the song. The main theme repeats in the French Horns, as the rest of the symphony plays along, with plenty of 16th note madness.
#2: Transformers: The Score, by Steve Jablonsky
The first Transformers Score well outshone it’s sequel’s score. It has some of the most epic music I’ve ever heard, along with some great action tracks. Steve Jablonsky perfectly melds acoustic with electronic. The orchestra and electronics fuse nicely together, creating a tone fit for a movie filled with alien robots.
The two things I love most about this music is the themes, and the percussion. The percussion is absolutely huge, and pounds through the score, accompanied by awesome themes, usually played by French Horns, or in some cases, a solo cello.
Arrival to Earth is one of my favorite songs of all time, capturing the awe and wonder of the scene. Unfortunately, the theme is only heard once in the entire score. Scorponok is a wonderful action track, showcasing the amazing percussion of the score, and a cool repeating electric bass. About halfway through, we hear the theme most often equated with Transformers, which strangely is not a highly used melody. It’s only heard about two other times, in which is is buried underneath more prominent sections.
#3: The Dark Knight, by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Suspense is the definition of this soundtrack. It is much better than the Batman Begins soundtrack, especially with the influences of the Joker in it.
I’m one who never liked the original 1900′s Batman music. So this music highly pleases me. It has almost nothing in common with it. This score is extremely dark, gritty, and suspenseful. Hans Zimmer decided to go with something far from the ordinary for the Joker’s theme. Instead of your usual notes and chord sequences, it’s a single, shrill, almost fire-truck-alarm like note, slowly rising higher and higher. The suspense this one note creates is unbelievable, especially when combined with the electronic, dissonant rhythms that come to define this score.
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Nice descriptions.
I like the Batman Begins soundtrack better then TDK
I think the Dark Knight soundtrack is much more filled out than the Batman Begins one. And I absolutely love the stuff for the joker. There’s also the fact that Batman’s theme (the long one, not the 2 note one), becomes much more prominent. The difference between the two soundtracks is like the difference between the two movies.
The first one was good, but the second one blew it out of the skating rink (why I said skating rink I have no idea).
Bullcrap!
Batman has, like 6 themes in the batman begins soundtrack. The begins soundtrack is smooth, streamlined, and, at the same time, full of energy and intense darkness. It’s like a portal into batman’s soul. If you read most of those comics these days, they are essentially identical to the style presented in Batman Begins.
The Begins soundtrack gives a powerful message about pain, anger, and yet at the same time, huge amounts of self control. those three things are what batman IS.
The Dark Knight soundtrack is, on the other hand, a conglomerate of great pieces all jumbled together. the music is great, but I hate how everything, batman’s theme, the joker’s theme (and it’s more then just that initial shrill note, by the way), and Gotham’s atmosphere are all jumbled together. It bugs me.
I just can agree about why you love film music so much.
all three are part of my all time favorites . but your list is too short.
I agree that Transformers is a leading one when talking about action and potc III is definitively the best of the serie. And I’ve listened TDK so many times that clearly it’s a winner.
But if I have to chose just one, it would the last samurai. As far as emotion + action is concerned, nothing can hardly compare IMHO
The Last Samurai is definitely great, but I just don’t like it as much. There’s not enough exciting action parts, and while some of the quiet stuff is beautiful, some parts are just too slow and boring. It probably would have helped if I had seen the movie. I tend to like scores from movies I’ve seen more than those I haven’t.