Friday, November 23, 2012

Retro Muriels: Best Music


After hearing Ennio Morricone’s ultra-swoony Cinema Paradiso theme on the radio last week, I got to thinking about my favorite movie scores. That, in turn, compelled me to throw together a (highly informal) list of Best Music nominees to go with my other retro Muriels from back in the day.

Ever since Steve and I rolled out the Best Music category back in 2008, we wanted to make the selections as diverse as possible, ranging from instrumental scores to song scores, originals to well-done adaptations, and even notable compilations of previously-existing material. That was my aim here as well. Although my picks tend to lean mostly to original works, I made room for some compilations and adaptations here, especially when the music was particularly well selected. And even among my original-skewing nominees, I made sure to choose a number of rock and jazz scores as well. In addition, I’ve tried to throw some sublimely silly choices into the mix, including at least one score that features a whole lotta kazoo.

Winners for every year since 1995 have already been chosen, while winners for 1954-1994 will be chosen at a later date. Due to the wide range of styles represented here, expect a fair number of ties. Sorry about that.

If there’s something so self-evidently awesome that you can’t believe I forgot it, feel free to smack me around in the comments section.

1954:
The Earrings of Madame De… (Oscar Straus & Georges Van Parys)
M. Hulot’s Holiday (Alain Romans)
Magnificent Obsession (Frank Skinner)
On the Waterfront (Leonard Bernstein)
Rear Window (Franz Waxman)

1955:
All That Heaven Allows (Frank Skinner)
The Man With the Golden Arm (Elmer Bernstein)
Night of the Hunter (Walter Schumann)
Rebel Without a Cause (Leonard Rosenman)
The Wages of Fear (Georges Auric)

1956:
The Court Jester (Walter Scharf & Vic Schoen)
Forbidden Planet (Louis & Bebe Barron)
Godzilla (Akira Ifukube)
La Strada (Nino Rota)
The Ten Commandments (Elmer Bernstein)

1957:
12 Angry Men (Kenyon Hopkins)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Malcolm Arnold)
A Face in the Crowd (Tom Glazer)
Nights of Cabiria (Nino Rota)
Sweet Smell of Success (Elmer Bernstein)

1958:
The Big Country (Jerome Moross)
Mon Oncle (Alain Romans)
Some Came Running (Elmer Bernstein)
Touch of Evil (Henry Mancini)
Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)

1959:
The 400 Blows (Jean Constantin)
Anatomy of a Murder (Duke Ellington)
Imitation of Life (Frank Skinner & Henry Mancini)
Lola Montes (Georges Auric)
North by Northwest (Bernard Herrmann)

1960:
The Cranes Are Flying (M. Vaynberg)
Exodus (Ernest Gold)
The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)
Psycho (Bernard Herrmann)
Spartacus (Alex North)

1961:
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Henry Mancini)
El Cid (Miklos Rosza)
La Dolce Vita (Nino Rota)
Elevator to the Gallows (Miles Davis)
The Innocents (Georges Auric)

1962:
Cape Fear (Bernard Herrmann)
Last Year at Marienbad (Francis Seyrig)
Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre)
Lola (Michel Legrand)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)

1963:
8 ½ (Nino Rota)
Charade (Henry Mancini)
Hud (Elmer Bernstein)
Jason and the Argonauts (Bernard Herrmann)
The Leopard (Nino Rota)

1964:
Contempt (Georges Delerue)
A Hard Day’s Night (The Beatles & George Martin)
Marnie (Bernard Herrmann)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Michel Legrand)
Woman in the Dunes (Toru Takemitsu)

1965:
Doctor Zhivago (Maurice Jarre)
Help! (The Beatles)
Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Frank de Vol)
Juliet of the Spirits (Nino Rota)
Repulsion (Chico Hamilton)

1966:
Blowup (Herbie Hancock)
Fahrenheit 451 (Bernard Herrmann)
For a Few Dollars More (Ennio Morricone)
Seconds (Jerry Goldsmith)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Alex North)

1967:
Far From the Madding Crowd (Richard Rodney Bennett)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ennio Morricone)
In Cold Blood (Quincy Jones)
Privilege (Mike Leander et al)
Two for the Road (Henry Mancini)

1968:
The Lion in Winter (John Barry)
Planet of the Apes (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Producers (John Morris et al)
Romeo and Juliet (Nino Rota)
The Young Girls of Rochefort (Michel Legrand)

1969:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Burt Bacharach)
Easy Rider (various)
Midnight Cowboy (John Barry)
Model Shop (Spirit)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Ennio Morricone)

1970:
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (Jerry Goldsmith)
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Stu Phillips et al)
The Conformist (Georges Delerue)
Let It Be (The Beatles & George Martin)
Zabriskie Point (Pink Floyd)

1971:
Bananas (Marvin Hamlisch)
The French Connection (Don Ellis)
Macbeth (The Third Ear Band)
Straw Dogs (Jerry Fielding)
Walkabout (John Barry)

1972:
Duck, You Sucker (Ennio Morricone)
The Godfather (Nino Rota)
The Hot Rock (Quincy Jones)
Superfly (Curtis Mayfield)
Two English Girls (Georges Delerue)

1973:
Last Tango in Paris (Gato Barbieri)
The Long Goodbye (John Williams)
O Lucky Man! (Alan Price)
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Bob Dylan)
The Way We Were (Marvin Hamlisch)

1974:
Amarcord (Nino Rota)
Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Godfather, Part II (Nino Rota & Carmine Coppola)
Phantom of the Paradise (Paul Williams)
Stavisky… (Stephen Sondheim)

1975:
Barry Lyndon (Leonard Rosenman)
The Fortune (David Shire & Jose Padilla)
Jaws (John Williams)
Nashville (various)
The Wind and the Lion (Jerry Goldsmith)

1976:
Bugsy Malone (Paul Williams)
Carrie (Pino Donaggio)
Obsession (Bernard Herrmann)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (Jerry Fielding)
Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann)

1977:
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Popol Vuh)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (John Williams)
Saturday Night Fever (David Shire et al)
Sorcerer (Tangerine Dream)
Star Wars (John Williams)

1978:
Days of Heaven (Ennio Morricone)
The Fury (John Williams)
Heaven Can Wait (Dave Grusin)
The Lord of the Rings (Leonard Rosenman)
Superman (John Williams)

1979:
1941 (John Williams)
The Black Stallion (Carmine Coppola)
The Muppet Movie (Paul Williams & Kenny Ascher)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (Popol Vuh)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)

1980:
Airplane! (Elmer Bernstein)
Altered States (John Corigliano)
Dressed to Kill (Pino Donaggio)
The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
Somewhere in Time (John Barry)

1981:
Blow Out (Pino Donaggio)
Caveman (Lalo Schifrin)
Chariots of Fire (Vangelis)
The Last Metro (Georges Delerue)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (John Williams)

1982:
Blade Runner (Vangelis)
Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris)
E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (John Williams)
One From the Heart (Tom Waits)
Victor/Victoria (Henry Mancini & Leslie Bricusse)

1983:
Koyaanisqatsi (Philip Glass)
Local Hero (Mark Knopfler)
Rumble Fish (Stewart Copeland)
Terms of Endearment (Michael Gore)
Videodrome (Howard Shore)

1984:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (John Williams)
The Natural (Randy Newman)
Once Upon a Time in America (Ennio Morricone)
Purple Rain (Prince)
This Is Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer)

1985:
The Color Purple (Quincy Jones et al)
Mishima (Philip Glass)
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Danny Elfman)
Ran (Toru Takemitsu)
Witness (Maurice Jarre)

1986:
Blue Velvet (Angelo Badalamenti)
Down by Law (John Lurie & Tom Waits)
The Mission (Ennio Morricone)
Peggy Sue Got Married (John Barry)
‘Round Midnight (Herbie Hancock)

1987:
Empire of the Sun (John Williams)
Innerspace (Jerry Goldsmith)
Ishtar (Dave Grusin & Paul Williams)
The Last Emperor (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, and Cong Su)
The Princess Bride (Marc Shaiman)

1988:
The Last Temptation of Christ (Peter Gabriel)
Rain Man (Hans Zimmer)
The Thin Blue Line (Philip Glass)
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Joe Jackson)
Wings of Desire (Jurgen Kneiper)

1989:
Black Rain (Toru Takemitsu)
Cinema Paradiso (Ennio Morricione)
Do the Right Thing (Bill Lee et al)
Glory (James Horner)
The Little Mermaid (Alan Menken)

1990:
Avalon (Randy Newman)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Michael Nyman)
Edward Scissorhands (Danny Elfman)
Hamlet (Ennio Morricone)
Miller’s Crossing (Carter Burwell)

1991:
Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken)
Dead Again (Patrick Doyle)
Defending Your Life (Michael Gore)
The Double Life of Veronique (Zbigniew Preisner)
Naked Lunch (Howard Shore)

1992:
Aladdin (Alan Menken)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Wojciech Kilar)
The Last of the Mohicans (Randy Edelman & Trevor Jones)
Malcolm X (Terrence Blanchard)
Unforgiven (Lenny Niehaus)

1993:
The Age of Innocence (Elmer Bernstein)
Dazed and Confused (various)
Naked (Andrew Dickson)
Schindler’s List (John Williams)
Three Colors: Blue (Zbigniew Preisner)

1994:
Ed Wood (Howard Shore)
Little Women (Thomas Newman)
The Lion King (Hans Zimmer & Elton John)
Pulp Fiction (various)
Three Colors: Red (Zbigniew Preisner)

1995:
12 Monkeys (Paul Buckmaster)
Heat (Elliot Goldenthal)
Il Postino (Luis Enrique Bacalov)
Safe (Ed Tomney)
Secret of Roan Inish (Mason Daring) [winner]

1996:
Chung King Express (various)
Dead Man (Neil Young) [winner]
English Patient (Gabriel Yared)
Fargo (Carter Burwell)
Grace of My Heart (Larry Klein et al)

1997:
As Good As It Gets (Hans Zimmer)
Boogie Nights (Michael Penn et al)
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (Caleb Sampson) [winner]
Good Will Hunting (Danny Elfman & Elliott Smith)
The Ice Storm (Mychael Danna)

1998:
Dark City (Trevor Jones)
Gods and Monsters (Carter Burwell)
Rushmore (Mark Mothersbaugh et al)
The Thin Red Line (Hans Zimmer)
Velvet Goldmine (Carter Burwell et al) [winner]

1999:
Magnolia (Jon Brion and Aimee Mann)
Ravenous (Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn)
The Red Violin (John Corigliano)
South Park:  Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman) [winner]
The Straight Story (Angelo Badalamenti)

2000:
Dancer in the Dark (Björk)
Ghost Dog:  The Way of the Samurai (RZA et al) [winner]
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (various)
POLA X (Scott Walker)
Requiem For a Dream (Clint Mansell)

2001:
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (John Williams)
Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (Carter Burwell)
Monsters, Inc. (Randy Newman)
Waking Life (Glover Gill and the Tosca Tango Orchestra) [winner]

2002:
25th Hour (Terence Blanchard) [winner]
8 Women (Krishna Levy et al)
Far From Heaven (Elmer Bernstein)
Punch-Drunk Love (Jon Brion)
Sex and Lucia (Alberto Iglesias)

2003:
The Fog of War (Philip Glass)
Kill Bill:  vol. 1 (RZA et al)
A Mighty Wind (various) [winner]
Spider (Howard Shore)
The Triplets of Belleville (Benoit Charest)

2004:
Bad Education (Alberto Iglesias)
Birth (Alexandre Desplat) [winner[
Greendale (Neil Young)
The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Mark Mothersbaugh and Seu Jorgé)

2005:
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Alexandre Desplat et al)
Gilles’ Wife (Vincent D’Hondt)
King Kong (Howard Shore)
Pride & Prejudice (Dario Marianelli)
Tony Takitani (Ryuichi Sakamoto) [winner]

2006:
Brick (Nathan Johnson)
Drawing Restraint 9 (Björk)
The Fountain (Clint Mansell) [winner]
The Prestige (David Julyan)
The Proposition (Nick Cave and Warren Ellis)

2007:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Nick Cave and Warren Ellis)
Once (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova)
Ratatouille (Michael Giacchino)
There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood) [winner]
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Michael Andrews, John C. Reilly, et al)

2008:
Cassandra’s Dream (Philip Glass)
Happy-Go-Lucky (Gary Yershon)
My Winnipeg (Jason Staczek et al)
Speed Racer (Michael Giacchino)
WALL*E (Thomas Newman) [winner]

2009:
Coraline (Bruno Coulais)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat et al)
The Informant! (Marvin Hamlisch)
Tetro (Osvaldo Golijov) [winner]
Up (Michael Giacchino)

2010:
Never Let Me Go (Rachel Portman) [winner]
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Nigel Godrich et al)
The Social Network (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)
Soul Kitchen (various)
Tron: Legacy (Daft Punk)

2011:
Drive (Cliff Martinez et al)
Hanna (Chemical Brothers)
Rango (Hans Zimmer)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Alberto Iglesias et al) [winner]
The Tree of Life (Alexandre Desplat et al)