Film Music Review

Top Ten Favorite Film Scores, 1930's-1970's

 Selected by Roger Hall

In  A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC are my choices for the Top 100 Film Scores and Songs over five decades. From that list I narrowed it down to the Best of the Best.

Here is my list of  Top Ten Scores from the 1930's to the 1970's...

1.   CITIZEN KANE (1941) - Bernard Herrmann.

2.   BEN-HUR (1959) - Miklos Rozsa.

3.   THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) - Hugo Friedhofer.

4.   VERTIGO (1958) - Bernard Herrmann.

5.   KING KONG (1933) - Max Steiner.

6.   THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

7.   LAURA (1944) - David Raksin.

8.   A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) - Franz Waxman.

9.   TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) - Elmer Bernstein.

10. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) - John Williams

Recommended Recordings                                                                  

Only one or two recordings have been chosen for each film score listed above.

Half of these recordings are conducted by the film composers themselves.  They are rated from ***** (excellent overall) to *** (good, but with some defects), according to their performance and their sound quality.  

Here they are in the same order as the above Top Ten list:

1	Citizen Kane - The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, conductor - RCA Victor, 1974/BMG 0707-2-RG, 1989. Even though it includes only 5 selections from the film, this CD has the best recording of the famous "Aria from Salammbo" - beautifully sung by the great Kiri Te Kanawa.  Superb sound quality.  Rating:  *****
2	Ben-Hur  - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack M-G-M Studio Orchestra and Chorus, Miklos Rozsa, conductor - Rhino R2 72197, 2 CD set, 1996. As monumental as the film itself, this complete score is a must for fans of this score. Rating:  *****
3	The Best Years of Our Lives - Original Motion Picture Score London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frank Collura, conductor - Entr'acte Recording Society EDP 8101, 1978 (this LP has a wonderful 50th anniversary tribute to Friedhofer by Gene Lees on a bonus 33 1/3 single). The CD is on Preamble PRCD 1779, 1988. Wonderful recording of this warm and nostalgic score. Rating: *****
4	Vertigo - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson - Varese Sarabande VSD-5759, 1996.  Enhanced with missing tracks from the film - taken from the acclaimed restored film and video. A superb restoration job. CD produced by Robert Townson.  The greatest film score re-release of recent years. Mathieson far more passionate than the McNeely recording. Rating: *****
5	King Kong - Complete 1933 Film Score Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William T. Stromberg - Music reconstructed and restored by John W. Morgan - Marco Polo CD 8.223763, 1997.  Out of the jungle at last, this is the ultimate recording of Steiner's first great score. Rating:  *****    Also highly recommended is the original soundtrack recording which includes dialogue highlights from the film. Rhino CD R275597.   Rating:  *****
6	The Adventures of Robin Hood - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Music composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  Score restorations by John Morgan. Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg.  Recording Engineer & Editor: Genadiy Papin.  Notes by Rudy Behlmer and Brendan G. Carroll.  Recorded at Mosfilm Studio, Moscow, Russia in February 2003. Marco Polo CD 8.225268. Rating: ***** Also recommended are 5 selections conducted by the composer on Erich Wolfgang Korngold: The Warner Bros. Years (2-CD set), Produced by Tony Thomas and Marilee Bradford. Rhino Records R2 72243, 1996. Recorded in April, 1938. The sound is really murky, but these are the originals.  Rating:  ***1/2
7	David Raksin Conducts Laura, The Bad and The Beautiful, and Forever Amber Arranged and conducted by the composer, New Philharmonia Orchestra - RCA LP ARL1-1490, 1975/ CD 1490-2-RG.   Beautifully recorded music from three of Raksin's best known scores.  Rating:  ****
8	Sunset Boulevard - The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman 8 1/2 minute suite from A Place in the Sun, featuring an alto saxophone solo by Ronnie Chamberlain, National Philahomic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, conductor, RCA Victor, 1974/BMG CD 0708-2-RG, 1989.  A beautifully realized setting.  Rating: ****
9	To Kill a Mockingbird - Original Motion Picture Score Royal  Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Elmer Bernstein -  Varese Sarabande CD VSD-5754, 1997.  Elmer Bernstein's greatest film score.  This recording has far superior sound quality to the LP version.  Rating:  *****
10	Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Conducted by John Williams (one of his favorite scores) -Arista 07822-19004-2, 1977/1998.  The Collector's  Edition.   The new expanded CD includes much unreleased music. Listen especially to the last track on the CD - over 12 minutes of luminous scoring. With 26 tracks and 77 minutes of music, this CD release is a "close encounter" with John Williams' brillliance as a film composer.  Top notch sound too.  Rating: *****

You'll notice that there are two film scores by Bernard Herrmann in my Top Ten list.  I believe he was the best film composer of them all.  Not only did he compose highly original scores with unusual orchestral effects, he was also fortunate enough to work for some of the greatest directors: Orson Welles (CITIZEN KANE) , Alfred Hitchcock (VERTIGO), Francois Truffaut (FAHRENHEIT 451) and Martin Scorsese (TAXI DRIVER).  Herrmann deserved to win more than the one Academy Award he received for ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (aka, THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, 1941).  

Take a look at one of the Century Classics series:  Top 10 Film Scores of the Century

See also this web poll:  All-Time Favorite Film Scores  

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