“I like film soundtracks. I like the soundtracks better than the movies.”
– Madonna
Although it celebrates film scores from more than a century of cinema, the American Film Institute chose only 25 of the greatest scores for its 2005 special (from 250 nominees). Originally debuting on September 23rd with a one-night-only, live presentation at the Hollywood Bowl (produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in conjunction with AFI), principal conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performed excerpts from the winning selections, many accompanied by iconic clips from the pictures themselves. Click the titles to read the full reviews!
AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores (2005)
1. Star Wars (1977), composed by John Williams
2. Gone with the Wind (1939), composed by Max Steiner
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), composed by Maurice Jarre
4. Psycho (1960), composed by Bernard Herrmann
5. The Godfather (1972), composed by Nino Rota
6. Jaws (1975), composed by John Williams
7. Laura (1944), composed by David Raksin
8. The Magnificent Seven (1960), composed by Elmer Bernstein
9. Chinatown (1974), composed by Jerry Goldsmith
10. High Noon (1952), composed by Dimitri Tiomkin
11. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
12. Vertigo (1958), composed by Bernard Herrmann
13. King Kong (1933), composed by Max Steiner
14. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), composed by John Williams
15. Out of Africa (1985), composed by John Barry
16. Sunset Blvd. (1950), composed by Franz Waxman
17. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), composed by Elmer Bernstein
18. Planet of the Apes (1968), composed by Jerry Goldsmith
19. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), composed by Alex North
20. The Pink Panther (1964), composed by Henry Mancini
21. Ben-Hur (1959), composed by Miklos Rozsa
22. On the Waterfront (1954), composed by Leonard Bernstein
23. The Mission (1986), composed by Ennio Morricone
24. On Golden Pond (1981), composed by Dave Grusin
25. How the West Was Won (1963), composed by Alfred Newman