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My choice for the greatest original film score of all time is....
STAR WARS
(1977; dir. George Lucas, music by John Williams)
And my choice for the runner-up as greatest original film score as of May 23 2022....
P s y c h o
(1960; dir. Alfred Hitchcock, music by Bernard Hermann)
2 Alexander Nevsky
(1938; dir. Sergei Eisenstein, music by Sergei Prokofiev)
3 Planet of the Apes
(1968; dir. Franklin J. Schaffner, music by Jerry Goldsmith)
4 Blade Runner
(1982; dir. Ridley Scott, music by Vangelis)
5 Rumblefish
(1983; dir. Francis Ford Coppola, music by Stewart Copland)
6 Close Encounters of the third kind
(1977; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
7 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1984; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
8 STAR TREK the motion picture
(1979; dir. Robert Wise, music by Jerry Goldsmith)
9 J A W S
(1975; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
The Thin Red Line
(1999; dir. Terrence Malick, music by Hans Zimmer)
11 STAR TREK Into Darkness
(2013; dir. J. J. Abrams, music by Michael Giacchino)
12 Lawrence of Arabia
(1962; dir. David Lean, music by Maurice Jarre)
13 Ascenseur pur l'echafaud
(1958; dir. Louis Malle, music by Miles Davis)
14 Empire of the Sun
(1987; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
15 CITIZEN KANE
(1941; dir. Orson Welles, music by Bernard Hermann)
16 The Empire Strikes Back
(1980; dir. Irvin Kershner, music by John Williams)
17 Vertigo
(1958; dir. Alfred Hitchcock, music by Bernard Hermann)
18 E.T. the extraterrestrial
(1982; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
19 K o y a a n i s q a t s i
(1983; dir. Godfrey Reggio, music by Philip Glass)
20 SUPERMAN the movie
(1978; dir. Richard Donner, music by John Williams)
21 The Conversation
(1974; dir. Francis Ford Coppola, music by David Shire)
22 Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
23 Chariots of Fire
(1981; dir. Hugh Hudson, music by Vangelis)
24 The Rocketeer
(1985; dir. Joe Johnston, music by James Horner)
25 Conan the Barbarian
(1982; dir. John Milius, music by Basil Poledouris)
26 Seven
(1995; dir. David Fincher, music by Howard Shore)
27 Silverado
(1985; dir. Lawrence Kasdan, music by Bruce Broughton)
28 N i x o n
(1995; dir. Oliver Stone, music by John Williams)
29 Magnolia
(1999; dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, music by Jon Brion)
30 The LORD of the RINGS
(1978; dir. Ralph Bakshi, music by Leonard Rosenman)
31 The Right Stuff
(1983; dir. Philip Kaufman, music by Bill Conti)
32 The Natural
(1984; dir. Barry Levinson, music by Randy Newman)
33 La Dolce Vita
(1960; dir. Federico Fellini, music by Nino Rota)
34 The Lone Ranger
(2013; dir. Gore Verbinski, music by Hans Zimmer)
35 The LOST WORLD Jurassic Park
(1996; dir. Steven Spielberg, music by John Williams)
36 (tie) STAR TREK II The Wrath of Khan
(1982; dir. Nicholas Meyer, music by James Horner)
STAR TREK III The Search for Spock
(1984; dir. Leonard Nimoy, music by James Horner)
37 Casablanca
(1943; dir. Michael Curtiz, music by Max Steiner)
38 The Long Goodbye
(1973; dir. Robert Altman, music by John Williams)
39 The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938; dir. Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
40 Bram Stoker's Dracula
(1992; dir. Francis Ford Coppola, music by Wojciech Kilar)
41 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(1966; dir. Sergio Leone, music by Ennio Morricone)
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A list of my favorite original scores for motion pictures -- meaning, in films, all the non-diegetic music composed specifically for a film by the credited composer (s) hired to provide the accompanying musical soundtrack.
The list is arranged in approximate order (though I personally consider each entry a genuinely great piece of work). Also, to a difficult-to-measure degree, I find each score listed to be enjoyable to listen to on its own -- ie. as music -- as well as succeeding as score in a ways that are inseparable from their film's creative success.
The list is arranged in approximate order (though I personally consider each entry a genuinely great piece of work). Also, to a difficult-to-measure degree, I find each score listed to be enjoyable to listen to on its own -- ie. as music -- as well as succeeding as score in a ways that are inseparable from their film's creative success.