What musical scores became iconic. almost as big if not bigger than the movies themselves? I had two immediate thoughts:


What Ennio Morricone did here was legendary.
Two major standouts.
The theme obviously:

and the climatic scene (Ecstasy of Gold)

To answer the question directly, the score that I think of that has become as iconic as the movie, if not bigger is Halloween. Jaws and Star Wars obviously are huge. Crimson Tide is my underrated one that most don't think of.

Bruce Almighty said:

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That's a soundtrack, not a score.

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Crap my bad. I was not paying attention again.

It is an amazing soundtrack though.

High Noon.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Ride the High Country.

Pirates of the Caribbean
Gladiator
Titanic
Lord of the Rings
Back to the Future
E.T.

Requiem for a Dream sticks out to me the most

Man of Steel (this might be one of zimmer's best works, yeah you can fight me whatever)

Batman Begins

Crimson Tide

Transformers

Pirates of the Caribbean

Star Wars prequels were really strong

Interstellar

Inception was interesting but not one of my personal favorites.

The entire LOTR trilogy, but fellowship might have been the best


But to answer the question in the OP

Requiem for a Dream as someone has already mentioned might be the only song/soundtrack that has completely eclipsed the movie. Untold numbers of people have heard that song and will never have any interest in watching that movie.

I was first introduced to it on the Two Towers movie trailer and have loved it ever since.

Cutthroat Island is beyond vastly superior to the movie.

Similar case to Requiem.



If you've never seen this movie, you might recognize it from the Avatar trailer or a certain sporting event...

(I actually love this movie.)

I like the Nick Cave/Warren Ellis scores for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Hell Or High Water.

Oblivion
Tron - new one
Inception
Sicario
Master and Commander

I'm not familiar with Requiem for a Dream. Which song?

Any movie where Spielberg and Williams wrote together.
Jaws
Jurassic Park
ESB
E.T.

Tron Legacy, perfect style and tone for that movie

Danny Elfman is the Batman theme guru

But I have no love for Zimmer, he strikes me as heavy handed. Plus Pirates of the Caribbean is just Gladiator.

The Social network

Dances with Wolves should be considered

Top of the list: The Natural.

Good runners-up: The Alamo (1960); Ben-Hur (1959); Breakfast at Tiffany's; Exodus; Winning.

While I love Star Wars music and agree it may be the most iconic, not sure I can name it as the best. There are a lot of great scores out there and while I could probably easily pick a Star Wars movie for my top 5 I can't definitively say it is number 1.

Gladiator
Man in the Iron Mask
Last of the Mohicans
The Young Victoria
Titanic (not because of "the" song)
Anastasia
Cold Mountain
Band of Brothers


to name a few...

C@LAg said:

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tv1113 said:

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While I love Star Wars music and agree it may be the most iconic, not sure I can name it as the best. There are a lot of great scores out there and while I could probably easily pick a Star Wars movie for my top 5 I can't definitively say it is number 1.

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Per the OP:
What musical scores became iconic. almost as big if not bigger than the movies themselves?

it is not "which do I like the best".

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This is why I listed Halloween first. When I think of Halloween, the first thing that pops into my head is the music. That is not the case with Star Wars. IMO, Halloween is a movie where the music is bigger than the movie itself.

The Fountain
Moon
Requiem for a Dream
Last of the Mohicans

I love Ennio Morricone scores. My personal favorite is The Mission






My favorite single piece is "The Man with the Harmonica" from Once Upon a Time in the West

Bruce Almighty said:

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To answer the question directly, the score that I think of that has become as iconic as the movie, if not bigger is Halloween. Jaws and Star Wars obviously are huge. Crimson Tide is my underrated one that most don't think of.

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I think Tubular Bells from The Exorcist probably belongs on the list also

Pirates of the Caribbean
Jurassic Park

Indiana Jones. I don't think there's been another one as stout.

Quote:

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Any movie where Spielberg and Williams wrote together.
Jaws
Jurassic Park
ESB
E.T.

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Spielberg had nothing to do with The Empire Strikes Back, although I generally agree with your overall point about the Williams/Spielberg collaborations.

I agree about many of the choices listed already. I would add one particular theme that Williams wrote for a Spielberg movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind - the da-da-da-du-da (I am not musically inclined, so this is the best I can do) used during the communication between Man and Alien.