AFI's Top 25 Film Scores

Regular readers know that nHumanities loves the movies. So--with a gurgle of joy--we direct you to the American Film Institute's 100 Years of Film Scores. Seeing John Williams top the list with Star Wars (1977) is no surprise, but do you recognize Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind, 1939), Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, 1962), Bernard Herrman (Psycho, 1960), and Nino Rota (The Godfather, 1972)? You certainly would recognize their themes, which permeate our culture.

Completing the top ten are Jaws (John Williams, 1975), Laura (David Raksin, 1944), The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein,1960), Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith, 1974), and High Noon (Dimitri Tiomkin, 1952).

Speaking of film scores . . . each year, during the run up to the Oscars, National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday presents a feature called Listening to the Movies: Oscar-Nominated Music, by Andy Trudeau. Trudeau examines the Oscar-nominated film scores for the year, explaining the theory and aesthetics of each. He offers his own list of Trudeau's Top 10 Film Scores of All-Time, with audio clips.