Music Behind the Screen

Since the invention of film, William Shakespeare's works have appeared in countless adaptations. It is said that some of the first Shakespeare films date back to 1900. Many silent and sound version of his quintessential plays have made it to the silver screen in the 1910s-1930s.

Notable example:
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). Directed by Max Reinhardt, it contains a star-studded cast and fantastic dance sequences. It is also the film that brought Erich Wolfgang Korngold to Hollywood, re-orchestrating Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music.

Through 1930s-1960s, actor Laurence Olivier took to the screen with several high profile Shakespeare adaptations. Musically, Olivier went with mainly classical composer William Walton to score As You Like it (1936), Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), Richard III (1955), and Othello (1965).

Notable example:
Hamlet (1948). Considered the definitive filmed version was directed and starred Laurence Olivier. While his other Shakespearean scores contain fantastic material (complete with period-sounding styles, harpsichords and folk songs), Walton's Hamlet is a darker score fitting the melancholy tone of the play.

Walton's music for Henry V was turned into two different suites, and remain both popular as film music and as part of Walton's classical repertoire.

Marlon Brando brought The Bard to the screen with Julius Caesar (1953), with a supurb score by Miklós Rózsa. One of the most popular film adaptations is Romeo and Juliet (1968). The lush score by Nino Rota had the love theme become a heavily recorded radio hit. Roman Polanski's extremely dark take on Macbeth (1971) used a fascinating variety of music by the avant-guarde group Third Ear Band.

With actor/director Kenneth Branagh, Shakespeare plays had a resurgence in the 1990s. Utilizing fellow actor/composer Patrick Doyle, the duo have collaborated on several play adaptations - Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), and As You Like It (2006).

Notable example:
Henry V (1989). The film debut of Doyle and directorial debut of Branagh happens to be their strongest. While the score brings out the best of the story as William Walton did years before, the battlefield tracking shot with the stirring Non Nobis, Domine is a spectacular piece of film music. Doyle also appears as the solo singer at the beginning of the scene.

Doyle's Overture and "Sigh No More Ladies" from Much Ado About Nothing are also some of his best works for Branagh.

Several interesting Shakespeare scores appeared in the 1990s and beyond. Baz Luhrmann's updated and anachronistic Romeo + Juliet (1996) features a gentle score by Craig Armstrong. Elliot Goldenthal provided scores to Julie Taymor's Titus (1999) and The Tempest (2010). Utilizing a wide range of orchestral styles and instruments, the scores provide a unique atmosphere to the film.

Notable example:

Coriolanus (2011). Ilan Eskheri's modern sound matches the grim, modern setting of the tragedy.

There are plenty of other plays put to film, and several more added every few years. Of course there are other versions, like 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) with a score by Richard Gibbs, West Side Story (1961) with the stage score by Leonard Bernstein, Shakespeare in Love (1998) with a Stephen Warbeck score, and the Japanese interpretations Ran (1985) with a score by Toru Takemitsu and Throne of Blood (1957), music by Masaru Sato.

The Jungle Book
Music composed and conducted by John Debney
Music orchestrated by Kevin Kaska
Music recorded at Sony Scoring Stage
Music recorded and mixed by Simon Rhodes
Original themes by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, Terry Gilkyson
Album running time: 74 minutes
Available on Walt Disney Records

Disney continues the new tradition of live action remakes of classic animated films, this time reviving 1967's The Jungle Book. The original had a score by George Bruns, and songs by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Terry Gilkyson. Not unlike the previous live-action remakes, this film doesn't stray too far from the source material at all. Mainly, that includes the use of the 1967 songs and quotes from the original score.

The first two tracks are updated versions of The Bare Necessities (sung over the end credits by Dr. John and The Nite Trippers) and Trust In Me (sung in the end credits by Kaa actress Scarlett Johansson).

The score begins with Main Titles (Jungle Run) featuring an amazing new arrangement of the Mark Mancina's Disney castle logo (possibly the first appearance on album). It segues into a bit of the exotic flute solo from the opening of Bruns' original 1967 score. It transitions to the jungle run section, with wild percussion and bamboo flutes. The brass have some moments to shine as the string section swirls around. Wolves/Law of the Jungle is the first to introduce Mowgli's Theme, a long phrased melody that represents Mowgli and his home growing up with the wolves. It's a beautiful theme that that begins in the woodwinds that grows to eventually add choir.

Water Truce has an ethereal opening before getting into a jaunty section followed by a nice brass moment and another reprise of Mogwli's Theme. Rains Return continues the jungle atmosphere through percussion and woodwinds, with the choir adding in. Mowgli's Leaving/Elephant Theme begins with a sorrowful section with strings and woodwinds passing a melodic idea around. It transitions to another bold statement of Mowgli's Theme. The music grows even stronger as the elephants march by Mowgli and Bagheera on their trek.

Shere Khan Attacks/Stampede tears right into the orchestra, utilizing brass rips, jungle percussion patterns and bamboo flutes. The action material works really well here. Kaa/Baloo to the Rescue is immediately disconcerting with the shimmering strings. The exotic flute sound of the Bruns score relays most of Kaa's material. The melody to Trust in Me loops and adds menace before the low brass and low male choir enters. Even in the darkest moments, the main theme is repeated on a solo flute.

Honeycomb Climb is a bit more playful and adventurous, using the bassoon to represent some of Baloo's comic moments. The Man Village, a somber track, gives us more woodwind solos and another reprise of the main theme. A sense of danger looms over the start of Mowgli and the Pit, adding to the drama of Mowgli's journey. Before long, a tender variation of The Bare Necessities emerges. Monkeys Kidnap Mowgli returns to the pounding percussion heard earlier. Horn calls and xylophone glissandos add a new orchestrated texture not heard earlier.

Arriving At King Louie's Temple is full of suspense, staying ominous throughout (there's a bit in the middle that's reminiscent of the Ark music in Raiders). Twanging percussion among high pitched strings keep the mood in check. Cold Lair Chase gets the jungle percussion, choir and brass moving in another strong action cue. The melody of I Wanna Be Like You gets a handful of statements in some ingenious variations. The action continues in The Red Flower with a charging string motif. The low men's choir is extremely effective as the rhythm pounds away. The melody of Trust In Me gets a choir variation (this time just used ominously and not related to Kaa).

To The River continues some of the darker elements heard in previous tracks. The pulse-pounding rhythm continues through as the string motif and men's choir returns. The main theme gets a very brief reprise. The drama continues in Shere Khan's War Theme with his motif used among thrilling brass and percussion. The stakes continue to be heightened in Shere Khan and the Fire. The entire orchestra brings their all with the ranges of each instrument being explored. Near the end of the cue, Shere Khan and Mowgli's themes come head to head.

Elephant Waterfall brings back the elephant theme heard earlier, as they bring peace back to the jungle. It's back to the noble somber style for the main theme, and it makes for a touching moment. In Mowgli Wins the Race, Debney uses the variation of Bare Necessities from the trailer (arranged by The Hit House). It's a great moment that Debney added onto, and while the track is short, it's a highlight for most fans. The Jungle Book Closes gives us reprises of the main themes in a big sweeping style as the film ends.

The album ends with two more songs that are used over the end credits - the updated version of I Wanna Be Like You (sung by Christopher Walken). The new lyrics are from Richard Sherman, who sat in for a few sessions with Debney. Then we get another version of The Bare Necessities (sung by Bill Murray and Kermit Ruffins).

This is possibly John Debney's strongest film score in quite a while. Having a deep connection to the creation of the original animated film, he seems to have brought all he could to the score. With the marvelous CGI animated...well...everything but Mowgli, Debney brought a sense of realness to The Jungle Book. We connect with the animated settings and characters because of Debney's work. From the serene jungle to its fiercest creatures and scariest settings, the score enhances that. It also makes the score tell a complete story on the album - the full arc of our main character is explored.

I have to also give large credit for blending the musical worlds of 1967 The Jungle Book and a 2016 listening experience. The way he incorporated the music by George Bruns worked well, and served almost as a guidepost and wink to those that knew what came before. The songs used in the film were a bit distracting from the largely serious tone, but of course I understand why director Jon Favreau had to use them. Still, it's Debney's strong score that carries much of the film. It has a little bit of something for everyone and worth tons of listens.

Scoring The Series continues with a look back at the X-Men films. In the multiple films over the years, there have been six different composers. Here are the credits to each film with some scoring photos tossed in.

X-Men (2000)
Music composed by Michael Kamen
Conducted by Michael Kamen
Orchestrated by Robert Elhai, Michael Kamen, Brad Warnaar
Recorded and mixed by Stephen McLaughlin
Recorded by the L.A. Allstar Orchestra
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X2 (2003)
Music composed by John Ottman
Conducted by Damon Intrabartolo
Orchestrated by John Ottman, Pierre André, Rick Giovinazzo, Damon Intrabartolo, Frank Macchia, Christopher Tin
Recorded and mixed by Casey Stone
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Music composed by John Powell
Conducted by Pete Anthony
Orchestrated by Brad Dechter, Bruce Fowler, Randy Kerber, John Ashton Thomas, Suzette Moriarty, Rick Giovinazzo, Kevin Kliesch, Conrad Pope, Walt Fowler, Ken Kugler
Recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy
Recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams
Conducted by Harry Gregson-Williams
Orchestrated by Ladd McIntosh
Recorded by Joel Iwataki
Recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X-Men: First Class (2011)
Music composed by Henry Jackman
Conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
Orchestrated by Stephen Coleman, John Ashton Thomas, Noah Sorota
Additional music by Chris Willis, Matt Margeson, Dominic Lewis
Recorded by Frank Wolf
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

The Wolverine (2013)
Music composed by Marco Beltrami
Conducted by Pete Anthony, Marco Beltrami
Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Rossano Galante, Mark Graham, Jon Kull, Dana Niu, Patrick Russ
Additional music by Buck Sanders, Brandon Roberts, Marcus Trumpp
Recorded and mixed by John Kurlander
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Music composed by John Ottman
Conducted by Jeff Schindler
Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Rick Giovinazzo, Jason Livesay, Nolan Livesay, John Ottman, John Ashton Thomas
Additional music by Kristopher Gee, Jason Livesay, Nolan Livesay, Lior Rosner, Marcus Trumpp, Edwin Wendler
Recorded and mixed by Casey Stone
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Music composed by John Ottman
Conducted by Jeff Schindler
Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Rick Giovinazzo, Andrew Kinney, Jon Kull, Jason Livesay, Nolan Livesay, John Ashton Thomas
Additional music by Edwin Wendler
Recorded and mixed by Casey Stone
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage (20th Century Fox)

Alice Through the Looking Glass
Music composed by Danny Elfman
Music conducted by Rick Wentworth
Music orchestrated by Steve Bartek, Edgardo Simone, David Slonaker
Additional music by Chris Bacon, TJ Lindgren
Music recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London
Album running time: 76 minutes
Available on Walt Disney Records

2010's Alice in Wonderland was a great hit score for Danny Elfman, providing one of his best scores for director Tim Burton. The film itself was a bit rocky, with questionable CGI and an overly complicated plot. (It was, on the other hand, a massive 3D hit at the box office....so here we are with the sequel). This time, Burton is just producing and has The Muppets (2011) director James Bobin at the helm. It is meant to match the look of the first film with bright colors still everywhere.

The main theme (Alice's Theme) was a breakout hit for Elfman and some of his best in recent years. If you loved the theme and choir, Alice Through the Looking Glass has reprises galore. The theme does go through variations aplenty, more so than the last film. Also included prominently is the Little Alice Theme, used briefly in the last film. Other returning themes include one for the Cheshire Cat and the Memory Theme (used at the end of the first film as she remembers her experiences in Underland). For new themes, we get the Time Theme, a Russian-esque sound. The elusive theme for the Hatter also makes appearances in spots outside of the Suite.

Like the album for Goosebumps (2015), the score is arranged from tracks 1-20 as an album arrangement with the rest being "bonus tracks". The album works as played, but below I've put them in correct film order for convenience. Here's an album track rundown, perhaps giving you a sense of his thematic usage.

The album begins with Alice, a 6 minute suite of the main Alice Theme in all its glory. It transitions to the full statement of the Little Alice Theme, Time's Theme and the Memory Theme. The latter theme (a bit reminiscent of Goldsmith or Shore is used for some of the poignant moments in the score). Saving the Ship is the best cue on the album and weaves in Alice's Theme nicely. It is heroic in moments, with standard Elfman strings and brass and bit more interesting orchestration. Little Alice Theme even gets a brass-led variation at the finish.

Watching Time is full of sliding strings representing the Cheshire Cat and clock-like material. A ticking rhythm is throughout the cue as Time's Theme makes its first appearances. It's a hard theme to catch, often blending into the orchestral texture. The cue ends with a strong statement of the theme. Looking Glass begins with a few haunting reprises of the Little Alice Theme before getting into a flighty reprise of Alice's Theme among action sections in addition to solo vocals and organ. To the Rescue is a short cue, starting with a fanfare and more of the Cheshire motif before adding a more somber choir section.

Hatter House begins with slowed down variations on sections of Alice's Theme. It's on the quiet side, a bit of melancholy is heard by instrumental solos, an ominous rendition of the Hatter's Theme, and ending with a pronounced statement of Little Alice's Theme. The Red Queen stays in the low strings and woodwinds with some strong brass bursts before it picks up to action version of Alice's Theme. The Chronosphere breaks apart Alice's Theme to little bits, using it in a comedic setting. The bulk of the track is epic action. These large action parts are classic minor-key Elfman with swirling strings and choir.

Warning Hightopps returns to the reflective side, letting solo instruments take part of Alice's Theme. Tea Time Forever is a bit darker, utilizing tolling bells but switching to a cartoony mood. Oceans of Time is a sweeping cue, with the themes for Little Alice, Alice and Time all converging and blending.

Hat Heartbreak returns us to the celeste and some tender string underscoring. Bits of the Hatter's Theme is tossed in, sometimes buried around other instruments. Asylum Escape brings us back to Alice's Theme in full action mode. Elfman's chance to bring the portions of the theme in this setting is a great choice. Just like in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Elfman is showing his mastery of some great action material, using a large orchestra in new ways and still fitting in thematic material. Hatter's Deathbed is a bit somber, with solos instruments taking parts of Alice's Theme. A solo flute and then solo horn take over with Hatter's Theme. Little Alice's Theme is taken over nicely with strings, harp and choir.

Finding the Family is back to the sweet and tender celeste material heard earlier. The music becomes a bit bolder with the entrance of the low brass. Time Is Up is another great action cue - a big orchestral epic. Time's Theme and Alice's Theme are tossed around throughout, and the action briefly stops for Little Alice's Theme. World's End begins with a music box rendition of Little Alice's Theme and vocal soloist before a crescendo to the Memory Theme in its biggest statement yet.

Truth returns to the calm style from before. Little Alice's Theme gets a touching reprise as does a sprightly Hatter's Theme. There are some great moments in this track, led by Little Alice's Theme. The Memory Theme gets a fitting reprise in Goodbye Alice, and that melody fills the entire track before the chord progression hints at Alice's Theme. Kingsleigh & Kingsleigh is basically a choral reprise of Alice's Theme giving one last vocal "Alice!" before fading away.

Seconds Song is a quick bit of a song that should remind listeners of Elfman's own singing on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Oz the Great and Powerful. Friends United is a whimsical underscore with fragments of Hatter's Theme hinted at. Time's Castle is a bit more mysterious (utilizing the Cheshire motif), ticking aspects before launching into Alice's Theme. The Seconds shows off Time's assistants, using the metronome-esque metal sound to match their design. Clock Shop is a dramatic moment of Time's Theme and a hint of Alice's Theme. They're Alive provides some dark underscore for the backstory of the Red Queen. Story of Time is a nice cue, with a mysterious rendition of Hatter's Theme blended with Little Alice's Theme. Time's Theme makes a march appearance and Little Alice's Theme seems a bit more distant and daunting. The album ends with the skippable pop song Just Like Fire (performed by Pink).

For 'Looking Glass', Elfman added to his material from the first 'Alice', letting many old themes expand and have some variants. Elfman purposely didn't add too many more new themes, instead expanding on themes relating to Alice's childhood (Little Alice) and the Hatter's theme. His large action cues (Saving the Ship in particular) are some of the best material on the album.

For track order, it will be something like: Track 2, 4, 5, 22, 6, 27, 23, 24, 3, 8, 11, 9, 12, 10, 26, 25, 13, 14, 7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1, 21

The Alice Theme is still the best part of both films and I'm glad it's reoccurring in this score. The first Alice was one of Elfman's best recent scores and while this doesn't reach the same levels, plenty of aspects make this a great listen.

The BFG
Music composed and conducted by John Williams
Music recorded at Sony Scoring Stage
Music recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy
Music edited by Ramiro Belgardt
Album running time: 64 minutes
Available on Walt Disney Records

Based on the 1982 book of the same name, John Williams and Steven Spielberg reunite for another film in their multi-decade collaboration. (For those keeping track, this is film 27 together).

While this musical material is new, the whimsical and magical style can be traced back to several other of his film scores - namely Hook, Home Alone and Harry Potter. His thematic style and orchestration lend themselves to live almost in the same musical world.

For The BFG, the main theme is for Sophie (highlighted of course in the concert suite at the end of the album). This theme permeates the score, mostly used for sweeter moments. The meaner giants, Fleshlumpeater, Bloodbottler, Bonecruncher, among others, have a theme (which I'll just call Fleshlumpeater Theme). There is a waltz-like theme for the traveling between worlds that I'll call Traveling Theme. A lovely Friendship Theme, a Nightmare motif and a Queen motif round out the thematic material.

Overture (unused in the film), is a lovely introduction to the score. Harp glissandos and flighty flutes circle around a lovely statement of Sophie's Theme. The Witching Hour begins in a slightly subdued and slightly spooky, representing London at Sophie's orphanage. The clarinet takes over a lovely melancholy theme with low string interruptions. As Sophie gets taken, the music grows larger and more menacing.

To Giant Country begins with a low woodwind motif used for giants before the music opens up to the waltz-like Traveling Theme, fitting with The BFG's large strides and making it dance-like. Dream Country, where The BFG bottles up dreams, is represented by Williams in an impressionist way. Long melody lines, bell trees and harp glissandos give the dream-like feel of the magical place. Parts of this track match the atmospheric/calmed sections of E.T. and A.I. Sophie's Theme gets a few lovely reprises, with trilling flutes and racing strings accompany Sophie chasing dreams. She does catch a nightmare, and Williams introduces his Nightmare motif. It's unusual for Williams to have such a long track on the soundtrack, but this captures a long stretch of the film.

Sophie's Nightmare stays on the darker side, giving full statements of the Nightmare motif, my favorite being in the muted trumpets. Building Trust is a particularly nice Williams track, fitting in with warm, gentle feelings associated with a Spielberg film. The piano leads Sophie's Theme, eventually growing to the whole orchestra. There's a bit of cartoon side to it near the end with Sophie's Theme being played in the woodwinds. Fleshlumpeater brings us the 'villain' theme. The mean giants do eat humans, but the music keeps them in a threatening/bumbling comic tone throughout. (Most listeners know this style from Home Alone burglars, Jabba the Hutt's theme, or Gilderoy Lockhart in the 2nd Harry Potter score).

Dream Jars has some really interesting writing for flutes (many representing the dreams themselves). It has an impromptu feel and might feel out of place without the film's visual. A solo harp takes over for a bit, before leading into a quick reprise of Sophie's Theme. The mean giants material returns in Frolic, and launches into a full-on Strauss-ian polka with a grand ending. Blowing Dreams introduces the Friendship Theme, a lilting and lovely theme. The flitting flutes return and the orchestra shares some touching underscoring with solo woodwinds. Snorting and Sniffing features Sophie's Themes in some new statements and add to the bumbling giant music heard earlier.

Sophie's Future is another tender rendition of Sophie's Theme for flute and harp and later transitions into the Friendship Theme before returning to a bigger statement of Sophie's Theme. A truly beautiful lullaby-style statement of both themes. The slightly sad tone returns in There Was A Boy, with Sophie's Theme and the Traveling Theme making appearances. The Queen's Dream opens with the Nightmare motif which returns us to a more action style with some reprises of Sophie's Theme. This track also includes the Queen motif, a regal horn chorale.

The Boy's Drawings begins with the flighty flutes and transitions to Sophie's Theme, a few references to the Queen's motif and the Friendship Theme. This darker backstory isn't in the original novel, but gives Sophie's motivation to round up the mean giants. Meeting the Queen jumps into the snare drum and a regal variation of the Friendship Theme. The Queen's motif obviously makes an appearance in that same horn chorale style. Much of the Queen's scenes in the film are used with some British tune arrangements (used in Barry Lyndon and arranged by Leonard Rosenman).

An airy version of Sophie's Theme starts off Giants Netted, while the strings charge along. The Nightmare motif appears with the Fleshlumpeater Theme getting a full statement. Even then, the mean giants are given music akin to Captain Hook as they receive their banishment. Finale brings us back to a sweet and tender arrangement of Sophie's Theme on solo piano. The Friendship Theme gets a reprise before the wistful ending. Sophie and the BFG is a 8-minute suite of themes, each getting a chance to shine - Sophie's Theme, Fleshlumpeater, Traveling Theme, Friendship Theme, Nightmare motif - with Sophie's Theme taking one last bow as the flute flits off once more.

Most of my criticism towards the score is more towards the film. The BFG film is a bit of a puzzlement. It is more of a serious film with serious topics of loneliness, loss of friendship and I guess the main moral is don't judge a book by its cover (?) Of course being a Roald Dahl book, his made-up words are supposed to be funny but seemed to fall flat. And of course the whizpoppers (ie farts) are completely odd in between the serious atmosphere. (There is one that is actually funny because who can't resist?!) After all, in Willy Wonka the main characters burp themselves down from the ceiling.

All that said, John Williams brings his magical touch back with this score. And of course, along with that touch are echoes of scores of years past. Most filmgoers will instantly hear connections to previous works, and it might be hard to separate, but this new score does have a new identity. On a technical musical level, Williams brings a new level of writing - both challenging and deceptively simple. The parts for woodwinds could easily fit into his concert works, with the flute taking a majority of the solos. His new themes work nicely in the film and the album, while somewhat out of order, is varied enough for an enjoyable listening experience. Is this the score and film people will remember for years? Probably not - it sadly doesn't reach the emotional level and iconic spirit as some of their best collaborations. Still, grab a bottle of Frobscottle and listen to a touching and masterfully written score by the best!

Back to our musical score time machine! I know what you're thinking . . . 10 years ago wasn't 2006, was it? Here's a look back at 2006 with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 10!

Let's start the ranking!

10. V for Vendetta (Dario Marianelli)

Using a militaristic sound, Marianelli soaks dread into most of the score. The more romantically scored moments are strong and show off the choir and solo piano. The Tchaikovsky moments in the finale are worth listening for.

9. X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)

This score is a full bombastic summer blockbuster. Large orchestra and choir in many action cues with a new strong X-Men theme and fantastic theme for the Dark Phoenix subplot.

8. Cars (Randy Newman)

A mix of Americana, full Country, brass fanfares, electric guitars, derivative Newman/Pixar material and the usual Newman semi-schmaltz. Director John Lasseter gives Newman plenty of room to paint the scene, as in the 'romantic' ride of Sally and Lightning McQueen.

7. Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard)

Howard supplies the film with some emotional beats, dramatic tension and African style throughout. His main theme is particularly notable in the finale.

6. The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)

Strings are the focus in this mostly foreboding score. Adding to the mystery religious-sounding elements are solo soprano, violin and cello. While it's full of Zimmer-isms, the Chevaliers De Sangreal (main theme) is the highlight.

5. Mission: Impossible III (Michael Giacchino)

Using his best action and suspense spy chops, Giacchino added a modern edge while staying true to the Lalo Schifrin tune. A countermelody, driving ostinatos and new themes work well but got improved on his next Mission film.

4. Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard)
Here Howard shines in another Shyamalan film. The orchestra, choir and piano often have a rippling/circular motion giving us a water effect. Themes converge to a rousing climax in The Great Eatlon. A great score to a bad movie.

3. Superman Returns (John Ottman)
Ottman's addition to and adaption of Superman is probably best part of the film. There are times where his new material shines, but when he tactfully uses the Williams Superman themes, it is magic.

2. Casino Royale (David Arnold)

Another action score that reminds viewers of the past and the future. It features less electronics than Arnold's previous scores, strong brass licks, ethnic location flair, and of course brief hints of the Bond theme until the very end.

1. Pan's Labyrinth (Javier Navarette)
For this fairy tale within a horrific real world, the score is based on a haunting lullaby. It is an often sparse score, using atonal brass and strings for some choice moments. It is the way he transforms the lullaby so evocatively makes it a score that is hard to forget.

Honorable Mentions:
United 93 (John Powell), The Illusionist (Philip Glass), The Queen (Alexandre Desplat)

Any favorites of yours from 2006 that I didn't include? Comment below!

The Magnificent Seven
Music composed by James Horner & Simon Franglen
Music conducted by J.A.C. Redford, Carl Johnson
Music recorded at Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox
Album running time: 76 minutes
Available on Sony Classical

The making of the score to 2016's The Magnificent Seven is a little more interesting than the score itself.

The film itself is a Western retelling of the original 1960 film (which of course was a reinterpretation of the 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai). There were 3 following films in the 1960s-1970s and all were scored by the great Elmer Bernstein. The Magnificent Seven theme is iconic in its own right, used in commercials, parodies and almost every Western pastiche that followed. This score does reference the Bernstein theme (but more of the identifying rhythm) throughout the score...but more on that later.

More importantly, this is James Horner's final music for a theatrical film. He had just completed Southpaw (2015) with director Antoine Fuqua and The 33 (2015) before his untimely death in June, 2015. After reading the script, Horner started sketching themes and musical ideas to work on with collaborator Simon Franglen. After Horner's death, Franglen and Horner's usual team consisting of music editors and orchestrators recorded those ideas as a present to director Antoine Fuqua. From that moment, it would take a small group of collaborators to compose a new score for the film, while being sensitive and honoring the material that Horner composed. One could boil that down to a new score containing the musical spirit of James Horner - worked on by the people that worked with him.

Naturally the score is filled with many Horner-isms. It's hard to tell how many he would put in himself, or how many got added by Franglen and team. The main theme, you could call it the New Magnificent Seven theme doesn't appear in its entirety until about halfway in the album. Rather than a traditional rousing Western, the theme is noble and somewhat stirring.

Most of the score fits the doubtful and slightly melancholic vibe set by our villain Bogue and his abuses on the town of Rose Creek. His snakelike theme appears through many cues, but never latches as an intimidating theme on the album. The many other reoccurring motifs are the echoing trumpet triplets (an effect that can be traced back to some of Horner's earliest film work). The tinging percussion, female vocals, danger motif and breathy shakuhachi appear in multiple cues while guitar strums, banjos and hand claps add a bit to the Western flavor. Of course, a major source of inspiration is the Elmer Bernstein rhythm which appears through many cues, but makes a broad statement near the end as it mingles with the New Magnificent Seven theme. Those looking for the rousing Bernstein Western style will probably be disappointing, as this score is more minimal and modern in its approach.

Those modern "gritty" moments don't have much to compare to the grandiose Western scores so many of us are accustomed to. That isn't director Fuqua's contemporary approach. While it works with the film, most of the score seems like a chore to listen to. There are great moments - the Western swagger and sweeping melody does happen, just infrequently not large enough. For a good sampling of the score, listen to Rose Creek Opression, Volcano Springs, Town Exodus/Knife Training, Seven Riders. The signs of Horner's touches are all throughout the score - something that makes it enjoyable to listen for. Franglen and team crafted an interesting score, although it's a little too sloggish for me until the fantastic final cue where the score's identity finally shines through. Still, it's a fitting farewell to one of the greats of film music.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Music composed by James Newton Howard
Music conducted by Pete Anthony
Music orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Jeff Atmajian, Jon Kull, John Ashton Thomas, Philip Klein, Peter Boyer, David Butterworth, Jim Honeyman
Music recorded by Shawn Murphy, Peter Cobbin
Music recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London and AIR Lyndhurst, London
Album running time: 72 minutes (+25 minutes Deluxe Edition)
Available on WaterTower Records

Branching off the world of Harry Potter, the Wizarding World continues with the adventures of Newt Scamander. Both a spin-off and prequel, we meet Newt entering New York City in 1926. He of course has a briefcase of fantastic beasts, some of which escape and threaten to expose the American witches/wizards to "muggles", known as "nomaj" in the USA.

For the score, director David Yates enlisted James Newton Howard, not a stranger to some large orchestral and magic-filled films. As of this writing, they are planning to make this a 5 film series with hopefully Howard continuing to score each one. This new franchise gave Howard plenty of thematic opportunities - an overarching Wizarding World theme, a lively theme for Newt with heroic variations, theme for Newt and Tina's friendship, Fantastic Beasts fanfare, a jazz-inspired theme for nomaj Kowalski, and of course several motifs for the various creatures.

As the Warner Bros logo appears in the Main Titles, John Williams' Hedwig's Theme gets a brief nod. As the film's title appears we hear the first appearance of his Fantastic Beasts fanfare which goes from magical to menacing. Newt's Theme appears as a lively and optimistic string ostinato and the fantastic sweeping second part which ends the cue.

There Are Witches Among Us/The Bank/The Niffler begins with some choir which launches into the Wizarding World Theme, a mysterious swirling theme which appears several times throughout the score (and most likely in the following films). Hijinks ensue when the creature the Niffler runs amok in a bank. The Niffler is given a comic motif as it intermingles with the first phrases of Kowalski's Theme. The second part of Hedwig's Theme appears (which hardly has shown up in post-John Williams 'Potter' scores).

Tina Takes Newt In/MACUSA Headquarters gives more grand statements of the Wizarding World Theme that match nicely with the entrance of MACUSA's building. A more lilting and light version of the theme begins Pie Or Strudel/Escaping Queenie and Tina's Place. The orchestration keeps things in the magical realm - bell trees, glockenspiel, woodwinds and celeste. We briefly hear Newt's Heroic Theme as well as jazzy comic beats for Kowalski.

Credence Hands Out Leaflets gives us the dark side of the magical world with long-held strings and an electronic rhythm to it. One long sequence is represented in the track Inside the Case. We experience the interior of Newt's suitcase and the various creatures that appear inside. The first magical discovery is the Thunderbird motif, which gives way to both parts of Newt's Theme. As they explore more lands inside the case, different creature motifs begin to emerge leading to another large reprise of the Thunderbird motif. The music turns darker with the introduction of the Obscurus and ends on a tender moment for clarinet and piano.

The Erumpent has some unique underscoring and unique orchestration. The music turns comical as it becomes a charming waltz. It later transforms into an action cue complete with snarling brass. In The Cells returns to the darker serious tone heard earlier. It's a bit hard to pick out the theme for the dark wizard Grindelwald, no doubt it will be expanded on in future films. There is some great writing in Tina and Newt Trial/Let's Get the Good Stuff Out/You're One Of Us Now/Swooping Evil. (Winner for longest track title on an original soundtrack??) The dark atmosphere turns to an action cue with driving rhythms and racing strings and a great moment with Newt's Heroic Theme.

Gnarlak Negotiations brings us to the jazz world again, as we see a wizard and goblin speakeasy with our charachters trying to get help in finding the Demiguise creature. A rousing but brief reprise of Newt's Heroic Theme ends the cue. The Demiguise's musical motif features some exotic instrumentation in The Demiguise and the Occamy. The Occamy music is a bit more threatening in tone, but the music is full of energy as Newt's Heroic Theme is reprised. A Close Friend introduces the Friendship Theme, a touching piece for strings, harp and chorus.

The Obscurus/Rooftop Chase gains intensity as the orchestra crescendos. The strings and brass clearly have plenty of work in this action cue. While it keeps the drama of the chase, it never gets too musically busy. He's Listening to You Tina brings the Obscurus theme to an emotional scene with some serious string underscore.

Relieve Him of His Wand/Newt Releases the Thunderbird/Jacob's Farewell is the longest track on the album, consisting of a good chunk of the finale. As the villain's story is carefully wrapped up for now, the bleak tone is brought into the light with the Thunderbird motif mixing with Newt's Theme in another majestic moment. Howard brings back the Friendship Theme, recalling some of his work for Maleficent. This emotional half of the track is spectacular, and the last part of erasing Kowalski's memory is quite touching. Kowalski's Theme returns in full jazz piano and drumset form - a fresh start. Newt Says Goodbye to Tina/Jacob's Bakery brings back the Friendship Theme (perhaps to turn into a love theme in the future?). One last reprise of the great Kowalski's Theme also offers a hint at the sweet theme for Kowalski and Tina's sister as the film ends. End Titles begin with a strong start and segues into the reprises of Newt's Heroic Theme and his rousing second theme before the track fades away.

The bonus tracks are welcome additions to the score (and those willing can add them to the correct chronological order in the album). A Man and His Beasts is a suite of the Wizarding World Suite - the theme that really doesn't appear much in the score itself but thankfully gets plenty of variations including one for jazz clarinet, muted trumpets and sliding trombones. Soup and Leaflets is more of the darker material for Graves and Credence. Billywig and The Demiguise and the Lollipop are shorter cues featuring some tense magical moments and the Fantastic Beasts fanfare. I'm Not Your Ma features more of the Credence and Obscurus underscore that works great in the film but not entirely interesting on album. Blind Pig is the source song (music by Mario Grigorov, lyrics by JK Rowling, sung by Emmi) for the speakeasy of the same name. It's a nice moment in the film to include as a bonus track. Newt Talks to Credence is a bit of mysterious underscoring. End Titles Pt. 2 gives one of the lilting magical renditions of the Wizarding World Theme before leading to the larger choir rendition. Kowalski Rag is a suite dedicated to all varieties of arrangements of Kowalski's themes ending with the dirty jazz and sweet Kowalski/Queenie love theme.

James Newton Howard should get a lot of credit for this new musical world he's started. If you haven't noticed, the motifs and themes are seemingly endless for just one film. Not being a part of Harry Potter - but still connected - gave Howard a musical sense and inspiration that worked to his benefit. His establishment of these ideas is exciting to see and of course to see in the subsequent films. Standing up to past Harry Potter scores, this score and themes match nicely in tone and orchestration. Howard uses the large symphony orchestra and choir to really showcase all varieties of style and instrumentation. A totally interesting score that is worth many repeat listens.

Here's the 2016 Roundup of Original Score nominations and winners from various associations. Winners will be marked in red and updated regularly!

ACADEMY AWARD
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
[nominees announced January 14th]

GOLDEN GLOBE
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Arrival (Johann Johannsson)
Hidden Figures (Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch)
La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)
Lion (Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka)
Moonlight (Nicholas Britell)

BRITISH ACADEMY FILM AWARDS (BAFTA)
[nominees announced January 10th]

ANNIE AWARDS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion)
The Little Prince (Hans Zimmer, Richard Harvey, Camille)
The Red Turtle (Laurent Perez Del Mar)
The Secret Life of Pets (Alexandre Desplat)
Sing (Joby Talbot)

SATELLITE AWARDS (INTERNATIONAL PRESS ACADEMY)
ORIGINAL SCORE

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST MUSIC SCORE
*La La Land (Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul)
Runner-up: Jackie (Mica Levi)

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
*Sing Street
Runners-up Tied: Jackie, La La Land

WASHINGTON DC AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
*La La Land (Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul)

BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
*Jackie (Mica Levi)

CHICAGO FILM CRITICS AWARDS
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
*Jackie (Mica Levi)

DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
*La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)Runner-up: Jackie (Mica Levi)

HOUSTON FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Arrival (Johann Johannsson)
Jackie (Mica Levi)
La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)
Moonlight (Nicholas Britell)
Noctural Animals (Abel Korzeniowki)

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST SCORE
Arrival (Johann Johannsson)
Jackie (Mica Levi)
*La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)
Lion (Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka)
Noctural Animals (Abel Korzeniowki)

LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT (FOR MUSIC)
[nominees announced December 20th]

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
BEST SCORE
Arrival (Johann Johannsson)
Jackie (Mica Levi)
*La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)
Lion (Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka)
Moonlight (Nicholas Britell)

SATURN AWARDS
BEST MUSIC

La La Land
Music composed by Justin Hurwitz
Songs composed by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Music conducted by Tim Davies
Music orchestrated by Justin Hurwitz
Soundtrack running time: 45 minutes
Score album running time: 52 minutes
Available on Interscope Records

One of the most talked about films in the 2016 season was La La Land. Director/Writer Damien Chazelle teamed up again with composer Justin Hurwitz after their breakout film Whiplash (2014). Music is just as much a major component in this film, with large musical numbers harking back to the old Hollywood studio musical days. This story tells the industry ups and downs of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) the jazz pianist looking for a club of his own and Mia (Emma Stone) an actress wanting her big break.

The music and songs weave the story together and there are two album releases - soundtrack with all the songs, jazz source cues and score highlights, and the score album with no songs. Naturally, there is a bit of overlap between the two albums with tracks appearing on both. For the full experience, you'd have to make your own film arrangement playlist. For now, I'll look at them separately but write about how the thematic material from one album expands into the other.

Much like the Disney Renaissance films, the score is extensively linked to the songs. Almost every song's melody is incorporated into parts of the score. Here are the songs and their connections:
Another Day Of Sun - a Hollywood theme for their aspirations
City of Stars - Sebastian's Theme
The Fools Who Dream - Mia's Theme

The melody from A Lovely Night appears through the score, while Mia & Sebastian's Theme is the love theme heard prominently in the film.

Let's start with the songs:
Another Day Of Sun starts the film off with a large production number on the freeway. The infectious toe-tapping song introduces us to the Hollywood Theme and introduce the jazz instrumental influences, solo vocalists, big band large orchestra, samba feel, and large choral arrangement. Someone in the Crowd continues the Hollywood big band style with fast paced action on screen with Mia and roommates dressing up to go on the town. After a dance break and softer/slower section, the music roars back with a big chorus finish.
A Lovely Night is the song that Mia and Sebastian flirt through. Hurwitz's song echoes the styles and harmonies of old tunes, and the lyrics reflect the "totally not in love with you" style from 1940-1950s musicals. The dance break gives orchestra time to show off with cute musical syncing, also fitting for that nostalgic feel. City of Stars straddles the line of score as and song as the melody represents Sebastian's Theme through the film. This version features piano, other orchestral bits and Sebastian singing longingly. The next reprise of City of Stars is a duet and the lyrics represent their budding romance. The piano accompaniment is stronger, but still features the minor key pattern - unusual for a tune between lovers. It seems that this song is the breakout of the film, mainly because its thematic usage.

Start a Fire sounds like it should be out of place in this album, and it's on purpose. It's a John Legend song, and he appears in the film as a band mate of Sebastian. Funny enough, the characters are supposed to hate the song, but it's another catchy song for us. The Audition (The Fools Who Dream) is Mia's standout song. It comes in the film where we almost forget it's a musical - her song is spun out of dialogue as she sings it tearfully right to the camera. I'll also add City of Stars (Humming) to the song list, it's exactly that - a guitar and humming rendition of City of Stars.

And on to the score:
Mia Gets Home is a very short cue, but shows off a hint of Hurwitz's jazz instrumentation - vibraphone, woodwinds, piano and celeste. Bathroom Mirror/You're Coming Right? is upbeat with guitar, piano and drum set and feels like an extension of his song material. Classic Rope-a-Dope is a bit of Mia's Theme on vibraphone with a few other instrumental flairs.

Mia & Sebastian's Theme introduces their Love Theme, a gentle waltz on piano which is expanded as a large scale piano solo. StrollUp the Hill features more vibes, celeste and piano in this short flighty cue. There The Whole Time/Twirl continues the previous orchestration and quotes moments of A Lovely Night. Bogart & Bergman is an airy rendition of Mia's Theme heard later in The Fools Who Dream. This charming arrangement features woodwinds on the melody, cascading celeste and pizzicato strings among others.

Mia Hates Jazz features Sebastian's Theme on guitar. Herman's Habit is a full-on jazz tune, fitting right into the jazz club they visit. Rialto At Ten seems like the same style jazz tune, but a chunk of it is the melody from A Lovely Night. The short cue Rialto repeats the same A Lovely Night refrain on vibes. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Late for the Date) is a piano-led version of the theme, building to a thrilling statement of the theme in the string section with piano rippling arpeggios in the background. Planetarium is one of the standout moments of the film as a result of the fanciful imagery and music. At the beginning, flutes play off of each other before Mia & Sebastian's Theme takes off into a dreamy dancing waltz. The orchestra builds several times before the fantastic full Disney princess-style statement of the theme. The clarinets twirl the characters down (literally) with some playful musical banter between pizzicato strings and woodwinds that lead to a large final note.

Holy Hell is another short cue with flitting woodwinds, light strings on a charming melody. Summer Montage/Madeline brings the Lovely Night into a full jazz/big band setting giving the ensemble members a chance to shine. It Pays brings the Hollywood theme (Another Day Of Sun) to the jazz setting with a killer sax solo. Chicken on a Stick brings the Hollywood theme into another arrangement with vibes and celeste taking the majority of the melody.

City of Stars/May Finally Come True is the only song to make the score album, but this extended version contains an orchestral interlude. Chinatown is light underscore with framework hints of the Hollywood theme under the celeste and vibes. Surprise is a jazz number with trumpets in the foreground. Boise uses the City of Stars melody, although this is sped up and swinging. The piano carries the tune, with a saxophone solo adding a fantastic layer.

Missed the Play has a very paused rhythm with an appearance of Mia & Sebastian's Theme. It's Over/Engagement Party has an extended intro on the score album, and then goes into a piano-led somber version of the dance break from Someone in the Crowd, making this version stand out compared to the happiness of earlier. In its short time, The House In Front of the Library references Mia's Theme and Sebastian's Theme. You Love Jazz Now returns us to the chorus and verse of A Lovely Night while Cincinnati fits as jazz club source music.

Epilogue represents one of the highlights of the film letting the music, direction, choreography, costumes, art direction, et al really shine. A 7-minute medley of the film's music, it starts with Mia & Sebastian's Theme and the lush, waltz variation before going into the Hollywood/Another Day Of Sun material and the Someone in the Crowd interlude before transitioning to Fools Who Dream (Mia's Theme) which almost becomes a different tune by changing the orchestration and it feels sunnier and more lilting than ever before. A jazz rendition of Fools Who Dream takes over, with a short trumpet cadenza-like passage. We return to Mia's Theme and when the chorus arrives, it becomes a thrilling magical moment. City of Stars and the Love Theme are reprised, but the piano seems distant and bare.

The End is one more glimpse at the Love Theme with the choir and orchestra crescendoing to a final chord. Credits brings us an orchestral arrangement of Another Day Of Sun with a larger sound, vocals and a few trumpet solos. This cue is by far one of the catchiest tunes to walk out of a theater to. The album ends with Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Celesta), with the celeste almost sounding like a dreamlike music box.

This score is one of the only one like it this year. Some listeners have made comparisons in film and score to The Artist which was also a critics darling in 2011. That score felt more pastiche than Justin Hurwitz's work on this film.

One thing that I always look forward to is song-to-score continuity. When one composer tackles it all, it can flow evenly between and the parts mean more as a whole. For example, the Alan Menken scores of the early 1990s, use this method which also takes its inspiration from the Broadway tradition. In this film, Hurwitz also takes the jazz source music into the same level as original score (and also sometimes sneaking in a major melody in).

He's matured a lot since Whiplash (2014) with Tim Simonec writing a bunch of the in-film jazz music. The score cover credits Hurwitz as "Music Composed and Orchestrated by", which is a great to see with the crafting of the orchestra is essential to this film. The instrumentation makes it not sound like any recent score. The jazz arrangements are also fantastic and played by some of the best (Randy Kerber as featured pianist, Wayne Bergeron on trumpet and Dan Higgins on sax, among others). Credit also goes to lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (known also for their Broadway musical work). So many lyrics fly by and it's worth seeking them out to catch them.

In this throwback/homage/nostalgic film of classic Hollywood and French musicals, the music carries a lot of weight. I found Justin Hurwitz's music sticking the landing at each moment, crafting a handful of melodies and utilizing them from the saddest moments to the brightest dance breaks and all the romance in between. As the film sweeps at just about every awards ceremony in 2016-2017, I'm thrilled to see lots of recognition to this excellent score.

With the recent Oscar win of Original Score and Original Song going to Justin Hurwitz's on La La Land, I thought back to the other times both Song and Score Oscar went to the same film (and in many cases the same composer).

It is interesting to note how the patterns of film scores go from musicals, to the title tunes of the 1960's, to the overwhelming wins of the Disney renaissance years and the infrequent occurrences since. I've also include a handful of ceremony pictures just for fun.

1939 (12th Academy Awards)

The Wizard of Oz (score by Herbert Stothart)

"Over the Rainbow" (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Yip Harburg)

1940 (13th Academy Awards)

Pinocchio (score by Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith)
"When You Wish Upon A Star" (music by Leigh Harline, lyrics by Ned Washington)

1952 (25th Academy Awards)

HighNoon (score by Dimitri Tiomkin)
"The Ballad of High Noon" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington)

1955 (28th Academy Awards)
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (score by Alfred Newman)
"Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" (music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

1958 (31st Academy Awards)
Gigi (score by Andre Previn)
"Gigi" (music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)

1961 (34th Academy Awards)
Breakfastat Tiffany’s (score by Henry Mancini)
"Moon River" (music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

1964 (37th Academy Awards)
MaryPoppins (score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
"Chim Chim Cher-ee" (music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)

1966 (39th Academy Awards)
BornFree (score by John Barry)
"Born Free" (music by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black)

1969 (42nd Academy Awards)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (score by Burt Bacharach)
"Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head" (music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David)

1973 (46th Academy Awards)
TheWayWeWere (score by Marvin Hamlisch)
"The Way We Were" (music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)

1980 (53rd Academy Awards)
Fame (score by Michael Gore)
"Fame" (music by Michael Gore, lyrics by Dean Pitchford)

1989 (62nd Academy Awards)
TheLittleMermaid (score by Alan Menken)
"Under the Sea" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman)

1991 (64th Academy Awards)
BeautyandtheBeast (score by Alan Menken)
"Beauty and the Beast" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman)

1992 (65th Academy Awards)
Aladdin (score by Alan Menken)
"A Whole New World" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Tim Rice)

1994 (67th Academy Awards)
TheLionKing (score by Hans Zimmer)
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice)

1995 (68th Academy Awards)
Pocahontas (score by Alan Menken)
"Colors of the Wind" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz)

1997 (70th Academy Awards)
Titanic (score by James Horner)
"My Heart Will Go On" (music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings)

2003 (76th Academy Awards)
TheLord of The Rings: The Return Of The King (score by Howard Shore)
"Into the West" (music and lyrics by Annie Lennox, Howard Shore, Fran Walsh)

2008 (81st Academy Awards)
SlumdogMillionaire (score by A.R. Rahman)
"Jai Ho" (music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar)

2016 (89th Academy Awards)
LaLaLand (score by Justin Hurwitz)
"City of Stars" (music by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

Every so often a composer equally shares a film score. Sometimes they actually collaborate on the score and sometimes another composer is called in to supplement or replace. Since the beginning of the film industry, there have been additional composers, uncredited composers, and music directors that have done plenty of scoring jobs as well. But in this case, I've selected 5 different films and how the composers worked together to achieve the final product.

1. The Egyptian (Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman)

For this 1954 religious epic, two of the heaviest hitters of scoring actually worked together. Newman was originally assigned to the score, but other scoring commitments and deadlines had Fox studio head Darryl Zanuck recommend Franz Waxman or Bernard Herrmann to finish the project. Newman composed several cues and melodic ideas which Herrmann came in to arrange and develop. A rarity in his career, Herrmann did eventually collaborate with Newman to form a cohesive score. The score in the end sounds more like a Herrmann score, but each cue has a separate composer credit and each composer even conducted their respective cues at the recording sessions.

2. Batman Begins (Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard)

Story goes that Christopher Nolan had Zimmer in mind for the score for this new Batman franchise. Zimmer turned to veteran composer Howard as a possible collaborator. Rather than splitting the work, they composed together taking turns at each other's material. Indeed it is often hard to tell who wrote which cues with many shared by both composers - but sometimes you can as stylistic choices give some parts away. Additional composers and orchestrators helped unify the score's sound. With the sequel, The Dark Knight, Zimmer and Howard divided more of their work up separately.

3. The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

Initially asked by director David Fincher, Reznor first turned the project down before finally accepting. Reznor then turned to Atticus Ross (who previously co-wrote and produced Nine Inch Nails albums) to co-write the score with him. Exploring new ways to produce sound and expand on earlier Nine Inch Nails electronic sounds, the results are oddly mesmerizing and unsettling. They both share credit on the film (which went on to win the Academy Award) and later work together on Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl and Patriots Day.

4. Chicken Run (John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams)

After working with Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures and several DreamWorks films, they worked together on Antz. Naturally they teamed up again for Chicken Run. This wacky score seems to be primarily Powell, but both composers shared each others themes. Their successful scores together led to their collaboration on their most popular project - Shrek.

5. The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman)

For Michael Mann's 1992 film, he turned to Jones for an electronic score. When the production changed to a more traditional orchestral sound, Jones reworked and rewrote a large majority of the score including the main thematic and battle material. To finish scenes not scored, Mann turned to Edelman who composed a handful of cues for some of the quieter moments. Overall the score is mostly Jones' work. The original soundtrack album oddly separated the composers work into distinct parts, while a 2000 re-recording put the cues back in film order.

My newest yearly tradition - taking a ride on the musical time machine. This was a tough one: 1987 had a list of great scores that have stood the test of time, and over 30 years become fan favorites. So let's take a look back at 1987 with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 30!

Let's start the ranking!

10. The Princess Bride (Mark Knopfler)
Yes, the score is outdated and corny. The action bits are goofy, but the romantic acoustic guitar make this score still likable and unmistakable after all these years.

9. Hellraiser (Christopher Young)
For this horror flick, Young brought the horror score to a large orchestra while expanding the orchestral textures. The gothic style would be his mainstay for many more films and a larger trend in orchestral horror scores.

8. Harry and the Hendersons (Bruce Broughton)
For this comedy/drama/family film, Broughton uses a strong main theme and brings it through many variations - a classical Mozart style, a love theme and even fits into the cartoon-style antics for Harry. It is rare to find a charming and heartfelt score as touching as this.

7. Lethal Weapon (Michael Kamen & Eric Clapton)

Kamen and Clapton collaborated with the BBC miniseries Edge of Darkness, and again for this film. With this quintessential 80's action blockbuster, Kamen brought the orchestral chops, themes, with Clapton adding his guitar expertise, with David Sanborn on sax solos. This trio would return for the rest of the series, and Kamen would continue his large scale orchestral action to Die Hard.

6. Witches of Eastwick (John Williams)
In a rare comedic turn, Williams' score matches the humor and menace of this tale. The main theme is devilish scherzo which repeats through the score and the playful woodwind writing stands out as more scores went electronic. His arrangement of the main theme - retitled Devil's Dance has made frequent appareances at his film music nights for years.

5. The Living Daylights (John Barry)
The last James Bond film scored by Barry, the music mixes the old style with the modern drum loops and synth elements. Melodies are strong and heard often, with great suspense motifs used. Easily one of the best of Barry's later Bond work. Notable also for the cameo by Barry conducting an orchestra featuring the female lead as cello soloist.

4. Empire of the Sun (John Williams)

While often a forgotten film of Steven Spielberg, the score is extremely emotional and effective. Through our main character, the score transforms from frightening/sometimes atonal to the imaginative world he created. The choir used in the second half of the film is moving and used very well. The beautiful Cadillac of the Skies and joyful Exsultate Justi have also made film concert appearances.

3. The Untouchables (Ennio Morricone)
The match the striking Brian DePalma visuals, Morricone produced an arresting score full of tension-filled cues and strong themes. He displays bits of jazz, music box suspense, a lyrical family theme, and haunting death theme. A standout for a Hollywood score by Morricone.

2. Robocop (Basil Poledouris)
The orchestral and electronic elements work together in this dark action film. Even while director Paul Verhoeven goes comic or satirical, Poledouris plays it straight with a full range of large orchestral themes and motifs even during the action material.

1. Predator (Alan Silvestri)
Silvestri brought a thrilling score to the alien jungle thriller. He provides a relentless drive to the film led by the piano/snare militaristic theme. He layers on dissonant brass, high tension strings, noble trumpet moments, jungle percussion and synth material. It's like a darker minor-theme version counterpart to Back to the Future. It's a score that still stands out

Honorable Mentions:
*batteries not included (James Horner), Cherry 2000 (Basil Poledouris), Innerspace (Jerry Goldsmith), The Last Emperor (Ryuichi Sakamoto/David Byrne), Monster Squad (Bruce Broughton)

Any favorites of yours from 1987 that I didn't include? Comment below!

Beauty and the Beast

Music composed by Alan Menken
Songs by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice
Music conducted by Michael Kosarin
Music orchestrated by James Shearman, Kevin Kliesch, Michael Barry
Songs orchestrated by Doug Besterman, Michael Starobin, Danny Troob, Jonathan Tunick
Additional music and arrangements by Christopher Benstead, Michael Kosarin
Music recorded at Abbey Road Studios, AIR Lyndhurst Studios
Album running time: Regular (53 minutes), Deluxe (131 minutes)
Available on Walt Disney Records

The next film to receive the Disney live-action remake is Beauty and the Beast. In the past films, they've mainly shied away from the full musicals or incorporating much of the musical past into the new film. (The recent The Jungle Book is the exception with songs, and with mixed results). This new film, however, takes the original musical film and adds more songs. None of the songs written for the Broadway version have ported over (with one exception that I'll mention later).

For this film, we get 2 albums, with the deluxe edition adding in a full disc of newly written/arranged/orchestrated score by Alan Menken and the new songs presented in demo format. Unfortunately, as Disney's habit of separating songs from score, you'll have to make your own film order arrangement by combining discs. It is worth noting that the complete 1991 score has never been released, with only a few original tracks released.

As far as material: “Prologue”, “Belle”, “Gaston”, “Be Our Guest”, “Something There”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Mob Song” all appear in full, with melodies used in the score again. New material also appears in song and score: “Aria”, “How Does a Moment Last Forever”, “Days in the Sun”, and “Evermore”. For new songs, Menken again collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice, who also was lyricist for the Broadway adaptation.

I don’t feel particularly needed to review the songs –not much has changed from the originals. There are obvious lyrical changes (some original cut lyrics from “Gaston” make an appearance) and the arrangements and larger orchestration are noticeable. The newer songs have a bit of longing to them, and dig deeper into the minds and thoughts of our main characters. The vocals are another matter, which are divisive amongst listeners. Disc One ends with the end credit version of the new songs, and includes a handful of piano demos sung by Alan Menken.

My focus is the new score featured on Disc Two of the Deluxe Edition. Used heavily are the various thematic material – a Menken staple. Melodies of “Beauty and the Beast”, “Belle”, “Be Our Guest” and the Prologue’s magic theme appear regularly while “Evermore”, “How Does a Moment Last Forever” and “Days in the Sun” make some important appearances. Themes are woven into practically every track with some featuring alternate orchestrations/arrangements.

The score album opens with the full Main Title: Prologue sequence sans narrator. Belle Meets Gaston is some light underscoring featuring both moments from Belle and Gaston's pompous motif. Your Mother is a semi-continuation of “How Does a Moment Last Forever”, revealing a tender cello solo. The Laverie incorporates bits of the “Belle” melody while giving a bit of French accordion feel. The action cue Wolf Chase has a sense of menace using snarling brass and a hint at the melody from "Belle". The magic theme melody is given a full reprise with chorus as the Beast's castle is revealed.

Entering the Castle is a bit mysterious and hesitant and ends with a musical cameo of harpsichord-led “Be Our Guest”. The White Rose continues the same style, before becoming larger with magic theme statements in the strings as the brass shine. The Beast contains some of brooding, darker moments of the score. The magic theme is often quoted, with a reprise of “How Does a Moment Last Forever” in a touching cello solo, using the theme as a connection between Belle and her father.

Meet the Staff begins the more lighthearted sections with the transformed objects, with accordions introducing Lumiere as the “Be Our Guest” theme is used. If the bulk of Home sounds familiar, the twinkling melody is from the Broadway song of the same name. The earlier song “Aria” makes a reprise as it introduces Madame de Garderobe with a playful waltz.

There's A Beast and A Petal Drops alternate between the sweet and brooding sounds, with a few magic theme quotes, giving the Beast a more sorrowful backstory. A Bracing Cup of Tea contains some lovely featured solos melodies of “Days in the Sun” and “How Does a Moment Last Forever”. The West Wing gives hints to “Be Our Guest” again, this time in an interesting arrangement, and later features a dramatic quote of “Days in the Sun” before building upon the magic theme. Wolves Attack Belle is larger than the earlier wolf sequence, with jabbing strings, strong choir and pounding percussion. Slower and minor-key arrangements of “Belle”, magical rose theme and “Something There” make appearances.

The Library features a warm string sound and woodwind solos, all while giving the first hint of the melody from “Beauty and the Beast”. Colonnade Chat features lovely statements of “Evermore” and “Beauty and the Beast” with a sweeping orchestral crescendo at the end. The Plague is a short cue, featuring another snippet of “Evermore”. Maurice Accuses Gaston is a bit darker keeping the strings on their opposite ranges for an eerie effect.

Beast Takes a Bath begins with lighthearted accordion reprise of “Evermore”, “Beauty and the Beast” and another frilly waltz reprise of “Aria” for comic effect. The Dress builds upon the 'little town' melody from “Belle” before the celeste and orchestra lead into a reprise of “Home” and serves as a delightfully syrupy introduction to their first dance. You Must Go to Him reprises “Beauty and the Beast” on harp and “Evermore” returns as his chance for love might be gone.

Belle Stops the Wagon balances between drama and action, giving a few action arrangements of past themes among fast string runs and brass and suspenseful writing. Castle Under Attack begins with an air of spookiness as the magic theme is reprised before the orchestra (and castle objects) attack into a frenzy. There are humorous nods to several past themes (including a funny moment for Maestro Cadenza the harpsichord) and the themes shine as their characters interact on screen culminating in a frenzied finale of “Be Our Guest”. Turret Pursuit continues the large orchestral sound, again with the magic theme, “Evermore” and “Beauty and the Beast” making appearances amongst the action as the action rotates around the Beast and Gaston.

You Came Back continues the action material from the last cue, before quotes of the twinkling magic theme, “Beauty and the Beast”, "Home" and moving reprises of “Evermore” take over. It's beautifully moving as themes are brought back as we transition to Transformations. It's almost note-for-note from the original film in some sections, with the magic theme finally taking its large moment as the Beast transforms. The exciting finale naturally reprises all the main themes as the film focuses on all the characters individually – “Beauty and the Beast”, “Be Our Guest”, and “Days in the Sun”. A horn reprises “How Does a Moment” before fading away, an odd ending of the album without the songs and end credits in the proper order.

This new version of Beauty and the Beast feels a bit bloated (it is around 45 minutes longer) than the original film. Expanding upon the original work a few times since 1991, Menken’s evolution of the themes is the strongest aspect of this new score. This does show Alan Menken’s progression as a score composer – even in 1991 he was still new to film. We hear new arrangements and variations on the classic themes which blend easier with the score and new material. I know director Bill Condon was going for a different atmosphere with the film, and giving Menken a temp-track to catch the right mood. The larger expanded orchestra works nicely in some moments while the lighter and more nimble orchestration from the animation is clearly missing from this new film. While several aspects of the new score works, there’s no matching the original’s magical touch.

And now for another ride on the musical time machine! Looking back, it is so hard to believe that these scores from 1997 are 20 years old! So let's take a look back at 1997 with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 20!

Let's start the ranking!

10. Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith)
Written as a replacement for Randy Newman's score (in two weeks!) this bombastic score isn't the best Goldsmith can offer, but it's full of Americana, a shamelessly patriotic sounding main theme and extended action material.

9. Contact (Alan Silvestri)
Silvestri's score is hopeful, and sentimental. Parts of the score sound close to the introspective style of Forrest Gump, with the occasional action cue. Music really goes for the emotion than the science elements in most scenes and especially the climax. Silvestri would touch some of the same aspects to on the series Cosmos.

8. Men in Black (Danny Elfman)
Fitting in the niche of quirky comedy and sci-fi lands Elfman's score. Most of the score has a spy groove that becomes the identity of the MIB and its sequels. It has plenty of past and future Elfman elements with a lovely emotional guitar theme that often gets forgotten.

7. Seven Years in Tibet (John Williams)
The dramatic and personal tale is told with an almost reflective mood. There are moments of sweeping orchestral writing, and plenty more subtle and introspective moments with hints of the Tibetan locale. The score shines with haunting cello solos melodies performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

6. Anastasia (David Newman)
I do love song scores - especially in an animated film. In this case, Newman rarely interpolates the song melodies into the score and lets it become something on its own. The one exception would be the music box theme which ties both songs and score together. The Russian musical influences work well. I'd love to hear an expanded score album, with the original album featuring far more songs.

5. Tomorrow Never Dies (David Arnold)
The Bond franchise got a big jumpstart musically with Arnold's first score. For those worried about the future of these scores, Arnold was able to keep the mold of the Barry-era scores, while adding in new motifs and themes while piling on more blaring brass, jazz and techno.

4. Starship Troopers (Basil Poledouris)
Straddling the aggressive action and the military satire, Poledouris gave the large orchestra a strong workout of bombastic themes, brilliant action cues, creative orchestral techniques and the humorous propaganda bits.

3. L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)
Source songs are featured heavily in the film with Goldsmith's score there to bind the rest of the film together. This dark noir features some fantastic instrumental writing and suspense cues. The trumpet variations of the main title are a particular standout.

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (John Williams)
Returning to the dinosaur blockbuster gave Williams a chance to take the score in a different direction. Matching the darker tone, the score went much darker with hardly any references to the majestic themes of the original. Instead a new theme conveyed a lot of the island travel and how scary the dinos can be with brutual action rhythms overlayed with lots of jungle-themed percussion. The score fares better in the film or in the expanded soundtrack.

1. Titanic (1997)
1997 was dominated by Titanic. Easily one of the most influential aspects is the score. Horner's grand and romantic score is dominated by Celtic influences, stunning vocal solos, lush orchestral and synth techniques. Even with all its flaws, this score's staying power 20 years later is astonishing. The radio play of the song, award winds and album sales is still rare for a film score.

Honorable Mentions:

Amistad (John Williams), Batman & Robin (Elliot Goldenthal), Con Air (Mark Mancina/Trevor Rabin), Face Off (John Powell), Good Will Hunting (Danny Elfman) My Best Friends Wedding (James Newton Howard).

Any favorites of yours from 1997 that I didn't include? Comment below!

The newest Spotlight On takes a look back at the The Fast and the Furious franchise.
These street racing/heist/revenge action films are more popular than ever and have featured what feels like the most frequent action cues. So rev up your engines and let's take a look back on the films score by score.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Music by BT
Composer and musician Brian Transeau was well established in the electronica world, but film scoring was still relatively new. His score features some non-traditional writing techniques and included complex rhythm patterns on car chassis parts. Clearly the techno style has followed through most of the later films. Since the original focus was the song soundtrack, only a few tracks appear on the More Fast and Furious album. (Just listen to: Race Wars, Nocturnal Transmission, The Fast and the Furious Theme)

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Music by David Arnold
Director John Singleton brought David Arnold to this less than desirable sequel, with a few action James Bond films under his belt. Arnold matched the glowing street racing musically with a hard rock influence of drum loops and electronic elements. Unfortunately no score tracks were released on any official albums.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Music by Brian Tyler
Tyler continued the mix of electronics and orchestra, letting guitars and brass stay in the forefront of the constant action cues. Tyler does include a bit more thematic material that threads through the score. His action writing led to Tyler basically taking over the franchise's overall sound.  (Just listen to: Neela Drifts, Downtown Tokyo Chase, Symphonic Touge)

Fast & Furious (2009)
Music by Brian Tyler
More symphonic than the last, the score never loses its roots in the guitars and electronic rhythms and hints of techno. Welcome slower moments include Letty's acoustic guitar theme and love theme.  (Just listen to: Letty, The Showdown, Suite)

Fast Five (2011)
Music by Brian Tyler
The orchestral side of the score is more dominant. The drumset, guitars and electronic loops give the score a bit more edge. The new main theme will become a film mainstay while new characters (like Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs) lead to some new thematic motifs. Overall, Tyler continues his typical action chops, with some memorable cues that don't feel like retreaded material. (Just listen to: The Perfect Crew, Dom Vs Hobbs, Train Heisht, The Vault Heist)

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Music by Lucas Vidal
With Tyler stepping aside for other projects, young composer Vidal stepped with an equally action-packed score that blends nicely with the past scores. In fact, themes and full cues from Tyler's scores of films 4 and 5 appear. In addition, no official score album was released.

Furious 7 (2015)
Music by Brian Tyler
For film 7, Tyler returned with possibly the freshest of the scores while still developing past material. The main theme returns as does the theme for Hobbs, and a menacing theme for villain Shaw. Choir makes an appearance in this score, seemingly upping the score just like the films themselves. The emotional side of the series has popped up occasionally, but with Paul Walker's touching tribute, Tyler's emotional aspect exactly hits the mark. (Just listen to: Furious 7, Battle of the Titans, One Last Stand, Farewell)

The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Music by Brian Tyler
Containing some of the betrayal and vengeance parts of the film, Tyler connected several past themes for Letty and Dom in slighty darker moments. All of the Tyler essentials appear at full blast. This score doesn't add much to the musical world we've heard already as the long album moves along. (Just listen to: Zombie Time, Davidaniya, The Return)

Check out the others in the SPOTLIGHT ON.... SERIES!

Spotlight On Series: Harry Potter, Batman, James Bond, Star Trek, Marvel, Pixar, X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman, Jack Ryan, Transformers, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games

Back to our musical score time machine! This time, we're only looking back 10 years...to 2007! Here's a look back at the scores of 2007 with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 10!

Let's start the ranking!

10. Spider-Man 3 (Christopher Young)
After scoring a few cues for the previous film, Young took over the whole score from Danny Elfman. This score stands out by expanding on Elfman's material and style while adding Young's Black Suit Spider-man, Sandman and Venom material (among others). Like Spider-Man 2, additional composers were brought in rescore sections. Sadly, no score release has ever been released.

9. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (James Newton Howard)
A mix of childlike fantasy, Celtic influences, orchestral action makes this likely a favorite from JNH fans. The sweeping orchestral writing near the finale is especially moving and brings me back to this score for several repeated listens.

8. Partition (Brian Tyler)
Typical Brian Tyler fans probably wouldn't find or seek this score, and likely you haven't seen this drama about the creation of Pakistan. The main theme and vocal solos are a sure standout, with tasteful ethnic instrumentation incorporated throughout.

7. Stardust (Ilan Eshkeri)
If you haven't seen or heard this one, put it on your list. This score fits snuggly in the action fantasy category with twinkling instrumentation, broad orchestrations, choir and charming melodies. There are heavy Lord of the Rings/Narnia influences, but still Eshkeri's strongest efforts.

6. I Am Legend (James Newton Howard)
While a good chunk of the film deals with the main character's isolation with silence, the score's album contains more music. The orchestral/choral theme for our main character is a standout among action cues and sweeping moments later in the film.

5. Atonement (Dario Marianelli)
For this period piece, Marianelli composed what could be mistaken as concert music. Cello and piano solos stay in the forefront in this largely romantic-yet-subdued score. The two main melodies appear regularly, as does bits of typewriter.

4. 3:10 to Yuma (Marco Beltrami)
Gritty western is the usual way of describing the film and score. Notable are the darker motifs with innovative instrumentation mixed with sound design. Beltrami matches the tension of the film, before finally unleashing more outstanding action.

3. The Golden Compass (Alexandre Desplat)
From the beginning of this fantasy epic (a trend of mine emerges), Desplat brings you into this new world. Everything is crafted neatly and themes are woven into interesting textures (utilizing some instruments and orchestral sounds you don't always hear). This is also one of Desplat's first "big" films, giving him the chance to write action cues still crafted with the same care as his French films.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (Hans Zimmer)
With easily the best of the Pirates scores, Zimmer & co. bring the orchestra whipping up some great rollicking moments. With new themes expanding the past films, new material includes a love theme, pirate anthem, more quirky Jack Sparrow material, Asian influences, and even Morricone takeoffs. Even while riffing on things done before, the score seems fresher and even sounds better.

1. Ratatouille (Michael Giacchino)
For this still delightful Pixar film, Giacchino delivers a perfect blend of French textures, jazz, a pinch of romance, a strong main theme and subsequent song. The energetic action cues sit nicely next to the sentimental moments. With the balance of sweetness and upbeat excitement, it's easy to see how Giacchino became a Pixar favorite and how this score earns top place of the year.

Honorable Mentions:
August Rush (Mark Mancina), The Bourne Ultimatum (John Powell), Eastern Promises (Howard Shore), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (John Ottman), Meet the Robinsons (Danny Elfman), There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood), Zodiac (David Shire)

Any favorites of yours from 2007 that I didn't include? Comment below!

Back with Scoring the Series, as we look back at the various Spider-Man films. With the release of the newest film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, we add Michael Giacchino to the list of top composers for our favorite web-slinger. Here are the credits to each film with some scoring photos tossed in.

Spider-Man (2002)
Music composed by Danny Elfman
Conducted by Pete Anthony
Orchestrated by Steve Bartek, Mark McKenzie, Edgardo Simone, David Slonaker, Marc Mann
Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands
Recorded at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage

Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Music composed by Danny Elfman
Conducted by Pete Anthony
Orchestrated by Steve Bartek, Mark McKenzie, Edgardo Simone, David Slonaker
Additional music by John Debney, Christopher Young
Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands
Recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Recorded at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage

Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Music composed by Christopher Young
Conducted by Pete Anthony
Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Bruce Babcock, John Kull
Original themes/cues by Danny Elfman

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Music composed by James Horner
Conducted by James Horner
Orchestrated by James Horner, J.A.C. Redford, Jon Kull, Steve Bernstein, Peter Boyer, Carl Johnson, Randy Kerber
Music arranged by Simon Rhodes, Simon Franglen, Ian Underwood
Recorded and mixed by Simon Rhodes
Recorded at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Music composed by Hans Zimmer and the Magnificent Six
(Michael Einzinger, Junkie XL, Andrew Kawczynski, Johnny Marr, Steve Mazzaro, Pharrell Williams)
Conducted by Nick-Glennie Smith
Orchestrated by Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler, Suzette Moriarty, Rhea Fowler, Kevin Kaska
Additional music by Andy Page, Adam Peters, Czarina Russell, Mario Reinsch
Recorded by Alan Meyerson
Recorded at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Music composed by Michael Giacchino
Conducted by Marshall Bowen III
Orchestrated by Jeff Kryka, William Ross, Marshall Bowen III, Cameron Patrick, Curtis Green, Michael Giacchino
Recorded and mixed by Joel Iwataki
Recorded at 20th Century Fox's Newman Scoring Stage

Stage discussion (l-r) Malcolm Arnold, William Walton, Guy Hamilton

In this post found here, I featured stories of notable rejected scores and their replacements.
Here are a few more notable examples and some favorite stories of mine.

9. Team America: World Police (2004)
[Marc Shaiman]
After their work on the South Park film in 1999, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone got to work on their puppet comedy. After co-writing songs, Shaiman turned to writing the score while filming was still going. The plan was to rush through post production so the film could be released before the upcoming US election. The team finally caught up with Shaiman after a majority of the score was recorded, and decided to ditch the playful score. The studio and Parker wanted a score to match the Jerry Bruckheimer/Media Ventures sound the film was parodying, so they turned to Harry Gregson-Williams. Gregson-Williams scored it (with additional members from MV) like a straight action film in only a few weeks. Everything was so rushed, the original soundtrack famously doesn't list Gregson-Williams' name.

8. The Golden Child (1986)
[John Barry]
For this Eddie Murphy Tibet-themed comedy, we got an lush Asian inspired Barry score and action similar to his later Bond films. Producers clashed with Barry during post production, and test screenings indicated a change of direction toward a contemporary synth sound better fitting the Eddie Murphy character. Michel Colombier was hired to compose a new score in a matter of weeks, with the final film and soundtrack still containing Barry cues.

7. Jennifer 8 (1992)
[Maurice Jarre]
Producers of this cop thriller sought after high-profile composer Maurice Jarre even while director Bruce Robinson had Christopher Young in mind after being a fan of Young's The Fly II. The studio won out, with Jarre writing and recording around 40 minutes of music. Apparently a lack of communication between Jarre and Robinson gave him not exactly what he wanted for the film. So Jarre was out and Young was brought in to compose his haunting score. Interestingly enough, 19 years later, Robinson worked with Young again on The Rum Diary.

6. Timeline (2003)
[Jerry Goldsmith]
After months of composing and recording the score for director Richard Donner, Goldsmith's score basically got edited out as the film headed into trouble. Reshoots, massive editing and bad screenings led to Goldsmith either redoing everything or backing out. For the action sound Donner wanted, he turned to relative newcomer Brian Tyler. Goldsmith's score ended up being his penultimate release with his passing in 2004.

5. Mission: Impossible (1996)
[Alan Silvestri]
According to director Brian DePalma, Silvestri's action score never worked being too busy or too melodic. As he was composing and finishing a day of recording, he received a call and was off the project. At the request of star/producer Tom Cruise, they turned to Danny Elfman who had just come off of a score for To Die For, starring Nicole Kidman. With limited time, Elfman composed a percussive action score unlike his previous work.

4. Chinatown (1974)
[Phillip Lambro]
Fresh from the classical world but trying to break into film scoring, Lambro wrote the original score to Chinatown on the request of director Roman Polanski. After poorly received test screenings, it was decided to scrap his entire period-infused score. Producers turned to Jerry Goldsmith for the new score - and had to compose the replacement in 10 days. Even with this short span, Goldsmith's replacement score has become a classic. Oddly, it was Lambro's score that made appearances in the film's trailer and ads.

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
[Alexandre Desplat]
With Alexandre Desplat reuniting with director Gareth Edwards after Godzilla, it seemed like we'd get a different vision for a Star Wars score. Desplat got to work writing, but hadn't recorded anything from the score. As extensive reshoots muddled the production, Desplat's scoring schedule was adjusted and he'd no longer be available. Disney and Lucasfilm turned to Michael Giacchino, known for his large thematic orchestral scores for the studio. A lifelong dream to follow in the John Williams tradition, Giacchino only had around three months before the film's release.

2. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
[Randy Edelman, John Van Tongeren]
Possibly the biggest offender of rejected scores are temp scores, the music used during production before the final score gets added. With this sequel, Edelman's original score (with additional music by Christophe Beck and John Van Tongeren) couldn't keep up with the temp score and basically was all dropped with Tongeren receiving composing credit. Film score fans probably can't make it through the final film with random cues from Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice, I Am Sam, My Best Friends Wedding, Sweet November and even Chicken Run being used. (Edward Schearmur, John Powell, John Powell, James Newton Howard, Christopher Young, John Powell/Harry Gregson-Williams, respectively)

1. Battle of Britain (1969)

[William Walton]

Classical composer Sir William Walton returned to the film world, swayed by friends like lead actor Sir Laurence Olivier and composer Sir Malcolm Arnold. Arnold would assist the aging Walton by orchestrating, conducting and writing additional cues. With the score not long enough and not sounding enough like a standard aerial war picture, it was scrapped. Producers turned to Ron Goodwin (fresh off several British war films) to write the replacement. At the insistence of Olivier (threatening to take his name from the film), a piece of Walton remained in the film. The montage's "Battle in the Air" is still one of the score's highlights.

For you score detectives out there, here's a rundown with a listing of how to hear some of these rejected scores. Luckily many of these scores have been released recently.

Team America
No part of Shaiman's score has been released.
The Golden Child
While the original soundtrack featured a Barry cue and song, a 2011 release by La-La Land Records contains all of the unused score and Colombier's final score.
Jennifer 8
Jarre's entire score was released alongside Young's score in a 2012 La-La Land Records release.
Timeline
Varese Sarabande released the regular soundtrack to Tyler's score, while the same label released a very limited release of Goldsmith's unused score in 2004 (posthumously) - giving his fans one more score to hear.
Mission: Impossible
Bootlegs have surfaced over the years with Silvestri's unfinished score. Rumor is that parts of the music became parts of the following year's Eraser.
Chinatown
While Lambro was being rejected, he made a deal with the studio for publishing rights in return for parts of his score to be used in the film's marketing. It took until 2012, but Perserverance Records released Los Angeles, 1937. The deal included not mentioning the Chinatown title, but you can hear his whole unused score and trailer music.
Rogue One
Since there are no recordings, it seems that Desplat's ideas will never be heard.
Miss Congeniality 2
There were no score releases for either film - rejected or otherwise. But you can make your own playlist of temp tracks!
Battle of Britain
Walton's Battle in the Air was on the original LP. It was the 1999 Rykodisc/2004 Varese Sarabande release that featured all of his unused score in addition to the Goodwin score.

Here's the 2017 Roundup of Original Score nominations and winners from various associations. Winners will be marked in red and updated regularly!

ACADEMY AWARD
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
[nominations January 23rd]
[winners announced March 4th]

GOLDEN GLOBE
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
[nominations December 11th]
[winners announced January 7th]

BRITISH ACADEMY FILM AWARDS (BAFTA)
[nominations January]
[winners announced February 18th]

ANNIE AWARDS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION
The Breadwinner (Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna)
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (Theodore Shapiro)
Coco (Michael Giacchino, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez & Germaine Franco)
Loving Vincent (Clint Mansell)
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (Christophe Beck, Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson)
[winners announced February 3rd]

SATELLITE AWARDS (INTERNATIONAL PRESS ACADEMY)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Darkest Hour (Dario Marianelli)
Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
War for the Planet of the Apes (Michael Giacchino)
Wonderstruck (Carter Burwell)
Wonder Woman (Rupert Gregson-Williams)

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST MUSIC SCORE
*Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat) [runner-up]

LOS ANGELES ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST SCORE
Blade Runner 2049 (Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch)
Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
War for the Planet of the Apes (Michael Giachino)

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM

WASHINGTON DC AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
[winners announced December 8th]

BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
[winners announced December 10th]

CHICAGO FILM CRITICS AWARDS
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST MUSICAL SCORE

HOUSTON FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST SCORE
[winners announced December 18th]

LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT (FOR MUSIC)

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
BEST SCORE
Blade Runner 2049 (Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch)
Darkest Hour (Dario Marianelli)
Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
The Post (John Williams)
The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)

SATURN AWARDS
BEST MUSIC

Shakespeare on Film

Quick Review: The Jungle Book

Scoring the Series: X-Men

Quick Review: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Quick Review: The BFG

Top 10 Scores Turning 10 in 2016

Quick Review: The Magnificent Seven

Quick Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

2016 Original Score Awards Roundup

Quick Review: La La Land

Song and Score Oscar Winners

Sharing a Film Score

Top 10 Scores Turning 30 in 2017

Quick Review: Beauty and the Beast

Top 10 Scores Turning 20 in 2017

Spotlight On...The Fast and the Furious

Top 10 Scores Turning 10 in 2017

Scoring the Series: Spider-Man

Rejected Scores: Part II

2017 Original Score Awards Roundup