- 1 year ago
Get your tissues ready! Join us as we count down the most emotionally moving film scores and original songs that pull at your heartstrings. From John Williams' haunting violin in "Schindler's List" to Hans Zimmer's celestial compositions for "Interstellar," these soundtracks are emotional journeys in their own right. Which soundtrack always brings tears to your eyes?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for cinema's most emotionally moving scores and original songs, within and beyond the film's context.
00:14Just as long as the music was composed specifically for these soundtracks.
00:17A world that's full of happiness that I have never known.
00:29Number 20. Jurassic Park
00:31Director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams know how to evoke nostalgia on a colossal scale.
00:37Granted, there's not much fond nostalgia for prehistoric monsters.
00:40Sure enough, the orchestral score for Jurassic Park is a mostly pulse-pounding opus to complement the thrills in dinosaur clones on the loose.
00:48But when we first see the groundbreaking CGI, the sweeping theme draws on the majesty of both nature and technology.
01:02This became a leitmotif throughout the film.
01:05Then a franchise, marking one of the most powerfully recognizable pieces in 90s soundtracks.
01:11Williams' passion is essential to evolving Jurassic Park from a blockbuster to a masterpiece.
01:16While the music didn't really do much for the polarizing sequels, the original amusement park perils are a true emotional rollercoaster.
01:30Number 19. Her
01:32The love story of a lonely man and an AI program sounds like a tough sell.
01:36The brilliant filmmaking makes her work, while the soundtrack makes it absolutely heartwarming.
01:52Composed by the indie rock band Arcade Fire and their occasional violinist-keyboardist Owen Pallett,
01:57it's the perfect blend of futuristic style and ambient sentimentality.
02:02The sparse and ethereal tone is hypnotic enough without the film's layered drama.
02:06There's also a sweet moment when the lead characters improvised the Moon Song,
02:10actually written by Karen Oh of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
02:13She also performs the song over the credits, with The Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig.
02:35These indie all-stars were all nominated for Oscars, but the highest praise came from the listeners her spoke to.
02:41Number 18. Once
02:42Musical and romantic dramatist John Carney first struck a chord with Once.
02:58It's a largely underrated slice of life, until it comes alive with stylish numbers
03:02that propel the story of two aspiring musicians trying to make it in Dublin.
03:06The powerful voices of folk rockers Glenn Hansard and Marketa Erglova,
03:12accompanied by the latter's band Interference,
03:14moved audiences beyond any expectations for the modest production.
03:18Falling Slowly won the Academy Award for Best Original Song,
03:21and is now considered a staple of indie folk.
03:23Take this sinking boat and point it home.
03:32We've still got time.
03:38And Hansard and Erglova later reunited for an immensely successful, Tony-sweeping stage adaptation.
03:44There's no doubting the pop-cultural resonance of Once,
03:46or that this was mostly thanks to it exemplifying music's power to emotionally unite us.
03:51Number 17. The Shawshank Redemption.
03:54It sounds like freedom in the iconic scene
03:56where Andy Dufresne plays a recording of the marriage of Figaro over the prison loudspeaker,
04:01but it feels like Mozart can barely hold a candle
04:03to Thomas Newman's captivating work on The Shawshank Redemption.
04:07His score is an often brooding symphony with elements of waltz and blues
04:19to capture the sense of systemized entrapment in prison life.
04:22And in those moments of personal liberation for the inmates,
04:25the orchestra makes you feel it.
04:27Among the film's seven Oscar nominations was the first of the 15 Newman would receive.
04:40Now considered one of the greatest composers in contemporary Hollywood,
04:43he is still particularly beloved for conducting the complex emotions of The Shawshank Redemption.
04:49Number 16. Brokeback Mountain.
04:51The ballad of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist may be one of quiet desperation,
04:56but the music says it all.
04:58Gustavo Santalaya was best known for his work in Spanish-language cinema
05:01when he brought unique warmth and orchestration
05:04to the acoustic overtones of the neo-Western romance Brokeback Mountain.
05:08It's a sort of classical country,
05:22highlighting some of the most devastating breakthroughs in the usually quiet affair.
05:26The soundtrack also features enchanting original songs,
05:29like Rufus Wainwright's The Maker Makes
05:31and the Emmy-Lou Harris-Bernie Toppin collab,
05:34A Love That Will Never Grow Old.
05:36Cause I know
05:39A love that will never grow old
05:46But it was Santalaya who took home the Oscar,
05:50setting up a renowned international film career
05:52and years of breaking hearts with Brokeback Mountain.
05:55Number 15. Up.
05:57Michael Giacchino's Oscar-winning work on Pixar's Up
05:59starts on an emotional high note
06:01with a montage following Carl and Ellie Fredrickson's life together.
06:05From this romance and heartbreak
06:14comes a lively, jazzy journey beyond the clouds.
06:17And yet, as exciting as the orchestral score gets in the perilous Paradise Falls,
06:21there's just as much emphasis placed on the majesty of this world
06:25and the emotional growth of the characters.
06:27Pixar fans have since regarded Up
06:28as one of the studio's most tonally dynamic masterpieces,
06:31thanks in no small part to the music.
06:34With so many highs and lows, though,
06:36Giacchino takes you on an emotional adventure,
06:38independent of the classic family flick.
06:40Number 14. The Lion King.
06:50How many Disney movies come roaring out the gate like this?
07:04The Lion King was immediately praised for its collaboration
07:06between pop icon Elton John, songwriting legend Tim Rice,
07:11and master composer Hans Zimmer.
07:13From a soundtrack full of catchy classics,
07:15Circle of Life and the Oscar-winning Can You Feel the Love Tonight
07:18stand out for their poignant sweep.
07:20Of course, Zimmer's score, which won him his first Academy Award,
07:24boasts a visceral intensity and gravity beyond most family fare.
07:28This brilliant blend of Western and African classical
07:38is a moving epic on its own,
07:40inspiring one of the most beloved stage musicals of all time.
07:43It all began with a cinematic symphony
07:45to move families to sing, dance, and weep for generations.
07:50Number 13. Interstellar.
07:52It's seldom sappy when filmmaker Christopher Nolan
07:54and composer Hans Zimmer team up on a thrilling genre epic.
07:58But Interstellar was something different for both visionaries
08:00and required innovation to the stars.
08:14Grand oil, back to the ranger now.
08:16The saga of a mission to colonize humanity's next homeworld
08:19naturally takes Zimmer's classical scope
08:21and futuristic electronics to awesome heights.
08:24Leading this advanced technology, however,
08:26is a 1926 Harrison and Harrison pipe organ.
08:29This infuses the sleek orchestra with a celestial soul
08:33that ties this journey back to the high stakes
08:35and the anguish in our hero's sacrifice.
08:37The complex tones encompass the whole human condition,
08:55distinguishing Interstellar as a thinking man's blockbuster
08:58and its soundtrack as a haunting achievement in musical engineering.
09:02Number 12. Braveheart.
09:04James Horner's signature Celtic musical sensibilities
09:06were brought to the forefront
09:08in one of the definitive Hollywood epics of the 90s.
09:11Mel Gibson's Braveheart dramatizes the life
09:13of Scottish rebel William Wallace
09:15with an often tense grandeur,
09:17but is highlighted by romantic or morose tributes
09:19to the victims of colonialism.
09:21I will love you my whole life.
09:24You and no other.
09:31And I you.
09:34You and no other forever.
09:36Either way,
09:37Horner expands the incredible beauty
09:39and instrumentation of Scottish folk music
09:41through the London Symphony Orchestra.
09:43Drama and culture aggrandize each other
09:46in this anthemic rallying cry of a score.
09:48Consequently, Braveheart has been accused
09:51of firing off anglophobic sentiments
09:52as well as Scottish pride.
09:54But Horner's masterful compositions
09:56really have the scope and personality
09:58to resonate with any culture.
10:00Freedom!
10:09Number 11. The Thin Red Line.
10:11Terrence Malick's haunting sense of imagery and philosophy
10:14is matched by his taste in sacred music.
10:16The original pieces for the ethereal war epic
10:19The Thin Red Line
10:20particularly measure up to the likes of Gabriel Foray
10:23and Arvo Part.
10:24The Melanesian folk choirs aren't chanting enough.
10:28And as much suspense as Hans Zimmer predictably
10:36packs into the action,
10:37the soulful soundscapes truly pull you
10:39into the intense emotions of the battlefield
10:41and the nature it destroys.
10:43The masterpiece, Journey to the Line,
10:45was even licensed by so many dramatic sequences
10:48that Zimmer himself dubbed it
10:49The Forbidden Cue.
10:55Malick's The Thin Red Line
10:56is just that powerful in its contrast
10:59between beauty and brutality.
11:01Down to the music.
11:02Number 10.
11:03Once Upon a Time in the West.
11:05Ennio Morricone became an international sensation
11:07through his rousing work with director
11:09Sergio Leone on the Dollar Trilogy.
11:11With their collaboration on Once Upon a Time in the West,
11:14the world heard something more profound.
11:17The fusion of cowboy drama,
11:18European classical,
11:20and electric instruments create a rich,
11:22unmistakable tone
11:23for this classic epic spaghetti western.
11:25The lament of personal and cultural laws in the Old West
11:40is especially felt in the mesmerizing emotive pieces.
11:43The theme,
11:44led by the soprano Etta Del Rosso's vocalization,
11:47is nothing short of iconic.
11:49For such an unsentimental depiction
11:50of the American frontier's demise,
11:52Once Upon a Time in the West
11:54matches tension and tenderness
11:56in a way unique to the genre,
11:58thanks to music that's revered on its own.
12:01It's going to be a beautiful time.
12:06It's with water.
12:11I hope you'll come back someday.
12:14Number 9.
12:15La La Land.
12:16Old Hollywood fantasy
12:17and bittersweet reality mingle
12:18in Damien Chazelle's La La Land.
12:20Certainly, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
12:23write lots of hopping jazz musical throwbacks,
12:26boosted by Justin Hurwitz's Oscar-winning score.
12:28Is this the start of something wonderful in you?
12:35Or one more dream
12:39that I cannot make true?
12:42But the film also takes inspiration
12:44for more experimental dramas,
12:46like the French masterpiece,
12:47The Umbrellas of Cherbor.
12:49Numbers like City of Stars
12:50and Planetarium
12:51are simply enchanting
12:53in their whimsical romance.
12:54And it's near impossible
12:55to not break down
12:56at the Emma Stone solo
12:57audition,
12:58The Fools Who Dream.
12:59Here's to the fools
13:02who dream
13:03Crazy as they may seem
13:10Here's to the hearts
13:12that break
13:13As it all comes down
13:16to a sprawling finale
13:17with no dialogue over the score,
13:19there shouldn't be a dry eye
13:20in the house.
13:21Whether with nostalgia
13:22or melancholy,
13:24La La Land is sure
13:25to fill the crowd's heart.
13:26Number 8.
13:27Forrest Gump
13:28The period soundtrack
13:29for Robert Zemeckis'
13:30Forrest Gump
13:31is surely an iconic work
13:32of nostalgia,
13:33but to be more sentimental,
13:35Alan Silvestri's original score
13:36evokes a wave of emotions.
13:38From the unmistakable piano
13:40leitmotifs
13:40to the triumphant crescendos,
13:42it's the perfect complement
13:44to the heart-trending saga
13:45of a naive man
13:46who represents the resilience
13:48of the modern American spirit.
13:49From that day on,
13:51if I was going somewhere,
13:53I was running.
14:02The gorgeous music itself
14:04became a pop culture phenomenon
14:06for its sentimentality,
14:07often fit for parody.
14:08Under Zemeckis' direction, however,
14:10the score is consistently cued
14:12at the perfect time
14:13to maximize emotion
14:14rather than manipulation.
14:16Forrest Gump has a reputation
14:18for being one of the top
14:19tearjerkers of the 90s,
14:20but Silvestri is the one responsible.
14:28Number 7.
14:29Saving Private Ryan
14:30Steven Spielberg's
14:32revolutionary World War II epic
14:33boasts a very particular
14:35kind of American patriotism.
14:37It's based on humanity
14:38above all else,
14:38and it's fueled
14:39by a distinctly
14:40John Williams score.
14:54Usually played in the context
14:56of carnage
14:56after intense combat scenes,
14:58the music in Saving Private Ryan
15:00morosely draws on the weight
15:01of the senseless violence.
15:03At the same time,
15:04the grandeur of militarized
15:06American classical
15:06pays respect to these men's
15:08sacrifices for a better world
15:10and their brothers-in-arms.
15:12This would set the tone
15:13for future war epic's
15:14knack for grim sweep.
15:16Saving Private Ryan
15:16is an altogether immersive
15:18and visceral experience,
15:20but the way Williams
15:20breaks the grim tension
15:22is what truly gives it meaning.
15:23Number 6.
15:36The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
15:37Among the many daunting tasks
15:39for Peter Jackson's adaptation
15:41of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
15:42was creating the right soundtrack.
15:44Hollywood fantasy films
15:45were rarely that deeply emotional,
15:47with Howard Shore
15:48surely delivering
15:49beautiful whimsical themes
15:50and driving tension.
15:51By referencing more
16:01prestigious epics, however,
16:03he brought an operatic passion
16:05that respected focus
16:06on character drama.
16:07Besides this soulful fanfare,
16:09each massive installment
16:10closes with a tender ballad.
16:12Any Lennox's Into the West
16:13is all the more moving
16:14for its tribute to Cameron Duncan,
16:16a teenage fan who passed away
16:18before the release
16:19of The Return of the King.
16:20Jackson's trilogy changed
16:41the way audiences
16:42emotionally invest
16:43in fantasy movies,
16:44though he owes a lot
16:45to Shore's masterful ear.
16:47Number 5.
16:48Gladiator.
16:48Elevating the period action
16:50to...
16:50Elevating the period action
16:52epic to new prestige,
16:54Ridley Scott's Gladiator
16:55was an unexpectedly
16:56emotional journey
16:57for audiences.
17:04The score is thus recognized
17:07as one of the greatest
17:08composed by Hans Zimmer,
17:10albeit not single-handedly.
17:12Some of the most moving cues
17:13were co-written by Lisa Gerard
17:15of the neoclassical group
17:16Dead Can Dance.
17:17Her diverse folk sensibilities
17:19and dreamy contralto
17:21interact with Zimmer's
17:22artistic breath
17:23to draw on the humanity
17:24of those oppressed
17:25by an empire.
17:26The Golden Globe winning score
17:28also inspired a musical trend
17:29in classical epic films
17:31that often entailed
17:32wailing woman vocals.
17:34Despite the cheap manipulations
17:35of its disciples,
17:36Gladiator's innovative music alone
17:38is as moving
17:39as it is entertaining.
17:40Number four,
17:52E.T. The Extraterrestrial.
17:54One of the quintessential
17:55collaborations between
17:56Steven Spielberg and John Williams
17:57is also one of the defining
17:59scores of the 1980s.
18:01The sheer majesty
18:01of the uplifting themes
18:03in E.T. The Extraterrestrial
18:04should make viewers
18:05misty with nostalgia.
18:06But the mix of tragedy
18:15and triumph
18:16in E.T.'s adventures on Earth
18:18is especially touching
18:19for Williams'
18:20masterful musical storytelling.
18:22In an age of
18:22pop-oriented movie music,
18:24this old-fashioned orchestration
18:26made the sci-fi
18:26coming of age
18:27feel like the prestigious
18:28classic it would become.
18:30The score itself
18:30became one of the few
18:31to ever win a BAFTA,
18:33a Golden Globe,
18:34an Oscar,
18:35and a Grammy.
18:36Every generation since
18:37has grown up listening
18:38and tearing up
18:39to the E.T. soundtrack.
18:57Number three,
18:58Cinema Paradiso.
19:00The film credited
19:00with reviving Italian cinema
19:02did so by reminding audiences
19:04of the power of art itself.
19:06Giuseppe Tornatore's
19:07Cinema Paradiso
19:08is driven by nostalgia,
19:10but anyone can emotionally
19:11connect with Ennio Morricone's art.
19:13He returns sweeping,
19:15heavily thematic 80s scoring
19:16to its classical roots,
19:18while sophisticatedly
19:19pouring on awe
19:20and sentimentality.
19:21For a coming-of-age
19:30so bittersweet,
19:32the tone could have been
19:32cloying.
19:33Instead,
19:34Morricone and Tornatore
19:35coordinate to make
19:36every passionate cue
19:38feel humanistic.
19:39Tornatore's son,
19:40Andrea,
19:41even composed
19:42the film's iconic love theme.
19:43This marks his breakout,
19:54while the soundtrack
19:55is overall considered
19:56one of his father's finest works.
19:58Though Cinema Paradiso
19:59overtly celebrates
20:00the immersive resonance of film,
20:02the equal significance
20:03of music speaks for itself.
20:05Number two,
20:06Titanic.
20:07How did sci-fi action filmmaker
20:08James Cameron
20:09turn a historic tragedy
20:10into such a powerful romantic epic?
20:13One key factor can be heard
20:14from the hypnotic
20:15opening minutes of Titanic.
20:23James Horner's score
20:25mostly alternates
20:26between the exhilarating
20:27spirit of adventure
20:28and the serenity
20:29of the love story.
20:30But even as the eponymous
20:31ocean liner sinks,
20:33the action-packed symphony
20:34still maintains
20:35the poignant themes.
20:36It's a colossus of soul
20:37that culminates
20:38in Celine Dion's singing
20:40My Heart Will Go On,
20:41one of the most loved
20:42love songs of the 90s.
21:01Horner wound up
21:02taking home two Oscars,
21:04while the Titanic's score
21:05became one of the top-selling
21:06soundtracks of all time.
21:07Even without the visual spectacle,
21:09the music is a dramatic triumph.
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21:27Number one,
21:28Schindler's List.
21:29The subject of Schindler's List
21:31is so weighty
21:32that John Williams
21:33told Steven Spielberg
21:34it demanded a better composer.
21:35Spielberg responded,
21:36I know,
21:37but they're all dead.
21:39And so,
21:39the maestro moved forward
21:40with composing
21:41a sparse masterpiece
21:42befitting the human condition
21:44displayed during the Holocaust.
21:45The film ultimately features
21:53less than an hour
21:54of original music
21:55across 195 minutes,
21:58so every cue counts
21:59in moments of agony
22:00and hope
22:01with serene orchestration.
22:03Led by renowned
22:03Israeli violinist
22:05Itzhak Perlman,
22:06Williams claimed
22:07one of the film's
22:07seven Academy Awards
22:09for what is widely considered
22:10one of the most affecting
22:11scores of its era.
22:12Schindler's List exemplifies
22:14how to use a soundtrack
22:15to tastefully enhance
22:17a solemn film
22:18and move listeners afterward.
22:25What other film's soundtracks
22:27are an emotional journey
22:28in their own right?
22:29Tune in to the comments below.
22:30I will see you again.
22:34But not yet.
22:37Not yet.
22:42But not yet.
22:51I will see you again.
22:53I can see you again.
22:55I will see you again.
22:55I will see you again.
22:56I will see you again.
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