The Best 75 Original Movie Scores
From Korngold to Steiner to Herrmann to Greenwood, Levi, and Britell, here are my 70 all-time favorite original movie scores.
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Category: Film Music
The Great Tunesmiths of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Irving Berlin tops the list with twenty-one songs, followed by Harry Warren with twenty and Harold Arlen and Jimmy Van Heusen with eighteen apiece.
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The Great Lyricists of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Irving Berlin tops the list with 21 songs, followed by Johnny Mercer with 19, Sammy Cahn with 16, Ira Gershwin with 14, and Johnny Burke with 10.
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Under The Skin (2014) Scarlett Johansson A+
Explore the haunting world of ‘Under the Skin’ with Scarlett Johansson as an alien preying on Glasgow’s men.
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The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) Queer Film A+
“Ripley”, Minghella’s masterpiece, boasts Matt Damon’s best performance plus stunning turns by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jude Law.
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Grace of My Heart (1996) Queer Film- Bridget does Lesley B+
Bridget Fonda does a fabulous Lesley Gore (thinly disguised) in Alison Anders’ 1996 movie “Grace of My Heart”
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Fame (1980) Queer Film B-
Actor Paul McCrane’s token gay character, Montgomery, stood out as an honest and moving portrayal of a shy, talented young man.
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American Gigolo (1980) Queer Film (A)
Watching American Gigolo, you knew that Courtesy of Giorgio and Nando, two gay Italian men, glamor and fashion had returned to the world, not just Hollywood but the entire world.
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Times Square (1980) Queer Film (B)
Sweet coming-of-age lesbian movie. Director Allan Moyle’s Times Square is a gritty, punk‑infused coming‑of‑age drama set in pre‑Disneyfied Manhattan, where the city’s chaos becomes a refuge for two teenage girls who don’t fit anywhere else.
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Dressed to Kill (1980) Queer Film A-
Thanks to Ralph D. Bode’s cinematography and Pino Donaggio’s haunting score, it is both a visual and an aural feast.
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Death In Venice (1971) Queer Film A-
Visconti’s best idea was changing Aschenbach’s profession from a writer to a composer opening up the movie to the Mahler Adagietto .
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The Music Lovers (1971) Queer Film D-
The honeymoon sequence, set to the “1812 overture,” a delirious mix of sexual frustration and nationalistic bombast, may be for Russell freaks only!
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Cabaret (1972) Queer Film A+
Based on the 1966 Broadway musical “Cabaret” by Kander and Ebb which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s The Berlin Stories” (1945).
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Chinatown (1974) Polanski’s Noir Masterpiece A+
Polanski captured the FEEL of LA better than anyone before or sense. Jack Nicholson gives his greatest performance as private dick J. J. ” Jake” Gittes.
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Queer Film (C) High Camp at a Midnight Screening.
It is, of course, a GROUP EXPERIENCE with those inspired zingers going back to the screen, composed by a generation of audience members over the years.
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Barry Lyndon (1975) Queer Film (A)
In “Barry Lyndon” there is a moment where Ryan O’Neal finds two soldiers naked and holding hands in a pond as they confess their love for one another.
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Carrie (1976) Queer Film A+
Brian De Palma’s masterpiece and one of the GREAT HORROR MOVIES with tremendous performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. The unforgettable score is by Pino Donaggio.
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Midnight Express (1978) Queer Film. Movie Fiction. C-
The movie “Midnight Express” is primarily based on fact, but the finished product is mostly a work of fiction.
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The Rose (1979) Queer Film B+
Bette Midler made a spectacular movie debut playing The Rose, a rock singer who is emotionally unraveling during what she insists is her final concert tour.
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Psycho (1960) Queer Film. Hitchcock. A+
Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates made him immortal while, at the same, time, ending his career in Hollywood. A masterpiece.
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Queer Film (A)
Lawrence’s intense relationships with men, particularly Sherif Ali (Omar Sheriff), are emotionally charged. The characters’ gazes linger on each other in numerous scenes, creating a sense of tension and intimacy.
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Whatever Happened Baby Jane? (1962) Queer Film A+
Both of Hollywood’s grande dames Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are in top form with Davis getting the showier role as faded child star Baby Jane Hudson.
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My Fair Lady (1964) Queer Film. Cukor’s Late-Career Triumph A+
The couple are phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Hugh Pickering. The two actors are perfect together, practically finishing one another’s sentences
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The Fox (1967) Queer Film B+
“The Fox” does interesting things with color saturation (Bill Fraker) and the Lalo Schifrin score has entered the jazz canon.
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Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) Queer Film A+
Marlon Brando does something unique with his closeted gay character, it’s one of his truly great performances right up there with his Stanley Kowalski. Elizabeth Taylor gives one of her best, most relaxed performances in years. She was just beginning to pile on the weight at this time in her life and she uses her body fearlessly, like a weapon.
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Queer Film (A)
In Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, HAL 9000 is the psychotic gay computer abord Discovery One. HAL is in love with Dave and quickly dispatches with copilot Frank.
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Midnight Cowboy (1969) Queer Film (A)
John Schlesinger’s American debut is only X-rated movie to win Best Picture. It boasts two great performances courtesy of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffmann.
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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Queer Film A+
The best play to film adaptation of all-time, with two of the greatest performances: Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois and Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski.
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Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Queer Film A+
Wood, Dean and Mineo form a nuclear family under the shadow of Griffith Park Observatory in Nicholas Ray’s masterpiece “Rebel Without a Cause.
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Funny Face (1957) Queer Film A+
“Funny Face“, the 1957 musical romantic comedy directed by Stanley Donen, boasts Audrey Hepburn’s most charming screen performance.
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