The Best of 90s Scores (40-11)

I've been fighting a bad flu, so it's taken me some time to get back to this.

40.  Sneakers - James Horner, 1992

            It's hard to say any Horner score is underrated, but I'd say this is one.  It fits the suspense of the movie perfectly.  If you haven't seen this one, you really should.  It's a great cast in a fun movie.

39.  Bram Stoker's Dracula - Wojciech Kilar, 1992

            This is probably my favorite horror score ever.  There's not much to compare it to.  The hunters music is so great.  I just wish the movie was half as good.

38.  The Matrix - Don Davis, 1999

            In some ways this score was as revolutionary and mind blowing as the movie was when it came out.  It's hard to beat the epic-ness of everything from the scene where they're picking out weapons through the lobby shooting scene (not Davis) through to the end.  Non-stop action.  And the sequel scores were just as good if not better, unlike the movies.

37.  Speed/Speed 2 - Mark Mancina, 1994, 1997

            If I could only have one score to drive to for the rest of my life, Speed would be my choice.  The only problem is it makes me speed (get it).  I still can't believe Mancina did so little after this.

36.  Tomorrow Never Dies/The World is Not Enough - David Arnold, 1997, 1999

            Why are these so high?  In a way I'm giving Arnold credit for being the second greatest Bond composer (after Barry, of course).  He made the Bond scores fun, and had no qualms with using the theme to make a statement.  The Backseat Driver cue in Tomorrow Never Dies might be the best Bond action cue in the series.

35.  Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - John Williams, 1999

            A score from my favorite franchise this low?  What's the deal?  I was trying to base it just off the newer stuff, and while some of it is good (Duel of the Fates, Darth Maul stuff in general) it's not one of the best of the franchise.  Plus, we're getting into some really good music.

34.  American Beauty - Thomas Newman, 1999

            I think this is the first score of his that I ever listened to, and it still sticks with me.  It's haunting and beautiful and a bit quirky.  It's only this low because it's a bit repetitive.

33.  Good Will Hunting - Danny Elfman, 1997

            One of my all-time favorite movies, the score has great highlights but not a ton of substance.  The final cue, "Weepy Donuts" on the soundtrack, has huge emotional impact still.

32.  For Love of the Game - Basil Poledouris, 1999

            A great baseball score from the fanfare Main Titles to the explosive last out.  It also has some of the great relationship music of any film.

31.  Darkman - Danny Elfman, 1990

            We're getting firmly into the Elfman section of this list.  Even a "lesser" Elfman superhero score is better than what most people can do.  Yes, it's very weird with the carnival stuff, but the theme and the final action cues are right up there with his Batman.

30.  Mission: Impossible - Danny Elfman, 1996

            Elfman smartly did not shy away from the fantastic theme of the show, using a few cues here and there to ground the score.  It's a move that Giacchino continued expertly in the later films of the series.  The scene on the train might be my favorite Elfman action cue, especially when the theme kicks in.

29.  Michael Collins - Elliot Goldenthal, 1996

            My favorite Goldenthal, it's also probably his least Goldenthal-y (which is probably why I liked it best).  It still has some of his quirk, but it's mostly appropriate for a good movie about the Irish revolt.  The building strings in Funeral/Coda and the Irish flair throughout are what really make it for me.

28.  Independence Day - David Arnold, 1996

            As the filmmakers said, only a Brit could write such patriotic music.  The president's speech, while great on its own, became classic partly due to his bombastic theme.  That's not a criticism.

27.  Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - Shirley Walker, 1993

            The best Batman movie ever, the score is second only to Elfman's original, which it is heavily influenced by.  I love everything about it, the choir in the theme, the love story stuff, the creepy Phantasm stuff, the action cues, and the Joker tidbits. 

26.  Schindler's List - John Williams, 1993

            This was nearly much lower on the list because, like Saving Private Ryan, there simply isn't a lot of music in the movie.  That being said, when it is used, it really pulls at the heartstrings.  The theme might not be Williams' most memorable, but it might be his best (lovingly played by the incomparable Itzhak Perlman).

25.  The Ghost and the Darkness - Jerry Goldsmith, 1996

            Not one of Goldsmith's most famous scores, it stands out to me because it has a lot of the same sound of his other 90s scores mixed with the sound of a turn-of-the-century safari.  I can't listen to it and not want to go there myself, without the man-eating lions of course.

24.  As Good As It Gets - Hans Zimmer, 1997

            The best non-action Zimmer score (slightly better than The Holiday).  It's playful yet serious, like the movie.  Yes it's a bit repetitive, but that's expected in a rom-com.

23.  Contact - Alan Silvestri, 1997

            Back in the day when I was studying space, this was on the top of my list of go-to scores while reading/researching/writing.  This is Silvestri at his best, caring about the movie and not just using generic action beats like the rut he got into shortly after this movie.

22.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Brad Fiedel, 1991

            One more example of a highly electronic score that I still love because it fits the movie.  He took what was good in the first and ramped it up to create probably my favorite sci-fi action score (to go along with the best sci-fi action movie of all time).  From the SWAT team attack to the end it does not give up, just like the terminators.

21.  Backdraft - Hans Zimmer, 1991

            There was a time when this was my most-listened-to score.  It really showed what Zimmer was capable of this decade.  It has a great love theme but also fantastic action cues.

20.  Patriot Games/Clear and Present Danger - James Horner, 1992/1994

            Something about these scores, especially Patriot Games, really holds onto me.  The long action cues in both are nearly perfect for on the edge of your seat scenes, but the rest are just so darn good as well.  The somewhat subdued Electronic Battlefield and Laser-Guided Missile really hit the mark as well (no pun intended).  Plus you get the little Irish flair in Patriot Games that together makes it one of my favorites.

19.  The Last of the Mohicans - Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones, 1992

            Everybody knows "The Kiss," but this score is so much more than that.  The Fort Battle is epic, and The Courier has always been a favorite of mine.  The two composers, with very different sounds, somehow work pretty well together (though Jones clearly has the better contributions).

18.  Braveheart - James Horner, 1995

            Truly one of the best Horner scores.  How can you not get pumped by "Revenge?"  Or wrecked by the execution music? 

17.  Sleepy Hollow - Danny Elfman, 1999

            I might get chastized for this, but Sleepy Hollow is one of the underrated brilliant scores by Elfman.  He goes full-on old-school horror (though he even trumped this later with Wolfman, the best "classic" horror score).  The Chase is one of the best Elfman action cues anywhere, with the strings going 100 mph.

16.  The Rocketeer - James Horner, 1991

            One of the all-time best superhero scores.  In the theme, you can really hear Horner's love for flying.  It really transports you to another age.  It doesn't get much more fun than "The Flying Circus."

15.  Dick Tracy - Danny Elfman, 1990

            Coming right off has Batman score the year before, and the same year as Darkman, Elfman was clearly king of the comic book movies of this era.  I love Dick Tracy because there are three major themes, each of which are gold.  My favorite is the theme for Tess, particularly when it explodes in the finale.  There were good comic book movies before the 2000s.

14.  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Michael Kamen, 1991

            I mentioned before this was the score that really got me into them, but yet it's this low?  Yes, that's how great this decade was.  A recently released (nearly) complete recording reminded me just how great this score was.  Yes, the Marian theme is beautiful.  I will always gravitate to the action cues.

13.  Legends of the Fall - James Horner, 1994

            As much as I love some of his other stuff, if I want to listen to peak Horner, this often is where I go.  It's a very emotional movie, it explores a lot of human territory, and the score goes right along with it.  But when that main theme is played on piano, my goodness.  It might be the most beautiful of his career (way better than Titanic).

12.  The Rock - Hans Zimmer and friends, 1996

            You want your Zimmer 90s action?  It does not get any better.  Of course, it helps that at least a half-dozen other guys were working on it as well, but that's another story.  Throw this in and hop on the highway, you'll be speeding in no time!

11.  Sense and Sensibility - Patrick Doyle, 1995

            A surprise, maybe, more for me because it's this low.  Doyle is clearly the best composer for this type of movie, and he destroys it with this score.  It's light, beautiful, fun, and serious exactly where it needs to be.  My only complaint is that it is so scarce in the film!  It's a 136 minute film with only 41 minutes of music.  Oh well, it's absolutely one of the best in the best year for film music, as well as movies, ever.