The Best of 90s Scores (70-41)

Here is how this premise started:  I was thinking about this year's movies and scores and lamenting the lack of good scores this year.  Outside of Star Wars and Justice League, there really aren't any themes that are memorable (and, oh yeah, those themes are rehashes).  There are some scores that are fine, but most have turned into generic noise.  I blame two people: Christopher Nolan (and by proxy Hans Zimmer) and Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross.  I know that's actually four people, but two pairs of people.  At least the Zimmer scores for Nolan movies I will give a listen to, though I don't expect much.  Reznor/Ross are completely unlistenable to me.  The "revolutionary" Social Network is maybe their most listenable, but only when they are (poorly) sampling source material.  I'm ending my rant now.

Anyways, I was then listening to Waterworld, one of my favorite scores of all time.  They do not make action scores like that anymore.  I began to think about how awesome the 90s was for film scores.  Easily the best decade, in my opinion.  Sure, I'm biased because that's when I started listening to scores (1991, specifically).  It's not coincidence that the first two scores my brother owned (and hence I listened to) were Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Rocketeer are still two of my favorites.  Coincidentally, and very fortunately, they both recently received great re-releases with their complete or near-complete scores.

Again, let's refocus and get to the point.  As I was thinking about the 90s, I guessed that there were at least 50 scores from that decade that were better than anything that came out this year, with the possible exceptions of the resourcing scores in Justice League and Star Wars.  So, this list is an attempt to see how right I was.

Here's the problem, when I started to make a list of the potential top 50, my first go was way too long.  It was at 178 to be precise.  I am NOT saying all 178 were better than anything this year.  I AM saying there were at least 178 scores that deserved consideration for best of the decade.  That's a heck of a lot (and goes to my point to how great the decade was).  So then I had to pare down the list.  One easy thing to do is to condense all sequels and anthologies into one representative.  A couple exceptions included those with different composers and very different sounds, for example, Star Trek, so they had to be kept separate.  Unfortunately, that only narrowed it down to 171.  You see, the 90s were not as obsessed with sequels as today.  So I had to do a big purge.  Even in this first cut there were some really good scores cut like The Silence of the Lambs, Medicine Man, Swing Kids, Sabrina, Con Air, A Bug's Life, and The Replacement Killers (very underrated).  Ugh, only down to 136.

Let's go about this another way.  How about if I cut down each year to just 7 scores, then I can eliminate from there.  If you're not in the best 7 of a year, you can't be in the top 50, right?  Now we're cutting out some really great ones.  Back to the Future Part III, Home Alone, A League of Their Own, Rudy, Gettysburg, The Man Without a Face, Geronimo: An American Legend, Star Trek : Generations, Wyatt Earp, The Lion King, The Quick and the Dead, Rob Roy, Crimson Tide, First Knight, Bad Boys, Judge Dredd, Toy Story (ugh), Executive Decision, The Phantom, Broken Arrow (gasp!), Amistad, The Fifth Element, Face/Off, Men in Black, The Postman, Titanic (yes, though it's gone up hugely in my book with the recent extended release, but still too much synth), L.A. Confidential, Godzilla, Rounders, Ronin, The Green Mile, and The Sixth Sense were some of my most difficult cuts.  But now I was down to 70.  I can work with that.  The TOP 70 Scores of the 90s (all of which are superior to anything from this year):

70.  Hook - John Williams, 1991

            Starting off with good old Williams and Spielberg.  It's kind of average for Williams, which means better than most.  The Never-Fest is the highlight.

69.  Enemy of the State - Trevor Rabin & Harry Gregson-Williams, 1998

            We will see this duo later with a better score, but this is still one of the best action scores of the 90s.  The various chase cues in particular shine, and point towards the later Spy Game.

68.  Saving Private Ryan - John Williams, 1998

            If we're talking just themes, Hymn to the Fallen is hauntingly amazing.  The rest of the score, however, is fairly lackluster.  This was one of a few movies with Spielberg pulled back Williams to let the visuals speak for themselves.

67.  The Prince of Egypt - Hans Zimmer, 1998

            If we're talking overall music, this might be higher (and, spoiler alert, another Hans Zimmer animated feature, The Lion King, would have made the list).  But going strictly on score, the amazing highlights, Chariot Race, The Burning Bush, The Red Sea, stand out amongst the rest of the somewhat paint-by-numbers score.

66.  Outbreak - James Newton Howard, 1995

            From a very strong year, this was one of the many great scores from the composer of the decade.  It's got just the right blend of pure chaos and thoughtfulness.

65. Cliffhanger - Trevor Jones, 1993

            A score that is pretty much perfect for this fun action movie with amazing snowy visuals. 

64.  Starship Troopers - Basil Poledouris, 1997

            Here's a composer that is frequently hit home runs and is now missed.  It's a hugely triumphant, science fiction/military score that goes great with the satire of the movie.

63.  The Saint - Graeme Revell, 1997

            It's in some ways an understated send up on the spy genre.  Not only is the main theme great, and used well throughout, but the love theme is one of the best of the decade.

62.  The Mask of Zorro - James Horner, 1998

            Horner, of course, will be all over this list.  This one in particular is a very good take on the swashbuckler scores of old with some great Spanish stylings. 

61.  Armageddon - Trevor Rabin & Harry Gregson-Williams, 1998

            I hinted at this early with Enemy of the State, from the same year.  It's an over-the-top action-packed, patriotic score that fits the movie. 

60.  Galaxy Quest - David Newman, 1999

            One of the best Star Trek movies of all time with a similarly great score.  The theme is classic and Newman gets across the comedic aspects as well as the action.

59.  The Man in the Iron Mask - Nick Glennie-Smith, 1998

            One might think that I would never go for a rockish swashbuckler score, but I think it works well here.  Every time I listen to it I wonder, whatever happened to Nick Glennie-Smith?

58.  Forrest Gump - Alan Silvestri, 1994

            Somewhat surprised myself that this isn't higher, but that shows the strength of the decade.  Of course there's also the problem that after the first few cues, it kind of gets boring.

57.  What Dreams May Come - Michael Kamen, 1998

            It's an interesting, almost experimental score for Kamen which fits the movie.  The opening cue in particular gets me every time.

56.  Far and Away - John Williams, 1992

            A perhaps forgotten Williams score, it is greatly helped by The Chieftains doing their thing.

55.  Drop Zone - Hans Zimmer, 1994

            A score you've definitely heard even if you don't know it, it's been used in many trailers.  This paved the way for Zimmer's later, greater action scores of the 90s.  Though I usually hate synths, it doesn't get much better than Too Many Notes-Not Enough Rests (a great title).

54.  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Cliff Eidelman, 1991

            The first Star Trek movie I ever saw, it happens to be my favorite and my favorite non-Goldsmith Star Trek score.  It's weird, yes, but it's also epic, particularly The Battle for Peace.  Again, whatever happened to Cliff Eidelman?

53.  Beauty and the Beast - Alan Menken, 1991

            Perhaps the best Disney score of all time, it kind of stands in for the others by Menken. 

52.  Star Trek: First Contact/Insurrection - Jerry Goldsmith, 1996/1998

            Goldsmith remains the top dog for Star Trek scores, and these two are big parts of the reason. 

51.  Scream/2 - Marco Beltrami, 1996/1997

            The scores that cemented Beltrami as the best horror composer of all time. 

50.  Air Force One - Jerry Goldsmith and Joel McNeely, 1997

            My first "R" rated movie in the theater, this is one epic Goldsmith score.  In an era when a lot of his work blends together, this stands out.  Interesting that McNeely came in to help finish it, but it's nearly impossible to tell who did what because he apes Goldsmith so well.

49.  The Mummy - Jerry Goldsmith, 1999

            One of the last truly great, epic scores of a master.  It's got a perfect blend of action/adventure and Egyptian sounds.  In fact, it might be the best non-Indiana Jones adventure score.

48.  Cutthroat Island - John Debney, 1995

            I surprised myself with how low this is because it is an amazing throwback to the old Korngold-style swashbucklers.  Pirates of the Caribbean is fine, but this is what pirates movies should sound like.

47.  Don Juan DeMarco - Michael Kamen, 1995

            Amazingly beautiful music for an underrated Johnny Depp movie (almost impossible these days).  It's sweeping and intimate and a great Latin flair.

46.  Stargate - David Arnold, 1994

            You know everything I said about The Mummy?  Well switch out science fiction and this one-ups it.  Procession leading into Slave Rebellion is still one of my favorite examples of music adding to the tension.  This score put Arnold on the map.  Of course the movie also put Devlin and Emmerich on the map, something that now is not to be bragged about.

45.  Batman Returns - Danny Elfman, 1992

            The original Batman score is the greatest superhero score of all time.  This is a very good sequel (movie and score).  It's only this low because the circus music gets a little annoying at points, though it makes sense (somewhat) in the movie.  The screeching strings for Catwoman, however, is a great addition.

44.  The Shadow - Jerry Goldsmith, 1994

            I really love this score, though it gets a little dull at points.  Still, the theme is fantastic and The Tank is one of my favorite Goldsmith action cues.

43.  Total Recall - Jerry Goldsmith, 1990

            Speaking of great Goldsmith, the action cues in this score are epic.  The only unfortunate thing is that this became his template for later action scores (Chain Reaction is just one) so after awhile it sounded over used.

42.  Lethal Weapon 3/4 - Michael Kamen, 1992, 1998

            The thing with the Lethal Weapon scores is that Kamen was a little paint-by-numbers, so they sometimes blend together.  That being said, Armour Piercing Bullets is by far the best action cue of the series, one possibly the best of Kamen's career.

41.  Die Hard 2/Die Hard with a Vengeance - Michael Kamen 1990, 1995

            And here you see my choice between the two great Kamen cop series.  They're very close, but Die Hard just gets the nod.  I know it doesn't really count, but I love how he used source cues (Finlandia, Johnny Comes Marching Home) in these scores.