A good score is more than background music, they are feeling amplifiers to create a larger emotional impact. Here are my five favourite scores:
1. Jaws: "Jaws Theme"- John Williams
I find it almost impossible to sidestep the workings of John Williams in a discussion about film scores. The fact that John Williams was able to score such a fearful tune with the use of two notes is why the movie and score is well known to this day. Although the shark is not seen for the majority of the film, Williams managed to amplify that feeling of being scared of the unknown.
2. Batman Begins: "Molossus" - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
Molossus is an absolute masterpiece. The intense percussion starting right off the bat, followed by a combination of intense strings and a grand wave of horns. This track helped shape the music that would follow for the rest of the trilogy. A similar track appears in the second movie ("Introduce a Little Anarchy") that reminds us the power and capability these movies have to offer.
3. Forrest Gump: "Feather Theme" - Alan Silvestri
I have always been a sucker for Forrest Gump. The sense of innocence and high spirits in this movie are strongly supported by Alan Silvestri's score. The opening scene of the movie follows a feather traveling in the wind, and the music is composed perfectly to the movement of that feather.
4. Dexter: "Blood Theme" Daniel Licht
This eerie tune was often played at the end of an episode accompanied with a soft-sounding narrative from Michael C Hall. They say that the eyes are the window to one's soul, but Daniel Licht managed to gift us with a tune that gives viewers an auditory window into soul of Dexter. Disturbing, precise and lonely. Throughout the seasons, Licht adapts the Blood Theme as dexter grows as both a serial killer, and a man. Despite the adaptations of this score, the Blood theme remains a distinctive tune for Dexter, and some of Licht's finest work.
5. Corpse Bride: "Piano Duet" - Danny Elfman
This scene was very short and sweet. Elfman composed this piano duet that the two characters play, and by the end, Emily forgives Victor for lying to her. The song is truly beautiful; starts off quite sad, almost sounding like a child playing, and then it grows stronger when Victor joins in. Victor playing the high keys and Emily playing the lower keys almost mirror their current emotional state, and once Emily's hand breaks off and moves up the keys symbolize her spirits lifting. While it is very sweet sounding, it also supports the dark eccentric undertones of a classic Tim Burton film.