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Star Wars named among TCM's 15 most influential film soundtracks ever

Posted by Team Boxwish about 1 month ago

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Here at the bustling Mecca of movie geekery that is Boxwish HQ, our office jukebox is often blaring out film soundtracks. Each member of Team Boxwish has very different tastes in music (from 3OH!3 featuring Katy Perry to Marina and the Diamonds, Owl City to Flight of the Conchords) and yet throw on some movie music and we’re all happy. So we’re excited to see that TCM has announced its 15 most influential film soundtracks and it’s a suitably eclectic bunch, ranging from classical orchestrations to disco, classic pop to funk. So click over for the full list and see how many you own.

The list has been assembled to celebrate the upcoming Grammy Awards this Sunday night (31st January) and considered all movie music from the introduction of sound in the 1920s to the modern marvels of today’s cinema.
“It is nearly impossible to think of certain films without remembering their music scores,” says TCM host and film historian, Robert Osborne. “Casablanca, Laura, An Affair to Remember, The Magnificent Seven – the list is endless. Our list celebrates the most memorable and groundbreaking soundtracks, the ones which took the art of film music to new levels and made the most lasting impact on the world of movies.”

This sense of the impact made is one of the factors noted by those at TCM that formulated the list, along with how the soundtracks supported the onscreen storytelling, how they influenced pop culture and the methodology of the song selection. And here are their top picks (in chronological order).

King Kong (1933) – Composer: Max Steiner
Alexander Nevsky (1938) – Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Blackboard Jungle (1955) – Music Adaptor: Charles Wolcott
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) – Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Psycho (1960) – Composer: Bernard Herrmann
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Musical Director: George Martin; Songs: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Goldfinger (1964) – Composer: John Barry
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) – Composer: Ennio Morricone
The Graduate (1967) – Composer: Dave Grusin; Songs: Paul Simon
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Musical Consultant: Patrick Moore; Music Editor: Frank J. Urioste
Shaft (1971) – Composers: Isaac Hayes and J.J. Johnson
American Graffiti (1973) – Music Coordinator: Karin Green
Saturday Night Fever (1977) – Composers: Barry, Maurice & Robin Gibb and David Shire
Star Wars (1977) – Composer: John Williams

So what do we make of these picks, Boxwishers? It’s interesting to note that there are some splashes of pop music in there (The Beatles, Paul Simon, The Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes) and even one composer charting more than once (congrats to long-time Alfred Hitchcock collaborator, Bernard Herrmann). But the most recent entry comes as far back as 1977, prompting the question: Have we not had any worthy contenders for nearly 33 years? Not Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings, Vangelis for Chariots of Fire or Hans Zimmer for Gladiator?

Let us know what you make of the list, Boxwishers and give a shout-out to your favourite movie soundtrack.

To find out more on the list, hit the TCM website here.

[via PR Newswire]

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