Knowing the Score

Earlier this week I thoroughly enjoyed listening to a special edition of the BBC’s Kermode & Mayo ever-excellent film podcast dedicated to classic film scores. There were 11 pieces that got selected for performance by the BBC Philharmonic. All had to be orchestral and no composer could be represented twice (except John Barry, evidently).

The final list was as follows:

1) Star Trek – Jerry Goldsmith
2) Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann
3) Midnight Cowboy – John Barry
4) Blue Velvet – Angelo Badalamenti
5) The Godfather – Nino Rota
6) The Mission - Ennio Morricone
7) James Bond – Monty Norman/John Barry
8) 2046 - Shigeru Umebayashi
9) There Will Be Blood – Johnny Greenwood
10) The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
11) Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams

A pretty good list, I’m sure you’ll agree. Midnight Cowboy is a huge favourite of mine, not least because M&I watched the DVD on our wedding night (no, really). The Mission and The Magnificent Seven both gave me goosebumps, and 2046 was a beautiful revelation, making me want to watch the film.

What was missing? Nothing blatant really, but personally I would have had Deborah's theme from Once Upon A Time In America for Morricone and Amarcord for Rota.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0jFrXO22_o&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAtraEGuHHk

What have I missed?