15 most epic film scores

2 September 2024, 15:31

From music that swirls the desert sands to life in Lawrence of Arabia to that which flies us through the boundless skies of E.T. The Extraterrestrial, here are 15 of the most intrepid and moving film soundtracks ever written.

A great film score has the power to heighten characters’ emotions, make colours more vivid, transform scenery to a much vaster scale, and change the very speed of a narrative.

Indeed, many films are made more memorable thanks to their score. Would Tolkien’s march of the Ents be as moving without Howard Shore’s sweeping, emotional music? Would we have landed slap bang in the centre of the dusty, sparse American southwest next to a “good” weather-beaten cowboy played by Clint Eastwood if Ennio Morricone hadn’t transported us there with his iconic whistles and pistol shots? We likely wouldn’t have landed so hard, that’s for sure.

As film director Steven Spielberg said of his collaborator, composer John Williams’ scores, without them, “bikes don’t fly, nor do brooms in Quidditch matches, nor do men in red capes. There is no Force. Dinosaurs do not walk the earth. We do not wonder, we do not weep, we do not believe.”

From music that makes us fly, to music that grounds us in the rippling, deep sands of far-away deserts, here are some of the most epic film scores ever written.

Read more: The 50 best film scores of all time

1. Howard Shore: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

   Howard Shore’s epic score for Peter Jackson’s Lord of Rings film trilogy helps bring sweeping hills, mystical forests and intense battle scenes vividly to life through bombastic instrumentation and unforgettable – often very beautiful – melodies. Giant trees walk, Rohan riders are carried faster by their steeds, and Rivendell sparkles with unrelenting dazzle thanks to Shore’s masterful writing. The Academy sat up and took note too: the composer has been awarded three Oscars for his work on the trilogy.

   Read more: The Lord of the Rings voted No.1 in Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame

   

   Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings | Classic FM Live

2. Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt: Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

   All the memorable Pirates of the Caribbean bangers were laid down in the first film of the franchise, The Curse of the Black Pearl. Written by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt, the music for Pirates of the Caribbean sweeps us across vast oceans to experience swash-buckling and plank-walking scenes galore. There’s even a waltz for a certain woozy, rum-soaked pirate named Jack Sparrow. The music is rhythmic, exciting and definitively epic.

   

   ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ - Liverpool Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall | Classic FM Live

3. Hans Zimmer: Gladiator (2000)

   When a golden, be-muscled Russell Crowe collapses following his final fight at the Coliseum we are swept up in the sheer emotion and weight of it all by one of Hans Zimmer’s most epic and moving pieces of music, ‘Now We Are Free’. Featuring haunting contralto vocals by Lisa Gerrard, the film’s whole score contains some of the most epic pieces written for the screen.

   

   Gladiator • Now We Are Free • Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard

4. Maurice Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

   Maurice Jarre’s score for David Lean’s epic set in the Arabian desert earned him an Oscar. Its iconic main theme blends full orchestra with shimmering, impactful percussion on a grand scale reflective of the vast desert landscapes. Jarre wasn’t Lean’s first ask for the score: he had approached British composers William Walton and Malcolm Arnold on prior occasions, and both were not available.

   

   Lawrence of Arabia • Overture • Maurice Jarre

5. Hans Zimmer: Interstellar (2014)

   Hans Zimmer’s music for Interstellaris incredibly expansive, with moments of high drama and impossibly beautiful melodies. Cornfield Chase basically became a synonym for ‘beautiful’ on the internet circa 2021 when it was used in all posts evoking awe and wonder. Zimmer composed the work over two years, and visited London’s Temple Church to record its historic organ, before adding an ensemble of 34 strings, 24 woodwinds, four pianos, and a 60-voice mixed choir.

   Read more: Church organ playing Hans Zimmer’s epic ‘Interstellar’ theme makes our world feel tiny

   

   Watch this Mesmerising Interstellar Theme

6. John Williams: Star Wars (1977)

   The epic music of the Star Wars-verse might feel familiar, almost cliched now, but when a fresh-faced John Williams heralded himself onto the scene as a real writer of blockbusters with this score in 1977, he well-and-truly ushered in a new era of film writing. Big brass explodes the action on screen to another level, and lucious, epic strings add endless depth to the celestial empire’s star-dappled backdrops. There are astonishingly moving moments amidst the bombast: take ‘Princess Leia’s Theme’, heard in A New Hope when Leia is captured by Darth Vader. Williams’s music uses the idea of ‘leitmotif’, borrowed from legendary Romantic operatic composer, Richard Wagner, which uses certain musical melodies to represent specific characters or recurring scenes in the action.

   

   Star Wars Finale! Orchestra plays with organist Anna Lapwood | Classic FM Live

7. John Williams: Harry Potter (2001-2004)

   Sticking with Williams and his ‘leitmotifs’, and two decades after Star Wars, he was working on another big project, this time the music to bring the magic, wonder and bravery of Harry Potter and his wizarding friends to life on the big screen. Broomsticks needed to fly convincingly alongside snitches, and wands needed to expel life-altering magic to epic effect. Williams delivered: his music for the first three Harry Potter films features luscious orchestral writing and sparkling colours, with themes like ‘Hedwig's Theme’ and ‘Harry’s Wondrous World’ becoming truly iconic.

   Read more: A complete ranking of the most magical Harry Potter themes

   

   John Williams & Vienna Philharmonic feat. Anne-Sophie Mutter – “Hedwig’s Theme” From “Harry Potter”

8. Ennio Morricone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

   One of Sergio Leone’s “Spaghetti” Westerns – so-called for the cuisine of its Italian maker – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly was Morricone’s second one for a Western. And it has become his most iconic. In it you find what have since become instant sonic indicators for “you’re watching a western”. Orchestral music revolver-shot through with literal gun sounds, and pierced with whistles, electric guitar twangs, and vocal shrieks, which represent the howling of coyotes.

   

   The Good, the Bad and the Ugly • Main Theme • Ennio Morricone

9. John Wiliams: Indiana Jones (1981-2023)

   The fearless archaeologist-slash-rogueish raider of long-abandoned tombs Indian Jones needed to be accompanied by a suitably bold and adventurous score. A composer good at ambitious orchestral world-building is John Williams, and for Jones he scores characteristically epic, melody-driven music that lifts the adventures on screen to new heights. Williams’ ‘Raiders March’ is the perfect representation of the titular character’s bravado and life-threatening antics.

   

   Indiana Jones ‘Raiders March’ blasts through Royal Albert Hall | Classic FM Live

10. Vangelis: Chariots of Fire (1981)

    John Williams’ first score for Indian Jones was tipped for an Oscar but lost out to an equally epic film score: Greek composer Vangelis’ music for British running film, Chariots of Fire. The music breathes to life with whooshing synths and rattling, textured beats, before one of the most iconic melodies in the whole of film history begins, intoned by an expansive electronic keyboard. The melody and harmony is one of the most hopeful, and epically emotional and, once it accompanied that slow-mo beach running scene, its place in cinema history was well and truly set.

    

    Chariots of Fire • Main Theme • Vangelis

11. John Williams: E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)

    As Spielberg said, that bike wouldn’t have flown without the music of John Williams. His score for the iconic family adventure about an Earth-crashed alien is truly magical, and earned the composer his fourth Oscar. The orchestral textures and wondrous melodies expand the starry night sky, and add huge emotional depth to the story of friendship and overcoming fear of the unknown.

    

    Flying (From "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" Soundtrack)

12. Trevor Jones: The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

    Trevor Jones’ music for the Daniel Day-Lewis film, The Last of the Mohicans, starts with a brooding, swirling low strings and rattling percussion which evolves into an incredible evocative, rousing main theme. It’s the very epitome of epic, with strident brass matched by full strings and injections of thumping bass percussion. Incredible.

    

    The Last of the Mohicans • The Gael/Promentory • Dougie Maclean & Trevor Jones

13. John Williams: Jurassic Park (1993-1997)

    The epic score for Jurassic Park bursts through the clouds with architect-carrying helicopters, it accompanies jaw-dropping sights of miraculous prehistoric dinosaurs, and it underscores terrifying run-ins with that huge tyrannosaurus rex. The main theme was an instant classic, evocative eversince of scenes of luscious and arcane forest-covered mountains. This is textbook Williams: strident brass, unapologetic grumbling timpani rolls, and blankets of rich orchestral strings.

    Read more: Conductor dressed as a T-Rex leads orchestra in ‘Jurassic Park’

    

    John Williams' iconic theme from 'Jurassic Park' at the Royal Albert Hall | Classic FM

14. Rachel Portman: Emma (1996)

    Emma won English composer Rachel Portman a history-making Oscar in 1996, when she became the first woman ever to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Portman’s music for the Austin period film has introspective and intimate moments, but also luscious and sweeping passages, which bring the vast and beautiful rolling countryside scenes to glorious life.

    Read more: ‘We’re breaking through slowly!’ – Rachel Portman

    

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15. Clint Mansell: Requiem for a Dream (2000)

    Considering how claustrophobic, consuming and downright scary Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 psychological drama Requiem for a Dream is, the score composer Clint Mansell wrote for it has a wonderfully expansive, vast and epic feel to it. The music of the main slowly builds in intensity, featuring a simple but impactful melody in a minor key that adds a profound poignancy and moving existentialism to the action unfolding on screen. Compelling throughout the film, the hypnotic score features performances from the Kronos Quartet and was released as an acclaimed standalone soundtrack.

    

    Clint Mansell - Lux Aeterna (Requiem for a Dream)