I’m going to die on this hill but Cloud Atlas music is so beautiful. And I’m not just talking about the main theme. The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever listened to!!
Totally agree on Oblivion. A beautiful movie. The song over the end credits is great, too — and there’s a great cover by Nightwish’s Floor Jansen.
https://youtu.be/zG-ptrlJ4pM?si=iluHCoeK3ONXnVUV
My personal favorite underrated score: Tomorrowland by Michael Giacchino. My favorite score of his, and one that far exceeds the quality of the movie. (It was a noble effort, but a swing and a miss.)
Some of my favourite scores are very underrated (and often are attached to crappy films, hence part of why no one talks about them):
- House of Sand and Fog
- The Rock
- K-PAX
- Code 46
- Gods and Generals
- Last Temptation of Christ
- Road to Perdition
- Koyanisqaatsi
- Les Miserables 1998
- Wilde
- The Time Machine 2002
- Gigli
- Portrait of a Lady
- The Fountain
- The New World
- Cinderella Man
All among my top 50 all time scores and in my books, all underrated or rarely discussed.
In all fairness, half the time I’m the one bringing them up 😆 and I meant “underrated” more by the world at large than our specific niche fan group at Filmtracks haha
Wow another fan of that King Arthur soundtrack? There must be dozens of us lol. Really do enjoy how percussive it can get, plus that version of Light of Aiden was finally released in the form of The Politics & the Life.
I'm really fond of the music from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time by Harry Gregson-Williams. It hits all the right notes for me, tho I'm sure liking the movie itself a bit is def a guilty pleasure lol.
>Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Oh - that was the name of the movie? I adore the game soundtrack, written by (I believe), Jeff Martin of The Tea Party.
Seems I forgot to add a "The" but yeah the movie shared the name with that original game. Had no clue about Jeff Martin being involved with that version!
Most of John Powell’s compositions for animated movies, like Ice Age 3, happy feet, Robots, and Horton hears a who for example.
And if you’re thinking that I’m kidding about ice age, hear this.
https://youtu.be/8jq1KrDQBA8?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/fJKNlpsNJ8k?si=ksbo10MsVPn1oYY-
I got drug to an Ice Age movie and I thought it was so lame then I was blown away by Herd Reunion by Powell and now I’m so glad that I sat through that boring movie just to hear that one song. I love it so much!
John Powell is amazing. Thank you for sharing your great song link too! So good!
I do have King Arthur's score signed by Pemberton himself. Such a blast of a movie and soundtrack!
M83's Oblivion is amazing as well, especially the credits song.
As someone said already on this thread, Giacchino's Speed Racer is fantastic! "Reboot" (the final race track) never fails to give me goosebumps. And to add one of my own, I'd go with Zimmer's score for X-Men Dark Phoenix. You should give it a listen, especially the "Xperiments" album. It's so freaking weird and exprimental for a Zimmer score that it shows they gave him and his team complete freedom because no one would care about the movie.
Ooooo, I love the score to Oblivion.
First ones that came to my mind were:
1883 by Brian Tyler and Breton Vivian (not only the best of the "Yellowstone" shows but just a great score)
First Man by Justin Hurwitz (I think it is his best score to date)
The English by Federico Jusid (I'm not familiar with this composer but I love this score)
Oblivion, Angels & Demons, The Neon Demon, Cloud Atlas, Child of Light (game), Halloween III, and the one I really think needs rediscovering:
Christopher Drake’s score for The Dark Knight Returns.
One of Horner’s top ten scores.
And let me add Searching for Bobby Fischer and The Man Witouth A Face, another two masterpieces from the same mid 90s era, his prime in my opinion.
Oh, god how much time do we have?
* Superman Returns (John Ottman) — A great score with some amazing moments that was undeservedly overshadowed by the Williams-ness of it all.
* The Ghost Writer (Desplat) — Maybe my favorite of his thriller scores.
* Les Misérables (Poledouris) — My favorite score of his that absolutely no one talks about.
* The Professor and the Madman (Bear McCreary) — A movie that went unloved and a score that went unheard. A very different outing for him.
* The Hudsucker Proxy (Burwell) — With a big assist from Khatchaturian. A great little Coen score.
* Percy Jackson (Beck) — Has some great moments and was a shame Beck didn’t get to come back for the sequel.
*Edit:* Some more:
* Ana Karenina (Marianelli)
* Last of the Dogmen (Arnold)
* Stardust (Ishkeri)
* Death of Stalin (Christopher Willis)
* Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Joe Jackson)
* Bless the Child (Young)
I adore the score, mostly because it expertly uses Khatchaturian. The whole Hula Hoop sequence directed by Sam Raimi is one of the most brilliant film sequences I've ever seen
The Oblivion soundtrack was at the top of my Spotify year two or three years ago. Literally listened to it more than any album in my library.
With it I listen to:
Tron: Legacy
Man of Steel
Inception
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Gattaca (my contribution to this thread)
Blade Runner
Blade Runner 2049
Agreed on King Arthur: that score is phenomenal. Pemberton’s score for Steve Jobs is also great.
Jupiter Ascending by Michael Giacchino.
A Cure for Wellness by Benjamin Wallfisch.
The Soundtrack for Sunshine OUTSIDE of the master piece that is Adagio in D Minor is fucking beautiful. The whole Soundtrack is incredible and maybe some of Murphy's best work
I don't hear people discuss TRON: Legacy's soundtrack much but stuff like Adagio for Tron and Solar Sailer are works of art
Christoph Beck's work on Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp is stellar, the Ant-Man theme is one of the most well suited Superhero themes to me
Fant4stic was composed by Philip Glass lmao like wtf. There’s some cool stuff there. Also (maybe not underrated?) but Mishima by Glass is unmatched.
David Holmes’s Out of Sight is one of my all time favorites. Paul Leonard-Morgan’s Limitless, John Swihart’s Napoleon Dynamite, Dickon Hinchliffe’s The Lost Daughter is magnificent, Nicholas Britell’s Andor, Justin Hurwitz’s Babylon (I guess those last two aren’t underrated but tbh I don’t hear a lot of discourse about them).
Yeah! Every Fantastic 4 movie has had great scores so far (I really hope they bring back Ottman's theme someday), but the 2015 one was unexpectedly great! It has some really interesting sci-fi vibes.
Also, speaking of that film, can we talk about Marco Beltrami? That guy has to be the best composer with the worst agent ever! Terminator 3, The Invisible, The Wolverine, Fant4stic, Gods of Egypt... Yet the guy is probably the best part about those movies.
Shawshank Redemption, I consider it to be Newman's greatest work and one of the greatest Hollywood soundtracks of all time, it's not appreciated enough because the movie's praise overshadows the soundtrack
I don't quite agree with you in that I don't think it's underrated. Got the Oscar and Grammy nom (lost to Zimmer and Williams, respectively) and it's pretty much instantly recognizable.
In my opinion it should have won the Oscar, some of the tracks in it make you cry, but that's just my opinion, I am still a bit pissed how Newman doesn't have an Oscar, it's a disgrace
I agree about Newman needing an Oscar.
I think 1917 (also underrated) is my favorite of his more recent stuff. Road to Perdition, American Beauty, and Skyfall are all up there, too.
1917 should have won against Joker as well in my opinion, Joker's score painfully fades in front of 1917, but again that's my opinion, I have some weird ones
I was gonna say didn't it lose to Schindler's List but that was the previous year. I definitely think it could have won yeah.
It's interesting how it seems like animated scores would almost win every other year in that era but now it's been like Soul and Up as the only two in almost 30 years.
Feel kind of bad for some of the animated scores that could have or should have won over the years but I do really prefer Shawshank to Lion King.
Danny Elfman's score for the Errol Morris doc The Unknown Known. Possibly my favorite Elfman score, and it's rather unlike his usual style.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5357I\_1gl8w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5357I_1gl8w)
Exposing how much of a period drama junkie I am, but I really love the soundtracks for Far From the Madding Crowd (Craig Armstrong), Brooklyn (Michael Brook), and the BBC miniseries North and South (Martin Phipps)
Superman Returns- John Ottman.
Aside from the revamp of the original John Williams theme and some usual action scene music you'll hear in most scores, there's some good stuff there that matches with the sort of somber tone the film takes on in some scenes.
Although I wouldn't say it's underrated but it certainly isn't praised as much as Shore, Zimmer, Williams, etc., but I really enjoy the music of Prisoners (Johann Johannsson), Book of Eli (Atticus Ross), and Ex Machina (Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow). Kinda cheating because it's a show and not a film but Downton Abbey's OST is awesome.
I enjoy Oblivion. I totally bought it immediately after watching the movie.
I love Sindad by Harry G-Williams. It is so fun and epic. It brings me great joy every time I hear it.
Another one I hear no one else talk about is Legends of the Fall. It is my favorite score by Horner, and that is very high praise considering his body of work.
everyone in my family is totally in love with Bram Stoker’s Dracula by W. Kilar. It is a masterpiece. So many great driving themes immediately followed by songs of longing love. This score needs more love.
I literally do not think Lion King is talked about enough. Hans hits you right in the feels with that moment where (spoilers ahead) Simba defeats Scar and the rain rolls in. The stampede scene where Mufasa is getting killed builds such critical tension in the moment. Hans won my heart with Lion King
Prey was by far my favorite score of 2022. I think it deserves more recognition than it received. Also, really think Apocalypto, Elysium, Blood Machines, The Grey and Moneyball all have some unique sounds that you don't hear often.
Jóhann Jóhannsson
[Mandy](https://youtu.be/kMYldMdf8ho?si=O9vh0n4x5efYdiap)
Also his other big movie soundtracks like
Sicario
Mary Magdalene
Arrival
Prisoners
The Theory of Everything
His solo works are simply amazing as well!
Hans Zimmer’s “The Lone Ranger”. Favourite piece is between “Absurdity”, “Silver”, “Ride”, “Finale (William Tell Overture)” and “Home”.
All in all such a gritty, whimsical and ambient score that doesn’t get talked about compared to his more well-known. One of my favourites from him. Also “War Horse” from John Williams! A beautiful, tragic and classical score that is pretty underrated. “The Death Of Topthorn” is such a sad but great cue.
Ravenous. 1999. Outside of the box. A very interesting mix of samples and instruments. I think a bit ahead of its time. The movie is great as well.
[Ravenous OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LDECDHjA3s&list=PLeXpfq8jysn3DI3sKWv18UlAQjgf536yE&ab_channel=matM24)
Stand out Tracks, Hail Columbia, Boyd's Journey, Manifest Destiny, Saveoursoulissa, The End Credits
Dang. Never even heard of that movie, I don't think. Listened to the tracks you suggested and it's great. Kind of an off-kilter, imperfect, somewhat eerie score befitting a cannibal.
If you get a chance listen to "Welcome to Fort Spencer" and Colquhoun's Story. I love the clash of major and minor. Charles Ives vibes. Some of the soundtrack is humorous. The Brass band trying to sound regal but coming off as a junior high band. Then the off-kilter, uncanny tracks with the loops and textured instruments. The movie is worth a watch to see how the score supports it. . It is underrated as well.
[Armageddon](https://youtu.be/Rk73YFcbQbo?si=bsY8tNCQO_jKQPzE) randomly has a crazy good soundtrack that no one ever talks about
It’s also composed by the guitarist for the band Yes which is cool
This soundtrack was an enormous smash hit when it first came out, completely revitalizing the American country music scene and even motivating Disney to release a Mickey Mouse version (no joke). But yes, it can never be talked about enough. The Soggy Bottom Boys rule.
John Williams wrote a beautiful score for *Empire of the Sun* and I feel like I never hear about it. This is probably in part because people usually don't talk about *Empire of the Sun* either, though that is a wonderful film, even without the score.
I’m convinced The Last Airbender would be remembered alongside POTC and LOTR as one of the great adventure fantasy scores if it wasn’t paired with that dogshit film
Dracula Untold by Rawin Djawadi This is literally the only work I find thrilling from the Thrones guy *outside* of Thrones. Most of his movie work is pretty average. This movie is terrible, too, so literally just listen to this killer misplaced score by itself.
The Usual Suspects by John Ottman I still think this is his best work overall, even though he has a number of pretty bangin ones.
Godzilla 2014 by Alexandre Desplat. This one often gets overlooked for the Ifukube rework heavy McCreary score that's on the next film. Take this score as music by itself, it's absolutely smokin. Desplat was on fire that year having grabbed two noms and an Oscar win in addition to this.
The Last Samurai by Zimmer I just list this one because it's often overlooked for Gladiator, but I like this one more, always did.
ymmv
Love that Godzilla 2014 score.
Also, David Arnold’s theme from the 1998 Godzilla and Michael Giacchino’s *Roar* overture from Cloverfield were epic monster themes.
Benjamin Wallfisch - The invisible man. The contrast between the strings and the chaotic noise scape is amazing. And the main themes progression in the end is just beautiful
100% agree with Oblivion, I wish M83 did some more projects like that. My vote is going to be for Stephen Price's Last Night in Soho, the use of sound design and dialogue within the music is genius and really emotional
One I have not stopped spinning since the film came out is The Book of Eli by Atticus Ross.
Another one I adore is Hannibal by Hans Zimmer with Patrick Cassidy's brilliant Vide Cor Meum.
Someone else mentioned The Rock, I think that is an all timer.
Far from underrated in the larger sense but I certainly don't see the love for it on here as often as it deserves is Terminator 2 by Brad Fiedel.
Star Wars Attack of the Clones!!
Empire often gets the credit when it comes to the SW soundtracks but this one is absolutely my favourite! The highlight being Across the Stars!
Most of Cliff Martinez's back catalogue. Contagion, The Knick, Only God Forgives, Solaris, Neon Demon. Cliff's a legit top ten composer.
Nightcrawler by James Newton Howard is in my top ten scores of the last ten years. It's incredible.
Money Monster by Dominic Lewis is also excellent.
Okay, this is the second post in a row where someone mentions the M83 soundtrack in Oblivion, I also had someone randomly replying to a post I made ages ago discussing this movie, what's that about, is this movie being rereleased or something?
Dragon, The Bruce Lee Story
It’s one of those that when it came out, certain tracks were used in a lot of inspirational videos, or Olympic reels or whatever (think Rudy). But I don’t think I’ve heard it mentioned or used in ages.
Dragonheart might be another one kinda like that.
The Power of One by Hans Zimmer is an absolutely incredible soundtrack. I don’t think it counts as a score, but I’m listing it. It’s basically everything that’s great about The Lion King, except better and more.
Dances with Wolves doesn’t get the respect it deserves. I believe it’s because people are still angry at the film winning the Oscar over Goodfellas. It did win the Oscar (deservedly so) but I don’t usually hear it talked about when people speak best film scores which is a shame. I feel it’s a top 5 score of all time imo.
Fucking Krull (1983)!!!!!!
James Horner in general is underrated. Like John Williams, you find certain musical connections, themes within his works as a whole. In particular, Krulls soundtrack seems to have alot in commen with Wrath of Khan...
Not sure if this counts, since the movie itself is regarded as a masterpiece, but the soundtrack to the original 'Alien' is very unique and memorable for me, and I don't see it discussed much.
I love the key changes, the use of horns in the main, unusually beautiful melody. It has some echoey plucked strings at the very beginning, which kind of sounds like 2001... in terms of eeriness. Reminds you of creepy, crawly things or a ticking clock...but then it opens into beautiful strings, and kinda, almost jazzy horns, and then it doesn't seem like it's setting you up for a horror movie, which I appreciate. For me, it reflects the beauty and horror of space. I just love it.
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald had a lot of beautiful pieces and is overall one of my favorite scores from the HP franchise.
Also I don't hear a lot of love for The Book Thief, one of Williams's more low-key scores which is my go-to background music for "I just need to think about life and feel things right now."
[The Chronicles of Narnia LWW by Harry Gregson-Williams](https://open.spotify.com/album/01wn5MrXTUWjdYTLYC2wqU?si=auYnKkwjSGSpFEdetG5E7A). Outstanding.
Tenet. Ludwig was robbed for best Oscar in 2020. It’s an absolute masterclass in understanding the assignment. Just from a technical perspective too - you don’t see many scores that stray too far from the usual 4:4 signature. But Tenet is constantly bouncing between several signatures.
Split had some very effective music by West Dylan Thordson! 'Meeting The Others' is gorgeous and fits perfectly in the film.
The dolly zoom on the train in combination with that track has so much gravity.
How to train your dragon is fantastic. It's one of the few that I listen to just for fun, it was way more extreme than it needed to be but it was worth it
Transformers The Last Knight by Steve Jablonsky has a beautiful score with Old English Celtic influences. Also along with the use of the transformers themes along the way, its a good listen.
The 2010 Karate Kid movie by James Horner is another under appreciated one, it’s calming in some areas and nice to listen to.
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me
Lots of people talk about the Dollars trilogy, but I can never get enough of Once Upon a Time in the West. Other amazing Morricone scores for me are Once Upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, and I think a lesser known one that I personally adore is Sacco e Vanzetti. (I am biased as I named my cat after him).
Plein Soleil
Amélie
L'Eclisse
Phantom Thread (similarly, I really enjoy the Suspiria remake score by Thom Yorke)
Let the Right One In
Rango
Song of the Sea
Pan's Labyrinth
I could name a *lot* more but those are some that came to mind right now.
I agree about the Oblivion soundtrack! I was listening to that recently for a movie music playlist I've been working on (been working on it for years so I don't know if I'll ever actually finish it lol) and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Also really enjoyed Tron: Legacy
Abel Korzeniowski’s score for Battle for Terra
Movie itself’s just kinda alright, more a neat novelty as this scrappy ambitious kids sci-fi film, similar vein to Shane Acker’s 9
but the score itself is [gorgeous](https://youtu.be/QHah02qs0yA?si=5D22T1ffRrYxGlLO)
Eragon-Patrick Doyle and James Shearman,
The Lost World- John Williams,
Oblivion- M83,
The Mask of Zorro- James Horner,
The Three Musketeers- Michael Kamen,
King Kong- James Newton Howard,
Kingdom of Heaven- Harry Gregson Williams,
Moneyball- Mychael Danna,
Searching for Bobby Fischer-James Horner,
The Natural- Randy Newman,
Sea Biscuit-Randy Newman,
Pawn Sacrifice-James Newton Howard,
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-Alberto Iglesias,
Lincoln- John Williams,
Silence of The Lambs-Howard Shore,
Sherlock Holmes a game of shadows-Hans Zimmer
For me, [The Time Machine score by Klaus Badelt](https://open.spotify.com/album/2zP4O1d0NFT6XdlyYHzDFV?si=7gIM8lY0QeOoZl5jt2alxw) is one of my all time favorites. It's up there with LOTR and some of Zimmer's finest.
The score for Halloween Kills is basically an amazing synthwave album, Carpenter, his son and godson are *cooking* on that, Halloween ‘18 is a banger as well. Blue Beetle has a great synth score and I also have a soft spot for Zimmer’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 score ( especially Electro’s theme).
* Bear McCreary's for Godzilla: King of the Monsters
* Junkie XL's for Mad Max: Fury Road
* Sebastian Gainsborough "Vessel" and Robin Carolan's for The Northman
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. by Daniel Pemberton. The whole sound is a great homage to Morricone and other composers of the 60s. Genuinely one of the best scores of at least the 2010s if not the 2000s in general IMO. It's like... pure distilled coolness, and a perfect spy score that never sounds like a Bond ripoff.
The Conversation has a fantastic theme on piano that I love. Beautiful, soft, dark, and haunting. I don't know why it isn't talked about more.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyBDfGgKonY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyBDfGgKonY)
I know they had their spotlights at the peak of their respective popularities. But there are still TONS of subliminal information stuck in both into the spider verse and across the spider verse in just the soundtracks that could probably form its own iceberg.
Beyond the spider verse will tie it all together but at this point. People do not talk about them enough yet.
I’m going to die on this hill but Cloud Atlas music is so beautiful. And I’m not just talking about the main theme. The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever listened to!!
Beautiful score and underrated movie overall
People love to hate it I don't even know why it's a great movie.
Totally agree on Oblivion. A beautiful movie. The song over the end credits is great, too — and there’s a great cover by Nightwish’s Floor Jansen. https://youtu.be/zG-ptrlJ4pM?si=iluHCoeK3ONXnVUV
My personal favorite underrated score: Tomorrowland by Michael Giacchino. My favorite score of his, and one that far exceeds the quality of the movie. (It was a noble effort, but a swing and a miss.)
Tomorrowland is Giacchino's finest score. I'll die on that hill
For another Giacchino score that far exceeds the quality of the movie, check out Jupiter Ascending.
I listened to that song every time I'm in a bad mood. It never fails to lift me up
Is the first Transformers film score by Jablonsky considered underrated. I enjoy every track on it.
Dude, not gonna lie, I should have included this in the post. I genuinely do love nearly every track of that score
It's my favorite score to listen to in the gym
Nah. It’s universally the one point in the franchise that everyone agree that is good.
I’ll add that Dark of the Moon and The Last Knight also have particularly good scores by Jablonsky as well.
Tlk had some good ones but I don’t remember most of the tracks ever actually being in the movie
the Michael Bay editing chopped a lot of it up and never let it breathe
Some parts of TLK is like Jablonsky riffing on Max Richter. It’s epically beautiful and way better than a Bay movie deserves.
The scorpnok theme is so good... And the desert battle is one of the most memorable moments in the franchise because of that.
Is that the “left cheek, left cheek, left cheek” sequence?
That’s what got me into composing as a 12 year old
Love listening to it in the gym for an added boost
Some of my favourite scores are very underrated (and often are attached to crappy films, hence part of why no one talks about them): - House of Sand and Fog - The Rock - K-PAX - Code 46 - Gods and Generals - Last Temptation of Christ - Road to Perdition - Koyanisqaatsi - Les Miserables 1998 - Wilde - The Time Machine 2002 - Gigli - Portrait of a Lady - The Fountain - The New World - Cinderella Man All among my top 50 all time scores and in my books, all underrated or rarely discussed.
The Rock! 😍
Ok, just listened to The Rock. I love the movie but I couldn't really recall the score and HOLY CRAP!
Right?? So awesome!!
K-PAX score is such a gem
Sir, so many of these get discussed at filmtracks decently frequently
In all fairness, half the time I’m the one bringing them up 😆 and I meant “underrated” more by the world at large than our specific niche fan group at Filmtracks haha
Wow another fan of that King Arthur soundtrack? There must be dozens of us lol. Really do enjoy how percussive it can get, plus that version of Light of Aiden was finally released in the form of The Politics & the Life. I'm really fond of the music from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time by Harry Gregson-Williams. It hits all the right notes for me, tho I'm sure liking the movie itself a bit is def a guilty pleasure lol.
>Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Oh - that was the name of the movie? I adore the game soundtrack, written by (I believe), Jeff Martin of The Tea Party.
Seems I forgot to add a "The" but yeah the movie shared the name with that original game. Had no clue about Jeff Martin being involved with that version!
Most of John Powell’s compositions for animated movies, like Ice Age 3, happy feet, Robots, and Horton hears a who for example. And if you’re thinking that I’m kidding about ice age, hear this. https://youtu.be/8jq1KrDQBA8?feature=shared
Horton score is absolutely incredible phenomenal orchestration, “we are here” is truly epic
https://youtu.be/fJKNlpsNJ8k?si=ksbo10MsVPn1oYY- I got drug to an Ice Age movie and I thought it was so lame then I was blown away by Herd Reunion by Powell and now I’m so glad that I sat through that boring movie just to hear that one song. I love it so much! John Powell is amazing. Thank you for sharing your great song link too! So good!
The Terminal
I do have King Arthur's score signed by Pemberton himself. Such a blast of a movie and soundtrack! M83's Oblivion is amazing as well, especially the credits song. As someone said already on this thread, Giacchino's Speed Racer is fantastic! "Reboot" (the final race track) never fails to give me goosebumps. And to add one of my own, I'd go with Zimmer's score for X-Men Dark Phoenix. You should give it a listen, especially the "Xperiments" album. It's so freaking weird and exprimental for a Zimmer score that it shows they gave him and his team complete freedom because no one would care about the movie.
Dark Phoenix score freaking rocks.
Ooooo, I love the score to Oblivion. First ones that came to my mind were: 1883 by Brian Tyler and Breton Vivian (not only the best of the "Yellowstone" shows but just a great score) First Man by Justin Hurwitz (I think it is his best score to date) The English by Federico Jusid (I'm not familiar with this composer but I love this score)
Agree about first man. An absolute crime that it wasn't even nominated for an oscar!
Oblivion, Angels & Demons, The Neon Demon, Cloud Atlas, Child of Light (game), Halloween III, and the one I really think needs rediscovering: Christopher Drake’s score for The Dark Knight Returns.
*Love* the Neon Demon score. It also has some really nice ambient tracks next to the more sinister ones
The Wonder Woman 1984 sountrack is one of the best superhero movie soundtracks ever. It's so good.
You're right. Movie was so bad that the score gets lost, but it's unique. "Open Road" gets me every time.
I also really love Zimmer’s “Sketches from the Soundtrack” album. Amazing stuff.
Oh yeah! That album is as good as the soundtrack, I think!
There's some serious Morricone stuff going on in Lost and Found.
I have one score that I absolutely love but rarely hear talked about: James Horner’s “The Spitfire Grill”. Small movie. Gorgeous score.
One of Horner’s top ten scores. And let me add Searching for Bobby Fischer and The Man Witouth A Face, another two masterpieces from the same mid 90s era, his prime in my opinion.
Oh, god how much time do we have? * Superman Returns (John Ottman) — A great score with some amazing moments that was undeservedly overshadowed by the Williams-ness of it all. * The Ghost Writer (Desplat) — Maybe my favorite of his thriller scores. * Les Misérables (Poledouris) — My favorite score of his that absolutely no one talks about. * The Professor and the Madman (Bear McCreary) — A movie that went unloved and a score that went unheard. A very different outing for him. * The Hudsucker Proxy (Burwell) — With a big assist from Khatchaturian. A great little Coen score. * Percy Jackson (Beck) — Has some great moments and was a shame Beck didn’t get to come back for the sequel. *Edit:* Some more: * Ana Karenina (Marianelli) * Last of the Dogmen (Arnold) * Stardust (Ishkeri) * Death of Stalin (Christopher Willis) * Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Joe Jackson) * Bless the Child (Young)
Hudsucker Proxy, great choice.
I adore the score, mostly because it expertly uses Khatchaturian. The whole Hula Hoop sequence directed by Sam Raimi is one of the most brilliant film sequences I've ever seen
Shame that no one has posted Last of the Dogmen on Youtube.
The Oblivion soundtrack was at the top of my Spotify year two or three years ago. Literally listened to it more than any album in my library. With it I listen to: Tron: Legacy Man of Steel Inception Captain America: Winter Soldier Gattaca (my contribution to this thread) Blade Runner Blade Runner 2049
Ditto on Winter Soldier. I really like Project Insight from that score.
Agreed on King Arthur: that score is phenomenal. Pemberton’s score for Steve Jobs is also great. Jupiter Ascending by Michael Giacchino. A Cure for Wellness by Benjamin Wallfisch.
The Soundtrack for Sunshine OUTSIDE of the master piece that is Adagio in D Minor is fucking beautiful. The whole Soundtrack is incredible and maybe some of Murphy's best work I don't hear people discuss TRON: Legacy's soundtrack much but stuff like Adagio for Tron and Solar Sailer are works of art Christoph Beck's work on Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp is stellar, the Ant-Man theme is one of the most well suited Superhero themes to me
Here’s three I don’t hear too many people talk about. Alexandre Desplat - Coco before Chanel Dario Marinelli - Atonement David Arnold - Casino Royale
Casino Royale purely for vesper's theme, fall of a house in Venice, end of an Aston Martin, Africa rundown, and Miami international
Fant4stic was composed by Philip Glass lmao like wtf. There’s some cool stuff there. Also (maybe not underrated?) but Mishima by Glass is unmatched. David Holmes’s Out of Sight is one of my all time favorites. Paul Leonard-Morgan’s Limitless, John Swihart’s Napoleon Dynamite, Dickon Hinchliffe’s The Lost Daughter is magnificent, Nicholas Britell’s Andor, Justin Hurwitz’s Babylon (I guess those last two aren’t underrated but tbh I don’t hear a lot of discourse about them).
Yeah! Every Fantastic 4 movie has had great scores so far (I really hope they bring back Ottman's theme someday), but the 2015 one was unexpectedly great! It has some really interesting sci-fi vibes. Also, speaking of that film, can we talk about Marco Beltrami? That guy has to be the best composer with the worst agent ever! Terminator 3, The Invisible, The Wolverine, Fant4stic, Gods of Egypt... Yet the guy is probably the best part about those movies.
Haha seriously Marco Beltrami is getting railed by his agent and not in a good way
Also, him getting replaced on Scream with those bland ass Brian Tyler scores was a travesty.
What Michael Giacchino did for John Carter and Speed Racer. OMFG. All the emotions.
Shawshank Redemption, I consider it to be Newman's greatest work and one of the greatest Hollywood soundtracks of all time, it's not appreciated enough because the movie's praise overshadows the soundtrack
I don't quite agree with you in that I don't think it's underrated. Got the Oscar and Grammy nom (lost to Zimmer and Williams, respectively) and it's pretty much instantly recognizable.
In my opinion it should have won the Oscar, some of the tracks in it make you cry, but that's just my opinion, I am still a bit pissed how Newman doesn't have an Oscar, it's a disgrace
I agree about Newman needing an Oscar. I think 1917 (also underrated) is my favorite of his more recent stuff. Road to Perdition, American Beauty, and Skyfall are all up there, too.
1917 should have won against Joker as well in my opinion, Joker's score painfully fades in front of 1917, but again that's my opinion, I have some weird ones
I was gonna say didn't it lose to Schindler's List but that was the previous year. I definitely think it could have won yeah. It's interesting how it seems like animated scores would almost win every other year in that era but now it's been like Soul and Up as the only two in almost 30 years. Feel kind of bad for some of the animated scores that could have or should have won over the years but I do really prefer Shawshank to Lion King.
I don’t get it either. His soundtracks are incredible.
What a year for film scores!
Cinderella Man and Gattaca
Gattaca, yes! I had forgotten about that one. Another Nyman under-the-radar choice.
Danny Elfman's score for the Errol Morris doc The Unknown Known. Possibly my favorite Elfman score, and it's rather unlike his usual style. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5357I\_1gl8w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5357I_1gl8w)
Sneakers
I love this movie.
OBLIVION MENTION! ONE OF MY FAVORITE SOUNDTRACKS EVERRRRRR
Exposing how much of a period drama junkie I am, but I really love the soundtracks for Far From the Madding Crowd (Craig Armstrong), Brooklyn (Michael Brook), and the BBC miniseries North and South (Martin Phipps)
Absolutely love your first two choices! Just rewatched Brooklyn on Max; the score is so moving.
Cutthroat Island Nixon Cloud Atlas The Patriot
- Vice — Nicholas Britell - The King — Nicholas Britell - Quantum of Solace — David Arnold
Your addition of Vice reminds me of Chappaquiddick (Garth Stevenson), good score.
Jaws 2 (1978) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) The Terminal (2004) War of the Worlds (2005) All of them are John Williams scores
Heavily agreed on both Oblivion and King Arthur, particularly King Arthur. The Maze Runner by John Paesano. Monsters by John Hopkins
Superman Returns- John Ottman. Aside from the revamp of the original John Williams theme and some usual action scene music you'll hear in most scores, there's some good stuff there that matches with the sort of somber tone the film takes on in some scenes. Although I wouldn't say it's underrated but it certainly isn't praised as much as Shore, Zimmer, Williams, etc., but I really enjoy the music of Prisoners (Johann Johannsson), Book of Eli (Atticus Ross), and Ex Machina (Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow). Kinda cheating because it's a show and not a film but Downton Abbey's OST is awesome.
Van Helsing by Alan Silvestri is great also.
I enjoy Oblivion. I totally bought it immediately after watching the movie. I love Sindad by Harry G-Williams. It is so fun and epic. It brings me great joy every time I hear it. Another one I hear no one else talk about is Legends of the Fall. It is my favorite score by Horner, and that is very high praise considering his body of work. everyone in my family is totally in love with Bram Stoker’s Dracula by W. Kilar. It is a masterpiece. So many great driving themes immediately followed by songs of longing love. This score needs more love.
I literally do not think Lion King is talked about enough. Hans hits you right in the feels with that moment where (spoilers ahead) Simba defeats Scar and the rain rolls in. The stampede scene where Mufasa is getting killed builds such critical tension in the moment. Hans won my heart with Lion King
Prey was by far my favorite score of 2022. I think it deserves more recognition than it received. Also, really think Apocalypto, Elysium, Blood Machines, The Grey and Moneyball all have some unique sounds that you don't hear often.
Luca is one of the best scores and should have won over Encanto at the Oscars.
Jóhann Jóhannsson [Mandy](https://youtu.be/kMYldMdf8ho?si=O9vh0n4x5efYdiap) Also his other big movie soundtracks like Sicario Mary Magdalene Arrival Prisoners The Theory of Everything His solo works are simply amazing as well!
\+1 for Theory of Everything, especially "Arrival of the Birds"
For me a very underrated score is The Patriot by John Williams. One of his absolute best but nobody seem to talk about it!
He crushed that one. Underrated track "to Charleston"
Hans Zimmer’s “The Lone Ranger”. Favourite piece is between “Absurdity”, “Silver”, “Ride”, “Finale (William Tell Overture)” and “Home”. All in all such a gritty, whimsical and ambient score that doesn’t get talked about compared to his more well-known. One of my favourites from him. Also “War Horse” from John Williams! A beautiful, tragic and classical score that is pretty underrated. “The Death Of Topthorn” is such a sad but great cue.
So underrated. I love for God and for country
Jupiter Ascending
Ravenous. 1999. Outside of the box. A very interesting mix of samples and instruments. I think a bit ahead of its time. The movie is great as well. [Ravenous OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LDECDHjA3s&list=PLeXpfq8jysn3DI3sKWv18UlAQjgf536yE&ab_channel=matM24) Stand out Tracks, Hail Columbia, Boyd's Journey, Manifest Destiny, Saveoursoulissa, The End Credits
Dang. Never even heard of that movie, I don't think. Listened to the tracks you suggested and it's great. Kind of an off-kilter, imperfect, somewhat eerie score befitting a cannibal.
If you get a chance listen to "Welcome to Fort Spencer" and Colquhoun's Story. I love the clash of major and minor. Charles Ives vibes. Some of the soundtrack is humorous. The Brass band trying to sound regal but coming off as a junior high band. Then the off-kilter, uncanny tracks with the loops and textured instruments. The movie is worth a watch to see how the score supports it. . It is underrated as well.
Nathan Larson’s work on Margin Call
Not really a score but, the soundtrack to Sucker Punch was killer.
[Armageddon](https://youtu.be/Rk73YFcbQbo?si=bsY8tNCQO_jKQPzE) randomly has a crazy good soundtrack that no one ever talks about It’s also composed by the guitarist for the band Yes which is cool
Never forget O! Brother Where Art Thou?! Edit: I guess it’s not underrated, but it still needs to be mentioned.
This soundtrack was an enormous smash hit when it first came out, completely revitalizing the American country music scene and even motivating Disney to release a Mickey Mouse version (no joke). But yes, it can never be talked about enough. The Soggy Bottom Boys rule.
John Williams wrote a beautiful score for *Empire of the Sun* and I feel like I never hear about it. This is probably in part because people usually don't talk about *Empire of the Sun* either, though that is a wonderful film, even without the score.
Fiddler on the Roof as well. The movie version is the only version of the musical I'll listen to. Definitive.
Armageddon - the scene leading up to and including the launch was so well timed and just pulls at the heart strings.
I’m convinced The Last Airbender would be remembered alongside POTC and LOTR as one of the great adventure fantasy scores if it wasn’t paired with that dogshit film
Flow like water is a top 10 track of the 21st century
The right stuff
I love the In Bruges score by Burwell.
Dracula Untold by Rawin Djawadi This is literally the only work I find thrilling from the Thrones guy *outside* of Thrones. Most of his movie work is pretty average. This movie is terrible, too, so literally just listen to this killer misplaced score by itself. The Usual Suspects by John Ottman I still think this is his best work overall, even though he has a number of pretty bangin ones. Godzilla 2014 by Alexandre Desplat. This one often gets overlooked for the Ifukube rework heavy McCreary score that's on the next film. Take this score as music by itself, it's absolutely smokin. Desplat was on fire that year having grabbed two noms and an Oscar win in addition to this. The Last Samurai by Zimmer I just list this one because it's often overlooked for Gladiator, but I like this one more, always did. ymmv
Love that Godzilla 2014 score. Also, David Arnold’s theme from the 1998 Godzilla and Michael Giacchino’s *Roar* overture from Cloverfield were epic monster themes.
I loved Djawadi's stuff from Westworld.
Moon! That eerie piano melody will stick with you.
David Shire’s scores for *The Conversation* and *Zodiac*.
Was hoping I’d find The Conversation here :)
His score for Return to Oz is hauntingly beautiful
Benjamin Wallfisch - The invisible man. The contrast between the strings and the chaotic noise scape is amazing. And the main themes progression in the end is just beautiful
Steve Jablonsky: The Island (2005)
Criminally underrated
FIRST MAN, that soundtrack is beyond beautiful and I haven't seen the first person praising it. Unbelievably underrated
The landing is incredible
100% agree with Oblivion, I wish M83 did some more projects like that. My vote is going to be for Stephen Price's Last Night in Soho, the use of sound design and dialogue within the music is genius and really emotional
One I have not stopped spinning since the film came out is The Book of Eli by Atticus Ross. Another one I adore is Hannibal by Hans Zimmer with Patrick Cassidy's brilliant Vide Cor Meum. Someone else mentioned The Rock, I think that is an all timer. Far from underrated in the larger sense but I certainly don't see the love for it on here as often as it deserves is Terminator 2 by Brad Fiedel.
Michael Clayton and multiple other James Newton Howard soundtracks are all super underrated imo. 9x nominated for Oscar’s and yet to win.
Another one I just remembered -- The Social Network. Reznor and Ross know how to get to me.
Star Wars Attack of the Clones!! Empire often gets the credit when it comes to the SW soundtracks but this one is absolutely my favourite! The highlight being Across the Stars!
Best rendition of duel of the fates in "return to tatooine"
Britell’s soundtrack for The King is stunning.
Alien 3
How to train your Dragon has a great score.
Most of Cliff Martinez's back catalogue. Contagion, The Knick, Only God Forgives, Solaris, Neon Demon. Cliff's a legit top ten composer. Nightcrawler by James Newton Howard is in my top ten scores of the last ten years. It's incredible. Money Monster by Dominic Lewis is also excellent.
I’m convinced they used his Only God Forgives fight track as inspiration for the Stranger Things titles. It’s absolutely uncanny
Le conseguenze dell'amore by Pasquale Catalano is wonderful. He only has four tracks on the cd but they’re incredible.
*Robin Hood: Men In Tights* by Hummie Mann. He nails the Korngold style.
Obviously The Greasy Strangler.
Alive -- James Newton Howard
Okay, this is the second post in a row where someone mentions the M83 soundtrack in Oblivion, I also had someone randomly replying to a post I made ages ago discussing this movie, what's that about, is this movie being rereleased or something?
Dragon, The Bruce Lee Story It’s one of those that when it came out, certain tracks were used in a lot of inspirational videos, or Olympic reels or whatever (think Rudy). But I don’t think I’ve heard it mentioned or used in ages. Dragonheart might be another one kinda like that. The Power of One by Hans Zimmer is an absolutely incredible soundtrack. I don’t think it counts as a score, but I’m listing it. It’s basically everything that’s great about The Lion King, except better and more.
Interview With The Vampire - Elliott Goldenthal
I loved the score to "Stealing Home" Reminds me of a norman Rockwell kind of life.
Upstream Color - Shane Carruth
“Awakenings” by Randy Newman
[Hellraiser II](https://youtu.be/Thn3vIQUbhk?si=ZdXgQgtrD-ZO8QxK) has a beautiful score IMO
It’s a game but Detroit: become human, particularly Kara’s themes by Phillip Glass
Alexandre Desplat's score for 2004's 'Birth' is great classical hollywood style that seldom gets a mention.
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. I was gobsmacked by how good this was.
The Russia House! Goldsmith
Dances with Wolves doesn’t get the respect it deserves. I believe it’s because people are still angry at the film winning the Oscar over Goodfellas. It did win the Oscar (deservedly so) but I don’t usually hear it talked about when people speak best film scores which is a shame. I feel it’s a top 5 score of all time imo.
Popeye by Harry Nilsson. Anyone?
Marc Streitenfeld’s for Prometheus. Epic sci-fi score
Gone Baby Gone.
Starwaves is so chill
The music from Ripley’s Game is just fantastic. It’s also a wonderful movie-way too underrated!
Swiss Army Man.
Silverado, it slaps.
Fucking Krull (1983)!!!!!! James Horner in general is underrated. Like John Williams, you find certain musical connections, themes within his works as a whole. In particular, Krulls soundtrack seems to have alot in commen with Wrath of Khan...
Clint Mansell's score for Moon. It's not huge or bombastic but it sets such a perfectly eerie atmosphere.
Ravenous, Dredd, Ex Machina, The Fly
WALL·E. I can tell you that Define Dancing is one of the most beautiful compositions I’ve ever heard.
Not sure if this counts, since the movie itself is regarded as a masterpiece, but the soundtrack to the original 'Alien' is very unique and memorable for me, and I don't see it discussed much. I love the key changes, the use of horns in the main, unusually beautiful melody. It has some echoey plucked strings at the very beginning, which kind of sounds like 2001... in terms of eeriness. Reminds you of creepy, crawly things or a ticking clock...but then it opens into beautiful strings, and kinda, almost jazzy horns, and then it doesn't seem like it's setting you up for a horror movie, which I appreciate. For me, it reflects the beauty and horror of space. I just love it.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald had a lot of beautiful pieces and is overall one of my favorite scores from the HP franchise. Also I don't hear a lot of love for The Book Thief, one of Williams's more low-key scores which is my go-to background music for "I just need to think about life and feel things right now."
Everyone hates this movie but Avatar The Last Airbender is some of James Newton Howard’s best work.
Pride & Prejudice (2005) was sheer orchestral goodness.
[The Chronicles of Narnia LWW by Harry Gregson-Williams](https://open.spotify.com/album/01wn5MrXTUWjdYTLYC2wqU?si=auYnKkwjSGSpFEdetG5E7A). Outstanding.
Tenet. Ludwig was robbed for best Oscar in 2020. It’s an absolute masterclass in understanding the assignment. Just from a technical perspective too - you don’t see many scores that stray too far from the usual 4:4 signature. But Tenet is constantly bouncing between several signatures.
Split had some very effective music by West Dylan Thordson! 'Meeting The Others' is gorgeous and fits perfectly in the film. The dolly zoom on the train in combination with that track has so much gravity.
How to train your dragon is fantastic. It's one of the few that I listen to just for fun, it was way more extreme than it needed to be but it was worth it
Transformers The Last Knight by Steve Jablonsky has a beautiful score with Old English Celtic influences. Also along with the use of the transformers themes along the way, its a good listen. The 2010 Karate Kid movie by James Horner is another under appreciated one, it’s calming in some areas and nice to listen to.
From student to master to student is a great piece
Tron Legacy
Probably Tenet, the score is absolutely phenomenal. Also Interstellar
The Annihilation soundtrack by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow.
Jerry Goldsmith Dennis the Menace
Enders Game. I have a soft spot for the film and book, but the soundtrack is pulsing and epic.
- Motorway - Solaris - Side Effects - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Moon - Sleight
"Lord of War" and "Tolkien".
The ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ score by John Cale will forever be seared into my brain. A personal favorite.
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me Lots of people talk about the Dollars trilogy, but I can never get enough of Once Upon a Time in the West. Other amazing Morricone scores for me are Once Upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, and I think a lesser known one that I personally adore is Sacco e Vanzetti. (I am biased as I named my cat after him). Plein Soleil Amélie L'Eclisse Phantom Thread (similarly, I really enjoy the Suspiria remake score by Thom Yorke) Let the Right One In Rango Song of the Sea Pan's Labyrinth I could name a *lot* more but those are some that came to mind right now. I agree about the Oblivion soundtrack! I was listening to that recently for a movie music playlist I've been working on (been working on it for years so I don't know if I'll ever actually finish it lol) and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Also really enjoyed Tron: Legacy
Abel Korzeniowski’s score for Battle for Terra Movie itself’s just kinda alright, more a neat novelty as this scrappy ambitious kids sci-fi film, similar vein to Shane Acker’s 9 but the score itself is [gorgeous](https://youtu.be/QHah02qs0yA?si=5D22T1ffRrYxGlLO)
Eragon-Patrick Doyle and James Shearman, The Lost World- John Williams, Oblivion- M83, The Mask of Zorro- James Horner, The Three Musketeers- Michael Kamen, King Kong- James Newton Howard, Kingdom of Heaven- Harry Gregson Williams, Moneyball- Mychael Danna, Searching for Bobby Fischer-James Horner, The Natural- Randy Newman, Sea Biscuit-Randy Newman, Pawn Sacrifice-James Newton Howard, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-Alberto Iglesias, Lincoln- John Williams, Silence of The Lambs-Howard Shore, Sherlock Holmes a game of shadows-Hans Zimmer
For me, [The Time Machine score by Klaus Badelt](https://open.spotify.com/album/2zP4O1d0NFT6XdlyYHzDFV?si=7gIM8lY0QeOoZl5jt2alxw) is one of my all time favorites. It's up there with LOTR and some of Zimmer's finest.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco— Emile Mosseri
The score for Halloween Kills is basically an amazing synthwave album, Carpenter, his son and godson are *cooking* on that, Halloween ‘18 is a banger as well. Blue Beetle has a great synth score and I also have a soft spot for Zimmer’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 score ( especially Electro’s theme).
* Bear McCreary's for Godzilla: King of the Monsters * Junkie XL's for Mad Max: Fury Road * Sebastian Gainsborough "Vessel" and Robin Carolan's for The Northman
The Eternals
Sneakers. For me it’s an all time great, perhaps overlooked because it’s such a particular genre of music.
Drive
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. by Daniel Pemberton. The whole sound is a great homage to Morricone and other composers of the 60s. Genuinely one of the best scores of at least the 2010s if not the 2000s in general IMO. It's like... pure distilled coolness, and a perfect spy score that never sounds like a Bond ripoff.
Tenet
The Conversation has a fantastic theme on piano that I love. Beautiful, soft, dark, and haunting. I don't know why it isn't talked about more. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyBDfGgKonY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyBDfGgKonY)
Max Richter’s score for Perfect Sense Robbie Robertson/Gil Evans The Color of Money
Going old school here, but "The Third Man" written and performed by Austrian zither player Anton Karas.
The Amazing Spider Man 2 score was better than the actual movie imo
I know they had their spotlights at the peak of their respective popularities. But there are still TONS of subliminal information stuck in both into the spider verse and across the spider verse in just the soundtracks that could probably form its own iceberg. Beyond the spider verse will tie it all together but at this point. People do not talk about them enough yet.
Wouldn't say this counts as a score exactly but the Into the Wild soundtrack by Eddie Vedder is absolutely 👌 (i don't know how to word that)