Top 10 Most Emotional Movie Theme Songs
Popular Film Scores that Inspire Emotion and Feeling
Sep 12, 2009
The music that accompanies any particular scene has tremendous subconscious effects on the audience's opinion of the film. A great theme song is memorable, appropriate, and often perfectly mirrors the emotions and complexities on screen.
These scores are the Top 10 Most Emotive Film Themes chosen by asking a simple question: did the music inspire feeling? These did.
10. Brokeback Mountain by Gustavo Santaolalla. Two men fall in love, marry other people, and yearn for one another for the rest of their lives. Santaolalla's simple and nostalgic score - the harmony of several stringed instruments - provides the perfect counterpoint to the total mess of emotion on screen.
9. Blackhawk Down by Hans Zimmer. The slow, repetitive nature of this theme song both matches and intentionally contradicts the scenes for which it was used. Its peaceful melody mocks the chaos of war, but also implies the reality of the soldiers who returned to the streets of Somalia again and again to retrieve their fallen brothers.
8. American President by Marc Shaiman. This movie was about learning to balance desire and responsibility. Shaiman's score does the same thing, using both patriotic refrains and romantic arcs to comprise a melody of surprising elegance. Set against an opening montage of famous portraits in the White House, it perfectly, and subtly, establishes the tone of the film.
7. Meet Joe Black by Thomas Newman. The main theme came in at a little over ten minutes long - appropriate for a movie about growth and the discovery of emotion. Through all of the score's changes in instrument and tone, Newman weaves a recognizable refrain that keeps the listener grounded and, in way, tied to Mr. Joe Black.
6. October Sky by Mark Isham. According to many musicians, the violin comes closest to resembling the human voice. If that's true, then this theme song perfectly depicts one boy's voice as it rises and falls through ambition and heartbreak. The tendency towards minor chords echoes the tragedy of the film, but the constant, overarching melody breathes inspiration.
5. Legends of the Fall by James Horner. The score opens with a simple piano then moves onto grander, orchestral compositions. Just as life for the Ludlow brothers gets ever more complex, so does Horner's music. Eventually, the minor melodies come together to remind the listener that despite the individual choices that the brothers make, they are inevitably bound to one another.
4. Dune and Children of Dune by Brian Tyler. Unfortunately the score to this made-for-TV mini-series has received little attention, except to be snatched (i.e. stolen) for use in the trailer of the recent Indiana Jones movie. The music is soulful, pious and evokes primitive weeping. And as you listen, you can almost feel the sand in your face blown from the streets of Arakeen.
3. Jurassic Park by John Williams. This score is the perfect example of music that makes you want to take a deep breath. Most people will recognize the more adventurous turn in the theme, but the soft introductory melody is what caught my attention. Here is a daily axiom: this song is like life - constant, gentle, grand, and powerful. Perfect for a movie about tampering with Mother Nature.
2. The Godfather by Nino Rota. Does this really need an explanation?
1. Braveheart by James Horner. The theme song to this epic film uses actual bagpipes to evoke the spirit of the Highlands and works as both war-time epic and romantic lullaby. The Braveheart theme was Horner's swan song, and it is arguably the most emotional film score ever written.
Read other articles on film by Christine Hernandez.
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