Pitchfork’s 50 Best Movie Scores of All Time (2019)

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Created by baraka92.

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We’re defining scores as original music composed for a film, with recurring motifs and almost always without vocals. This type of work is often the result of a collaboration between a composer and director, and created in tandem with a movie to steadily enhance the narrative onscreen. Put another way: Whereas a soundtrack highlights moments of a movie, a score blankets the entire film. (We’re only looking at narrative films in this list; we are not including documentaries.)

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  1. 1 new

    Blade Runner

    1982, in 36 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Under the Skin

    2013, in 10 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    There Will Be Blood

    2007, in 20 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    The Virgin Suicides

    1999, in 6 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

    1966 — a.k.a. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in 28 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    A Clockwork Orange

    1971, in 37 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

    1958 — a.k.a. Elevator to the Gallows, in 10 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Psycho

    1960, in 39 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Shaft

    1971, in 10 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Halloween

    1978, in 17 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    The Social Network

    2010, in 13 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

    1999, in 7 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Taxi Driver

    1976, in 34 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    The Third Man

    1949, in 37 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Dead Man

    1995, in 12 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Eraserhead

    1977, in 20 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

    1985, in 6 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Solyaris

    1972 — a.k.a. Solaris, in 27 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Drive

    2011, in 8 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

    1972 — a.k.a. Aguirre, the Wrath of God, in 18 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Phantom Thread

    2017, in 8 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Rocky

    1976, in 20 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Casino Royale

    1967, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Akira

    1988, in 22 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    The Hired Hand

    1971, in 3 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Annihilation

    2018, in 3 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

    1980, in 25 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Le mépris

    1963 — a.k.a. Contempt, in 17 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Vertigo

    1958, in 42 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

    1989, in 10 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

    1983, in 6 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Sicario

    2015, in 2 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    La planète sauvage

    1973 — a.k.a. Fantastic Planet, in 10 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Breakfast at Tiffany's

    1961, in 9 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Ceddo

    1977, in 5 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    Anatomy of a Murder

    1959, in 12 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Walkabout

    1971, in 13 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Once Upon a Time in America

    1984, in 19 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    Murasaki Shikibu: Genji monogatari

    1987 — a.k.a. The Tale of Genji, in 0 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    Jaws

    1975, in 28 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    Blue Velvet

    1986, in 27 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    Suspiria

    1977, in 17 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Koyaanisqatsi

    1982, in 12 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Jackie

    2016, in 2 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    Les stances à Sophie

    1971 — a.k.a. Sophie's Ways, in 0 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    The Pink Panther

    1963, in 4 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Batman

    1989, in 9 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    Teesri Manzil

    1966 — a.k.a. The Third Floor, in 1 top list Check
  49. 49 new

    Trouble Man

    1972, in 0 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Wo hu cang long

    2000 — a.k.a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in 27 top lists Check
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Last updated on Apr 6, 2023 by baraka92; source