Occasionally, we've encountered films/series where the music has really stuck with us, much more so than the actual product. Some of the films on this list are not bad movies, in fact, they're quite good. However, for us the music overshadows those films, hence we've included them here. The order on this list depends on how wide the disparity between the score and the source material is.
1. The Vision of Escaflowne by Yoko Kanno. Having rewatched the show it's not the worst, but the music is still far superior and the gap in the quality between the soundtrack and the show is clear. It was a no-brainer for us that this needed to be first, it's practically the reason we created this list. Hollywood needs Yoko Kanno, she could transform film music to its glory years.
2. Lotr: The Two Towers by Howard Shore. We have to take the three movies as separate entities, since the quality is different in the soundtracks as well as the films. Watching these movies again, we definitely hate this the most. The music is pretty much on the same level as in the 3rd movie.
3. Lotr: Return of the King by Howard Shore. It's not a secret that we don't enjoy Jackson's renditions of Tolkien's work. Nevertheless, Shore has managed to capture the essence of the books. We like the 3rd movie's score the most and hate the film less than the 2nd. One of these days we'll probably end up writing about our distaste for these films.
4. Pocahontas by Alan Menken. Most people would probably agree that this is not Disney's finest moment, but more on that when we look at this retrospectively. Menken doesn't disappoint, though.
5. Prince of Egypt by Hans Zimmer. The only time you'll find Hans Zimmer mentioned in a positive light in one of our lists. This guy only works for us when he's composing around a particular theme.
6. Blade Runner by Vangelis. The music is very different from any other film soundtrack you'd hear. Props to the one-man-band Vangelis and his ingenuity. The soundtrack is as beautiful as the film's visuals. As for the story and other aspects in the film, we're not the biggest fans. It definitely has its merits and has earned its place in film history, but other than that, we're not into it.
7. Don't Look Now by Pino Donaggio. Best soundtrack to a horror film hands down. Probably one of the most awesome scores to any 70's film we've seen. The film is pretty good too and we'd definitely recommend it to people, but the soundtrack is truly phenomenal. It is no wonder to us that this movie holds such high cult status.
8. La La Land by Justin Hurwitz. The songs are so memorable and this has to be one of the best soundtracks of this decade. Too bad that we don't find the movie matching the great music.
8. Madlax by Yuki Kajiura. She is a master of her craft and she has other soundtracks that are better than the show she composed to (like Tsubasa Chronicle or .hack//Sign) but Madlax is probably the best overall, for us anyway. We love both the first and second soundtracks, so would urge you to listen to them together. The series itself isn't bad by no means, but the score is just superior all around.
1. The Vision of Escaflowne by Yoko Kanno. Having rewatched the show it's not the worst, but the music is still far superior and the gap in the quality between the soundtrack and the show is clear. It was a no-brainer for us that this needed to be first, it's practically the reason we created this list. Hollywood needs Yoko Kanno, she could transform film music to its glory years.
2. Lotr: The Two Towers by Howard Shore. We have to take the three movies as separate entities, since the quality is different in the soundtracks as well as the films. Watching these movies again, we definitely hate this the most. The music is pretty much on the same level as in the 3rd movie.
3. Lotr: Return of the King by Howard Shore. It's not a secret that we don't enjoy Jackson's renditions of Tolkien's work. Nevertheless, Shore has managed to capture the essence of the books. We like the 3rd movie's score the most and hate the film less than the 2nd. One of these days we'll probably end up writing about our distaste for these films.
4. Pocahontas by Alan Menken. Most people would probably agree that this is not Disney's finest moment, but more on that when we look at this retrospectively. Menken doesn't disappoint, though.
5. Prince of Egypt by Hans Zimmer. The only time you'll find Hans Zimmer mentioned in a positive light in one of our lists. This guy only works for us when he's composing around a particular theme.
6. Blade Runner by Vangelis. The music is very different from any other film soundtrack you'd hear. Props to the one-man-band Vangelis and his ingenuity. The soundtrack is as beautiful as the film's visuals. As for the story and other aspects in the film, we're not the biggest fans. It definitely has its merits and has earned its place in film history, but other than that, we're not into it.
7. Don't Look Now by Pino Donaggio. Best soundtrack to a horror film hands down. Probably one of the most awesome scores to any 70's film we've seen. The film is pretty good too and we'd definitely recommend it to people, but the soundtrack is truly phenomenal. It is no wonder to us that this movie holds such high cult status.
8. La La Land by Justin Hurwitz. The songs are so memorable and this has to be one of the best soundtracks of this decade. Too bad that we don't find the movie matching the great music.
8. Madlax by Yuki Kajiura. She is a master of her craft and she has other soundtracks that are better than the show she composed to (like Tsubasa Chronicle or .hack//Sign) but Madlax is probably the best overall, for us anyway. We love both the first and second soundtracks, so would urge you to listen to them together. The series itself isn't bad by no means, but the score is just superior all around.
9. Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre. These last two films are good movies by any standards. It just so happens that we prefer the music over the movies. This soundtrack has epicness plastered all over it. It's awesome.
10. North by Northwest by Bernard Herrmann. Again, nothing really wrong with the film, but the score just impressed us more, and that's saying a lot since it's Hitchcock.
10. North by Northwest by Bernard Herrmann. Again, nothing really wrong with the film, but the score just impressed us more, and that's saying a lot since it's Hitchcock.
