Top 10 Favorite Movie Themes: Part 2

Top 10 Favorite Movie Themes: Part 2

Back in January I did a post with my 10 favorite movie themes of all time. And that was a difficult list to make, and I had a bunch of other picks for my favorites. So this is part 2 with my 11-20 favorite movie themes of all time. 

10. Ant-Man’s Main Theme (Christopher Beck-Ant-Man): This is one of the MCU themes that I don’t think gets talked about enough. And in general I think Christopher Beck is an underrated film composer. I think this is a theme that really fits the tone and vibe of the movie. The original Ant-Man movie is the heist movie of the MCU, and the theme fits that heist vibe really well. The way it is made feels like people sneaking around in a facility and then when the melody gets deep you feel like something bad or something good is happening. This is a perfect example of a theme that makes me feel the vibe and tone of the movie. So I didn’t have this on my original drift of this list, but after looking over MCU themes and themes in general. This was one that I really enjoyed and is one of my favorites of the MCU. And the most underrated theme in the MCU. 

9. Carl and Ellie’s Theme (Michael Giacchino-Up): One of the most sweet and heartfelt pieces of music in movie history. And the opening scene in Up is one of the greatest things that Pixar has done. And I think the music for that scene helps make that scene as memorable as it is. Once again, like the Ant-Man theme it makes me feel the emotions of this scene. It can be fun and happy when it needs to be, but when it has it’s more heartfelt and emotional moments it can fit that as well. I think this one of the great examples of how music helps make a movie scene even better than it already is. Michael Giacchino is another one of the great film composers of all time, and this is one of his best. And one of my favorite movie themes from a Pixar movie. One that you do not immediately think of as one of my favorites, but I really like this piece of music. 

8. The Shark Theme (John Williams-Jaws): One of the most iconic and most beloved pieces of movie music of all time. That is so wonderfully done by the legendary John Williams, and is very simple but is great. There are only two notes in this song but it really works. Whenever you think of swimming in the ocean or sharks this is the one and only theme that people think of. I gotta be honest, I actually haven’t seen Jaws so I don’t really know this piece of music in the context of the movie. But after listening to this theme a whole bunch, I do think it is one of the best movie themes of all time. This really captures the fear of swimming in an ocean with dangerous fish like sharks swimming around in it. 

7. The Raider’s March (John Williams-Raiders of the Lost Ark): Another Steven Spielberg and John Williams movie that I haven’t seen. This one, I’ve seen about a half of it, and I have heard the theme in the context of the movie. What I think this theme does so well is make you feel like you are an action adventurer going on an adventure to find an artifact. Whenever I hear or think about this theme I just feel like I’m being chased by a big boulder and being shot at with poison darts. I know it’s weird, but it is what happens in the movie. So this is one of those themes that everybody knows and it truly one of the great themes of all time and by John Williams. 

6. The Incredibles Theme (Michael Giacchino-The Incredibles): If you guys have seen my blog posts, you know how much I love The Incredibles. And this is one of the movies I had on my 5 perfect movies. Every time I talk about The Incredibles I always seem to mention the score, and it helps pull the movie together. I think the credits at the end of this movie is one of the best credits of all time. And that is really thanks to the fantastic movie theme. And even when it plays all through-out the actual movie it plays in a number of the action scenes and makes those action scenes better. So this is one of those themes that just really makes the movie super dynamic. And that is what all great movie themes are supposed to do. Michael Giacchino is one of my favorite film composers of all time, and this is one of my favorites from him. 

5. Superman’s First Flight (Hans Zimmer-Man of Steel): One of Hans Zimmer’s best piece of music that feels so larger than life. Going to make the score for this movie, Zimmer didn’t try to copy Williams verizon. No, he did something new and different with it. John Williams’ Superman theme is iconic and feels very 1970s. Hans Zimmer’s music feels like a 21st century Superman theme that just feels epic. That is what Hans Zimmer does so well with his music is make it feel so epic and large scale. It fits the tone and the vibe that Zack Snyder was going for with his version of Superman. And whenever you watch this scene you really feel like you are there with Clark flying in the sky and it just makes the scene so awesome. Now, the rest of the movie has fantastic music but this is my second movie theme from the DCEU. 

4. Main Theme (Michael Giacchino-Star Trek Trilogy): I haven’t really talked about Star Trek on my blog, but I think that the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies are pretty great. And Star Trek: Beyond I think is the weakest of the trilogy. Enough with the movies, but the music is really great in all three movies. The theme that I’m talking about is the one that takes place when the title appears on screen, and it plays through a number of the different action scenes. And the scene in Into Darkness when the ship is falling and the music plays and the ship flies into the sky is a great movie scene. Like the Man of Steel theme, this is a theme that feels larger than life and so vibrant, and that is something that I like for a movie theme. And this is an example of a movie theme that makes certain movie scenes a lot better. 

3. The Pirates’ Theme (Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt-Pirates of the Caribbean): The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my favorite movies of all time. And like most people I think it is the best of the franchise. And I think the score for this movie helps bring the movie together and makes it better. And this is the definitive pirate music, there have been other pirates movies. But the music to them hasn't been as memorable as this one. I didn’t even realize that Hans Zimmer did the score for this movie, it doesn’t feel like one of his scores. I mentioned this before with the Man of Steel theme but Zimmer’s theme feels so epic, and this one doesn't have as much. And I don’t think that is a bad thing, I like it when film composers do something new and different with their themes. Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my favorite movies of all time, and the main movie theme is one of the best things about the movie. 

2. Main Theme (John Williams-Harry Potter Franchise): If you guys know me, then you know that I love the Harry Potter franchise and it is one of my favorite movie franchises of all time. This theme is my mom’s ringtone on her phone and it’s quite a great ringtone. But what John Williams was able to do with this piece of music is make this piece of music have a great fantasy and magical way about him. That scene where Hagrid, Harry, and friends are on the boats and Hogwarts appears is one of the best uses of music in a movie scene. It just gives you the chills and you are in awe of seeing the castle just as much as the characters in the movies are. So I strongly thought about putting this in the top 10 because this is a fantastic piece of music that masterfully done by Mr. John Williams. 

1. Gotham’s Reckoning (Hans Zimmer-The Dark Knight Rises): Back in January, I re-watched The Dark Knight Rises and put out a ranking of the trilogy. So if I was to do this ranking back months ago, I probably wouldn’t have had this movie on the list. But after listening to it in the movie and thinking about it I think this is just a great piece of movie music. Obviously, Hans Zimmer is an iconic and legendary film composer and this is one his team-ups with Christopher Nolan that I don’t think people talk about. If you on the internet, people would say that either Interstellar, Inception, or The Dark Knight are Nolan’s best scored movies. But I think this theme does a great job of matching the epic nature of this movie and fits the threat that Bane is for Gotham City. It is kind of in the title...Gotham’s reckoning. 

That is my 11-20 favorite movie themes. I know that I missed some iconic and great ones that I missed. But there are a LOT of fantastic movie themes of all time. What are some of your favorite movie themes of all time?