The Best Orchestral Movie Music Soundtracks

It's been widely acknowledged that the John Williams score for the Steven Spielberg film Jaws was a big contributor to the success of the movie. There are many instances where a composer has been linked not only to the success of a film but also to the movie director. This article looks at the music that made the movies or the movie soundtracks that became classics and household names.Here are my favourites and hopefully your favourites. If you don't agree feel free to make a comment.

This movie will remain forever as one of the greatest movies ever made. Tara's Theme which is the main soundtrack was written by Max Steiner for the unknown director Victor Fleming. This classic film starred Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia deHavilland.

The epic story of a woman's life during one of the most tumultuous periods in America's history. From her young, innocent days on a feudalistic plantation, to the war torn streets of Atlanta; from her first love whom she has always desired to three husbands; from the utmost luxury to absolute starvation and poverty; from her innocence to her understanding and comprehension of life and her beloved Tara.

Another great move with another fantastic soundtrack. This time the composer is Maurice Jarre and he wrote it for the great director of epic tales David Lean. Doctor Zhivago starred Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guiness and Tom Courtney.

Set just before as well as in the years following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the film follows the life of Zhivago as he marries, raises a family, and then has his life totally disrupted by the first World War, and then by the Russian Revolution. Shown against a world turned on its head, his life and freedom are torn from him as the new Russian society makes its demands.

The ultimate scary movie. Many people are still asking themselves whether it is safe to go back in the water. The soundtrack was written by John Williams for the director Steven Spielberg.  The film starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Martin Brody is the new police chief of Amity, an island resort town somewhere in New England. He has a wife named Ellen, and two sons named Michael and Sean. On a Summer morning, Brody is called to the beach, where the mangled body of Summer vacationer Chrissie Watkins has washed ashore.  Shark expert Matt Hooper believes Watkins was killed by a shark. Hooper is proven right a few days later, when Alex Kintner is killed by the shark that killed Watkins. On the 4th of July, Vaughn encourages people to swim at the beach, and Hooper is proven right again when the shark kills a man, biting the man's leg off. Brody asks Vaughn to hire Quint to find the shark. Because his own kids were at that beach too, Vaughn agrees to hire Quint to find the shark. Quint, Hooper, and Brody are sent out to sea in Quint's boat, the Orca, ready to do whatever it takes to find the shark.

Another David Lean classic and another Maurice Jarre haunting melody. The composer captured in music the huge expanse of empty desert that is the backbone of the film. The film starred Peter O'Tool, Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quayle and Jack Hawkins.

A complex man who has been labeled everything from hero, to charlatan, to sadist, Thomas Edward Lawrence blazed his way to glory in the Arabian desert, then sought anonymity as a common soldier under an assumed name. The story opens with the death of Lawrence in a motorcycle accident in London at the age of 47, then flashbacks to recount his adventures. As a young intelligence officer in Cairo in 1916, he investigates the progress of the Arab revolt against the Turks during the first World War. He organizes a guerrilla army and for two years leads the Arabs in harassing the Turks with desert raids, train-wrecking and camel attacks. Eventually, he leads his army northward and helps a British General destroy the power of the Ottoman Empire.

The first of the spaghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone and starrring Clint Eastwood. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone and has become the signature theme for all westerns since then. The movie starred Clint Eastwood (as the man with no name), Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef.

The Good is Blondie, a wandering gunman with a strong personal sense of honor. The Bad is Angel Eyes, a sadistic hit man who always hits his mark. The Ugly is Tuco, a Mexican bandit who's always only looking out for himself. Against the backdrop of the Civil War, they search for a fortune in gold buried in a graveyard. Each knows only a portion of the gold's exact location, so for the moment they're dependent on each other. However, none are particularly inclined to share.

No apologies for another western as the music composed by Elmer Bernstein for director John Sturges is magnificently western and makes the movie. The Magnificent Seven starred Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn and Horst Buchholz. A who's who of cinema talent.

A remake of "The Seven Samurai." Seven men are picked to guard a Mexican village from bandits that come every now and then to take whatever the town has grown since their last visit. When they are hired, they go to the town and teach the villagers how to defend themselves. When the leader of the bandits arrives, they see him and his men off. The next time they come the villages fear for their wives and children. They hand over the seven heroes. The leader of the bandits takes their guns and throws them out of town he gives them horses and gives their guns back to them when they are far out of town. The seven decide that they aren't going to run, and head back to the village for a final showdown.

Perhaps the funniest film ever made. Certainly the soundtrack written by Henry Mancini had a lot to do with its staying power. The Director was Blake Edwards and the movie starred the greatest comedian ever Peter Sellers. It also starred David Niven, Robert Wagner and Herbert Lom.

The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, is certain that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for Switzerland, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is. He suspects everyone, even his own wife and as it turns out with good cause, as she is very friendly with Sir Charles Lytton.

I managed to find a modern movie with a soundtrack I liked and one which also enhanced the film. The talented Atticus Rose wrote the soundtrack for the hugely talented twins the Hughes Brothers who directed this movie. The movie stars the amazing Denzil Washington and Gary Oldman. If you ever want to say that a soundtrack is a perfect fit for a movie, then this is the one.

Eli has been on a journey for 30 years, walking west across America after a cataclysmic war that turned the earth into a total wasteland. The barren roads belong to gangs who rob and kill for water, a pair of shoes, a lighter, or even just for fun. Eli is a peaceful man who only acts in self defense, and becomes a warrior with amazing killing skills when he is challenged. After the war Eli was guided by a higher power to a hidden book and given the task of protecting the book and taking it to its final destination. Eli guards the book with his life, because he knows that the book is the only hope that humanity has for its future.