My Top 10: James Horner Scores

For the past 35 years, James Horner has become one of the most well known composer's in film history.

He frequent mix of orchestral and electronic made his scores some of the most recognisable of all-time. Also he associations with Celtic music made people associate that style of music with Horner instantly.
The directors you usually see him compose for James Cameron and Ron Howard.

He has scored over 100 films, shorts and documentaries and two of them are currently the two highest-grossing films of all-time. But with the announcement of his tragic death, it was a shame to find that we would miss out on not just any future scores, but his initially scheduled score for the three upcoming Avatar films.

It was really tough to narrow his scores to what I believe is his ten best. Some really good scores have unfortunately miss out. One soundtrack that I want to give an honorable mention is The Land Before Time. It is a gorgeous soundtrack that I remember from my childhood and it was a shame that I did not include it in my top 10. But that just shows how accomplished this composer was. Each of my top 10 will have bits of the soundtrack attached, so you can have a listen. Some of them could soundtrack suites, or just my favorite piece of music from that particular score. Here are my top 10:

10) *batteries not included - Despite being directed by Matthew Robbins, this 1980's heart-warming family sci-fi had Steven Spielberg's hands all over it as executive producer.

This particular piece of music is called 'Hamburger Rhumba' and it is from a very amusing part of the film. It also contains a great mix of some of the films main themes.







9) The Pagemaster - It is a terrific fantasy adventure film that is great for family viewing. It was a film I watched a lot as a kid and it somehow was never seen a by a lot of people and has now become forgotten. You may think this is a sympathy vote. It sort of is, but the music is very enjoyable to listen to.

This piece of music I have chosen is during the film's main action set-piece that at the time was quite ground-breaking. It also is the part when we are introduced to The Pagemaster himself.

I would also have a listen to the official songs of the film that he helped composed for called 'Whatever You Imagine' and 'Dream Away'.

8) Braveheart - Winners of 5 Oscars including Best Picture, this 1995 smash hit wowed audiences with its top performances and intense action. One other key aspect was its memorable soundtrack that really captured to the time period and tone of the film.

With its many famous scenes and quote, the score certainly played a vital part in those moments.

This piece is of music is a suite to the entire soundtrack.

7) Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - The film that began Horner's career as a major film composer.

This enjoyable sci-fi adventure really enhanced the franchise to mainstream audiences. It has been a while since I have seen it. So when I revisited the score, I forgot how much Horner blended his style to the usual Star Trek themes that made the score quite impressive.

This piece of music is the epic main title.

6) Apollo 13 - One of the most famous films from the 1990's, this space drama based on true events is wonderfully told by director Ron Howard and has great performances from Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise.

This piece of music is used in the famous launch sequence scene.

5) Troy -  Probably the last epic 'swords and sandals' flick. This really enjoyable Greek war drama has the star-studded cast and is set on a massive scale.

While the audience is in awe of the battle scenes, Horner's score is setting the tone beautifully. With the soundtrack sounding very similar to fellow epics like Ben-Hur, it has that great mix of classic and modern.

This piece of music is a fan-made compilation of the music associated with the film's main character.

Also, check out the films end credits song, 'Remember Me' performed by Josh Groban.

4) Field Of Dreams - My favorite sports films that really affected me, not just in the story but the emotional score.

A film where a corn farmer hears voices in his heard to build a baseball field would sound quite mad. But the direction, performances and the score all managed to make this one of the greatest films of all-time.

Horner's score is mesmerizing and haunting at times and just adds to the tone of the film even more.

This piece of music is a suite of the entire soundtrack.

3) An American Tail - A wonderful and emotional family animated drama that I don't think gets enough recognition.

It sees a Russian mouse family attempt to emigrate to America. But when the son gets separated from his family, they must find him whilst trying to survive in a new country.

The score by Horner has some of the best use of strings from an orchestra ever and it is a soundtrack that I will never forget from my childhood.

I was thinking of putting its sequel 'An American Tail: Fievel Goes West' into my top 10. But as the sequel's score has a lot of the themes from the original, I decided to discount it.

2) Avatar - Currently the highest-grossing film of all-time, director James Cameron came out with visual spectacular on a epic story across space that sees a marine sent out on a mission. He then becomes torn between following orders and protecting a world he now sees as home.

Horner's score fitted perfectly into the environment and it is one I have listened many times.

This piece of music from the collectors edition of the soundtrack. It is a combination of the music used in the final scene and the entire end credits that features the terrific song for the film 'I See You' by Leona Lewis.

1) Titanic - The film that got Horner his two Oscars for Best Original Score and Original Song.

At the time it became the highest-grossing film of all-time, and like Avatar it was directed by James Cameron.

With its terrific re-watch-ability, this modern classic is highly enjoyable to watch, has good performances and one of the most iconic soundtracks of all-time.

If you played a few seconds of the soundtrack, people will instantly be taken back to the 1997 Best Picture winner. It gives me chills every time.

This is the soundtrack that defined Horner's career.

The piece of music I have chosen is the chilling 'Hymn To The Sea'.