You’ve probably heard a lot about A24’s Past Lives, out in UK cinemas this week. The film has been praised for its vivid cinematography and careful, exquisite writing. But it’s also got an incredibly lush original soundtrack, from Grizzly Bear’s Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen. With its rich piano-scapes and warm instrumentation, the Past Lives score is worth listening to even if you’ve never seen the film and don’t intend to.
Original film scores are a treat because they allow an artist to stretch their muscles in a way they might not have done otherwise, while also creating an entire and specific mood for a film. Unlike regular soundtracks, each song on an OG score is purpose-built for particular scenes, meaning that when we listen back, we’re transported to that universe (hence why I always tear up when the panpipes kick in during the Titanic theme song).
Some artists, like Trent Reznor, love to smash out a killer score – he’s composed around 17 and counting. Whereas others, like French duo Air, to everyone’s chagrin, have only ever scored one. Some are of course better than others. Here are the ten best film scores of all time.
The Virgin Suicides by Air
The Virgin Suicides score from French duo Air – their first and only – wasn’t just beloved by film nerds, but pop nerds alike. With its dulcet, Moog-noodling tones and breezy, floating electronics, the soundtrack ended up gaining as much of a cult following as the Sofia Coppola classic. When I interviewed Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin from the band, way back in 2015, on the 15th anniversary of the film, they told me that there’s a reason the whole thing sounds so feverish. “I got really, really sick and had an awful fever and I was about 40 degrees for the whole week we were recording,” said Dunckel. “I honestly feel like the fever went into the music. When I had this fever, my senses were really strong and I feel like I was making better music than before. My body was all hot and everything was happening really fast.”
Vertigo by Bernard Herrmann
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) is a film about obsession. Scottie’s (James Stewart) obsession with Madeleine (Kim Novak). Hitchcock’s own apparent obsession with his lead actresses. Our collective obsession with the film in general, decades after its release. Which is why Bernard Herrman’s hypnotising, spiralling film score, with its swirling harps and strings, still stands the test of time. It is like obsession materialised into sonic form. This wasn’t the first score from the conductor and it wouldn’t be last. His debut score was for Citizen Kane, and he’d go on to score Psycho and Taxi Driver among many others.
Suspiria by Goblin
Some of the best film scores are horror film scores (see also: John Carpenter’s score for Halloween, Philip Glass’s score for Candy Man, every weird song by Magnet in The Wickerman). This is probably because the blend of stylishness, campiness and suspense can allow a composer to play around a bit. Topping the list, however, is Italian prog-rock band Goblin’s score for Dario Argento’s 1977 cult classic Suspiria. With its wild harpsichords, stabbing synthesisers and cacophonous drum rhythms, this soundtrack is a masterclass in how to take the overarching mood and aesthetic of a film and turn it up to 100.
Drive by Cliff Martinez
Like a lot of people, I don’t actually remember what happened in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) – there was a lot of driving, right? Some of it at night? But I do remember the film’s impeccable electro, effervescent soundtrack. While there are some tracks in there from Kavinsky, Desire and Chromatics, the rest of this bubbling fever dream comes courtesy of Cliff Martinez. Martinez is the guy behind all your other favourite neon-tinged films, too, from Only God Forgives (2013) to Neon Demon (2016) and Solaris (2002). None quite match the nighttime atmosphere and everlasting style of Drive, however.
Under the Skin by Mica Levi
Can you believe it’s been a whole decade since Jonathan Glazer’s weird sci-fi horror flick Under the Skin? While the film was beloved for its freaky eroticism and crisp visuals, it was the ambient, cosmic soundtrack from Mica Levi that really made this film pop. According to Levi, Glazer wanted a “novice” to score the film, someone who hadn’t done a load of scores already, so that they wouldn’t know how to “manipulate” the audience too much. The result is a sumptuous, alien-like soundscape, totally immersive, with sexy synthetic undertones, from start to finish.
Paris, Texas by Ry Cooder
If Wim Winder’s 1984 art-house road movie Paris, Texas is most known for anything, it’s probably the incredibly vivid and influential cinematography – even if you’ve not seen the film, you’ll probably recognise the image of Jane Henderson (Nastassja Kinski) in a bright pink mohair jumper, set against the redness of a motel room. But it was Ry Cooder’s meditative film score – part uplifting, part melancholy – that really elevated Paris, Texas to new heights. The score is special because it blends twanging guitar with ambient sound – not a mix we hear often – imbuing the whole thing with stillness and mystery.
Palo Alto by Devonte Hynes
Palo Alto from Gia Coppola was a film very much of the early 2010s. There was a lot of James Franco (too much James Franco), and a whimsical indie vibe brought to the fore from actors Emma Roberts and Jack Kilmer (Val Kilmer’s son). That said, while the film was so-so, the soundtrack from musical polymath Devonte Hynes was exceptional. While some were ruffled by Hynes’ departure from the sticky pop jams of Blood Orange album Cupid Deluxe, the Palo Alto score offers up a synthy dreamscape, peppered in silken vocals and funky, rolling drum beats.
Akira by Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Listen to the original score for Akira today and try not to think “what the fuck?” Composed by the experimental Japanese musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi – an unending group comprised of everyone from academics to college students – the score for this 1988 cyberpunk classic is disorientating, unorthodox and otherworldly. Taking us through a journey of folk chants, acoustic drumming and glistening electronics, every single song on this score sounds entirely different from the next. The dystopian world of Akira would not have been possible without its eclectic soundtrack.
Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell
Requiem for a Dream, released at the turn of the millennium, is one of those films that you can only watch a couple of times because it’s just so very stressful and bleak. It is brilliant, though, helped in part by Clint Mansell’s iconic film score (even if you’ve not seen the film, you’ll surely recognise the totally emotive, dramatic, nightmarish strings of “Lux Aeterna”). It's such an intense original score, in fact, that it's impossible to listen to without getting heart palpitations – in a good way.
The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose
In some ways, film scores by Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose – founding members of Nine Inch Nails and long-time musical collaborators – deserve their own ranking. They've soundtracked everything from Gone Girl (2014) to Mid90s (2018) and Mank (2020). But it's their first-ever film score – for David Fincher's 2010 film The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook – that surely comes out top. Listening back, the whole thing is icy and unsettling, its dark industrial tones and synthetic beats injecting the film with an overarching sense of foreboding and dread.
2001: Space Odyssey by Alex North
Unlike the other soundtracks on this list, this one is actually a rejected film score, meaning it never made it to the screen. That doesn't mean it's not garnered a cult following, however. With its fluttering strings and cosmic shots of violin, many a 2001: Space Odyssey fan have imagined what the film would have been like in a parallel universe. The actual soundtrack for the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece – comprised of majestic classical compositions – is obviously beloved in its own right, but there's something special about a score specially crafted for specific visuals. Not-so-fun fact: Alex North didn't realise his score hadn't made the final cut until he watched the movie at the cinema.
