My family has always pointed out that I have a good ear for music. However quiet or brief the snippet is of a song that I hear, I’m always able to identify or remember it from somewhere else.
Movie scores (different from the soundtrack; score is mainly instrumental with no words) tend to go under a lot of people’s radars, but I am always tuned in and find them to be very effective in heightening the emotion of a scene and the viewing experience. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from movie scores!
- “Yumeji’s Theme” by Shigeru Umebayashi (In the Mood for Love, 2000)
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I consider this song the reason I fell asleep during this movie. I felt so bad about falling asleep that I found myself listening to this piece later on and being absolutely captivated by it. It’s beautiful and sad and full of longing. I honestly got more out of this piece than the rest of the film. I really wish I could choreograph a dance to this!
- “The Sixth Station” by Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, 2003)
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The only composer on this list that I’ve had the privilege of seeing perform live! While I haven’t actually seen Spirited Away, this was the first piece I heard from Hisaishi, and I have been a huge fan since. It’s so beautiful and perfectly escalates and de-escalates to tell a story. What that story is, I can’t tell you. I imagined my own little mini story the first few times I listened to this!
- “Concerning Hobbits” by Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001)
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This is just the coziest song for fall, as well as the early times in this movie before the epic adventure begins. I highly recommend putting this piece on while walking around the colorful trees with the wind blowing. It truly makes the autumn experience all the more enjoyable. Oh, and the movie’s good too!
- “Time” by Hans Zimmer (Inception, 2010)
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Hans Zimmer is one of the most accomplished composers of the 21st century and has composed the score for a lot of really memorable movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Dune, and The Dark Knight trilogy. However, this song from the time/reality-bending Inception perfectly captures the epic scale of the seemingly simple story.
- “Kingdom Dance” by Alan Menken (Tangled, 2010)
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Like Spirited Away, animated films can’t be discounted from having incredible scores. Tangled is my favorite Disney movie, and it’s rare for a musical to have an excellent non-singing piece, but this one is one of the most iconic songs from the score and always makes me want to dance along with the characters.
- “Fargo, North Dakota” by Carter Burwell (Fargo, 1996)
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While I listen to the TV show’s theme song by Jeff Russo more often, this similar piece set the tone not just for the entire film, but also helped put the Coen brothers on the mainstream map. You gotta love an overdramatic string piece to trick you into thinking this is just a typical crime thriller.
- “WXYZ-TV Channel 8” by Alexandre Desplat (Asteroid City, 2023)
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I watched this film on a plane ride to Italy, and couldn’t stop thinking about the charming visuals that accompanied this piece. It’s so upbeat and cute; you find yourself bopping your head along. I highly recommend both this movie and the score; they’re both quirky and really fun.
- “Duel of the Fates” by John Williams (Star Wars Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, 1999)
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Even with the weakest Star Wars film, John Williams finds a way to make a lightsaber battle epic. Everything about the fight between Qui-Gon Jin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul is already great (choreography and cinematography, specifically). But the music makes it all the more iconic and remains one of the best scenes in the series.
- “Mission: Impossible” by Lalo Schifrin (Mission: Impossible film series)
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What an impact this song had, transcending the original 1960s show to the long-lasting film series! Written with a melody to spell out “M.I” in Morse code and the perfect song to sneak around to, it’s a cool song to see get interpreted by various composers across the different entries in the film.
- “It’s Bucky!” and “Thunderbolts*” by Son Lux (Thunderbolts* 2025)
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I’m putting two here because this score is smarter than most people think, as it’s an evolution of Marvel scores over the years. Bucky’s song here is victorious and epic, unlike the dark and intimidating Winter Soldier theme. And the Thunderbolts* piece sounds eerily similar to the Avengers‘ theme with its own unique identity. It’s safe to say I’ll never stop praising this movie!
Go give these songs a listen!
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