Award Contenders

   Now that the heat of the Oscar nominations has cooled down a little, we can get back to my Best of the 00′s series.  The Scores (or theme music) this decade were top heavy if you ask me.  I don’t feel there was a lot of depth in this category, but what ended up high on my list I feel very happy about.  There are some all time great Scores here, with or without the depth.  I have included a few of the themes from the Scores that I feel extra passionate about.

   Going into this list I pretty much knew what my number one would be.  I still feel confident with my choice, but any of my top 3 really could be mixed around in any order. 

   If you have missed any of my prior Top 10 lists of the decade, feel free to check out my Characters, Male Performances, Female Performances, Quotes  and Songs pages.

   And as always, feel free to leave comments on your thoughts about my choices as well as your own top ten film scores of the decade!

   See the 10 songs after the jump…

   10.  Avatar – “Becoming One of The People, Becoming One With Neytiri” – James Horner, 2009

   9.  A Beautiful Mind – “Main Theme” – James Horner, 2001

   8.  Gladiator – “Honor Him” – Hans Zimmer, 2000

   7.  Slumdog Millionaire – “Latika’s Theme” – A.R. Rahman featuring Suzanne D’Mello, 2008

   6.  The Passion of the Christ – “Cucifixion” – John Debney, 2004

   5.  Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – “Main Theme” – John Williams, 2001

   4.  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – “A Storm is Coming” – Howard Shore, 2003

   And “Minas Tirith” – Howard Shore

   And “The Grey Havens” – Howard Shore

   3.  There Will Be Blood – “Prospector Arrives” – Jonny Greenwood, 2007

   And “Future Markets” – Jonny Greenwood

   And “There Will Be Blood” – Jonny Greenwood

   2.  Brokeback Mountain – “Brokeback Mountain 1” – Gustavo Santaolalla, 2005

   And “The Wings” – Gustavo Santaolalla

   1.  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – “The Ring Goes South” – Howard Shore, 2001

   And “Concerning Hobbits” – Howard Shore

   And “The Shire Theme” – Howard Shore

(Honorable Mention [listing film/composer/year only]: Atonement – Dario Marianelli, 2007;  The Kite Runner – Michael Nowack, 2007;  3:10 to Yuma – Marco Beltrami, 2007;  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Alexandre Desplat, 2008;  Revolutionary Road – Thomas Newman, 2008;  Kung Fu Panda – Hans Zimmer, 2008;  Up – Michael Giacchino, 2009;  Finding Neverland – Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, 2004;  Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - John Williams, 2005;  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Harry Gregson Williams, 2005;  Letters From Iwo Jima – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens, 2006;  The Queen – Alexandre Desplat, 2006;  Pan’s Labyrnith – Javier Navarette, 2006;  The DaVinci Code – Hans Zimmer, 2006;  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Tan Dun, 2000;  The Hours – Philip Glass, 2002;  28 Days Later – John Murphy, 2002;  Spiderman – Danny Elfman, 2002;  Mystic River – Clint Eastwood, 2003;  The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – Klaus Badelt, 2003;  Million Dollar Baby – Lennie Niehaus and Clint Eastwood, 2004.)