The 11 Best Jerry Goldsmith Film Scores

Sci-fi terror, military bombast, and tender romance from a craftsman who could score literally anything. Which one tops your list?

1

Alien

The 1979 sci-fi horror score that blended orchestral beauty with unsettling dissonance.

1000pts

2

L.A. Confidential

The 1997 neo-noir crime drama score evoking 1950s Los Angeles with jazz and orchestral grandeur.

667pts

3

Patton

The 1970 Oscar-winning war epic score featuring the iconic military march with distant bugle.

600pts

4

Chinatown

The 1974 neo-noir masterpiece score featuring a haunting solo trumpet that defines California noir.

400pts

5

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The 1979 score introducing the Klingon theme and a majestic Enterprise fanfare that defined the franchise.

400pts

6

The Sand Pebbles

The 1966 Steve McQueen epic scored with sweeping romantic and dramatic themes.

240pts

7

First Blood

The 1982 Rambo score that gave John Rambo his brooding, tragic musical identity.

240pts

8

The Omen

The 1976 horror film score that won the Academy Award for its terrifying Latin choral work.

240pts

9

Poltergeist

The 1982 horror film score balancing family warmth with supernatural terror.

1pts

10

Basic Instinct

The 1992 erotic thriller score whose obsessive, driving theme became inseparable from the film.

1pts

11

Planet of the Apes

The groundbreaking 1968 score using avant-garde techniques and unconventional instruments to portray an alien world.

1pts