# What is the best Alexandre Desplat film score?

> Alexandre Desplat has become one of cinema's most prolific and honored composers, with two Oscar wins and countless memorable scores. Which is his finest work?

*By YPB Team · Published June 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-alexandre-desplat-film-score*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **The Grand Budapest Hotel** — score 1000/1000
   The 2014 Academy Award-winning score using balalaika and Alpine folk textures in comic miniature.
2. **The Curious Case of Benjamin Button** — score 692/1000
   The 2008 melancholy, time-bending score using music box and flowing strings.
3. **Isle of Dogs** — score 605/1000
   The 2018 Wes Anderson score featuring Taiko drumming and Japanese folk influences.
4. **Little Women** — score 304/1000
   The 2019 score blending period dance music with intimate chamber warmth.
5. **Birth** — score 304/1000
   The 2004 score whose glacial piano figures match the film's unnerving meditation on grief and identity.
6. **Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1** — score 304/1000
   The 2010 darker, more intimate score marking the series' shift into mature emotional territory.
7. **The King's Speech** — score 304/1000
   The 2010 BAFTA-winning score of restrained emotional power built around a royal stammer.
8. **The Imitation Game** — score 196/1000
   The 2014 score evoking Alan Turing's mathematical genius through ticking and interlocking motifs.
9. **The Shape of Water** — score 196/1000
   The 2017 Academy Award-winning score creating an underwater fairy-tale atmosphere.
10. **Moonrise Kingdom** — score 56/1000
   The 2012 Wes Anderson score weaving Benjamin Britten orchestrations with whimsical chamber music.
11. **Fantastic Mr Fox** — score 56/1000
   The 2009 Wes Anderson score mixing Burl Ives folk tunes with playful original compositions.
12. **The Queen** — score 1/1000
   The 2006 score mirroring Elizabeth II's composed public dignity with restrained orchestral elegance.
13. **Argo** — score 1/1000
   The 2012 thriller score capturing 1970s Iran hostage tension with period-appropriate textures.

Tags: film score, movie music, soundtracks, alexandre desplat
