# What is the best Jerry Goldsmith film score?

> A titan of Hollywood's golden age, Jerry Goldsmith created landmark scores across five decades and every genre. Which of his diverse masterworks stands tallest?

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

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Chinatown** — score 1000/1000
   The 1974 neo-noir score featuring a mournful solo trumpet capturing LA's dark underbelly.
2. **Alien** — score 489/1000
   The 1979 sci-fi horror score blending avant-garde textures with creeping orchestral terror.
3. **Star Trek: The Motion Picture** — score 489/1000
   The 1979 space exploration score featuring a majestic theme later adopted for The Next Generation.
4. **Papillon** — score 473/1000
   The 1973 prison drama score of stark beauty and quiet defiance on Devil's Island.
5. **Total Recall** — score 472/1000
   The 1990 sci-fi action score driving futuristic tension with pulsing electronic and orchestral elements.
6. **First Blood** — score 400/1000
   The 1982 action score humanizing the Vietnam veteran Rambo with sorrowful, spare themes.
7. **Poltergeist** — score 400/1000
   The 1982 supernatural horror score balancing childlike wonder with terrifying darkness.
8. **Gremlins** — score 311/1000
   The 1984 horror-comedy score mixing mischievous playfulness with genuine menace.
9. **L.A. Confidential** — score 311/1000
   The 1997 neo-noir score evoking 1950s Hollywood glamour with jazz-inflected period authenticity.
10. **The Boys from Brazil** — score 57/1000
   The 1978 thriller score matching Nazi menace with taut, suspenseful orchestral writing.
11. **Rudy** — score 57/1000
   The 1993 inspirational sports drama score whose triumphant main theme became a stadium anthem.
12. **The Omen** — score 1/1000
   The 1976 Academy Award-winning horror score using choral Latin text for demonic dread.
13. **Planet of the Apes** — score 1/1000
   The 1968 avant-garde score pioneering atonal and percussive techniques for science fiction.

Tags: film score, movie music, soundtracks, jerry goldsmith