This will both be a similar post to Famous Movie & TV Cars and continuation of a four-part series that began with Famous Instrumental Themes of John Williams. It is simply commentary, with no theory, no review, and little to no trivia.

Famous Instrumental Themes (Various)

As I began to formulate the idea for this series, I quickly realized John Williams would require his own post because of his contributions to the film industry. Full disclosure, besides the obvious fact that he deserved it, I discussed Williams' themes first because I wanted to avoid any question of "What about Jaws?" or "What about Star Wars?" These and others are so iconic, after all. Touching on what I discussed about movie scores last week, music directs the audience how to feel, what to expect, etc. While some may not notice a soundtrack note by note, almost everyone will notice the absence of one. A notable example is Cloverfield. Being a "found footage" film, a full score would not make sense. So, it used sound effects organic to the scenery, such as building groans and fluorescent light hums to build tension in the same way. Here are some notable main themes written by various composers. No use reinventing the wheel, so the format will be: heading for the film or franchise, official name of the piece early on, and brief commentary of its iconic status and why that has endured.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Ennio Morricone had already scored the previous two films of the Man with No Name Trilogy, but "Il Buono, Il Cattivo, Il Brutto (Titoli)" might just be his magnum opus. Beginning with an unchanging percussive beat, it consists of guitar, and other instrumentation, both typical and atypical, all to the effective design of capturing sounds that evoke the American Old West. Its legacy includes a cover version by Hugh Montenegro that peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts in 1968 and playing parodically for many a confrontation, even just shy of sixty years later (sometimes it's just a soundalike to avoid copyright infringement). It's not even the piece that plays over the final showdown, which actually creates more tension, which shows the impact of both the film and the main title theme. "Every gun makes its own tune."

The Love Bug

This might seem like an odd choice. But there are at least two primary intentions to a theme, and "The Love Bug (Theme Song)" captures both of those: for feeling, it is a joyful piece of music, and it instantly makes you think of the character of Herbie the Love Bug and the films featuring him. The theme was written by George Bruns, whose film work includes many other Disney films of the time, notably Sleeping Beauty, The Absent-Minded Professor, Robin Hood, and Herbie Rides Again, the first sequel to The Love Bug. It is an uptempo jazzy number that belongs on any road trip soundtrack, if it were commercially available. It was heard in every Herbie film to follow aside from the 1997 made-for-TV requel, The Love Bug. "Now you speak my language."

Blade Runner

In the midst of the popularity of synth-heavy music, the score piece that opens 1982’s Blade Runner, “Main Titles” on the first official soundtrack release in 1994, shows the versatility of the instrument. While its increasingly wider use in progressive rock, new wave and synth pop from the late 1960s through the 1980s showed how it could and did become radio friendly, the composition has more in common with classical than any other genre. Played over a wide shot of 2019 Los Angeles, it is equal parts futuristic and relevant to the time of its creation. The composer, Vangelis, also wrote “Chariots of Fire”, famous in its own right. While another piece, “Tears in Rain”, makes a reappearance on the soundtrack for the legacy sequel Blade Runner 2049, it’s “Main Titles” that represents the film best, particularly in setting the scene, a film that went through several released cuts. “More human than human.”

The Terminator

Two years after Blade Runner, The Terminator released, another sci-fi movie with a futuristic element and also has a soundtrack on synthesizer (mostly, more on that in a bit). The original soundtrack release has the piece entitled, "The Terminator Theme" and it is composed by Brad Fiedel. As a cyborg is part machine and part human, it is part classical and part electronica with its programmed drumbeats. A part of the percussion, what sets it apart, is an actual hammer producing an anvil-like sound on the beat, giving the whole track an automated factory ambience. The legacy of the theme is its reuse as the main theme in the superior first sequel, also scored by Fiedel, and in each of the following films to varying amounts. "You must be stronger than you imagine you can be.”

Back to the Future

The extended version of the theme to Back to the Future is appropriately named "Back to the Future (End Credits)", but it actually makes its first appearance earlier as part of "'85 Twin Pines Mall". The orchestral piece by Alan Silvestri, who also composed the scores for other favorite Robert Zemeckis films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, and Beowulf, is prominently heard during action sequences to provide a spirit of triumph to accompany what is on screen. It became a part of the main title theme in the sequels, also scored by Silvestri, while still maintaining its original purpose throughout one of the greatest film trilogies ever, as well as the 2010 game that is a Part IV of sorts. “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."

Batman

There are definitely some signature sounds that make up Danny Elfman's scores, typically a little bit of quirk that matches the film visuals that are accompanying them. Tim Burton's third feature film, Batman (1989), is an example of his work that is less so, though. "The Batman Theme" captures its titular hero much as "Theme from Superman (Main Title)" did before it. It is full orchestration with an intro that starts quiet, slowly builds in volume and intensity, before it bursts into a full form in its second movement, both gothic and heroic throughout. A great piece in itself, it also captures the structure of the entire film as it plays over the main credits, ending on a wide shot of a Bat-symbol, colored in darker steel blue. It, of course, *ahem*, returns for the film's sequel, but its legacy also includes being the theme of the fan-favorite (and mine) 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, appearances in the LEGO Batman trilogy of video games, and nods to it in 2017's Justice League, also composed by Elfman. "Always brings a smile to my face."

The Lord of the Rings

By title or in practicality, The Lord of the Rings trilogy does not exactly have a main theme. Instead, there are multiple leitmotifs to represent certain important aspects of the epic story, such as hobbits, the fellowship, and the One Ring. It is how J. R. R. Tolkien wrote the source novel with these elements as major components and thus a logical approach to the adaptation's film score. Written by Howard Shore, whose other films are a wide range including Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, and The Pale Blue Eye, the piece was originally entitled "Concerning Hobbits" on the initial soundtrack release for The Fellowship of the Ring and primarily consists of the leitmotif that indeed concerns hobbits. For The Complete Recordings release, the similar track is titled "The Shire". Some of the instrumentation is full orchestra but the melody often presents simply, yet far from plain, just as hobbits are. They are the central people of both Middle-earth works completed by Tolkien. While that is obvious with the first in the actual title of The Hobbit, in reading The Lord of the Rings, all four hobbits do extraordinary things, much like Bilbo did before. The second novel could very well have been named The Hobbits if using the naming convention of a certain antagonistic extra-terrestrial franchise. The leitmotif, of course, returns in The Hobbit trilogy, made ten years later and also scored by Shore. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

These selections are also just a sampling, and while I cannot name all of them who deserve it, I would be remiss not to mention other composers such as Jerry Goldsmith (Gremlins, Total Recall), James Horner (Braveheart, Titanic), James Newton Howard (The Fugitive, The Sixth Sense), Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, The Last Samurai), and Michael Giacchino (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Batman). Additionally, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer co-composed the first two films of The Dark Knight Trilogy, while Zimmer is solely credited for the final film. The music of Batman Begins particularly has always stood out to me, but Batman '89 is the only Bat-music that could have had the spot.

Next up...Famous Soundtrack Songs!