Did you know that was the only Dracula film to ever win Oscars? To us, this version of Dracula is our absolute favorite. Nothing tops Gary Oldman's version of this character and without question, Kilar's score is genius. From the costume design, Makeup, Art Direction, and Cinematography, the musi...

Halloween wouldn't be complete without featuring a score by Danny Elfman, especially in a film directed by Tim Burton! Winning the Golden Satellite Award, the score is a masterful mix of swelling choral and orchestral cues combined with everything one would expect from a suspenseful score. It is ...

Want a masterclass in filmmaking, acting, cinematography, editing, and film composing? This scene is it. Rob Reiner's masterful 1990 film starring the incredible James Caan and Kathy Bates (who won an Academy Award for the role) is one of our favorite films, especially leading up to Halloween. Sh...

Who can forget this iconic 1979 Ridley Scott film? No-one. As an addition to our Halloween snapshot list we wanted to feature Jerry Goldsmith's absolutely unforgettable score. Interestingly, Goldsmith wanted to create a sense of romanticism and lyrical mystery in the film's opening credits (which...

In this special Halloween episode of Film Music Fridays, Justin breaks down Henry Manfredini's chilling and fun score to the 1980 cult classic Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham.

Harry Manfredini is an American film composer and jazz soloist, who has scored more than one hundred fil...

Justin discusses “Triple Threat” John Carpenter and his incredible score to the iconic 1978 slasher film, Halloween. Carpenter is one of the few writers, directors, and composers (aka Triple Threat) who has composed and created some of the most memorable masterpieces in many different genres of c...

'The Addams Family' is one of our favorite films ever made. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the music by legendary composer Marc Shaiman is nothing short of brilliant. It also features incredible performances by Anjelica Huston, the late Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci. Haven't s...

Nothing can compare to the Fox logo mixing with the eerie Goldenthal opening. Interestingly, the score was recorded during the 192 Los Angeles riots, which Goldenthal later claimed contributed to the score's disturbing nature.

While a controversial Alien film in the franchise for a variety of r...

This intense sci-fi psychological thriller by Danny Boyle is another one of our favorites. Is there anything Boyle can't do? With a brilliant script by Alex Garland, there are many aspects from this film inspired by Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey), or even Tarkovsky (Solaris) and Ridley Scott (Al...

Enjoy this incredible score composed by Jerry Goldsmith from the Ridley Scott Director's Cut of 'Legend' (1985). This score was originally removed by the studio after a first round of test screenings in an effort to make the film appropriate for young audiences. Tangerine Dream ended up recording...

Enjoy this masterful score by James Newton Howard from the 2002 film SIGNS, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. This is an incredible set of cues because of the simplicity of the three note motif that forms the foundation for the entire emotional journey one experiences with the characters. It's one ...

There is no question that 'American Psycho' is controversial for a variety of reasons, however the music is what we are most interested in. While the regular soundtrack features a variety of hits from artists like David Bowie, The Cure, and New Order, and Huey Lewis and the News, John Cale's subt...

What can you say about the movie, except that it is brilliant? This is not only one of our favorite films, but also one of our favorite score by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith. What's super fun about this cue is that it features the theme from "Patton"! Can you spot it?

Where to watch: https://le...

We absolutely love John Krasinski's follow up to 2018's 'A Quiet Place', featuring score by the great Marco Beltrami. Krasinski was brilliant in his use of sound design, and combining that with Marco's wonderful score is a really special experience.

This scene in particular is at the beginning o...

Who can question the genius of Jordan Peele? He has continued to re-define the horror genre, and the sequel to the 1992 film of the same name is nothing short of brilliant. The unique blend of social commentary with horror makes it one of the top films we've seen this year. The score, composed by...

To kick off the first week of October and our spooky Snapshot series this month in preparation for one of our favorite holidays, who can forget this iconic film? Interestingly, the lullaby you hear in this title credit sequence is the song 'Sleep Safe and Warm', which was composed by Komeda and a...

M. Night Shyamalan's work, if you haven't noticed, is featured quite a bit in the Score Cue Snapshots because of his incredible appreciation and understanding of the importance of film music. 'Servant', currently in its third season on Apple TV+, is another one of our favorite shows. Not only is ...

We are huge fans of M. Night Shyamalan's work, so you can imagine we couldn't wait to see what he did with his new film, 'Old'. Without giving too much away, the film focuses on a group of people stuck on a beach that age at a very accelerated rate.

Composer Trevor Gureckis (https://www.gurecki...

Philippe Sarde used what is called a "glass harmonica" to create the unique sound found in this cue. A glass harmonica can be a number of different glass instruments, where the glass is made to vibrate by the friction of the player’s fingers. Very few people in the world can play it.

Where to w...