Before Part 3 commences, a quick reminder of the criteria and guidelines for the list:

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1. Some themes will be on the list. However, this is about music that amplifies more than reminding us we’re watching a particular movie. As such...
2. Iconic doesn’t mean best. Doctor Zhivago's “Lara’s Theme” is not on this list. It's iconic, but Jarre has done better.
3. The list is about individual pieces of music, not the entire score.
4. The piece must be entirely compelling. While The Silence of the Lambs' opening five notes are an incredible mood-setter and the gold standard for kicking off a psychological thriller, the rest of the main title (while not bad) doesn’t measure up.
5. If the music doesn’t fit, it doesn’t count. “Chevaliers de Sangreal” would crack most people’s list, and it’s good, but it sounds more like Hans Zimmer came up with something cool and stuffed it into whatever his next movie was, which happened to be the freakin’ Da Vinci Code.
6. We all hear things we like and slide them into a Spotify playlist, but that’s not what this list is about. Thus, I must have seen the movie recently enough for the other criteria to apply. Seeing Laura at 11 doesn’t count

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45. “The Letter That Never Came” - A Series of Unfortunate Events, Thomas Newman

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A Series of Unfortunate Events is one of the 2000s' oddest movies. It is based on only the first few books of a series, was intended to have a sequel, and has perhaps the most “this movie will have a sequel” ending ever. Much like the titular letter, that movie never came, which makes “The Letter That Never Came’s” earnestness unintentionally humorous in retrospect. Still, it’s an incredible piece that convinces us the movie we just watched is better than it is, that the characters reading it matter to us more than they do, and that we desperately want a follow-up to a mediocre movie.

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44. “Flashback/Finale” - Gone with the Wind, Max Steiner

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Many films stretch their runtime well beyond necessity, and virtually none of them come remotely close to justifying that decision. The one film to surpass 180 minutes (the film ultimately clocks in at 238 minutes) and always feel deeply necessary is Gone with the Wind. Still, after the many trials, tribulations, peaks, and valleys, “Flashback/Finale” employs a masterful key change to create a feeling of victory for having experienced Scarlett O’Hara’s life over the preceding four hours and a moment of triumph for a complicated heroine.

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43. “Test Drive” - How to Train Your Dragon, John Powell

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It’s a shame How to Train Your Dragon got lost amid 2010’s Toy Story 3 adoration. It’s a genuinely great kid’s movie that's standing the test of time. The inaugural flight, where teenage outcast Hiccup mounts his wounded dragon friend, Toothless, and takes to the skies, gets punctuated by “Test Drive,” a piece that’s equal parts pulse-pounding, triumphant, and moving.

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42. “Introduction (Titles)” - Edward Scissorhands, Danny Elfman

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Tim Burton has mastered turning unorthodox protagonists into some of cinema’s most endearing characters. We credit him for making us empathize with Mr. Scissorhands (not to mention Johnny Depp's star showing Johnny Depp), but Elfman’s introduction sets the tone for a dark romantic fantasy highlighted by a steady dose of warmth and softness.

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41. “Flying” - E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, John Williams

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Truthfully, E.T. is better if you were a kid when it came out. It isn’t bad, but watching it through a modern lens makes it difficult to fully grasp what all the fuss was about in 1982. Spielberg’s tumultuous relationship with his father always paid dividends on screen, but it’s John Williams' score, particularly as Elliott and co. take flight far away from the evil government, that does the heavy lifting.

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40. “A Building Panic” - Titanic, James Horner

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The swelling romance of Jack and Rose’s first kiss and the solemn sea farewell from atop the floating door cannot be understated, but, arguably, Horner’s score shines brightest during the sinking. Titanic cannot genuinely thrill in the classical sense because we know the outcome; Horner’s ability to still get our blood pumping with such restrictions is admirable, to say the least.

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39. “Khazad-dûm” - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Howard Shore

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Moria is claustrophobic; even in the openness outside Balin’s tomb, the cinematography is suffocating. Creating a suspenseful sequence as the Fellowship escapes the Balrog was always going to be a challenge, but Shore’s music guides our heroes from Gandalf’s warning to his ultimate sacrifice to the group’s mourning with unrelenting thrills, pulsating action, and serene sadness.

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39. “Duel of the Fates” - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, John Williams

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Let’s be clear: the Star Wars franchise is for kids. It is perfectly fine to like a kids' movie, but one must acknowledge it as such. If you’re a reasonable adult, you do not take it seriously, and it makes “Duel of the Fates,” the one time the franchise almost feels like more than it is, as Darth Maul reveals his double lightsaber and battles Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi Won Kenobi, all the more ingenious.

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38. “Catwoman” - The Batman, Michael Giacchino

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The Batman has a fantastic noir theme for its complicated deuteragonist, and boy does it know it. Sure, “Catwoman” is overused to the point of insanity, and a movie should never lean too heavily on any leitmotif. Still, Giacchino masters modern noir to the point you can almost justify how frequently “Catwoman” pops up, perfectly encapsulating the mystery and allure of Selina Kyle.

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37. “Wild Signals” - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, John Williams

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“Wild Signals” is more moving in retrospect now that we have the late James Lipton’s analysis of Spielberg’s attempt to bridge the gap between his computer scientist father and musician mother. Still, there’s no denying that Williams’ composition remains one of science fiction’s great musical pieces and an imaginative way to relay the attempted communication between the visiting aliens and humanity.

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36. “Fairytale” - Shrek, Harry Gregson-Williams & John Powell

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Shrek's genius is constantly catching us off guard. We don’t expect our protagonist to be angry and vulgar or the princess to be a sassy martial arts master. We also don’t expect the opening number, played over the serene DreamWorks sequence and Shrek’s gentle narration of the opening fairytale, to use its melodrama for humor. Listen to that song and try not to instantly start laughing, knowing all that's to come.

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35. “Tears in Rain” - Blade Runner, Vangelis

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Rutger Hauer’s iconic monologue is undeniably timeless, but what often gets forgotten in favor of praising his brilliant script changes is Vangelis’ score. It’s a subtle somberness that perfectly accents Hauer’s delivery, neither straining to dominate the scene nor restraining itself and minimizing its potential impact. It’s a faultless marriage of music and movie.

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34. “Main Title (Theme from Jaws)” - Jaws, John Williams

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A bit cliche nowadays, but there’s no denying that every God-fearing American from coast-to-coast feared the open water more than anything else for a solid 30 years after Steven Spielberg’s trend-setter busted the block in summer 1975. Much of that could be attributed to the craftsmanship of the world’s most successful filmmaker, but Williams’ masterful simplicity is undoubtedly most responsible for the terror.

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33. “Maverick Inbound” - Top Gun: Maverick, Hans Zimmer & Harold Faltermeyer & Lady Gaga

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‍Top Gun: Maverick was the best cinema experience in decades. Tom Cruise’s undeniable love for crafting unforgettable action spectacles was the foundation, but the music maximizes moments like Maverick going maverick to show that his vision of the film’s daring mission is both doable and necessary. The entire musical sequence is riveting, but those who experienced the movie in theaters will never forget the full-body goosebumps when that deep, final dig into the blaring synth sounded through the theater as Mav let “bombs away.”

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32. “Sea Wall” - Blade Runner 2049, Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch

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The genius of Zimmer and Wallfisch’s score is how well it updates Vangelis’ ‘80s synth for a contemporary film. The “Sea Wall” sequence is one of modern cinema’s most enthralling movie theater experiences, primarily because of the throbbing bass and thrilling atmospherics in one of Zimmer’s most underrated scores.

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31. “Barbossa Is Hungry” - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Klaus Badelt

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Truthfully, it’s full of summer blockbuster whimsy and inescapable nostalgia, but “He’s a Pirate” is far from the best offering from the original film’s score. “Barbossa Is Hungry” carries the film’s sea chase and subsequent ship battle between the titular Pearl and the British Royal Navy’s HMS Interceptor, a titanic undertaking. Pirate films suffered mightily after the disastrous Cutthroat Island in 1995, partly because high-action on the seas is no mean feat. “Barbossa Is Hungry” makes it sound easy, and what would ordinarily be a slow, meandering action “spectacle” struggling to justify its place is arguably the film’s most engaging sequence.

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