I get bored at work and school so I come up with a whole bunch of lists (prepare for my Bond rankings for movies, theme songs, villains, and Bond girls in the near future
). So I came up with a list of the most recognizable movie themes. Feel free to add any others that I didn't think of, and these do not include songs with lyrics like Top Gun's "Danger Zone" so leave those off the list for now
-Star Wars theme (John Williams) The granddaddy of movie themes. This one is obvious
-Imperial March (John Williams) (from Star Wars) Evil, just an evil theme. Another obvious one
-Raider's March (John Williams) (from Indiana Jones) Everyone knows this adventurous sounding theme, yet another classic from John Williams
-Jaws theme (John Williams) Da dan... da dan... da dan da dan da dan... such a simple score but yet so classic
-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly theme (Ennio Morricone) Wha a whaaaa... wha wha wha wha... stereotypically used for any parody of a standoff between two people
-Lord of the Rings theme (Howard Shore) Epic sounding score that already earned its place in the realm of famous scores
-20th Century Fox fanfare So it's not an actual movie theme but it's used in movies and it's the most recognizable studio theme out there, especially when Star Wars revitalized the use of the fanfare. I felt this deserved an inclusion
-James Bond theme (Monty Norman) Oh, come on. You know the name, you know the number, you know the song
-Mission: Impossible theme (Lalo Schifrin) Although known for the TV show, the music still appears in the movies so it is a recognizable movie theme, more so now since the people watching the MI movies today don't even know a TV show existed
-Winter Overture (Clint Mansell) (from Requiem for a Dream) Although many people may not know what movie this song comes for, this song is heard everywhere from movie trailers to sporting events so it's a good possibility you've heard this song before and is thus recognizable if heard
-Jurassic Park theme (John Williams) Oh, come on, who wasn't swept up in the awe inspiring introduction to the island, complete with the Jurassic Park theme?
-Halloween theme (John Carpenter) Another simple score that just oozes creepiness
-Also Sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss) (from 2001: A Space Odyssey) Bombastic score than evokes something extraordinary. I've never seen the movie but yet it's instantly recognizable
-Star Trek theme (Jerry Goldsmith) The Next Generation theme was actually based on the theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture and has been used as the official Star Trek theme since
-Pirates of the Caribbean (Klaus Bedalt) The Medallion Calls (Jack Sparrow's theme) or He's a Pirate (the Pirates of the Caribbean theme), both are well known especially with the huge popularity of Pirates of the Caribbean. It's such an adventurous score
-Harry Potter theme (John Williams) John Williams is obviously the king of well known movie themes. The theme for Harry Potter is epic sounding and holds a magical, mysterious quality to it
-Terminator theme (Brad Fiedel) This theme is both soft and serene but then erupts into a heavy-toned instrumentation that ends with the familiar hardcore "clanking" sound like that of something striking metal
-Austin Powers theme (George S. Clinton) A fun, 1960ish theme that evokes the parody of what the Austin Powers series is. It's goofy, just like the series
-Gonna Fly Now (Bill Conti) (from Rocky) The theme from Rocky is a triumphant score that has been constantly used for any case where an underdog is training for some important fight. The way the horns build up at the beginning until the outburst of music makes this a classic
-Batman theme (Danny Elfman) So good it was used even in Batman: The Animated Series. It has the typical Elfman style, mysterious yet bombastic. Thankfully, it wasn't used for Batman & Robin
-Superman theme (Jerry Goldsmith) The main theme for the movie that started the formula for the modern superhero movie still used today. It was such an integral part of the movies that it was resurrected for Superman Returns despite Jerry Goldsmith's passing away
-Back to the Future theme (Alan Silvestri) This theme oozed adventure and excitement and it was perfectly composed to feel like it was time traveling itself, especially when used in sequences of the DeLorian (one of the coolest movie cars ever) traveling in time
-The Pink Panther theme (Henry Mancini) This jazz beat fits the detective story well but also serves as contrast to the bufoonery of Inspector Clouseau. Heck, it was even the theme song for the cartoon that actually starred a pink panther
