Said every year, but still bears repeating: many thanks to Christian for hosting this interruption of the board’s usual fanboy silliness, whinging, trolling, and smut - and many thanks to Craig for coordinating this event and owning its not insignificant administrative responsibilities.
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
3. Life on Our Planet
4. The Boys in the Boat
5. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
6. Star Trek: Picard Season 3
7. Migration
8. The Boy and the Heron
9. American Fiction
10. The Flash
Composer of the year: Laura Karpman
***** for picks 1 & 2. ****½ for 3-10. Karpman narrowly edges out Lorne Balfe, Kris Bowers, Stephen Barton, Gordy Haab, and John Powell in what was an unusually competitive field.
Comments on the top 10
- It’s been a while since my favorite film from any given year also had my favorite score from that year - not since Return of the King! But perhaps that’s what you get when you basically take the subgenre that Daniel Pemberton once called “postmodern superhero scoring” and level up your game substantially.
- I’m not sure whether to be more surprised that Brian Tyler’s best score to date came from a Nintendo movie or that Lorne Balfe’s best score (one finally surpassing his jubilant Home) came from an effects-based nature miniseries.
- Life on Our Planet playlist and theme breakdown: https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128693
- George Clooney should direct very square movies more often than once a decade, if only to get scores as good as The Monuments Men and The Boys in the Boat more frequently.
- Thanks to 1 unit of Stephen Barton (or rather two 0.5 units of Barton from different works) we got both the best Star Wars video game score ever and the best season of Star Trek television scoring since the 1960s.
- Migration turned into a sequel to The Call of the Wild in a way - many of us initially dismissed the work as being lesser owing to it not being the same caliber as Powell’s inimitable trilogy of HTTYD scores, and then later we looked at the work on its own merits and realized that Powell is still so freaking good at this that being a tier down still makes it one of the most technically accomplished and catchiest scores of the year. Folks have said things like, “My goodness, the craftsmanship!” when talking about John Williams still cranking out capable action/adventure material in 2023, but there’s just as much artistry and creativity in Powell’s work 25 years after he co-wrote Antz.
- Thoughts on Hisaishi’s score: https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=129765
Slotting behind Wallfisch’s cacophonous creation are Laura Karpman’s The Marvels and Gordy Haab’s Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, two other fine examples of controlled chaos. Also in contention was Ludwig Göransson’s cerebral, uneasy Oppenheimer, its place just outside my top 10 likely annoying both its fans and its ardent detractors. 
**** movie scores making my top 20 are the Creed III by Joseph Shirley (the best score of the spinoff series), the surprisingly emotive The Creator by Hans Zimmer & Steve Mazzaro, Alan Menken’s occasionally quite spectacular second take on The Little Mermaid, the drum-tastic Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One by Lorne Balfe and his team, and the charmingly rhythmic Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie by John Powell. From TV we get the outrageously funky Kaleidoscope by Dominic Lewis.
Oh, and there’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. At #20, it’s the lowest an Indy score has ranked in a year - lower even than both seasons of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles placed in their respective years. I can grumble about how much of the material not on the album is new recordings of old compositions, making it the only film score in the franchise that doesn’t benefit from expansion relative to the original album program - or grumble about the recycling from Minority Report. And that grumling is already on the board - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=126023. But we’re still left with over an hour of really good new John Williams music, something to be grateful for even with it being attached to an underwhelming film. Like I said earlier…my goodness, the craftsmanship.
Just missing the top 20: the exciting Haunted Mansion by Kris Bowers and the irrepressibly delightful Mog’s Christmas by David Arnold.
And while not a score, Jacob Shea’s The Arctic Suite (part of Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing’s Sony Classical album Arctic) was 1000% more interesting than anything he’s been allowed to write for nature documentaries.
2023 specialty releases
It was a banner year for James Horner releases, though I doubt even the composer’s most ardent fans will give much acclaim to the new Humanoids of the Deep release or the unintentionally hilarious Deadly Blessing. Intrada’s 3CD Windtalkers release was impressively comprehensive though unlikely to change your impression of the score based on the original album program (I could say the same for the label’s expanded release of James Newton Howard’s Peter Pan). Gorky Park was an interesting discovery for me; challenging at times, but better than expected. Intrada’s Battle Beyond the Stars and La-La Land’s The Mask of Zorro both featured several notable new tracks, and you’d think that’d be enough to get the nod from me, but I’ll actually argue that a different Horner work (mentioned a little bit later in this post) benefited the most from expansion in 2023.
The music not on the original album from The Rock was nice to hear legitimately for a change. La-La Land’s Sabrina didn’t reveal a ton of new treasures from what remains a pleasant if minor work in John Williams’ legendary career, though its second disc featuring arrangements of old standards was a pleasant surprise. It was also a pleasant surprise to get a debut release of a Henry Mancini score with Moment to Moment, though listeners should be advised that there is a decent helping of suspense material which was never that great composer’s forte. Maurice Jarre’s Topaz is often easier to appreciate than enjoy, though that Barry Bond-style love theme is still worth seeking out.
My favorite specialty releases were
6) Sony Classical’s Night After Night: Music from the movies of M. Night Shyamalan, a most elegant reinterpretation of James Newton Howard’s works from his most famed recurring filmmaking relationship.
5) Chandos’ new recording of highlights from Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights opera and the composer’s concert piece Echoes for string orchestra.
4) La-La Land’s Sneakers.
3) La-La Land’s Hook, finally addressing the issues with its earlier expansion and revealing new musical treasures - including more final battle material.
2) Intrada’s dynamic re-recording of two more Herrmann works: The Man Who Knew Too Much and On Dangerous Ground, the latter finally helping to give that great score the rich sound it deserves after the quality of its film recording was revealed to be sadly degraded with FSM’s earlier CD release.
1) Deutsche Grammophon’s album that was practically on repeat when it came out in what was a very busy work summer for me (much in the way Intrada’s Willow release was in 2022): A Symphonic Celebration: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki, which managed to overcome suspicions about redundancy by being among the most stupendously arranged, performed, and recorded albums Joe Hisaishi has ever produced.
I acknowledge it’s entirely possible that Quartet’s year-end material, namely the 2CD set of new Barry score recordings, may have impacted the above list, but I haven’t acquired any of those albums yet.
Almost the same note as last year: If the full set of Rózsa Polydor recordings - maybe my sole remaining “holy grail” - gets released in 2024, it wins the year. Game over. It’s in the rulebook.
The best older works I discovered in 2023
1. Yamato (2005) - Joe Hisaishi - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=129038
2. A League of Their Own (1992) - Hans Zimmer
3. The Fall of Berlin (1950) - Dmitri Shostakovich
4. Life in Bloom / Michurin (1949) - Dmitri Shostakovich
5. Alive (1993) - James Newton Howard
6. MacArthur (1977) - Jerry Goldsmith
7. Becket (1964) - Laurence Rosenthal
8. A Scene at the Sea (1991) - Joe Hisaishi - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128498
9. King of the Wind (1990) - John Scott
10. K2 (1991) - Hans Zimmer
11. Black Rain (1989) - Hans Zimmer
12. Driving Miss Daisy (1989) - Hans Zimmer
13. Fools of Fortune (1990) - Hans Zimmer
14. M:I - Fallout (2018) - Lorne Balfe - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=119482
15. Tolkien (2019) - Thomas Newman
Not original scores, but still great discoveries
- Korngold in Vienna (1949) - Max Schönherr: Austrian Radio Symphonic Orchestra
- The General re-score (1987) - Carl Davis - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128929
- Piano Stories II (1996) - Joe Hisaishi - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128645
- Piano Stories III (1998) - Joe Hisaishi - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128712
- World Dreams (2004) - Joe Hisaishi - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=128929
- The World of Hans Zimmer (2018) - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=119665
- Symphony #11 (2023 CSO album release) - Philip Glass
This is the fourth straight year I’ve also decided to call out a score discovery that rated below 4.5 stars but provided at least one addictive track, with last year’s being the badass Guns from The Rundown and earlier entries being the energetic The Bad Guys / Hit Me / Car Trouble / Flying High from Looney Tunes: Back in Action and the groovy The Monks of St. Thomas Affair from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Season 3. This year’s winner is Clear and Present Danger, a *** score (and how could it be anything but that, given how little time James Horner and Don Davis had to work on it) with an absolute banger of an action track in The Ambush.
Full breakdown of 2023 discoveries:
Newly heard scores (2021 or earlier) - 131
- Part of MV/RC rundown - 61
- Part of Hisaishi rundown - 23
- Part of Thomas Newman rundown - 18
- Others - 29 including 7 by Jerry Goldsmith, 5 by Horner, 2 by Delerue, 2 by Elmer Bernstein, and 2 by Mancini
Catch-up on 2022 - 39, the best being
- Black Adam - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=122926
- Bullet Train - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=122718
- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Interview with the Vampire Season 1
- Strange World - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=122718
- Top Gun: Maverick - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=122685
Non-score works by film composers - 34, with all but two being discoveries from my Hisaishi rundown
Classical albums - 33
Expanded releases of scores I’d already heard - 10, the best being mentioned above
Compilation albums - 8, with most mentioned above, but I should give a callout to the three-part series of Shostakovich: Film Music CDs released in the 1980s under the baton of José Serebrier. Stellar stuff.
Concert recordings - 2: Hisaishi’s 1992 Symphonic Best Selection and The World of Hans Zimmer
Rerecording of score I’d already heard via its film recording - 1: On Dangerous Ground
Film recording of score I’d already heard via a rerecording - 1: Godzilla (1954)
30 notable tracks, in no particular order
- The exuberant duo of Super Mario Bros. Opus and Superstars from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
- The unique thrills of the opening battle material (Spider-Woman / Vulture Meets Culture / Spider-Man 2099 / Guggenheim Assemble) and the astonishing energy of Nueva York Train Chase from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
- The ultra-cool Run It Suite and the escalating awesomeness of Training Montage from Creed III.
- The nautical unleashing of the Titan theme in Leaving Spacedock and the spine-tingling use of legacy material in Make It So from Star Trek: Picard Season 3.
- The dramatic Siege and the mournful finale Through Darkness from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
- Why have one finale from a galaxy far, far away when you can have two? Forever Forged in My Heart from the third season of The Mandalorian was just as moving.
- The pastoral Han Harrier from Wild Isles.
- The sweeping Return to West Qi from Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms.
- The throwback joys of I Am Batman from The Flash.
- The conclusive trio of Ask Me Why (Mahito’s Commitment), The Great Collapse, and The Last Smile from The Boy and the Heron.
- The giddy Buying a Christmas Tree from Mog’s Christmas.
- If I had to pick one track from the episodic albums for Life on Our Planet, it would probably be the booming take on the Dino B theme in Nesting Season.
- The alternatingly soothing and rousing Hatzegopteryx Courtship from Prehistoric Planet Season 2.
- The smooth Family Is, Monk Is from American Fiction.
- The propulsive Poughkeepsie from The Boys in the Boat.
- The explosive Bruce to the Rescue from Haunted Mansion.
- The grand entwining of old and new in The Path from God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla.
- The triumphant Will He Come? from The Gilded Age Season 2.
- Murray Gold’s exciting theme for the Fifteenth Doctor from the new slate of Doctor Who specials.
- I’m Just Ken.
Just missing the cut: And We’re Off from Gran Turismo.
The other 2023 scores I’ve heard to date
**** top 30 - All the Light We Cannot See, Blue Whales: Return of the Giants, Foundation Season 2, God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, Good Omens Season 2, Haunted Mansion, Mog’s Christmas, Prehistoric Planet Season 2, Succession Season 4, and Wild Isles.
Other **** - Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Eisspin The Oh So Terrible / Eisspin Der Sehr Schreckliche, Free / Libres, The Gilded Age Season 2, Mushka, The Pigeon Tunnel, What If…? Season 2, and The Wheel of Time Season 2.
***½ (round up to 4) - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Barbie, Blue Eye Samurai Season 1, Chevalier, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Elemental, Forgotten Love / Znachor, The Last Repair Shop, Lupin Part 3, The Mandalorian Season 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, One Piece Season 1, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1, Peter Pan and Wendy, Rangers of the Lost Ring, Scavengers Reign Season 1, Society of the Snow, and Tetris.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is also probably in this tier based on hearing Hans Zimmer & David Fleming’s easygoing music in context. It’s surprising that anything involving Hans in this day and age didn’t get an album release - but even more so when you consider the recording sessions were featured in a 60 Minutes piece last year! Thankfully, some intrepid soul pulled a bit of it into a suite on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyiVH5mYH5k
***½ (round down to 3) - Allelujah, Atatürk 1881-1919 Part 1, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Burial, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, In Love and Deep Water, Killers of the Flower Moon, Landscape with Invisible Hand, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Lessons in Chemistry, Little Rose 2 / The Secret of Little Rose / Różyczka 2, Loki Season 2, M3GAN, Meg 2: The Trench, Napoleon, Nimona, Nyad, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, The Peasants / Chłopi, Planet of Lana, Princes of the Desert / Zodi & Tehu frères du désert, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Saltburn, Slotherhouse, and The Tenderness / La ternura.
*** - Bunker, Dog Gone, Ferrari, Ghosted, Godzilla Minus One, Gran Turismo, The Great Escaper, The Hill, Miraculous - Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie, Origin, Planet Earth III, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, Road to Boston, Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken, Secret Invasion, Scarlet / L’envol, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Shotgun Wedding, Supercell, and We Have a Ghost.
Eh - The Mother and Ping Pong: The Triumph.
Meh - The Legend & Butterfly.
Oh bother - Citadel Season 1, Father & Soldier / Tirailleurs, Kazama Kimichika: Classroom Zero, The Last of Us Season 1, and The Offering.
Oh dear - Extraction 2, Luther: The Fallen Sun, and Retribution.
With apologies to the following scores for which I felt watching the content was a necessary prerequisite to the album:
- Musicals: Carmen, The Color Purple, and Wonka
- Weird music for weird movie: Poor Things
- Didn’t finish watching Star Wars Rebels yet: Ahsoka Season 1
And apologies to the following “I can haz album?” works: In the Land of Saints and Sinners and The Piper
Why no Nosferatu?
It’s great - or at least what we’ve heard so far is - but it’s not an original score for a piece of content new to 2023, much in the same way that I don’t consider Philip Glass’ 1994 music for Cocteau’s 1946 Beauty and the Beast a 1994 score or any of the various recent scores for The General as eligible to rank in the years composers had them performed.
One other random thought
We really aren’t ever getting that expanded Top Gun: Maverick album, eh?
