> I wish I had this one in the bag when the 'how come we don't talk about
> Basil Poledouris enough?' thread started a week or two ago. Ah well,
> better late than never.

Guess we were listening to Poledouris around the same time. I appreciate this post all the same.

> ***
> 28. The House of God. Short but sweet. A pseudo-baroque palette cleanser.

> ***1/2 (round down to 3) - I will catch some grief for at least one
> of these
> 27. Amanda
> 26. Lassie
> 25. The Jungle Book
> 24. On Deadly Ground
> 23. The Hunt for Red October

Well, I like Jungle Book quite a bit more than you. Like you said, Hunt for Red October is tough to rate as a whole, but those highlights are fantastic (and makes it my favorite score for a Jack Ryan film). I remember liking Lassie when I watched the film as a kid.

> ***1/2 (round up to 4)
> 22. A Whale for the Killing
> 21. RoboCop 3
> 20. Breakdown (Rejected)

> **** - I will catch some grief for at least one of these
> 19. For Love of the Game
> 18. Return to the Blue Lagoon
> 17. White Fang
> 16. Conan the Destroyer
> 15. Starship Troopers
> 14. Wind
> 13. RoboCop
> 12. Free Willy
> 11. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Heard most of these and agree with most your comments, except for the fact that Free Willy is easily 5 stars for me, and my favorite Poledouris score. I watched the film a lot as a kid and the music stood out to me even before getting into scores. Beautiful and full of emotion. I hope the sequel gets an expanded release one day.

> ****1/2 (round down to 4)
> 10. Amerika
> Though a bit on the understated side at times, this work is full of
> Americana-adjacent themes and rhythms that just scream 'perseverance'.

> 9. Les Misérables
> Grim, gorgeous work that deserves a better release. The opening and the
> last few minutes feature some of his finest dramatic material.

> 8. Big Wednesday
> A superb mix of relaxing hangout music and rousing sports fare. This,
> probably the first of the many scores the man wrote about the sea,
> competes favorably with Soul Surfer for best surf score ever (lol
> is there any other competition?).

> 7. The Blue Lagoon
> I said earlier that the sequel score is pretty. This is better. The moment
> the main titles starts and the adventure theme kicks in...just...wow.
> Sends shivers down your spine.

> 6. Quigley Down Under
> One of the last great Western scores. 'The Attack' belongs in a museum.

> ****1/2 (nearly 5 stars)
> 5. Farewell to the King
> Take The Blue Lagoon, add a dash of the man's epic fantasy action, and
> blend in some of John Barry's mid-career dramatic mannerisms. Special
> stuff.

> 4. Cherry 2000
> Per Richard Kraft: 'The most involved Basil ever let me get in the
> writing of one of his scores was CHERRY 2000. It was a strange little film
> and everyone involved in it, including Basil, was a bit baffled as to what
> tone it should take musically. He snuck me a video of the film, and for
> several days I would throw different music against it from my soundtrack
> collection to see if anything would stick. Eventually a strange
> amalgamation of Jean-Michel Jarre, Philip Glass and The Wild Rovers began
> to emerge. It was fascinating to hear the final score which was all of
> these disparate influences re-imaged through the magical Basil Poledouris
> filter.'

> That statement is pretty much accurate. It's a weird, gleefully fun,
> wholly unique score that blends 80s electronics, churning strings,
> spaghetti western tones, and Barry-esque romance. And we definitely
> wouldn't have 'Outlands' from Tron: Legacy without it.

> It's a shame the last CD release of this sold out so quickly. Everyone
> should hear this.

> *****
> 3. Lonesome Dove
> Magnificent. Belongs in the conversation of the 10 best western scores
> ever. I really should watch the series at some point.

> 2. Flesh and Blood
> It's the best Conan sequel score.

> Also, it's one of the rare Poledouris scores with unique material in its
> end credits. Say what you want about Leonard Rosenman's caustic comments
> on Poledouris' work, but the man was spot-on on one point - nearly every
> Poledouris end credits suite was an editorial compilation. BUT NOT THIS
> ONE! Here you get both love themes in counterpoint.

> Also, this is worth a read -
> https://cnmsarchive.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/basil-poledouris-on-scoring-fleshblood/

> 1. Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
> Just kidding! It's Conan.

Can't argue with your #1 choice. I know I need to seek out some of these others (Flesh & Blood, Cherry 2000, Blue Lagoon, and Amerika in particular), but they've been hard to find.

Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on these scores!