Having wrapped up 1988-2004 (i.e., the early years and the Media Ventures days), I thought I’d briefly pause to think how the ninety-four scores I’ve heard so far stack up against each other – wait, NINETY-FOUR? Sheesh. 45 of those have been discoveries.

Some of this was easy and some of this was tricky. Rankings for individual composers I already had. Same for rankings in individual years – but how would I stack similarly rated scores like The Bourne Supremacy against The Peacemaker, or Twister against Thin Red Line? Not everything is on the same confidence level – lists beyond 20 get tricky, and if I did this again from scratch in a month a decent portion of this would likely change – but it made for a fun little exercise if nothing else.

Also, my generation seems to like lists, so I was psychologically incapable of not doing this.


Not rated / heard
CD didn’t arrive yet (1) – K2

CD arrived mid-project (1) – Thelma and Louise

Out of print (1) - Black Rain

Greyed out on Spotify (4) - Radio Flyer, As Good as It Gets, Invincible. Team America: World Police

Insufficiently covered on commercial albums (3) - Cool Runnings, A League of Their Own, Shark Tale

Just didn’t get to (5) – Fools of Fortune, The Lion King musical, Armageddon, An Everlasting Piece, American Outlaws

Never released legitimately (11) - Two If by Sea, Chill Factor, Attila, Texas Rangers, Equilibrium, Basic, Desperate Housewives, music from the original cut of D-Tox, Secret Window, Catwoman, Ella Enchanted

Not on streaming (9) - Toys, I’ll Do Anything, Con Air, Enemy of the State, The Man in the Iron Mask, Spy Kids, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS3: Snake Eater, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre


Heard
Heard but it’s only a few minutes long (1) – Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

*
93. Bad Boys II


*1/2
92. Phone Booth


**
91. The Recruit


**1/2 (2)
90. Smilla’s Sense of Snow
89. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
88. Forces of Nature


**1/2 (3)
87. Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World
86. The Road to El Dorado
85. Just Visiting
84. Face/Off
83. Rhythm of the Pride Lands: Music Inspired by The Lion King


***
82. True Romance
81. The Pledge

80. Renaissance Man
79. Home Alone 3
78. Gigli
77. Passionada
76. Money Train
75. Something to Talk About
74. I Am Sam
73. Two Weeks Notice
72. Beat the Drum
71. National Treasure

70. The Italian Job (2003)
69. Thunderbirds (2004)
68. Man on Fire (2004)
67. Mission: Impossible II
66. A World Apart
65. Bad Boys
64. The Rundown
63. Speed
62. Rat Race
61. Evolution

60. Drop Zone
59. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
58. The Bourne Identity


***1/2 (3)
57. Green Card
56. Nine Months
55. Brother Bear
54. We Were Soldiers
53. Deep Blue Sea
52. Pearl Harbor
51. Tears of the Sun
50. Muppet Treasure Island
49. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
48. Shrek
47. The Rock


***1/2 (4)
46. The 6th Day
45. Spy Game
44. White Squall
43. Rain Man
42. Point of No Return
41. White Fang (alternate)
40. Days of Thunder
39. Steamboy


****
38. The Power of One
37. Endurance (1999)
36. The Ring (2002)
35. Pacific Heights
34. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
33. The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer
32. Return to Paradise
31. Tarzan (1999)

30. Matchstick Men
29. Laura's Star / Lauras Stern (2004)
28. Shrek 2
27. Spanglish
26. Black Hawk Down
25. The House of the Spirits
24. K-19: The Widowmaker
23. Beyond Rangoon
22. Broken Arrow (1996)
21. Hannibal

20. The Last Samurai
19. Antz
18. Agent Cody Banks
17. The Bourne Supremacy
16. The Peacemaker


****1/2 (4)
15. The Haunted Mansion
14. The Time Machine (2002)
13. Backdraft
12. King Arthur
11. Twister
10. The Thin Red Line


****1/2 (5)
9. Crimson Tide
8. Speed 2: Cruise Control
7. Gladiator
6. Chicken Run
5. Paycheck


*****
4. Tapestry of Nations
3. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
2. The Prince of Egypt
1. The Lion King (1994)

The fact that you're doing this of your own free will and reviewing all of these scores with such detail is astounding. Will continue to eagerly follow these reviews and contribute my opinions. Massive props.

> Having wrapped up 1988-2004 (i.e., the early years and the Media Ventures
> days), I thought I’d briefly pause to think how the ninety-four scores
> I’ve heard so far stack up against each other – wait, NINETY-FOUR? Sheesh.
> 45 of those have been discoveries.

> Some of this was easy and some of this was tricky. Rankings for individual
> composers I already had. Same for rankings in individual years – but how
> would I stack similarly rated scores like The Bourne Supremacy
> against The Peacemaker, or Twister against Thin Red
> Line? Not everything is on the same confidence level – lists beyond 20
> get tricky, and if I did this again from scratch in a month a decent
> portion of this would likely change – but it made for a fun little
> exercise if nothing else.

> Also, my generation seems to like lists, so I was psychologically
> incapable of not doing this.

Oof, too true.

>
>
> Not rated / heard
> CD didn’t arrive yet (1) – K2

> CD arrived mid-project (1) – Thelma and Louise

> Out of print (1) - Black Rain

> Greyed out on Spotify (4) - Radio Flyer, As Good as It Gets,
> Invincible. Team America: World Police

Team America is pretty solid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTGvcLnpUac

> Insufficiently covered on commercial albums (3) - Cool Runnings,
> A League of Their Own, Shark Tale

> Just didn’t get to (5) – Fools of Fortune, The Lion King
> musical, Armageddon, An Everlasting Piece, American
> Outlaws

That's okay because I have American Outlaws covered! https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=106603&expand=1

It's ironic you didn't get to that one, because in a way, I feel like the conversation in that thread about the different eras of MV/RC/etc is what prompted you to make this a comprehensive dive instead of just a Zimmer binge. My silly bet with Riley precipitated all this, maybe this is my finest achievement Unless this is the true legacy of Tykwer and Klimek's Matrix Resurrections score?

> 20. The Last Samurai
> 19. Antz
> 18. Agent Cody Banks
> 17. The Bourne Supremacy
> 16. The Peacemaker

I need to check out some more early Powell...

>
>
> ****1/2 (4)
> 15. The Haunted Mansion
> 14. The Time Machine (2002)
> 13. Backdraft
> 12. King Arthur
> 11. Twister
> 10. The Thin Red Line
>
>
> ****1/2 (5)
> 9. Crimson Tide
> 8. Speed 2: Cruise Control
> 7. Gladiator
> 6. Chicken Run
> 5. Paycheck

And more Mancina it seems.

>
>
> *****
> 4. Tapestry of Nations
> 3. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
> 2. The Prince of Egypt
> 1. The Lion King (1994)

And Tapestry of Nations, whatever that may be.

> It's ironic you didn't get to that one, because in a way, I feel like the conversation in that thread about the different eras of MV/RC/etc is what prompted you to make this a comprehensive dive instead of just a Zimmer binge.

This was gonna happen inevitably; there's evidence of me thinking about it in Feb 2021 on the Scoreboard. So maybe that earlier MV/RC eras convo didn't create the idea of the rundown, but it certainly catalyzed the start of it.

Not entirely your fault. But you do get a good share of the blame/credit.

I think I'm the only one to credit/blame for its broadening scope though.

> And Tapestry of Nations, whatever that may be.

Gavin Greenaway's Disney Parks parade music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKgBQEgUT0

> Not rated / heard

> Out of print (1) - Black Rain

Yeah, I'm really hoping LLL or someone else does another release of this one. Would definitely snatch it up if given the chance again.

> Just didn’t get to (5) – Fools of Fortune, The Lion King
> musical, Armageddon, An Everlasting Piece, American
> Outlaws

An Everlasting Piece is worth tracking down.

> Not on streaming (9) - Toys, I’ll Do Anything, Con
> Air, Enemy of the State, The Man in the Iron Mask,
> Spy Kids, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS3: Snake Eater,
> The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Not sure if it's available where you are, but Con Air is on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap7OZOyfMy4&list=OLAK5uy_kovCISem7Uct4L9363DI6izcXAj3V3qFg) as is Man in the Iron Mask (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=920cHlA9CpI&list=PL023A73DAB7E6481E). At least, they're available in North America.

> ***1/2 (3)
> 57. Green Card
> 56. Nine Months
> 55. Brother Bear
> 54. We Were Soldiers
> 53. Deep Blue Sea
> 52. Pearl Harbor
> 51. Tears of the Sun
> 50. Muppet Treasure Island
> 49. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
> 48. Shrek
> 47. The Rock
>
>
> ***1/2 (4)
> 46. The 6th Day
> 45. Spy Game
> 44. White Squall
> 43. Rain Man
> 42. Point of No Return
> 41. White Fang (alternate)
> 40. Days of Thunder
> 39. Steamboy
>
>
> ****
> 38. The Power of One
> 37. Endurance (1999)
> 36. The Ring (2002)
> 35. Pacific Heights
> 34. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
> 33. The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer
> 32. Return to Paradise
> 31. Tarzan (1999)

> 30. Matchstick Men
> 29. Laura's Star / Lauras Stern (2004)
> 28. Shrek 2
> 27. Spanglish
> 26. Black Hawk Down
> 25. The House of the Spirits
> 24. K-19: The Widowmaker
> 23. Beyond Rangoon
> 22. Broken Arrow (1996)
> 21. Hannibal

> 20. The Last Samurai
> 19. Antz
> 18. Agent Cody Banks
> 17. The Bourne Supremacy
> 16. The Peacemaker
>
>
> ****1/2 (4)
> 15. The Haunted Mansion
> 14. The Time Machine (2002)
> 13. Backdraft
> 12. King Arthur
> 11. Twister
> 10. The Thin Red Line
>
>
> ****1/2 (5)
> 9. Crimson Tide
> 8. Speed 2: Cruise Control
> 7. Gladiator
> 6. Chicken Run
> 5. Paycheck
>
>
> *****
> 4. Tapestry of Nations
> 3. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
> 2. The Prince of Egypt
> 1. The Lion King (1994)

There's a few placements that I'd switch around, but glad to see we at least mostly align with our tastes in the better to great Zimmer & co scores of this period.

No thoughts to share, just wanted to say again how floored I am at the scope and depth of these rundowns. I love them so very much!