Earlier this month, BBC Music Magazine joined forces with RadioTimes.com to ask the public what they thought the greatest film theme of all time is. As we prepare for tonight’s Oscars ceremony, we can finally release the results of our poll, voted for by 2,000 members of the public.
John Williams’s theme for Star Wars: A New Hope is the runaway winner, receiving over 20 percent of the votes. Williams has dominated the leaderboard, with six of his renowned themes appearing in the top ten.
The shortlist included 20 films from across the decades, featuring some of the most iconic melodies to have ever graced the silver screen.
- 10 of the best (and worst) films about composers
- Six of the best classical pieces of music on film
- Top 10 film composers – of all time
- All the Oscar winners and nominees for Best Original Score, since 1935
The results of our poll appear below:
1) Star Wars: A New Hope – John Williams (1977): 20.76%
2) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Howard Shore (2001): 5.85%
3) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Hedwig’s Theme) – John Williams (2001): 5.4%
4) Jurassic Park – John Williams (1993): 5.15%
5) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Ennio Morricone (1966): 5%
6) Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams (1981): 4.41%
7) Jaws – John Williams (1975): 3.37%
8) The Godfather – Nino Rota (1972): 2.82%
9) Superman: The Movie – John Williams (1978): 2.78%
10) Pirates of the Caribbean – Klaus Badelt (2003): 2.73%
11) Dr No ‘The James Bond Theme’ – Monty Norman (1962): 2.63%
12) The Dark Knight – Hans Zimmer (2008) 2.63%
13) Back to the Future – Alan Silvestri (1985): 2.43%
14) Chariots of Fire – Vangelis (1981): 2.18%
15) Titanic – James Horner (1997): 2.18%
16) Gladiator – Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard (2000): 2.18%
17) The Great Escape – Elmer Bernstein (1963): 2.13%
18) Gone with the Wind – Max Steiner (1939): 1.78%
19) The Pink Panther – Henry Mancini (1963): 1.78%
20) Inception – Hans Zimmer (2010): 1.78%
21) Lawrence of Arabia – Maurice Jarre (1962): 1.64%
22) E.T the Extra Terrestrial – John Williams (1982): 1.64%
23) The Dam Busters – Eric Coates (1955): 1.49%
24) The Magnificent Seven – Elmer Bernstein (1960): 1.49%
25) Rocky – Bill Conti (1976): 1.49%
26) Forrest Gump – Alan Silvestri (1994): 1.29%
27) The Terminator – Brad Fiedel (1984): 1.19%
28) Braveheart – James Horner (1995): 1.14%
29) The Mission – Ennio Morricone (1986): 1.09%
30) Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Jerry Goldsmith (1979): 0.94%
31) Out of Africa – John Barry (1985): 0.89%
32) Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre (1965): 0.84%
33) Up – Michael Giacchino (2009): 0.79%
34) 633 Squadron – Ron Goodwin (1964): 0.69%
35) Halloween - John Carpenter (1979): 0.59%
36) American Beauty - Thomas Newman (1999): 0.59%
37) Vertigo – Bernard Herrmann (1958): 0.5%
38) La La Land – Justin Hurwitz (2016): 0.5%
39) The Life of Pi – Mychael Danna (2012): 0.35%
40) The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat (2014): 0.35%
41) Edward Scissorhands – Danny Elfman (1990): 0.3%
42) Brokeback Mountain – Gustavo Santaolalla (2005): 0.15%
43) Atonement – Dario Marianelli (2007): 0.1%
Listen to our playlist of all the 43 nominations here:
