Music and movies were inseparable from day one, and the film score has only been getting more inventive as legendary composers like John Williams, Bernard Herrmann and Ennio Morricone have put their signatures to some of the greatest films of all time. Music is something that can really make or break a film. The score has to be just right so it doesn't become overbearing to kill the mood of the film or underused to not even set up a mood. The criteria I used to choose the scores on this list was how well they complimented their individual films and how regarded they are in pop culture. These are 5 film scores that helped make the films they were attached to absolute classics and same of the greatest films of all time, but also make for fantastic listening on their own...
5. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Ennio Morricone
The greatest score by Ennio Morricone composed for the greatest film by Sergio Leone. The Good the Bad and the Ugly is a score that elevates the film to such grand heights that it always comes to mind when discussing the film. Just think of the final scene in the graveyard where Tuco is running around trying to find the grave without The Ecstasy of Gold playing. You can't, right? It's the dizzying camerawork of Leone combined with the majesty of Ennio Morricone's music that elevate the film to the title of greatest western of all time. The score perfectly highlights the desert setting, while adding the mood of danger to every moment and shoot-out. Ennio Morricone tried to make his music sound like the howling of a coyote in the desert and actually has a coyote howling in the opening of the movie. There is arguably no grander score.