Exactly. It’s either a list of the best soundtracks or it isn’t.
Nope, don’t agree. Non-obvious soundtracks will be featured highly anyway simply because there aren’t twenty immediately obvious soundtracks, but if we’re actively disqualifying soundtracks on the basis of their being already popular, then I move that we expunge the Dollars trilogy, Django and OUaTitW from the official movie top twenty on the same grounds, free up five spaces on the chart for five less obvious pictures. Let’s do the world a favour!
Anyways:
Cemetery Without Crosses (I really dislike the Scott Walker main theme but the rest of the score is beautiful)
Some of these might change; I need to return to a few soundtracks for a refresher (there are a good half-dozen which I would’ve swore were going to make it and haven’t, somehow).
Only selecting 10 is torture And yes my list is filled with Morricone but I honestly didn’t do it on purpose. There are 30-40 scores that could as easily have made the list.
I understand where you’re coming from. But for me Morricone just dominates the list, and to be honest, I felt like I had to drop the big four to give some other equally amazing scores a chance.
Also I noticed you put Un Dollaro Tra I Denti in you list. Can I ask your reasons for including it in the top 10? I’m just curious is all.
In no strict order:
Preparati La Bara
The Great Silence
Return of Ringo
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
For a Few Dollars More
Tepepa
Gui La Testa
Death Rides a Horse
The Big Gundown
Very honourable mentions:
The Mercenary
Have a Good Funeral, My Friend
A Stranger in Town
The Stranger Returns
My Name is Nobody
A Fistful of Dollars
Keoma
A Man Called Blade
Face to Face
Companeros
Ah yes but we could ironically if enough people did, that end up without Morricone being nominated at all. Still, despite adding a lot of Morricone to my list there are still 4 non-Morricone. If we get enough people nominating we will end up with plenty of scores to choose from eventhough everybody nominate 4 or more of the same Morricone scores.
I nearly just rewatched Un dollaro tra i denti. It was one of the first non-Leone westerns I watched and I just think the score beautiful and spartan and very fitting to the movie. I might as well have chosen one of 30 other scores. As I said I find this discipline torturous
True, I’ve actually given it some thought and I think maybe I should re categorize my top 10 to rightfully include Morricone, I’m honestly letting my love for the other composers cloud my judgement here.
Also I’m glad that you threw in a such a different score. Benedetto Ghiglia definitely turned out some interesting scores, and it’s nice to see him get recognized. Un Dollaro Tra I Denti and Adios Gringo were among the best of his works in my opinion. I’d rate Un Dollaro Soltanto (the chorus version of I Falso Soldato) as my favorite piece of the soundtrack.
I’ll be honest though, while I do love the score very much, and while it is very fitting to the movie. I’m not a fan of how much repetitive the score is. After listening to the Japanese release the main theme (Il Bandito Messicano) is presented without much variation, and dominates the films score. It is possibly a factor of how quick the film was made though. But I lament that the score could have been much greater with the addition of yet more I Cantori Moderni.
Maybe it would be a good idea (to avoid tactical nominations) that we agreed on considering some scores as prequalified. Like ten films, e.g. Leone’s films, The Great Silence, The Big Gundown, Django, Day of Anger and The Long Day of Vengeance. Even if they are not everybody’s choice, they will all surely make it to the poll anyway. And then the twenty or thirty most nominated. So it will be a poll where we chose twenty out of thirty or forty.
I would’ve included FAFDM but I’ve left it for the sake of diversity.
My Non-Morricone top 5
6 The Price of Power-Bacalov
7. The Forgotten Pistolero-Pregadio
8. Johnny Hamlet-De Masi
9. Long Days of Vengeance-Trovaioli
10. Cemetery Without Crosses-Hossein
And yes my list is filled with Morricone but I honestly didn’t do it on purpose. There are 30-40 scores that could as easily have made the list.
