What’s the greatest movie score of all time? You might guess something by John Williams – ‘Jaws’ or ‘Star Wars’, perhaps – or a recent Hans Zimmer blockbuster like ‘Interstellar’ or ‘Inception’. Maybe a golden oldie from Erich Korngold or Max Steiner, if you’re a proper film buff.
For the listeners of Classic FM, the answer is cinema’s own ring circle: Howard Shore’s timeless and haunting scores to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
Shore’s soundtracked has topped a poll of more than 10,000 voters, seeing off stiff competition from Williams, who had five entries in the top 20, including his scores to ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Harry Potter’, and Hans Zimmer, whose score for ‘Gladiator’ landed in fifth place.
Like the movies they accompany, Shore’s Tolkien-inspired tunes have only become beloved with the passing of time. The use of his main theme in Prime Video’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ has kept the flame alive, too.
’I’m very happy that I was able to bring you a little closer to JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth,’ Shore told Classic FM.
It’s one – okay, three – score to rule them all.
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