Monday, September 1, 2014

The Five Best John Barry Film Scores

It's fortunate that John Barry had a modest career as a British pop star with his band, the John Barry Seven. Otherwise, he might never have become one of the most successful film composers in the history of cinema. Despite writing some of the screen's most memorable scores, he won only five Oscars: Best Song for Born Free and Best Original Score for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves. Today, we rank our picks for the five best John Barry scores:

1. Body Heat. Barry's haunting, sax-infused music sets the perfect tone for Lawrence Kasdan's stylish 1981 film noir. In his book Neo-Noir, Ronald Schwartz calls Barry's score "ravishing...it belongs in the canon of great noir and neo-noir film music. Barry's score punctuated the visuals with lyrical sensuality." Interestingly, the initial soundtrack album was remixed without Barry's approval. His original soundtrack recording was unavailable until Film Score Monthly released a deluxe two-disc set in 2012.

 2. Out of Africa. John Barry won the fourth of his five Oscars with this sweeping, romantic score. The American Film Institute ranked it No. 15 on its 2005 list of the top 25 film scores (AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores). Incredibly, it's the only Barry soundtrack on the list, although all five scores on this list were included as AFI nominees. As a stand-alone musical composition, Out of Africa may be my favorite among Barry's works.

3. Somewhere in Time. I've been a fan of this time travel romance since I saw it theatrically in 1980. Although it was neither a critical nor boxoffice hit in the U.S., Somewhere in Time has become a cult favorite (and a huge success in Japan). Much of the film's impact can be attributed to Barry's score which incorporates the 18th variation of Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," performed as a piano solo by Chet Swiatkowski with a string accompaniment. Barry's enchanting title theme is equally beautiful. In fact, the only reasonable explanation for this score being ignored at the Oscars is that perhaps it wasn't deemed "original" based on Barry's use of the Rachmaninoff piece.

4.  Born Free. The title song won a 1966 Oscar (beating Alfie and Georgy Girl) and pianist Roger Williams' recording went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That makes it John Barry's most successful song. However, the lovely title tune (with lyrics by Don Black) was part of a superb soundtrack that's alternately playful and majestic. Like Body Heat, the music plays an integral role in this fact-based tale of a couple in Africa who raised a lion cub and later set her free.

5. Goldfinger. Shirley Bassey's bold, brassy live rendition of "Goldfinger" was the highlight of the 2013 Oscars, which is a tribute to both the song and Ms. Bassey. It was the biggest hit from a Sean Connery 007 film, peaking at No. 8 in Billboard. John Barry composed the scores for twelve James Bond movies from Dr. No (1962) to The Living Daylights (1987). In 1997, the Sunday Times published an article alleging that John Barry also composed the famous "James Bond Theme," which is credited to Monty Norman in the closing credits of each film. Norman subsequently won a libel suit against the Times.

Honorable Mentions:  Dances With Wolves; The Lion in Winter; and Midnight Cowboy.

9 comments:

  1. I'll put in my two cents for "The Lion in Winter" being Barry's best and the best score I've ever heard. Barry had a way of creating music that crawls into your soul and never leaves. "Raise the Titanic" was another score of his that elevated the film it was attached to. Glad you've done a piece on this great composer.

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  2. Excellent choices. Honorable mention to Zulu and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

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  3. Another nod to The Lion In Winter, that faux-medieval score lifts the film to another level and complements the action perfectly. Love Body Heat too.

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  4. Great comments! In addition to THE LION IN WINTER and OHMSS, someone on a Twitter mentioned the excellent IPCRESS FILE score.

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  5. "Born Free" was so overplayed on the radio when I was a kid that it wasn't until my adulthood that struck me that it is truly a lovely, lovely song.

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  6. I absolutely love this post! An excellent music score can transcend a film and resonate within your soul. I love John Barry's work and, like you, I am glad that he only had modest success with his pop band.

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  7. Ranking John Barry's movie scores would be an impossible task for me, Rick. At first glance I thought, "of course, Body Heat was easily his best." Then I took a look at the rest of your list. I'll always love the theme from Born Free and how beautifully it reflects the poignant story of Ilsa the lion being returned to the wild. And Barry's Goldfinger theme is the ultimate Bond score, hands down. His music for Out of Africa is as good as the film itself, and the same holds true for his beyond lovely score for Somewhere in Time ( I remember reading, years ago, that he scored the film around the time his father died and that the loss of his dad hand an impact the music he wrote for it).

    I don't know if the score for Body Heat is his best, but it's probably my favorite. Elegantly slinky and sexy, with recurring notes that hint at danger, plus a nod in the direction of the sleazy - Barry's score perfectly matches the story being told on the screen.

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  8. For movies, THE IPCRESS FILE and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. For television, THE PERSUADERS, which I believe went unnoticed in the U.S. Best opening credits ever, by several miles.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKhukE8XF1E

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  9. Another vote for ON HER MAJESTY"S SECRET SERVICE, my favorite 007 score.

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