Long after you exit the theater and floss the popcorn out of your teeth, the best film soundtracks stick in your head. There is a distinct tinge of the old world in the warbly trumpet and string tones composed by Nino Rota for the score — a group of melancholy compositions with an eye firmly planted on classic Italy. Beautiful accordion-driven waltzes meet jazzy swing music, with all the songs woven together by dark and somber orchestral music. Instead, the pair used deep drum, synthesizer, and brass tones, and helped create a Batman franchise that felt more primal than anything before it. Holding off till nearly the last moment makes the theme all the more dramatic when it finally does arrive. Like many others on this list, recurring melodic themes play a huge role in drawing your ear, with the main theme typically appearing in a cloud of brass and strings. In general, Williams shows off his intimate side on this score, with many quick-paced horn and string lines underlying the longer, more melodic elements of the music. The essence of the intrepid, creative prisoner of war film, was perfectly captured by composer Elmer Bernstein in his classic and utterly whistleable theme for. In fact, the soundtrack is so catchy, it was repurposed by fans in the English Premier League in the 1990s as one of their massive, full-stadium chants. Though not quite as melody-focused as the Star Wars compositions, the musical landscape is driven by deep woodwind tones, shimmering strings, and soft flutes — a group of sounds that helps humanize the strange alien on screen, and showcases his overall emotion and fear of the darker side of humanity. The playful and poetic nature of both main characters in is well-reflected in the musical accompaniment of Burt Bacharach, who uses classic tones like out-of-tune piano and melds them with more modern string and horn arrangements.
