There are many aspects of a film that help contribute to its success. Things like the acting, the script, the directors, the special effects, and the music should all work together to create one beautiful piece of art. While every aspect of a film is important, there is a lot of pressure on the film’s composer to create the perfect soundtrack. That’s because, for many films, the musical score is more than just the backdrop as it sets the tone, creates the atmosphere, and even hints at things that are to come. While music can be subtle, usually no film is complete without its musical score.
Just like every other job in Hollywood, there is no shortage of film composers. However, aside from the best John Williams scores, few are as well-known and have as many masterpieces as Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer has had an impressive career that has spanned over 30 years and is still going strong, as evidenced by the composer’s second Best Original Score Oscar for the recent Dune. This musical master has proved his skills in over 150 films, ranging from action-adventure to romantic comedy, horror, and everything in between. Apart from his two Oscars for Best Original Score for Dune (2021) and The Lion King (1994), his 10 Oscar nominations include Interstellar (2014), The Preacher’s Wife (1996), and Rain Man (1988), which was his first big break. While it’s impossible to list all his cinematic achievements and films, today we are counting down the best musical scores to date from Hans Zimmer.
Updated on September 15th, 2023 by Timothy Lindsey: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
13 The Road to El Dorado (2000)
The Road to El Dorado is a fun, colorful animated film from DreamWorks Animation. While the film may have been a box office flop and failed to resonate with audiences, its poor performance doesn’t take away from its splendid soundtrack. The film contains songs written and sung by Sir Elton John, as well as instrumental pieces by Hans Zimmer and John Powell.
Infused with the flavors of Spanish music, the soundtrack perfectly matches the fun, breezy, and adventurous feel of this film about two con men from Spain who embark on a quest to find the Lost City of Gold, El Dorado.
12 Madagascar (2005)
Hans Zimmer was the composer for all three of the Madagascar films, starting with the first installment that came out in 2005. Headlined by actors Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith, the series follows four animals from the New York Zoo who, after escaping the zoo, end up getting shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar in the first film. In the second film, Escape to Africa, they end up crashing in Africa. In the third film, Europe’s Most Wanted, they join the circus in Europe.
Zimmer’s soundtracks for each of the three films provide fans of all ages with a sense of true happiness. It makes viewers want to leave home and go on an adventure with their best friends. Zimmer has such a stacked portfolio of great films and soundtracks that people forget his music from this series. The three films grossed $1.9 billion combined.
11 Inception (2010)
What’s real, and what’s a dream? In Inception, it’s difficult to tell. That’s because there are many layers of the dream realm and some are clear while others are not. Like the film’s complicated and mind-bending plot, Hans Zimmer’s music perfectly mirrors its confusion.
He creates an emotionally charged soundtrack that reflects a journey through pain, struggle, awakening, clarity, triumph, victory, and peace of mind. The score relies heavily on the piano which is prominent throughout the soundtrack and is often the instrument that starts and ends a song, alongside the film’s iconic blasts of sound.
10 Mission Impossible 2 (2000)
When watching any of the Mission Impossible films, fans feel like they are partly watching a James Bond film. Legendary composer Hans Zimmer follows suit as the composer of Mission Impossible 2 (2019), along with help from vocalist Lisa Gerrard.
The second film in the series follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as he is tasked with finding a genetically modified disease, along with the cure, before a rogue agent becomes too dangerous. The soundtrack from Zimmer is extremely versatile, as it makes viewers feel like every scene has the fate of the world hanging on it. Very suspenseful and energetic. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2000 totaling nearly $550 million.
9 The Dark Knight (2008)
As the name implies, The Dark Knight is a dark action/adventure film and was one of the last films with actor Heath Ledger before he suddenly passed; it was also the first of five films Zimmer did with Christopher Nolan, who has a unique approach to his films’ sound mix that some fans love and others hate. When composing the music for The Dark Knight, Hans Zimmer discussed that he wanted to focus on Bruce Wayne’s backstory and the pain and guilt he felt over his parents’ murders.
That pain and grief are present throughout the entire soundtrack, which leaves the listener with a sense of restlessness, unresolved conflicts, and an unsettled feeling. Through music, Zimmer wanted to portray Bruce’s unresolved pain and his inability to see himself as a hero. Instead, he still sees himself as that scared little boy on the night of the death of his parents many years ago.
8 Dunkirk (2017)
Again, Hans Zimmer has composed music for a plethora of Christopher Nolan films. Dunkirk (2017) is one of those films. It tells the story of British and French forces trying to evacuate Dunkirk during World War II. Different perspectives are told from sea, land, and air.
Zimmer’s soundtrack was nominated for awards at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. The music is loud. It is drenched in drama. Fans feel like they are on the beaches and the ships. Every moment feels like a powder keg, showing how electric the soundtrack is. The film ended up being the highest-grossing World War II film of all time until 2023’s Oppenheimer hit theaters.
7 The Lion King
Hans Zimmer can do it all. Action movies, war dramas, romantic comedies, and even children’s animated films. This film score beautifully captures the spirit of Simba, an adventurous cub who learns the true meaning of being king by protecting those he loves. The Lion King’s opening song, “The Circle of Life,” is perhaps one of the most iconic opening musical moments ever.
It utilizes African chants, thus setting the tone for the rest of the film. The song’s ending, a dramatic drumbeat, is probably the most impactful part. However, Zimmer said that he threw that drum beat in at the last minute as he was rushing to finish the song in time for its directors to hear it. The rest is history, as Zimmer won the Oscar for Best Original Score for his work on this beloved Disney classic.
6 Gladiator (2000)
While Zimmer is a brilliant mastermind on his own, collaborations often lead to even more stunning work. Such is the case with Gladiator. From the emotional singing of Lisa Gerrard in “Sorrow” to the epic drumbeats in “The Battle,” every note of this Academy Award-winning masterpiece is flawless.
During the early 2000s, female vocals were one of the defining sounds in films and appeared in dozens including TheLord of the Rings trilogy, The Star Wars prequel trilogy, and The Passion of the Christ, which is a historical movie like Gladiator. However, Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard take female vocals to an entirely new level with their credit song “Now We Are Free,” which remains a trademark of the film to this day.
5 Sherlock Holmes (2009)
One of the things that Hans Zimmer commonly utilizes in his films is a leitmotif or, per Merriam-Webster, “An associated melodic phrase or figure that accompanies the reappearance of an idea, person, or situation.” Sherlock Holmes has one that often appears whenever he is sleuthing, chasing after a clue, or just being his usual drunken self.
The leitmotif is Holmes’ identity in the music. Jack Sparrow also has one in Pirates of the Caribbean. Much like the dreaded two-note ‘duh-duh, duh-duh’ leitmotif in Jaws, leitmotifs are effective ways to introduce characters, build tension, and hint at things that are to come. Whenever we hear the leitmotif in Sherlock Holmes, we can be sure that Holmes is about to do something detective-worthy and epic.
4 Dune (2021)
As mentioned earlier, Hans Zimmer recently won an Oscar for Best Original Score for his work for the 2021 sci-fi/adventure film Dune, and it’s easy to see why. The soundtrack is eerie and unsettling, perfectly matching the otherworldly feel of the film. Unlike many film soundtracks, Dune’s is an electronic score, not an orchestral one, relying on a unique mix of choral, world music, rock, electronic sounds, and even chants, whispers, and screams.
When composing the music, Zimmer said that he even traveled to the desert to test out the sounds. “I actually went into the desert,” Zimmer told Variety. “There was a moment when I disappeared into Monument Valley and the desert in Utah and Arizona to check the veracity of my ideas. How does the wind howl through the rocks? How does the sand grit in your teeth? It’s just vastness and endlessness.”
3 No Time to Die (2021)
In the final Bond film with Daniel Craig in the leading role, No Time to Die portrays James Bond, who has left the service and his own life, trying to stop a vengeful enemy with access to dangerous technology and horrible biological weapons.
For Bond, this task is also very personal. Naturally, Hans Zimmer was tasked with creating the music for the movie. With the help of Billie Eilish, the music in the film is exceptional. The Academy Award-winning film would not be as great without Zimmer’s work. His music sets the stage for great action scenes, wild chase scenes, and dramatic conversations. The film grossed nearly $775 million making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2021.
2 Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
In one of the greatest films and sequels of all-time, Top Gun: Maverick (2022), showcases Tom Cruise as fan-favorite Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Over 30 years later, Maverick is still disobeying orders to push beyond as a pilot. He is later called back to Top Gun as he is assigned the task of teaching new graduates how to fly a mission that will demand everything from them. He also must confront his deepest fears and worries from his past.
The soundtrack is one of the best of all time. However, Hans Zimmer was not the lead composer. It was Harold Faltermeyer, who reprised his role from the original film. Along with legendary singer Lady Gaga and the band OneRepublic, Zimmer was called upon to assist in the creation of the film’s music. The music in the film is special. There is no other way to put it. The film would gross nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of Tom Cruise’s career.
1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
Perhaps Hans Zimmer’s most well-known work is the musical score he composed for Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It’s safe to say that the movies wouldn’t be the same without the famous score.
A film’s soundtrack should capture the characters’ voices and themes, and Zimmer’s work beautifully encapsulates the drunken, eccentric character of Jack Sparrow, the horrors of the cursed, undead pirate crew, and the love between Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Furthermore, the soundtrack has become intertwined with pirates, and it’s practically impossible to think of swashbuckling scoundrels or epic voyages on the sea without thinking of Zimmer’s soundtrack work on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
