Ranking: James Horner

10. An American Tail

A nice little animated film about a nice little mouse on a nice little adventure, with an absolutely grand soundtrack to accompany it. One of Horner's earliest works and certainly one of his finest.

9. Aliens

Instead of trying to ape Jerry Goldsmith's iconic, atmospheric score to the original, Horner opts to go all-out on the senses with this barnstorming assault on the senses, fitting perfectly with the dynamic action direction of James Cameron. No wonder they decided to work multiple times after this.

8. Cocoon 

The film itself is just decent, but the score is wonderful as it completely captures the sense of mysticism and yet normal, everyday life the film is striving towards.

7. Field of Dreams

One of my favourite sports films of all-time, and one of the most feel-good 80s films. Horner's score to it may be considered overly schmaltzy to some, but for me it's pitch-perfect and captures that particular vibe of 'Murica so very well.

6. Apollo 13

Again, 'Murica! Horner's work on this 'disaster in space' film is compelling because he firstly brings out the right amount of rousing patriotism and valour to his work, while gradually combining it with a crescendo tension and sense of fear, before releasing it into an incredibly rousing finale.

5. Apocalypto

It's sad that Horner and Mel Gibson  will never get to work together again, since everything they collaborated upon was fabulous. This heart-pounding, adventurous score melds together a throwback to the exciting adventure stories of yesteryear with a very visceral, hard-hitting tinge of grit at its side.

4. The Land Before Time

Second greatest dinosaur theme tune of all-time, and that's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. One of the more underrated animated films of all-time is accompanied with a great soundtrack that brings out both the childish, exuberant enthusiasm of an adventurer's mind with a more solemn, darker edge of coming of age.

3. Glory

A downright brilliant war movie about a very important point in Civil War history, Horner's no guts, no glory tribute to these brave men is absolutely spellbinding work on all fronts. He brings the bloody intensity and tragedy of the war in perfect alignment with the glorious pursuit of justice and freedom, and makes each frame of the film's rousing and heartbreaking sequences resonate.

2. Braveheart

One of the greatest soundtracks of all-time, period. The use of the flute is particularly brilliant by Horner as it brings such power to the smaller, intimate moments of William Wallace's journey. Then in the huge epic scenes it becomes a downright bombastic and incredibly rousing bit of classic Horner that gives so much life to each fight. Then at the end there's two scenes which makes use of Horner's tune perfectly; FREEDOM, and of course, 'You have bled with Wallace...now bleed with me'. Horner's score evokes the best of Hollywood: it's epic but not excessive, grand but somehow restrained in the right ways, and incredibly memorable.

1. Titanic

However much one might hate Titanic, come on, the score. Is. Great. Though Cameron may have at times faltered with some of the dramatic intricacies, Horner helps mask those deficiencies with his amazing score. Sissel Kyrkjebø's voice over the songs is simply beautiful and adds to each needed moment of emphasis perfectly. 'Leaving Port' is such an exciting, beautiful tune that perfectly evokes the feelings of those leaving for a better life abroad the Titanic, the score in the tense action sequences and sinking scenes makes them even more harrowing, and of course 'An Ocean of Memories' and 'My Heart Will Go On' make me tear up every time I watch the film, even when I tell myself, I've had enough of Jack and Rose's shit this time round.