DVD Corner

The Greatest Original Film Scores Book Review

“The Greatest Original Film Scores” is a must for film music lovers.

Written by Thierry Jousse (who also provides an intro), “The Greatest Original Film Scores” sounds like a list book on the surface, but it’s much more than that. The book encompasses the rich history of film music from the early talkies of the 1930s to the present. Comprised of 19 chapters, Jousse digs into the history of film scores and spotlights legends of the field like Max Steiner, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer and Quincy Jones to name a few.

While American cinema is prominent within these pages, international cinema scores have a heavy presence particularly with French, Italian, British and Japanese cinema. Of course, orchestral scores are at the forefront, but Jousse also explores the evolution of sound throughout the ages with scores infusing Jazz, pop music, funk, rock, electronic/synth, and minimalist sounds.

The sound of film genres and film franchises is also touched upon here. He explores the music of musicals, horror films, indies, and franchises like James Bond, Marvel, and Pixar. Non-film score work is also mentioned as some filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino use songs to shape their films instead.

On the subject of filmmakers, the iconic partnerships between film composers and filmmakers is strewn throughout the book as there are segments dedicated to the collaborations between the likes of Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, Joe Hisaishi and Hayao Miyazaki, etc.

In many chapters, Jousse writes pieces about the life, career and style of composers and sometimes provides timelines of their work. There are also numerous sidebars like the Playlists in which the author recommends scores of certain eras (like the 30s to the 50s) or pinpoints the best work of a certain composer like the prolific Ennio Morricone. Each chapter is accompanied by a plethora of pictures and poster art.

Anyone with an appreciation of film scores knows they can be the heart and soul of a film. Can you imagine “Star Wars” without John Williams soaring music? Can you picture the “Psycho” shower scene without Bernard Herrmann’s integral music? Author Thierry Jousse really goes above and beyond with “The Greatest Original Film Scores” to show just how much a film score means to a film. Moreover, he dives deep into the history of film music and pays loving tribute to the artists who have created emotional, iconic, and enduring music that transcends the films they were used in.

There’s so many fascinating stories within these pages as well as we get pieces about unused film scores (like Alex North’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” score), women composers (and the severe lack of them), the career of the underrated composer Cliff Martinez, Bernard Herrmann’s feuds with filmmakers, and much more. There’s even a section devoted to the music in Jim Jarmusch’s films. It doesn’t get much better than that.

If you have a passion for film scores or want to learn more about them, “The Greatest Original Film Scores” just might be the gold standard now.

November 3, 2026 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Ennio Morricone, Film Scores, Hans Zimmer, James Bond, John Williams, The Greatest Original Film Scores Book Review