Star Wars named best film theme tune of all time as John Williams dominates top ten
A RadioTimes.com and BBC Music Magazine poll sees cinematic themes by Williams feature no less than six times in the top ten
John Williams's iconic Star Wars: A New Hope theme has been named the best film theme tune of all time in a joint poll by RadioTimes.com and BBC Music Magazine.
The theme, composed for George Lucas's 1977 epic space opera, was the runaway winner with over 20 per cent of the votes, after more than 2,000 people had their say.
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And legendary composer Williams showed his dominance, featuring no less than six times in the final top ten (listed below), also taking third place for 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Hedwig’s Theme) and fourth for Jurassic Park (1993), with the themes from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Jaws (1975) and Superman: The Movie (1978) also featuring.
In second place was Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the theme for Peter Jackson's 2001 epic fantasy adventure film based on JRR Tolkien's novels, with Ennio Morricone's classic theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly rounding out the top five.
RadioTimes.com editor Tim Glanfield said of the winner: “Immediately recognisable, full of drama, excitement and hope, the original Star Wars theme is as seminal in film music terms as Star Wars: A New Hope was cinematically."
Oliver Condy, BBC Music Magazine editor, said: “That the top ten would feature Williams was inevitable, given the quality and popularity of his work, but the fact his themes took six of those ten places truly marks him out as the master of movie melodies.”
The top ten film theme tunes of all time
1) Star Wars: A New Hope – John Williams (1977)
2) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Howard Shore (2001)
3) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Hedwig’s Theme) – John Williams (2001)
4) Jurassic Park – John Williams (1993)
5) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Ennio Morricone (1966)
6) Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams (1981)
7) Jaws – John Williams (1975)
8) The Godfather – Nino Rota (1972)
9) Superman: The Movie – John Williams (1978)
10) Pirates of the Caribbean – Klaus Badelt (2003)
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