10 Underrated Film Scores by Top Composers You Must Hear

Movie lovers often know the brilliant minds behind the music that makes their favorite films unforgettable. Hollywood composers usually step into the limelight when they craft scores for blockbuster hits, sometimes becoming as renowned as the film’s director or lead stars. Think of Danny Elfman’s enduring partnership with Tim Burton, or John Williams’ iconic collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

While composers are celebrated for their most famous works, their portfolios are vast, filled with musical gems that sometimes go unnoticed. This list brings to light ten such film scores by well-known composers, pieces that are often overlooked or underrated. Even if you’re familiar with their more prominent scores, these accomplished sound designers have created stunning music for films that didn’t always hit box office gold, or their work was overshadowed by other high-profile projects. Get ready to discover some incredible music!

10 James Horner—The Pagemaster (1994)

James Horner, who sadly passed away in 2015, left an incredible legacy of successful and beloved film scores. He’s best known for his music for two of the highest-grossing movies ever: Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009). In fact, Titanic boasted the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time, cementing Horner as Hollywood music royalty. His fame also stems from scores for hits like Aliens, Apollo 13, and Braveheart, all earning him prestigious awards.

However, not every film Horner scored was a triumph. The 1994 fantasy film The Pagemaster, about a boy’s journey through literary classics, was a box office letdown despite a star-studded cast and its mix of live-action and animation. Horner’s score is a standout feature. The story’s fantasy element allowed him to creatively shift tones and emotions. He masterfully used a large orchestra to cover classic cinema genres: grand adventure, thrilling action, eerie horror, whimsical fantasy, and heroic fanfares. It’s a musical delight for those with a playful imagination.

9 Shirley Walker—Final Destination (2000)

Batman enthusiasts should recognize the name Shirley Walker (who passed in 2006). She is celebrated for her music for the 1990s award-winning Batman: The Animated Series. She also scored other superhero projects like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) and the TV shows Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond. Walker was a pioneer for female composers in Hollywood, earning awards and holding the record for scoring more major-studio films than any other American woman.

While best known for superhero worlds, Walker also composed for other genres, including the 2000 supernatural horror film Final Destination. Her score elevates the typical teen horror flick with intelligent composition. Walker’s command of the orchestra shines as she establishes melodic themes that develop with the story—an approach she continued in the next two sequels. The music is perfectly controlled, patiently building tension and an eerie atmosphere. It’s some of the finest orchestral writing in contemporary scary movies.

8 Marc Shaiman—Simon Birch (1998)

Marc Shaiman is a prolific Hollywood composer who has been crafting music for film, television, and theater since he was 16. He’s written music for dozens of hit movies, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s. His most famous works include popular films like When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, The Addams Family, Sister Act, Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, and The Wedding Planner.

Shaiman is known for his ability to write sweeping orchestral music filled with emotional warmth. This strength is clear in the 1998 drama Simon Birch, about a boy born with dwarfism. The movie didn’t perform well at the box office and was criticized for being overly sentimental. Despite its flaws, Shaiman’s score is its brightest spot. The music moves elegantly between intimate solo piano and a grand orchestra. The well-crafted melodies and lush harmonies create a score full of emotional drama and power. Simply put, the music is beautiful in every way.

7 Danny Elfman – Darkman (1990)

Danny Elfman is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable names today. He has scored over 100 films, along with signature themes for television and video games. He’s best known for his long-standing collaboration with director Tim Burton, a partnership cemented in the 1980s and 1990s with films like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Sleepy Hollow. Elfman is noted for music that blurs lines between quirky, eerie, and fantastical.

Although Elfman’s iconic Batman theme is undoubtedly famous, he wrote similar music for another dark superhero around the same time: the lesser-known 1990 film Darkman. It follows a scientist who, after a brutal attack leaves him disfigured, develops superhuman abilities and seeks revenge, becoming more of an antihero. Elfman’s score explores the same darker sounds found in his famous Batman music: low drones, pulsating drums, energetic strings, swelling brass, and dramatic dynamic shifts. Darkman’s score might not be as catchy as Batman’s, but both highlight Elfman’s talent for darker, epic themes.

6 Alan Silvestri – Contact (1997)

Yes, another 1990s score makes our list! Film music hit new heights of grandeur in the 80s and 90s, with memorable melodies blasted by large orchestras. Composers like Alan Silvestri became known for instantly recognizable, strong themes. Silvestri is most famous for scoring the Back to the Future trilogy, most of the Avengers movies, and the Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump.

Surprisingly, one of Silvestri’s most intimate scores is for the 1997 science fiction film Contact. Based on a novel by Carl Sagan, it tells of a scientist who finds evidence of extraterrestrial life. The film is large-scale, taking audiences globally and into deep space. Yet, despite its sci-fi adventure scope, Silvestri’s music is incredibly human. At its core is a lullaby-like piano theme, gently rising and falling over soft strings. At times, this melody swells to a majestic full-orchestra version before returning to its softer state. The music grounds the story in human emotion, not otherworldly alienness, beautifully reminding us of our shared humanity amidst a grand cosmic odyssey.

5 Howard Shore—The Cell (2000)

Howard Shore is a multi-Oscar-winning composer working in entertainment since the 1970s. He famously scored the entire J.R.R. Tolkien film franchises: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He also scored numerous successful movies across genres, including The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Panic Room.

Shore’s ability to span genres and moods is clear in the polarizing sci-fi horror film The Cell. It’s about a psychologist entering a serial killer’s mind via experimental tech. The film’s gruesome imagery and unsettling surrealism drew both praise and criticism. Shore’s music doesn’t shy from the dark edge; it embraces it. He uses unique instruments and intricate musical parts, shifting between seductive exoticism and terrifying tension. Shore’s surprising score elevates typical horror music to new levels of sophistication. It’s beautifully dark, intense, and deserves a brighter spotlight.

4 Hans Zimmer—A League of Their Own (1992)

Hans Zimmer is one of the most famous composersglobally. He has scored over 200 projects, collectively grossing over 28 billion dollars. He’s written music for some of the biggest blockbusters, including The Lion King, Gladiator, Pearl Harbor, Inception, The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, and multiple Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Despite Zimmer’s reputation for epic action music, one of his warmest and most emotional scores is for the 1992 drama A League of Their Own. The film is about an all-female professional baseball league during World War II. While a success, it’s not what typically comes to mind when thinking of Zimmer. The music features a traditional Hollywood-style orchestra, notable as Zimmer often experiments with orchestra-technology hybrids. The score is beautifully melodic and heartwarming. Zimmer masterfully captures 1940s American radio, sporting event excitement, and dramatic emotions of heartache and survival. It’s celebratory at heart and remains some of Zimmer’s most endearing work.

3 Elliot Goldenthal – Sphere (1998)

Elliot Goldenthal is an Oscar-winning composer writing for film, orchestra, opera, ballet, and theater. His best-known works include movies like Demolition Man, Interview with the Vampire, Batman Forever, A Time to Kill, Frida, and Public Enemies. He’s also famous for his relationship with prolific director Julie Taymor.

Goldenthal has scored multiple films that, despite high expectations, were disappointments (Batman & Robin is a key example). His score for the 1998 sci-fi thriller Sphere deserves more attention. The movie, about a team exploring a crashed alien spaceship, should have been a hit with its famous cast and origins from the Jurassic Park author. Unfortunately, it flopped, meaning Goldenthal’s score went largely unnoticed. He creatively balances traditional orchestra (often led by a stately trumpet fanfare) with experimental tones. The result is an excellent mix of cinematic melodies and eerie, otherworldly sounds, representing both Earth and the mysterious unknown. Goldenthal’s effective score is intriguing and deserves praise apart from the movie’s failures.

2 Hildur Guðnadóttir—Mary Magdalene (2018)

Hildur Guðnadóttir has earned much well-deserved attention recently. She’s seen as a trailblazer: the first Icelander to win an Oscar, the first solo female composer to win a Golden Globe, and the first woman in over two decades to win the Best Original Score Oscar. She’s best known for her music for the 2019 film Joker and the 2019 miniseries Chernobyl.

Before her 2019 successes, Guðnadóttir scored the lesser-known 2018 biblical film Mary Magdalene. It tells of the titular character’s journey becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Guðnadóttir, with frequent collaborator Jóhann Jóhannsson, composed a powerful score. The music consistently hovers in beautiful, ambiguous tension. Lingering strings, haunting vocals, and breathy woodwinds create a somber mood, both still and moving. The score presents itself as a prophetic sound for something tragic and profound. Guðnadóttir’s skill in crafting mature music with both darkness and light is at its peak in this complex score.

1 John Williams—Artificial Intelligence (2001)

No list of famous film composers can exclude John Williams. His decades-long career of writing iconic scores made him the most successful film composer in history. Some of his most beloved music includes scores for Jaws, the Star Wars films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and the Harry Potter films. If you hum a famous movie theme, John Williams likely wrote it.

For all his prominent scores, many lesser-known works deserve highlighting. The 2001 sci-fi film A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a great example. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it tells of a robotic boy, a prototype AI programmed to love. The movie was successful and earned Oscar nominations, but its music isn’t typically one of Williams’ most cited scores. However, it’s as beautiful as anything he’s composed. Williams crafts a score with some of his career’s most gorgeous musical segments. For a composer famous for explosive fanfares, his A.I. music is equally powerful in its restraint. Pivotal scenes involve the young robot boy experiencing complex emotions of love. Thus, Williams’ central theme is a bittersweet melody, gracefully played on piano, supported by an expressive orchestra and sometimes an angelic female voice. The theme is tremendously moving, romantic, heartbreaking, and ultimately peaceful. William’s score is exquisite, a testament to his musical mastery.

These composers, celebrated for their iconic works, also possess a rich catalog of lesser-known scores that are equally compelling. Exploring these hidden gems offers a deeper appreciation for their immense talent and versatility.