Alan Silvestri's Greatest Scores, Ranked

American film composer Alan Silvestri is responsible for creating some of the all-time most iconic theme music in cinematic history. While often associated with movies directed by Robert Zemeckis, Silvestri has worked with the top filmmaking talent in Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Sam Raimi, and more. During his 50-year movie career, Silvestri has earned two Oscar nominations for his original music compositions to go with a slew of additional awards and accolades.

With over 140 credits to his name, Silvestri's latest score can be heard in Zemeckis' upcoming movie Here, a single-room drama starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. As fans wait for the official 2024 release date for Here, it's time to reflect on Silvestri's illustrious career and single out his most indelible film scores to date. It may not be an easy task given the wealth of outstanding options, but here is Alan Silvestri's most memorable movie music.

10 Identity (2003)

Identity

Release Date

April 25, 2003

Director

James Mangold

Cast

John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall

Rating

R

Main Genre

Mystery

James Mangold's rain-drenched whodunit Identity is one of the director's most criminally underrated movies, and so too is Silvestri's score. The story finds several strangers stranded at a remote motel during a torrential downpour, each of whom shares the same birthday. When the guests begin dying, one by one, it's up to the audience to figure out who is responsible, leading to a wildly unpredictable conclusion that veers into psychological thriller territory.

With clear inspirations from Bernard Herrmann's work in classic Hitchcock movies, Silvestri's score brilliantly captures the stormy soundscapes of the movie's dark, dreary, rain-dappled setting. Without spoiling the shocking conclusion of the murder mystery, the score also hints at the fractious psychological state of one of the main characters and establishes a sense of atmospheric dread that directly ties to said character's fate.

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9 The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Sony Pictures

One of the few Western musical themes in Silvestri's resume belongs to The Quick and the Dead, Sam Raimi's underrated tale of a progressive female gunslinger (Sharon Stone) serving swift justice in a male-dominated town. In a throwback to the halcyon days of golden-era westerns, the epic scope of Silvestri's sweeping cinematic score instantly transports viewers to a specific time and place.

Calling to mind the epic musical arrangements of classic John Ford westerns like The Searchers, Silvestri balances large orchestral instrumentation with the intimacy of a weepy Ry Cooder-like acoustic guitar. The result is unlike anything in Silvestri's decorated body of work and ranks firmly within the all-time best Western movie musical scores, throwback or contemporary.

Stream The Quick and the Dead on Paramount+

8 Father of the Bride (1991)

Father of the Bride

Release Date

December 20, 1991

Director

Charles Shyer

Cast

Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Kieran Culkin, George Newbern, Martin Short

Rating

PG

Main Genre

Comedy

One of Silvestri's lushest and most lavish film scores comes in The Father of the Bride and its sequel, using a familiar refrain in both nostalgic and refreshingly romantic ways. The movie concerns George Banks (Steve Martin in one of his funniest movies), a father reluctant to give away his daughter through marriage, slowly coming to grips with his daughter becoming an adult with plans to start her own family.

With a jazzy rendition of "Here Comes the Bride" that gives way to a soaring, fairytale-like soundscape that calls to mind the best Disney movie music, Silvestri's warmhearted score in Father of the Bride is emotionally resonant enough to induce goosebumps. Between the rousing celebratory highs of the wedding theme and the quieter melancholic moments marked by George's parental farewell, Silvestri nails the entire emotional tenor of the film.

Stream Father of the Bride on Disney+

7 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Release Date

June 21, 1988

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, Alan Tilvern

Rating

PG

Main Genre

Animation

While it's worth mentioning Romancing the Stone as the starting point for the career collaborations between Silvestri and Zemeckis, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is loaded with unforgettable 40s-inspired jazz music. The hardboiled detective story traces Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a downtrodden gumshoe hired to tail Roger Rabbit's wife, Jessica Rabbit, whose seeming infidelity leads to a murder plot.

Silvestri immediately establishes the mood of Valiant through "Eddie's Theme," an aching jazz trumpet piece that hints at the character's heartbreak relating to his brother's death. The moody score instantly evokes the sounds of classic '40s film noirs, mirroring Valiant's psychological unease. As Valiant warms up in Roger's presence throughout the movie, the music evolves into a much lighter and more joyous affirmation of life. It's no wonder Silvestri and Zemeckis became lifelong collaborators.

Stream Who Framed Roger Rabbit on Disney+

Contact

Release Date

July 11, 1997

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Jena Malone, David Morse, William Fichtner

Rating

PG

Main Genre

Drama

Robert Zemeckis' stellar movies always seem to elicit Silvestri's best work, and Contact is no exception. The bold Sci-Fi drama follows Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), an ambitious astronomer haunted by her father's death. When Ellie gets the chance to travel through space to make contact with extraterrestrial life, a deeply profound reunion with her father gives way to Silvestri's incredibly delicate, intimate, and emotionally impactful musical score.

Silvestri's magnificent score begins with the soft twinkling of "Ellie's Dream" before swelling to an operatic pitch that reflects her journey of expanded horizons. Better yet, Silvestri cues Ellie's own sense of isolation, alienation, and ultimate self-discovery as she confronts her own past while looking into the promise of the future. There's a haunting ethereal quality to the music in Contact that aptly reinforces the subject and with more satisfying results than most.

Stream Contact on Pluto TV

5 The Abyss (1989)

The Abyss

Release Date

August 9, 1989

Director

James Cameron

Cast

Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford Lloyd

Rating

PG-13

Main Genre

Adventure

In his only partnership with James Cameron, Silvestri's score for The Abyss continues its lasting impression. The movie tracks a team of divers tasked with searching the ocean floor for a long-lost nuclear submarine. Along the way, the civilian crew happens upon a race of extraterrestrial beings that inspire awe, wonderment, and profound intergalactic connectivity. Such qualities are beautifully reverberated through Silvestri's indelible score.

Capturing the essence of underwater life, Silvestri's iconic score begins softly and slowly with an echoing chorus of ethereal voices that eventually pitches to an emotional crescendo of otherworldly majesty and mysticism. The result has an undeniable effect on the audience by transporting them to a strange underwater environment marked by the inspired human discovery of a new breed of creatures. Rather than imbue the score with menace and mayhem, Silvestri's scintillating score is downright hopeful.

The Abyss is currently unavailable to stream or rent

4 Polar Express (2004)

The Polar Express

Release Date

November 10, 2004

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Tom Hanks, Leslie Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen, Nona Gaye, Peter Scolari, Andy Pellick

Rating

G

Main Genre

Animation

Always pushing the limits of technology, Robert Zemeckis' Polar Express features cutting-edge motion capture mixed with live-action performances. The holiday family film concerns Hero Boy (Daryl Sabara), a youngster on a magical quest to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, traveling aboard the enchanting Polar Express locomotive. Silvestri's rousing score manages to embody the spirit of Christmas, the bright-eyed naivety of Hero Boy, and the rollicking adventurous energy of a train barreling through the winter.

Silvestri's pitch-perfect Christmas theme earned the composer the second Academy Award nomination in his decorated career. Silvestri was nominated for Best Original Song for the track "Believe," which tenderly captures Hero Boy's sense of holiday enchantment and ability to find faith in Santa Claus and the meaning of Christmas. The song was also nominated for a Golden Globe, solidifying the all-time great Christmas movie as featuring one of Silvestri's best film scores.

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3 Forrest Gump (1994)

Forrest Gump

Release Date

July 6, 1994

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field, Rebecca Williams

Rating

PG-13

Main Genre

Drama

Silvestri earned the first Oscar nod of his career for his incredibly moving musical score to Forrest Gump, a landmark drama that won 6 Oscars and currently ranks #11 on IMDb's Top 250. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the story follows Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a Zelig-like figure who overcomes his limited mental acuity to experience firsthand the most important events in American history. Hanks won his second of back-back Oscars following his work in Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia.

Silvestri's arresting musical score for Forrest Gump evokes the title character's sense of childlike sweetness and innocence, making viewers relate to and root for Forrest's happiness at the end of his journey. According to the great acting teacher Konstantin Stanislavski, "The abstract language of music is the only direct way to the human heart" (via New Line Theatre). In arguably his finest film score, Silvestri makes viewers identify with Forrest's bighearted personality through the simple yet soulful music.

Stream Forrest Gump on Paramount+

2 Predator (1987)

Predator (Edit)

Release Date

June 12, 1987

Director

John McTiernan

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura

Rating

R

Main Genre

Action

Few film scores are more purely cinematic than Silvestri's instantly recognizable music for Predator, John McTiernan's timeless horror action thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie tracks an intrepid team of U.S. Commandos in a dense South American jungle, where a shapeshifting invisible alien hunter preys on them with grisly results. Silvestri's score is so iconic that it was used in Predator 2 and Shane Black's The Predator 30 years later.

Between the droning military marches, crashing strings, and high-to-low-pitch instrumentation, Silvestri's all-time great score for the Predator franchise intimates vulnerability and masculine strength in equal measure, perfectly mirroring the action in the story and the feelings the characters emote as it unfolds. By the time the score reaches its operatic apogee, it's impossible not to feel a visceral jolt of genuine thrills that, much like the title killer, seems both earthly and out of this world at once.

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1 Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future

Release Date

July 3, 1985

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells

Rating

PG

Main Genre

Adventure

Without question, Alan Silvestri's landmark score for the Back to the Future franchise will likely always reign as his finest musical achievement in Hollywood. The timeless movie about Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) going back 30 years in the past in Doc Brown's (Christopher Lloyd) DeLorean time machine simply wouldn't be the same without Silvestri's triumphantly uplifting musical arrangements. Other than perhaps Indiana Jones and Star Wars, it's arguably the most famous movie music on record.

While the composition alone is truly special, it's how Robert Zemeckis uses it in the movie that holds up so well. The final sequence in which Marty races against time to channel 1.21 gigawatts of electricity from a bolt of lightning into his time machine's flux capacitor bears huge dramatic stakes for the teenager to return home safely in 1985. That final moment of uncertainty gives way to a spine-tingling celebration for the ages, with Silvestri's exquisite score providing one of the most exhilarating moments in cinematic history.

Stream Back to the Future on Fubo