Best soundtracks spanning multiple films
I’m talking about more than two soundtracks for a film series by the same composer(s). Here are the 12 I think are the best.
Best of the best
James Bond — John Barry
Barry wrote the music for 11 of the first 15 James Bond movies:
- From Russia with Love
- Goldfinger
- Thunderball
- You Only Live Twice
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- Diamonds Are Forever
- The Man with the Golden Gun
- Moonraker
- Octopussy
- A View to a Kill
- The Living Daylights
There’s a bit of controversy about the “James Bond Theme,” first heard in Dr. No. It’s credited to Monty Norman, who wrote most of the music for that film. But Barry worked on the theme too, and he even went to court to try to get the credit. Although he wasn’t successful he did work on 11 James Bond movies after the first one — and Norman worked on none.
Star Trek — Jerry Goldsmith
Goldsmith wrote the music for 5 Star Trek movies, 2 of the 6 original series movies and 3 of the 4 Next Generation movies:
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
- Star Trek: First Contact
- Star Trek: Insurrection
- Star Trek: Nemesis
Goldsmith’s theme from The Motion Picture was also used as the theme for the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. And he wrote the theme for Star Trek: Voyager.
The Lord of the Rings — Howard Shore
Shore wrote the music for all 3 Lord of the Rings movies (and will be doing the upcoming Hobbit movies which are prequels to The Lord of the Rings):
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
Star Wars — John Williams
Williams wrote the music for all 6 Star Wars movies:
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Episode IV: A New Hope
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Runner ups
Back to the Future — Alan Silvestri
Silvestri wrote the music for all 3 Back to the Future movies:
- Back to the Future
- Back to the Future Part II
- Back to the Future Part III
Toy Story — Randy Newman
Newman wrote the music for all 3 Toy Story movies:
- Toy Story
- Toy Story 2
- Toy Story 3
Harry Potter — John Williams
Williams wrote the music for the first 3 Harry Potter movies:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Pirates of the Caribbean — Hans Zimmer & Klaus Badelt
Zimmer wrote the music for all 4 Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Badelt helped him on the first one:
- The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Dead Man’s Chest
- At World’s End
- On Stranger Tides (I haven’t seen this movie)
Honourable mentions
Ocean’s Eleven — David Holmes
Holmes wrote the music for all 3 Ocean’s Eleven movies:
- Ocean’s Eleven
- Ocean’s Twelve
- Ocean’s Thirteen
The Pink Panther — Henry Mancini
Mancini wrote the music for 8 Pink Panther movies, all the ones with Peters Sellers plus the one with Roberto Benigni (I’ve seen most but not necessarily all of these movies):
- The Pink Panther
- A Shot in the Dark
- The Return of the Pink Panther
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again
- Revenge of the Pink Panther
- Trail of the Pink Panther
- Curse of the Pink Panther
- Son of the Pink Panther
Indiana Jones — John Williams
Williams wrote the music for all 4 Indiana Jones movies:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Dark Knight — Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
Zimmer and Howard wrote the music for the first 2 movies and Zimmer wrote the music for the third:
- Batman Begins
- The Dark Knight
- The Dark Knight Rises