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For me that depends on the chosen pieces of music.
There have been more than 20 great themes created in the last century, I would put the James Bond theme with those 20, also because I am a fan. But because this is a poll for the general audience we shall see.
While I am a great fan of the 007 music I do allow other people having a different taste.
And I find the Good, the BAd & the Ugly a brilliant piece of music, as do I enjoy West side story...........And SW is a classic as well.
1. Star Wars
2. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
3. West Side Story
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Vertigo
5. The Dark Knight Rises
5. The Third Man
8. The Sound Of Music
8. Grease
8. Apocolypse Now
11. Django Unchained
11. Psycho
11. Mary Poppins
14. Billy Elliot
14. There Will Be Blood
14. The Wizard Of Oz
17. Bombay
17. Planet Of The Apes
17. Sholay
17. 8 1/2
So no Bond and no John Barry.
Discuss...
Django Unchained - Really
Some of these choices I can follow, some of them I simply do not know and that might be a lapse in my musical knowledge. But the two I mentioned are both easily a matter of WTF when compared with John Barry on each day of the week. And do make me question the knowledge and musical taste of those involved in this survey. And when talking JB it does not matter if it is the James Bond theme or any of his other work.
A shameful day in British history.
But when you posted the full list, I'm miffed as well. I honestly couldn't hum TDKR theme if it killed me (guess I need to watch the movie again if it't really that great), and all of Django Unchained's music is borrowed from other movies (I think it's a great score, but not an original theme, and also not worthy of a top 20 list).
I am very surprised that the James Bond theme didn't even make the list (I understand top 3, but top 20?). To make things worse, its a BBC poll (not an American station). Seeing as one of Britain's biggest pop culture icon's and probably greatest film icon didn't make the list is kind of baffling.
There may be a reason though...
The three latest Bond movies, and by far best known to the newer movie going audiences, don't make much use of Barry's Bond theme. There are bits and pieces of it here and there, but only us long-standing Bond films will pick them up as parts of a greater theme.
For those of you on these threads who say that the gun barrel is dated and not important any more, I offer that the gun barrel made the Bond theme unforgettable. You know why Star Wars made the top of the list? It's not just because the theme is great (The Bond Theme is on par), but because who can forget each film starting with silence followed by the bombastic blast and Star Wars written big as life on the screen. The gun barrel served the same purpose, and we picked up on it later when it plays in the film and we got excited about the action that was happening during that scene because we related it to the excitement of the gun barrel and it became memorable. That's how the brain works. It draws these connections.
Most of today's audiences probably haven't seen the original 20, and are familiar with these last three only and haven't gotten a taste of a Bond Theme laden soundtrack. And yes, the gun barrel was at the end of the last two, but let's be honest, the rushed gun barrel sequences shoehorned at the end are anything but memorable. They just signify the beginning of the credits and that it's time to leave the theatre.
Wow, that turned out to be a much longer post than I was planning...
Also - a little surprised Braveheart and Last of the Mohicans didn't make the list
Perplexing is the word I'm looking for.
But what about John Barry's other masterpieces? Midnight Cowboy, Born Free, Out of Africa. Not even a sniff!
No The James Bond Theme and no The Godfather Waltz? Blasphemy. Or at least poor taste.