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Awesome Music / Alan Silvestri

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From his arrival in the film music world in the '70s, Alan Silvestri proved he could keep up with the likes of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Danny Elfman and more.

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  • The Mummy Returns Ending Credits Suite. Sadly, this track was not included on the offical soundtrack album (not because Universal didn't want to include it, but because the album was assembled before the climactic cues — basically everything in the film from the race to get Evy to the pyramid to the main credits — were recorded). "Sandcastles" is a shorter version of it, but it lacks the triumphant reprise of Rick and Evy's theme. ("Just an Oasis.") Thankfully, "My First Bus Ride" is on the album. Even more thankfully, Intrada issued the complete score on a 2-CD set in 2018.
  • Beowulf. The introduction of the title character is accompanied by an incredibly awesome piece of music by Alan Silvestri. Only the best for Ray Winstone! "What We Need is a Hero!"
  • The iconic themes from Predator, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future and The Abyss all suit the mood of each film very very well. The "Feather Theme" from Forrest Gump is whimsical and emotional, the Predator theme ominous then moves into stirring, the Back to the Future theme a riff on the epic super hero theme given a humourous edge, and "Bud On the Ledge" from The Abyss ethereal and soaring.
  • Predator:
    • The Main Title gets a menacing theme with a sudden Scare Chord at the beginning to set the stage for a chilling alien monster movie.
    • End Title. Equally as chilling as its opening theme with the same riff that started it all, the track leaves you wanting more of the monster alien.
  • Forrest Gump:
  • The Delta Force has one of the most memorable main themes ever put to film, which is 80s badassery and Big Damn Heroes personified. Enjoy.
  • Robert Zemeckis said in an interview that he felt the story of Back to the Future wouldn't stand up on its own, so he told composer Alan Silvestri to make the music as big and memorable as possible to make up for it. And he may have been right, because everything Alan did for the trilogy caused the films and the soundtrack to become absolutely timeless (no pun intended).
    • From Back to the Future:
      • The overture of the soundtrack, which is exclusive to the official album,note  carries warmth, tension, sweetness and anticipation to begin the story of Marty McFly and Doc Brown.
      • The main theme playing over the credits. A grand, thrilling extravaganza, this theme sums up the exploits of Marty and Doc on their wild, grand adventure through the past from its triumphant chords and recurring main melodies to the backing harmonies.
      • "DeLorean Reveal" is a mysterious, hype-inducing number to roll out the Cool Car of the film.
      • "'85 Twin Pines Mall" is a spooky tune as the Libyans go after Doc with everything in the orchestra going wild and messy before being victorious as Marty inadvertently gets the DeLorean to time travel.
      • "'55 Town Square" is appropriately uneasy, with the strings going fast and discordant, a fitting description of Marty's inner feelings of being in 1955.
      • The tense and glorious tune when 1955 Doc sees the DeLorean is nothing short of amazing at the end, to emphasize Doc's skepticism and joy.
      • The skateboard chase scene is a grand reprise of the film's main theme celebrating Marty's derring-do to evade Biff and his gang.
      • "Marty's Letter" is a wistful number with soothing but melancholic instrumentation to encapsulate Marty's memories of seeing his old friend perish in 1985 and final attempt to save his life.
      • The part where George comes to save Lorraine shifts from sinster to victorious, chronicling George's trial of confidence as he goes head to head with his bully, Biff.
      • "Tension/The Kiss" begins with a spine-chilling shrill orchestra as Marty fades from existence... before swelling and erupting into a romantic ballad to celebrate George and Lorraine's kiss which saves Marty.
      • The tense theme when Marty and Doc race against the clock to get Marty back to 1985 is all-round jaw-dropping, heart-pounding with everything in the orchestra transitioning between the theme and being discordant.
      • "'85 Lone Pine Mall" carries the same tension from "'85 Twin Pines Mall" before calming down to heartwarming as Doc reveals he finally taped Marty's letter and got prepared.
      • "4x4" is basically a shorter, more relaxing version of "Marty's Letter" to highlight how Marty's life is now perfect, especially when he finally sees his boo, Jennifer Parker, once again.
      • "Doc Returns" is as frantic as Doc himself as he gets Marty and Jennifer to return with him to the future, before bursting into a heroic final reprise of the theme as the DeLorean soars off to the future.
    • From Back to the Future Part II:
      • This piece combines the last two previous tunes from the first film, as the orchestra transits from peaceful to fast and desperate to continue where its predecessor left off.
      • The main theme makes its glorious comeback to set the tone of this fast-paced narrative.
      • These mysterious orchestrations give off the feeling that everything is different and yet so familiar, just like Hill Valley in 2015, all while Doc tries to continue his mission in the future.
      • The successor to the skateboard chase from the first movie still packs in the same fast, frantic tone, only with more transitions between sounding tense and heroic as Marty goes on a hoverboard to evade Griff and his gang.
      • The part where Jennifer finds herself in the McFlys' home in 2015 is unnerving while trying to bid her on to escape undetected, also coupled with more teeth-chattering chords as 2015 Marty has his Berserk Button pressed again.
      • The eerie theme of 1985A shows how desolate Hill Valley has become, with even Marty's family dragged down. Even this theme shows the extent of the devastation while Doc explains how this timeline came to be.
      • "Sports Almanac/If They Ever Did" carries both spine-chilling melodies and heroic tunes as Marty gets information on the almanac before heading back to the past with Doc to get it back.
      • "You'll Never Lose" helps to thicken the plot with uneasy tunes similar to 1985A's theme.
      • "Nobody/Tunnel Chase" is the culmination of nearly every single frantic motif from the previous tracks into a masterpiece for Marty's scuffle with Biff over the almanac.
      • "Burn the Book" presents more anticipation over the success of Marty and Doc's mission to destroy the almanac with the orchestra growing from gritty to epic to scary as the lightning strikes the DeLorean, causing everything to move on to the woeful jingle implying Marty will be stranded in 1955.
      • "Western Union" slips in a little spark of hope with its same soothing motif from the first movie in Lone Pine Mall, to assure Marty Doc's still alive though in 1885. This all leads to the same triumphant theme of the clocktower.
      • "I'm Back/End Logo" is a grand number heralding the continuation of Marty's adventures through time in a cliffhanger.
      • "The West" sets the stage for the next film with a style of orchestration encapsulating the open freedom in the wild west of 1885.
      • The end credits boasts of the same heroic theme as well as many of the numbers before it to wrap up the film.
    • From Back to the Future Part III:
      • The following masterpiece featured the themes from the previous two movies along with a traditional western style score.
      • "Prologue" brings back the heroic theme of the clocktower to tie in the first film together with this one. "Main Title" immediately follows after with the final score of the second film to set the tone of Marty's new adventure before simmering down as a reminder that this may very well be the final chapter in Marty and Doc's adventure through time.
      • "Warmed Up" goes soft to prepare Marty for his passage into 1885 before bursting into the film's main theme to show the capability of the DeLorean despite being old and worn and wish Marty the best as he head 70 more years into the past.
      • The western-style follow up to describing Hill Valley in the past is one of open freedom, uneasiness and some form of familiarity to show the differences of Hill Valley in 1885 and the sights Marty is used to seeing.
      • The part where Doc and Marty examine the unfinished bridge and save Clara from falling into the ravine below is a work of action from being skeptical to being fast and heart-pounding.
      • The part where Doc and Clara hook up is a soothing respite from the first bits of action of the film to set the stage for romance in 1885.
      • "The Kiss" is a sweet reprise of "Love at First Sight", allowing the romance between Doc and Clara to unfold further.
      • Doc visiting Clara to say goodbye is a heartbreaking reprise of their first meeting to capture the sadness of Clara breaking up with the poor scientist.
      • Everything leading up Marty's scheduled duel with Buford compiles whatever Alan has learnt from making tense themes throughout the trilogy to sound shocking and ominous with little bits of humour sprinkled here and there.
      • The theme recording Marty and Buford's duel is all-round nerve-wracking like all western showdowns before it suddenly blares out the victorious theme of the trilogy to celebrate Marty's wits winning the day.
      • The score for the train sequence is nothing short of brilliant. It uses the standard BTTF leitmotifs from this film and the previous two as a baseline; it throws in a drum beat that sounds like a train chugging; it intertwines the action themes, the tense themes, the love themes, the Western themes; and it ends with pure power.
      • Everything from the point Marty arrives back in 1985 segues from melancholic to soothing and tense and back to mark the familiarity of 1985 Lyon Estates and Hilldale, Hill Valley and underscore the end of Marty's travels through history.
      • "Doc Returns" is a sweet, warming finale to the film and the trilogy as a whole as Doc and his family visit Marty and Jennifer in their time train before the orchestrations swell into a reprise of the first movie's ending motif as the Browns travel through time once again, ending on a joyous final reprise of the trilogy's main riff and final notes to mark the definitive end of the entire trilogy.
      • The end credits cram in as many of the notable themes from this film as possible to celebrate the end before erupting into the trilogy's glorious main theme one last time to send it off into the future with a bang.
  • The Abyss
    • Main Title sets the tone of the film with a melancholic tune to represent the sea and occasional lines comprising brass instruments and a snare drum to highlight our heroes' valour and sacrifice.
    • Finale is a celebration of our heroes' successful operation rescue to save the people trapped in the underwater drilling platform which also goes soft at times to remind us of the aliens' anti-war message.
  • He did a wonderful score to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, combining smooth film-noir jazz with wacky cartoon themes. The end credits shows it off in all in its glory. And the track "Valiant & Valiant" which contains a sad rendition of "Eddie's Theme" is a definite tearjerker.
  • Why was "End Credits" from GI Joe The Rise Of Cobra dropped from the film to make room for The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" (the track times perfectly with the Peas)? Fergie may have the humps but Silvestri has the chops.
  • Chips: He was hired in the second season to do a disco re-arrangement of the main theme by John Parker and he scored most of the episodes after that. He made a car chase down a Southern California freeway feel like disco nirvana. And thanks to FSM, there are three soundtrack albums of his stuff available (covering seasons twonote , three and four).


Alternative Title(s): Back To The Future

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