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Song of the Day: The Good Son (“End Credits”) [YouTube link], composed by the legendary Elmer Bernstein, is a lush, melodic closing to the 1993 psychological thriller, starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. This cue is more expansive in its motif and variations than the “opening credits” I featured in…

Song of the Day: The Hateful Eight (“L’Ultima Diligenza Di Red Rock”), composed by Ennio Morricone, can be heard in the 2015 film, directed by Quentin Tarrantino. It was the first Western—since 1981’s “Buddy Goes West“—that Morricone scored in 34 years. And it was well worth the wait! In 2007,…

Song of the Day: Cocoon (“Main Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by James Horner, has all those gentle, magical touches that complement this 1985 film, directed by Ron Howard. Horner left us much too soon, but his scores have left an indelible mark on cinematic music.

Song of the Day: The Shawshank Redemption (“Main Theme”) [YouTube link] was composed by Thomas Newman of the Newman Movie Music Dynasty. It is derived from one of the most successful film scores of its era. The 1994 film, starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, is an intense, well-crafted, finely…

Song of the Day: The Thomas Crown Affair (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Michel Legrand, is an indispensable extension of this 1968 heist film, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Though the nominated score didn’t win the Oscar that year, Legrand won an Oscar for Best Original Song, “The…

Song of the Day: Quigley Down Under (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link], composed by Basil Poledouris, enhances the Western motif of the 1990 film, starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman. The film may not have been a big hit, but its score remains a winner.

Song of the Day: BUtterifield 8 (“Gloria’s Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by Bronislaw Kaper, is from the 1960 film that brought Elizabeth Taylor her first of two Oscars (the other was for her raw performance in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?“). It’s a lush theme befitting the composer of the…