Joey Magidson
Yes, I’m still ranking the newest crop of Academy Award winners, with the column careening towards the end for 2025, as this is our final below the line category. As a reminder, for nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!
This time around, I’m taking another crack at a Best Original Score ranking, as we wrap up the technical categories today. This category is as filled with classics as any, so picking a number one is completely a matter of taste. Where does our prior winner in Oppenheimer fall amongst my picks? What about the year before’s winner All Quiet on the Western Front? Does it even crack the list this time? That answer is to come. Plus, what of our newest winner in The Brutalist? Find out below…
Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Oscar for Best Original Score, to date:
25. The Brutalist
24. Brokeback Mountain
23. The Hateful Eight
22. The Sting
21. Titanic
20. Let it Be
19. Aladdin
18. Fiddler on the Roof
17. The Omen
16. Camelot
15. All That Jazz
14. Oppenheimer
13. Schindler’s List
12. The Lion King
11. West Side Story
10. Beauty and the Beast
9. Mary Poppins
8. Ben-Hur
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
6. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Chariots of Fire
4. Purple Rain
3. Star Wars
2. The Social Network
1. Jaws
Honorable Mentions: Dune, Gravity, High Noon, La La Land, The Little Mermaid, and Slumdog Millionaire
Stay tuned for the next category early on next week!
25.The Lion in Winter
24.The Little Mermaid
23.A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
22.Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
21.The Artist
20.Frida
19.The Godfather Part II
18.Let It Be
17.The Sound of Music
16.Schindler’s List
15.Pinnochio
14.The Grand Budapest Hotel
13.Aladdin
12.Oppenheimer
11.Jaws
10.Star Wars
9.The Wizard of Oz
8.An American in Paris
7.West Side Story
6.The Sting
5.All that Jazz
4.Up
3.Cabaret
2.Mary Poppins
1.Beauty and The Beast
HM -Victor/Victoria, Shakespeare in Love, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Brutalist, Slumdog Millionaire, The Red Violin, High Noon,Fame
You actually reminded me to add All That Jazz, so thanks!
Oh good! I hear that in my head even when I haven’t seen it for a while.
A masterpiece of a film.