Writing a score for a movie about sports competition is a challenge, but several great composers have risen to the occasion. Here are five scores that explore the highs and lows surrounding both fictional and nonfictional sports meets.
Chariots of Fire (Vangelis, 1981)
This odd duck of a film score — electronic music for a 1981 movie about the 1924 Olympics — yielded what might be not only the most iconic film theme related to athletic competition but maybe the best-known piece of sports-related music outside of the Queen catalog.
Vangelis's stirring theme, paired with the running-on-the-beach opening titles, became a pre-Internet meme parodied everywhere from battery commercials to TV shows like Sesame Street and The Simpsons to movies like National Lampoon's Vacation and Happy Gilmore.
The theme even soundtracked the 1984 debut of the Macintosh. (The theme starts at 1:20 in the video below.)
Walk, Don't Run (Quincy Jones, 1966)
At the peak of his powers as a composer and arranger, Quincy Jones provided the jazzy music for this droll Cary Grant comedy about an odd couple living together during the 1964 Tokyo games. Peggy Lee collaborated with Jones on the songs "Stay With Me" and "Happy Feet," and soloists on the score included legendary harmonica player "Toots" Thielemans and trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison.
Unbroken (Alexandre Desplat, 2014)
2014 was a heckuva year for composer Alexandre Desplat. He earned two Oscar nominations — for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game, winning for the former — and also contributed the score to this Angelina Jolie film about the World War II survival-at-sea ordeal of 1936 Olympian Louis Zamperini. The Games are seen in flashback, as an early triumph that was ultimately dwarfed by his even more impressive wartime achievement.
Foxcatcher (Rob Simonsen and West Dylan Thordson, 2014)
Indie-film notable Rob Simonsen collaborated with NYC-via-MSP musician West Dylan Thordson on the score for Bennett Miller's drama about a dark, true story involving Olympic wrestlers in the 1980s. One of Thordson's contributions was an eerie interpretation of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
Cool Runnings (Hans Zimmer, 1993)
That's right, Hans Zimmer — Mr. Gladiator, Mr. Dark Knight, Mr. Inception himself — wrote the score for this comedy about the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team. Zimmer tracks like "Countrylypso" sit side-by-side on the soundtrack with songs like Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now." Who needs The Lion King when you can write the score for the most epic slow clap in movie history?
Love the music?
Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.
Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.
YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.
