John Shaft, (Shaft)
The Theme : Shaft’s opening scene is funk at its finest, with Isaac Hayes riveting riff, hi-hat drumming and orgasmic release of horns cool, sexy and crude. Can you dig it?
Its Effect: You’ll suddenly find yourself strutting though down your local high street wearing a long brown leather jacket, sporting a pimping moustache and enforcing the law in a heavy handed fashion. Even, if you’re not a policeman.
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Travis Bickle, (Taxi Driver)
The Theme: Genuinely petrifying, Bernard Herrman’s score assists Travis Bickle’s (Roberto De Niro) mental decline into a psychopath. You’ll never trust a cabbie again.
Its Effect: It’s now the soundtrack to the sleazy 70s of New York City that Bickle personifies.
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Snake Plissken, (Escape From New York)
The Theme: A dystopian anthem, John Carpenter’s driving synth is the perfect sound for Snake (Kurt Russell) to walk away from prison having screwed over Donald Pleasance’s President.
Its Effect: Effortlessly rebellious, you’ll be donning an eye-patch almost instantly come the film’s conclusion.
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The Terminator, (The Terminator)
The Theme: All drums and keyboards, Brad Fiedels’ epic introduces us to the world of Cameron’s classic over a patient opening titles just before Arnie makes rising up naked alongside a dump truck and then murdering a young Bill Paxton’s best friend for his clothes look cool.
Its Effect: Futuristic yet still inherently 80s. Thus one half of the music represents The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and the other Sarah Connor’s (Linda Hamilton) perm.
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Mike Myers, (Halloween)
The Theme: After Mike Myers escapes the sanatorium he is about to be placed in for the murder of his slutty babysitter/older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson), he stalks Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie with John Carpenter’s simplistic melody following his every appearance.
Its Effect: Unrelentingly daunting you’re instantly spooked out by Carpenter’s repetitive melody which seems to loop and loop and loop around forever.
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Hans Beckert, (M)
The Theme : Any child who hears Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) whistling Edvard Grieg’s, In the Hall of the Mountain King is the child serial killer’s latest prey in Fritz Lang’s immense 1931 thriller.
Its Effect: Naively innocent, playful and engrossing, Beckert’s humming is just plain old creepy and will have your spin tingling in repulsion.
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Frodo, (The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring)
The Theme: A lone pied piper grants the audience unique insight into Frodo’s intimate relationship with both Gandalf and Sam, especially when we’re introduced to the grey wizard in the shire and as Samwise decides to join the trek to Mordor with his fellow Hobbit.
Its Effect: Epic, cheesy and ever so slightly over the top, Howard Shore’s music sums up Peter Jackson’s trilogy, whilst also being a tad touching too.
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The Joker, (The Dark Knight)
The Theme: Why so serious? Because a certifiable clown has Gotham City tied round his little finger, that’s why! Hans Zimmer’s piece is played anytime Heath Ledger’s Joker appears on screen and is as big a part of the character as his garish make-up and outfit.
Its Effect: Rising and rising to an enthralling crescendo you can easily get lost within Zimmer’s maze of noise as Ledger’s Joker becomes more and more insane.
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Frank Serpico, Serpico
The Theme: Having been shot in the face, Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) thinks back to his opening days in the police force with Mike Theodorakis’ thoughtful and poignant theme ringing throughout to ease his pain. Good luck with that.
Its Effect: Slightly lonesome, awesomely Italian yet still imposing, you get an instant grasp of Serpico’s personality.
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James Bond, (Dr. No)
The Theme: A distinctly English gentleman walks on screen, fires a gun shot straight into the audience and thus introduces the greatest film spy in cinematic history to the world.
The name’s Bond, James Bond. Forget Dr. No, Monty Newman’s theme has been with 007 for 50 years now and shows no sign of aging too.
Its Effect: Bombastic and deadly before descending into an innately British guitar riff, you can’t help but immediately feel in awe of Bond, even with the peculiar samba beat at the end of Dr No ’s titles.
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