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Winners of Oscars for Best Original Score: all the nominated soundtracks from the history of the Academy Awards

All the winners and nominated film scores from the history of the Oscars

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Published: March 19, 2024 at 1:45 pm

The first Oscars were held in 1929 but it wasn't until 1935 an award was given for the best music score in a film. Here are all these Oscar winners of the award for Best Original Score, from that first award in 1935 to the most recent in 2020.

When do the Oscars take place?

The Oscars awards ceremony usually takes place in March, celebrating the films that were released from March to December the previous year.

2024 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • American Fiction (Laura Karpman)
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (John Williams)
  • Killers of the Flower Moon (Robbie Robertson)
  • Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson)
  • Poor Things (Jerskin Fendrix)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2023

All Quiet on the Western Front (Volker Bertlemann)

2023 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Babylon (Justin Hurwitz)
  • The Banshees of Inisherin (Carter Burwell)
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once (Son Lux)
  • The Fabelmans (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2022

Dune

2022 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Don't Look Up (Nicholas Britell)
  • Encanto (Germaine Franco)
  • Parallel Mothers (Alberto Iglesias)
  • The Power of the Dog (Jonny Greenwood)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2021

Soul (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste)

2021 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Da 5 Bloods (Terence Blanchard)
  • Minari (Emile Mosseri)
  • News of the World (James Newton Howard)
  • Mank (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

2011-20 Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2020

Joker (Hildur Guðnadóttir)

2020 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Little Women (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Marriage Story (Randy Newman)
  • 1917 (Thomas Newman)
  • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams)

We ranked John Williams's best Star Wars film scores, worst to best. Do you agree with our choices?

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2019

Black Panther (Ludwig Göransson)

2019 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • BlacKkKlansman (Terence Blanchard)
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Nicholas Britell)
  • Isle of Dogs (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2018

The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)

2018 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
  • Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi (John Williams)
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Carter Burwell)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2017

La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)

2017 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Jackie (Mica Levi)
  • Lion (Hauschka and Dustin O'Halloran)
  • Moonlight (Nicholas Britell)
  • Passengers (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2016

The Hateful Eight (Ennio Morricone)

2016 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Bridge of Spies (Thomas Newman)
  • Carol (Carter Burwell)
  • Sicario (Jóhann Jóhannsson)
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2015

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)

2015 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
  • Mr Turner (Gary Yershon)
  • The Theory of Everything (Jóhann Jóhannsson)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2014

Gravity (Steven Price)

2014 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Book Thief (John Williams)
  • Her (Will Butler and Owen Pallett)
  • Philomena (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Saving Mr Banks (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2013

Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)

2013 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
  • Argo (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Lincoln (John Williams)
  • Skyfall (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2012

The Artist (Ludovic Bource)

2012 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)
  • Hugo (Howard Shore)
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Alberto Iglesias)
  • War Horse (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2011

The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

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2011 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • 127 Hours (AR Rahman)
  • How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
  • Inception (Hans Zimmer)
  • The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat)

2000-10 Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2010

Up (Michael Giacchino)

2010 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Avatar (James Horner)
  • Fantastic Mr Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
  • The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
  • Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2009

Slumdog Millionaire (AR Rahman)

2009 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Defiance (James Newton Howard)
  • Milk (Danny Elfman)
  • WALL-E (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2008

Atonement (Dario Marianelli)

2008 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • 3:10 to Yuma (Marco Beltrami)
  • The Kite Runner (Alberto Iglesias)
  • Michael Clayton (James Newton Howard)
  • Ratatouille (Michael Giacchino)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2007

Babel (Gustavo Santaolalla)

2007 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Good German (Thomas Newman)
  • Notes on a Scandal (Philip Glass)
  • Pan's Labyrinth (Javier Navarrete)
  • The Queen (Alexandre Desplat)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2006

Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla)

2006 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • The Constant Gardener (Alberto Iglesias)
  • Memoirs of a Geisha (John Williams)
  • Munich (John Williams)
  • Pride & Prejudice (Dario Marianelli)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2005

Finding Neverland (Jan AP Kaczmarek)

2005 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)
  • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Thomas Newman)
  • The Passion of the Christ (John Debney)
  • The Village (James Newton Howard)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2004

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Howard Shore)

2004 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Big Fish (Danny Elfman)
  • Cold Mountain (Gabriel Yared)
  • Finding Nemo (Thomas Newman)
  • House of Sand and Fog (James Horner)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2003

Frida (Elliot Goldenthal)

2003 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Catch Me If You Can (John Williams)
  • Far from Heaven (Elmer Bernstein)
  • The Hours (Philip Glass)
  • Road to Perdition (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2002

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)

2002 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • A.I. Artificial Intelligence: John Williams
  • A Beautiful Mind: James Horner
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: John Williams
  • Monsters, Inc.: Randy Newman

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2001

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Tan Dun)

2001 Oscar nominees for Best Original Score:

  • Chocolat (Rachel Portman)
  • Gladiator (Hans Zimmer)
  • Malèna (Ennio Morricone)
  • The Patriot (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 2000

The Red Violin (John Corigliano)

Oscar score nominees in 2000:

  • American Beauty (Thomas Newman)
  • Angela's Ashes (John Williams)
  • The Cider House Rules (Rachel Portman)
  • The Talented Mr Ripley (Gabriel Yared)

1990s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Dramatic Oscar winner in 1999

Life Is Beautiful (Nicola Piovani)

Oscar original score nominees in 1999:

  • Elizabeth (David Hirschfelder)
  • Pleasantville (Randy Newman)
  • Saving Private Ryan (John Williams)
  • The Thin Red Line (Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Oscar winner in 1999

Shakespeare in Love (Stephen Warbeck)

Oscar original musical or comedy score nominees in 1999:

  • A Bug's Life (Randy Newman)
  • Mulan (Matthew Wilder, David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Patch Adams (Marc Shaiman)
  • The Prince of Egypt (Stephen Schwartz and Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar winner in 1998

Titanic (James Horner)

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Nominees:

  • Amistad (John Williams)
  • Good Will Hunting (Danny Elfman)
  • Kundun (Philip Glass)
  • LA Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)

Best Original Musical or Comedy Oscar winner in 1998

The Full Monty (Anne Dudley)

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Nominees:

  • Anastasia (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and David Newman)
  • As Good as It Gets (Hans Zimmer)
  • Men in Black (Danny Elfman)
  • My Best Friend's Wedding (James Newton)

Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar winner in 1997

The English Patient (Gabriel Yared)

Nominees:

  • Hamlet (Patrick Doyle)
  • Michael Collins (Elliot Goldenthal)
  • Shine (David Hirschfelder)
  • Sleepers (John Williams)

Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Oscar winner in 1997

Emma (Rachel Portman)

Nominees:

  • The First Wives Club (Marc Shaiman)
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Alan Menken)
  • James and the Giant Peach (Randy Newman)
  • The Preacher's Wife (Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar winner in 1996

The Postman (Luis Bacalov)

Nominees:

  • Apollo 13 (James Horner)
  • Braveheart (James Horner)
  • Nixon (John Williams)
  • Sense and Sensibility (Patrick Doyle)

Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Oscar winner in 1996

Pocahontas (Alan Menken)

Nominees:

  • The American President (Marc Shaiman)
  • Sabrina (John Williams)
  • Toy Story (Randy Newman)
  • Unstrung Heroes (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1995

The Lion King (Hans Zimmer)

Nominees:

  • Forrest Gump (Alan Silvestri)
  • Interview with the Vampire (Elliot Goldenthal)
  • Little Women (Thomas Newman)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1994

Schindler's List (John Williams)

Nominees:

  • The Age of Innocence (Elmer Bernstein)
  • The Firm (Dave Grusin)
  • The Fugitive (James Newton Howard)
  • The Remains of the Day (Richard Robbins)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1993

Aladdin (Alan Menken)

Nominees:

  • Basic Instinct (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Chaplin (John Barry)
  • Howards End (Richard Robbins)
  • A River Runs Through It (Mark Isham)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1992

Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken)

Nominees:

  • Bugsy (Ennio Morricone)
  • The Fisher King (George Fenton)
  • JFK (John Williams)
  • The Prince of Tides (James Newton Howard)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1991

Dances with Wolves (John Barry)

Nominees:

  • Avalon (Randy Newman)
  • Ghost (Maurice Jarre)
  • Havana (Dave Grusin)
  • Home Alone (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1990

The Little Mermaid (Alan Menken)

Nominees:

  • Born on the Fourth of July (John Williams)
  • The Fabulous Baker Boys (Dave Grusin)
  • Field of Dreams (James Horner)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (John Williams)

1980s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1989

The Milagro Beanfield War (Dave Grusin)

Nominees:

  • The Accidental Tourist (John Williams)
  • Dangerous Liaisons (George Fenton)
  • Gorillas in the Mist (Maurice Jarre)
  • Rain Man (Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1988

The Last Emperor (David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su)

Nominees:

  • Cry Freedom (George Fenton and Jonas Gwangwa)
  • Empire of the Sun (John Williams)
  • The Untouchables (Ennio Morricone)
  • The Witches of Eastwick (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1987

Round Midnight (Herbie Hancock)

Nominees:

  • Aliens (James Horner)
  • Hoosiers (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • The Mission (Ennio Morricone)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Leonard Rosenman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1986

Out of Africa (John Barry)

Nominees:

  • Agnes of God (Georges Delerue)
  • The Color Purple (Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Andraé Crouch, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Quincy Jones, Randy Kerber, Jeremy Lubbock, Joel Rosenbaum, Caiphus Semenya, Fred Steiner and Rod Temperton)
  • Silverado (Bruce Broughton)
  • Witness (Maurice Jarre)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1985

A Passage to India (Maurice Jarre)

Nominees:

  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (John Williams)
  • The Natural (Randy Newman)
  • The River (John Williams)
  • Under the Volcano (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1984

The Right Stuff (Bill Conti)

Nominees:

  • Cross Creek (Leonard Rosenman)
  • Return of the Jedi (John Williams)
  • Terms of Endearment (Michael Gore)
  • Under Fire (Jerry Goldsmith)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1983

ET the Extra-Terrestrial (John Williams)

Nominees:

  • Gandhi (Ravi Shankar and George Fenton)
  • An Officer and a Gentleman (Jack Nitzsche)
  • Poltergeist (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Sophie's Choice (Marvin Hamlisch)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1982

Chariots of Fire (Vangelis)

Nominees:

  • Dragonslayer (Alex North)
  • On Golden Pond (Dave Grusin)
  • Ragtime (Randy Newman)
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1981

Winner:

Fame (Michael Gore)

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Nominees:

  • Altered States (John Corigliano)
  • The Elephant Man (John Morris)
  • The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
  • Tess (Philippe Sarde)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1980

Winner:

A Little Romance (Georges Delerue)

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Nominees:

  • 10 (Henry Mancini)
  • The Amityville Horror (Lalo Schifrin)
  • The Champ (Dave Grusin)
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)

1970s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1979

Midnight Express (Giorgio Moroder)

Nominees:

  • The Boys from Brazil (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Days of Heaven (Ennio Morricone)
  • Heaven Can Wait (Dave Grusin)
  • Superman (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1978

Star Wars (John Williams)

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Nominees:

  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (John Williams)
  • Julia (Georges Delerue)
  • Mohammed, Messenger of God (Maurice Jarre)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (Marvin Hamlisch)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1977

The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)

Nominees:

  • Obsession (Bernard Herrmann)
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales (Jerry Fielding)
  • Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann)
  • Voyage of the Damned (Lalo Schifrin)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1976

Jaws (John Williams)

Nominees:

  • Birds Do It, Bees Do It (Gerald Fried)
  • Bite the Bullet (Alex North)
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Jack Nitzsche)
  • The Wind and the Lion (Jerry Goldsmith)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1975

The Godfather Part II (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola)

Nominees:

  • Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Murder on the Orient Express (Richard Rodney Bennett)
  • Shanks (Alex North)
  • The Towering Inferno (John Williams)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1974

The Way We Were (Marvin Hamlisch)

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Nominees:

  • Cinderella Liberty (John Williams)
  • The Day of the Dolphin (Georges Delerue)
  • Papillon (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • A Touch of Class (John Cameron)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1973

Limelight (Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell)

Nominees:

  • The Godfather (Nino Rota) – RESCINDED Images (John Williams)
  • Napoleon and Samantha (Buddy Baker)
  • The Poseidon Adventure (John Williams)
  • Sleuth (John Addison)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1972

Summer of '42 (Michel Legrand)

Nominees:

  • Mary, Queen of Scots (John Barry)
  • Nicholas and Alexandra (Richard Rodney Bennett)
  • Shaft (Isaac Hayes)
  • Straw Dogs (Jerry Fielding)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1971

Love Story (Francis Lai)

Nominees:

  • Airport (Alfred Newman)
  • Cromwell (Frank Cordell)
  • Patton (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Sunflower (Henry Mancini)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1970

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Burt Bacharach)

Nominees:

  • Anne of the Thousand Days (Georges Delerue)
  • The Reivers (John Williams)
  • The Secret of Santa Vittoria (Ernest Gold)
  • The Wild Bunch (Jerry Fielding)

1960s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1969

The Lion in Winter (John Barry)

Nominees:

  • The Fox (Lalo Schifrin)
  • Planet of the Apes (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • The Shoes of the Fisherman (Alex North)
  • The Thomas Crown Affair (Michel Legrand)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1968

Thoroughly Modern Millie (Elmer Bernstein)

Nominees:

  • Cool Hand Luke (Lalo Schifrin)
  • Doctor Dolittle (Leslie Bricusse)
  • Far from the Madding Crowd (Richard Rodney Bennett)
  • In Cold Blood (Quincy Jones)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1967

Born Free (John Barry)

Nominees:

  • The Bible: In the Beginning... (Toshiro Mayuzumi)
  • Hawaii (Elmer Bernstein)
  • The Sand Pebbles (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1966

Doctor Zhivago (Maurice Jarre)

Nominees:

  • The Agony and the Ecstasy (Alex North)
  • The Greatest Story Ever Told (Alfred Newman)
  • A Patch of Blue (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Michel Legrand and Jacques Demy)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1965

Mary Poppins (Sherman Brothers)

Nominees:

  • Becket (Laurence Rosenthal)
  • The Fall of the Roman Empire (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Frank DeVol)
  • The Pink Panther (Henry Mancini)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1964

Tom Jones (John Addison)

Nominees:

  • 55 Days at Peking (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Cleopatra (Alex North)
  • How the West Was Won (Alfred Newman and Ken Darby)
  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Ernest Gold)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1963

Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre)

Nominees:

  • Freud (Jerry Goldsmith)
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (Bronisław Kaper)
  • Taras Bulba (Franz Waxman)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1962

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Henry Mancini)

Nominees:

  • El Cid (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Fanny (Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman)
  • The Guns of Navarone (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Summer and Smoke (Elmer Bernstein)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1961

Exodus (Ernest Gold)

Nominees:

  • The Alamo (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Elmer Gantry (André Previn)
  • The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)
  • Spartacus (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1960

Ben-Hur (Miklós Rózsa)

Nominees:

  • The Diary of Anne Frank (Alfred Newman)
  • The Nun's Story (Franz Waxman)
  • On the Beach (Ernest Gold)
  • Pillow Talk (Frank DeVol)

1950s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1959

The Old Man and the Sea (Dimitri Tiomkin)

Nominees:

  • The Big Country (Jerome Moross)
  • Separate Tables (David Raksin)
  • White Wilderness (Oliver Wallace)
  • The Young Lions (Hugo Friedhofer)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1958

The Bridge on the River Kwai (Malcolm Arnold)

Nominees:

  • An Affair to Remember (Hugo Friedhofer)
  • Boy on a Dolphin (Hugo Friedhofer)
  • Perri (Paul Smith)
  • Raintree County (Johnny Green)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1957

Around the World in 80 Days (Victor Young)

Nominees:

  • Anatasia (Alfred Newman)
  • Between Heaven and Hell (Hugo Friedhofer)
  • Giant (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • The Rainmaker (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1956

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (Alfred Newman)

Nominees:

  • Battle Cry (Max Steiner)
  • The Man with the Golden Arm (Elmer Bernstein)
  • Picnic (George Duning)
  • The Rose Tattoo (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1955

The High and the Mighty (Dimitri Tiomkin)

Nominees:

  • The Caine Munity (Max Steiner)
  • Genevieve (Larry Adler)
  • On the Waterfront (Leonard Bernstein)
  • The Silver Chalice (Franz Waxman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1954

Lili (Bronisław Kaper)

Nominees:

  • Above and Beyond (Hugo Friedhofer)
  • From Here to Eternity (Morris Stoloff and George Duning)
  • Julius Caesar (Miklós Rózsa)
  • This Is Cinerama (Louis Forbes)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1953

High Noon (Dimitri Tiomkin)

Nominees:

  • Ivanhoe (Miklós Rózsa)
  • The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (Max Steiner)
  • The Thief (Herschel Burke Gilbert)
  • Viva Zapata! (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1952

A Place in the Sun (Franz Waxman)

Nominees:

  • David and Bathsheba (Alfred Newman)
  • Death of a Salesman (Alex North)
  • Quo Vadis (Miklós Rózsa)
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (Alex North)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1951

Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman)

Nominees:

  • All About Eve (Alfred Newman)
  • The Flame and the Arrow (Max Steiner)
  • No Sad Songs for Me (George Duning)
  • Samson and Delilah (Victor Young)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1950

The Heiress (Aaron Copland)

Nominees:

  • Beyond the Forest (Max Steiner)
  • Champion (Dimitri Tiomkin)

1940s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1949

The Red Shoes (Brian Easdale)

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Nominees:

  • Hamlet (William Walton)
  • Joan of Arc (Hugo Friedhofer) J
  • ohnny Belinda (Max Steiner)
  • The Snake Pit (Alfred Newman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1948

A Double Life (Miklós Rózsa)

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Nominees:

  • The Bishop's Wife (Hugo Friedhofer)
  • Captain from Castile (Alfred Newman)
  • Forever Amber (David Raksin)
  • Life with Father (Max Steiner)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1947

The Best Years of Our Lives (Hugo Friedhofer)

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Nominees:

  • Anna and the King of Siam (Bernard Herrmann)
  • Henry V (William Walton)
  • Humoresque (Franz Waxman)
  • The Killers (Miklós Rózsa)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1946

Spellbound (Miklós Rózsa)

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Nominees:

  • The Bells of St. Mary's (Robert Emmett Dolan)
  • Brewster's Millions (Louis Forbes)
  • Captain Kidd (Werner Janssen)
  • The Enchanted Cottage (Roy Webb)
  • Flame of Barbary Coast (Morton Scott & Dale Butts)
  • G. I. Honeymoon (Edward J. Kay)
  • G. I. Joe (Louis Applebaum & Ann Ronell)
  • Guest in the House (Werner Janssen)
  • Guest Wife (Daniele Amfitheatrof)
  • The Keys of the Kingdom (Alfred Newman)
  • The Lost Weekend (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Love Letters (Victor Young)
  • The Man Who Walked Alone (Karl Hajos)
  • Objective, Burma! (Franz Waxman)
  • Paris Underground (Alexandre Tansman)
  • A Song to Remember (Miklós Rózsa & Morris Stoloff)
  • The Southerner (Werner Janssen)
  • This Love of Ours (Hans J. Salter)
  • The Valley of Decision (Herbert Stothart)
  • The Woman in the Window (Arthur Lange & Hugo Friedhofer)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1945

Since You Went Away (Max Steiner)

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Nominees:

  • Address Unknown (Morris Stoloff & Ernst Toch)
  • The Adventures of Mark Twain (Max Steiner)
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Casanova Brown (Arthur Lange)
  • Christmas Holiday (Hans J. Salter)
  • Double Indemnity (Miklós Rózsa)
  • The Fighting Seabees (Walter Scharf & Roy Webb)
  • The Hairy Ape (Michel Michelet & Edward Paul)
  • It Happened Tomorrow (Robert Stolz)
  • Jack London (Fred Rich)
  • Kismet (Herbert Stothart)
  • None but the Lonely Heart (Constantin Bakaleinikoff & Hanns Eisler)
  • The Princess and the Pirate (David Rose)
  • Summer Storm (Karl Hajos)
  • Three Russian Girls (Franke Harling)
  • Up in Mabel's Room (Edward Paul)
  • Voice in the Wind (Michel Michelet)
  • Wilson (Alfred Newman)
  • The Woman of the Town (Miklós Rózsa)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1944

The Song of Bernadette (Alfred Newman)

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Nominees:

  • The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (Frank Skinner & Hans J. Salter)
  • Casablanca (Max Steiner)
  • Commandos Strike at Dawn (Morris Stoloff & Louis Gruenberg)
  • The Fallen Sparrow (Roy Webb & Constantin Bakaleinikoff)
  • For Whom the Bell Tolls (Victor Young)
  • Hangmen Also Die! (Hanns Eisler)
  • Hi Diddle Diddle (Phil Boutelje)
  • In Old Oklahoma (Walter Scharf)
  • Johnny Come Lately (Leigh Harline)
  • The Kansan (Gerard Carbonara)
  • Lady of Burlesque (Arthur Lange)
  • Madame Curie (Herbert Stothart)
  • The Moon and Sixpence (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • The North Star (Aaron Copland)
  • Victory Through Air Power (Edward Plumb, Paul Smith & Oliver Wallace)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1943

Now, Voyager (Max Steiner)

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Nominees:

  • Arabian Nights (Frank Skinner)
  • Bambi Frank Churchill (p.n.) & (Edward Plumb)
  • The Black Swan (Alfred Newman)
  • The Corsican Brothers (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Flying Tigers (Victor Young)
  • The Gold Rush (Max Terr)
  • I Married a Witch (Roy Webb)
  • Joan of Paris (Roy Webb)
  • Jungle Book (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Klondike Fury (Edward Kay)
  • The Pride of the Yankees (Leigh Harline)
  • Random Harvest (Herbert Stothart)
  • The Shanghai Gesture (Richard Hageman)
  • Silver Queen (Victor Young)
  • Take a Letter, Darling (Victor Young)
  • The Talk of the Town (Friedrich Hollaender & Morris Stoloff)
  • To Be or Not to Be (Werner Heymann)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1942

The Devil and Daniel Webster (Bernard Herrmann)

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Nominees:

  • Back Street (Frank Skinner)
  • Ball of Fire (Alfred Newman)
  • Cheers for Miss Bishop (Edward Ward)
  • Citizen Kane (Bernard Herrmann)
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Franz Waxman)
  • Hold Back the Dawn (Victor Young)
  • How Green Was My Valley (Alfred Newman)
  • King of the Zombies (Edward Kay)
  • Ladies in Retirement (Morris Stoloff & Ernst Toch)
  • The Little Foxes (Meredith Willson)
  • Lydia (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Mercy Island (Cy Feuer & Walter Scharf)
  • Sergeant York (Max Steiner)
  • So Ends Our Night (Louis Gruenberg)
  • Sundown (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Suspicion (Franz Waxman)
  • Tanks a Million (Edward Ward)
  • That Uncertain Feeling (Werner Heymann)
  • This Woman Is Mine (Richard Hageman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1941

Pinocchio (Leigh Harline, Paul Smith & Ned Washington)

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Nominees:

  • Arizona (Victor Young)
  • Dark Command (Victor Young)
  • The Fight for Life (Louis Gruenberg)
  • The Great Dictator (Meredith Willson)
  • The House of the Seven Gables (Frank Skinner)
  • The Howards of Virginia (Richard Hageman)
  • The Letter (Max Steiner)
  • The Long Voyage Home (Richard Hageman)
  • The Mark of Zorro (Alfred Newman)
  • My Favorite Wife (Roy Webb)
  • North West Mounted Police (Victor Young)
  • One Million B.C. (Werner Heymann)
  • Our Town (Aaron Copland)
  • Rebecca (Franz Waxman)
  • The Thief of Bagdad (Miklós Rózsa)
  • Waterloo Bridge (Herbert Stothart)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1940

The Wizard of Oz (Herbert Stothart)

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Nominees:

  • Dark Victory (Max Steiner)
  • Eternally Yours (Werner Janssen)
  • Golden Boy (Victor Young)
  • Gone with the Wind (Max Steiner)
  • Gulliver's Travels (Victor Young)
  • The Man in the Iron Mask (Lud Gluskin & Lucien Moraweck)
  • Man of Conquest (Victor Young)
  • Nurse Edith Cavell (Anthony Collins)
  • Of Mice and Men (Aaron Copland)
  • The Rains Came (Alfred Newman)
  • Wuthering Heights (Alfred Newman)

1930s Oscar winners for Best Original Score

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1939

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)

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Nominees:

  • Army Girl (Victor Young)
  • Block-Heads (Marvin Hatley)
  • Blockade (Werner Janssen)
  • Breaking the Ice (Victor Young)
  • The Cowboy and the Lady (Alfred Newman)
  • If I Were King (Richard Hageman)
  • Marie Antoinette (Herbert Stothart)
  • Pacific Liner (Russell Bennett)
  • Suez (Louis Silvers)
  • The Young in Heart (Franz Waxman)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1938

One Hundred Men and a Girl (Charles Previn)

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Nominees:

  • The Hurricane (Alfred Newman)
  • In Old Chicago (Louis Silver)
  • The Life of Emile Zola (Max Steiner)
  • Lost Horizon (Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Make a Wish (Hugo Riesenfeld)
  • Maytime (Herbert Stothart)
  • Portia on Trial (Alberto Colombo)
  • The Prisoner of Zenda (Alfred Newman)
  • Quality Street (Roy Webb)
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline & Paul Smith)
  • Something to Sing About (Victor Schertzinger)
  • Souls at Sea (W Franke Harling & Milan Roder)
  • Way Out West (Marvin Hatley)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1937

Anthony Adverse (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)

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Nominees:

  • The Charge of the Light Brigade (Max Steiner)
  • The Garden of Allah (Max Steiner)
  • The General Died at Dawn (Werner Janssen)
  • Winterset (Nathaniel Shilkret)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1936

The Informer (Max Steiner)

Nominees:

  • Captain Blood (Eric Wolfgang Korngold)
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (Herbert Stothart)
  • Peter Ibbetson (Ernst Toch)

Best Original Score Oscar winner in 1935

One Night of Love (Louis Silvers)

Nominees:

  • The Gay Divorcee (Kenneth Webb & Sam Hoffenstein)
  • The Lost Patrol (Max Steiner)
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