I read it as it went through different aspects of life (clothing, food, entertainment, etc.) and rated things by their "Manly" factor. Of course, the most manly film ever was Spartacus. It doesn't, of course, discuss film scores, but the Total Recall thread had me thinking about how this bizarre topic could be applied to our interest.

(While the book itself is ambiguous about whether or not its tongue was in its cheek let us say up front that mine is.)

Certainly, since a stoic but powerful presence is the mark of a real man, several film scores stand out as being truly manly:

• JERRY GOLDSMITH: Total Recall
  Well, it inspired the damn thread. Let's face it, this score beats the living @#$% out of any number of other action film scores. Pounding acoustic and electronic percussion over some great action riffs and references to other Schwarzennegger related film scores.

• BRUCE BROUGHTON: Silverado
  In addition to one of the best Western themes in recent cinema history, the score for this "everything but the kitchen sink" all-star oater by Larry Kasdan is fantastic, with the standard Western harmonic language being interrupted in moments ("This Oughta Do") for some great musical violence. In addition to being a great score about teamwork, the film also reminds us how quietly manly Scott Glenn has been over the years.

• BASIL POLEDOURIS: Starship Troopers
  This is an easy one; any film score where a point of departure is a "wall of sound" created by several overdubbed snare drum tracks has to be manly, and Starship Troopers certainly doesn't let down, particularly with the dirge-like main theme heard in cues like "Klendathu Drop" and "The Destruction of the Roger Young," the take-no-prisoners harmonic violence heard in "Bugs!!!" and, of course, the self-congratulatory "They Will Win!"

• ALEX NORTH: Spartacus
  Okay, there's that love theme going on, but hey, it's Spartacus, you know? While the album has plenty of music that bursts with out with hairy-chested splendor "Main Title," "Gladiators Fight to Death," etc.) quite a lot is left off this album, like the "I am Spartacus" cue, which has that wonderful crescendo as Spartacus sheds that one tear. When you're that much man, you're allowed to squeeze out one tear in extreme circumstances.

• LALO SCHIFRIN: Bullitt
  It's all about being cool, collected and unreadable. Just like Steve McQueen. It also helps to have those killer blue eyes. Just like Steve McQueen. And Jacqueline Bisset for a girlfriend. Just like Steve McQueen. The original album, with its blistering performance and old-school hard left and right panning is the more masculine of the two discs, although the new one has some more music on it.

• ENNIO MORRICONE: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  Movies don't get much more hombre than this. Clint Eastwood, of course, defines everything a man should be. Morricone's music is wild and experimental, but always with its fist tightly closed over the squirmings of the weak. The famous title sequence and "The Ecstasy of Gold" is only the beginning, with "The Desert" being an amazing suspense track and "The Trio" being possibly the best showdown music since... since... uh... For A Few Dollars More, I guess...

• SHIRLEY WALKER: Memoirs of An Invisible Man
  "Ah!" you cry. "This is a list of masculine music! How masculine can this be? A woman has composed this music!" Well, all I can say is that a quick listen to this rhythmic and propulsive score will show that the action composer within Walker is more masculine than most male composers. The people slashed, stabbed and decapitated by Valeria in Conan the Barbarian are just as dead as those killed by Conan or Subotai...

• JERRY GOLDSMITH: King Solomon's Mines
  A score based entirely around its percussive rhythms. You gotta love that. Pounding Goldsmith, with some more tongue-in-cheek action with the whole "Die Walkure" thing going on. Even the love theme is based on rhythms. Damn.

• DANNY ELFMAN: Batman
  Strong and dark brass are always good recipes for manly music, and this score doesn't disappoint anybody but Andre Lux. In addition to some great action cues ("Batman to the Rescue," "Charge of the Batmobile" etc.) the cue "Up the Cathedral" displays a deft handling of cinematic action along with a great evocation of unrestrained anguish. A great track!

• BASIL POLEDOURIS: Conan the Barbarian
  Although there are moments in which the score gives women something to listen to, this film is given an extremely oily chested score, complete with a screaming chorus during the battles and a gong scraped by a triangle to shatter the senses. One of the best things about Conan is that the music, which is sort of a quasi-opera, manages to whip people into a frenzy while listening to it (usually characterized by an "I'm so pumped" remark).

• MAX STEINER: They Died With Their Boots On
  Okay, the film makes no sense in context of history. Who cares? This score is fantastic! Militaristic motives and a distinct sense of chaos mark this score, one of Steiner's best. Special masculinity points are also awared for the use of the march "Garry Owen" in this score. The resulting brew is quite intoxicating.

• LALO SCHIFRIN: Enter the Dragon
  How can you escape this one either? Let's face it, a classic man film requires a classic man score, and from the powerful brass to the wah-wah guitars, from the great jazz/rock tracks ("Headset Jazz") to the uncomfortable nontonal action ("Broken Mirrors"), this score has everything a man needs.

Good book, actually. Yes, it lists "Spartacus" as #1 on Manliest Movies, also including "The Godfather I & II", "Ben Hur", "Braveheart", "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "Aliens", and "The Man Who Would Be King", among several others....How's that for an ecclectic mix?

But, as we're adding to this list, I'll have to throw in some "Manly Music" soundtracks for consideration....

1) "Army of Darkness" [come on!--it's right there in the track titles: "Manly Men"]
2) "The 13th Warrior" [when you die, can I give that to my daughter...?]
3) "The Untouchables"
4) "Crimson Tide"
5) "Gladiator" [Two Zimmers, for good measure.]
6) "Goldfinger" [And a Bond...gotta be.]
7) "Patton"
8) "The Adventures of Don Juan"
9) "Con Air" [There's probably a case here for virtually every Jerry Bruckheimer-backed score....]
10) "The Hunt for Red October"

Some real MACHO MAN music!!!!

Die Hard
Predator
Predator 2
Courage Under Fire
Extreme Predjuice
Rudy
Hoosiers
The Edge
Seven
Deep Blue Sea
Backdraft
Tombstone
Demolition Man
Mission Impossible
Eraser
The Mission from Amazing Stories
The Indiana Jones Trilogy

P.O.
Losing Isaiah (Mark Isham) **/****

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Williams)
This one is non stop action adventure in the 1930's and this ones oozing with Testesterone!

FIRST KNIGHT (Goldsmith)
The actions material is great. The NIGHT BATLE is awesome.

I loved your detailed descriptions of each score, Swashbuckler.(Now there is a virile moniker.) You nailed the connotative aspects of the music in each score that we associate with manliness.

I have a theory about masculine/feminine music, and since I’m female,
Swashbuckler, you know I’m probably right.

Ahem.. I associate masculine scores or sounds with specific rhythms and
instruments.

Western “galloping” tempos, Marshall/March rhythms, and Imperial
themes are allied to muscular, manly scores.

Masculine orchestration requires at times bombastic percussions,
especially tympani, and instruments found mainly in the brass sections.
Also the guitar and harmonica telegraph “machoness” or virility.

Therefore, I would rate most rousing westerns as masculine. “Bronco Bustin” from
Wild Rovers has strong percussion and brass. Others using robust instruments and
rhythms are Sons of Katie Elder, Magnificent Seven and most Goldsmith westerns.
Certainly war scores like with military sounds would qualify under the Marshall or
March motif such as Bridge From Remagen, Great Escape, Patton, Guns of
Navarone, Battle of Britain, Battle of the Bulge, and so on.

Earthquaking tympani are found in Conan and The Thirteenth Warrior.
Loud brass sections are almost always utilized in heraldic themes from movies
like Star Wars, Superman, Last Starfighter, and this type of almost imperial
music is usually associated with the “kingly” state of males. (Aren’t I being
such a good sport through all of this. )

I love all those types of masculine music, so where does that leave me?
Sleazy saxes and piccolos? Ugh.

What to do with the ubiquitous string sections? Violins portray lovely melodies
like High Road to China or slasher sounds like in Psycho.

Obviously, it is how a composer employs various instruments that gives music
masculine or feminine sound. Ingrained connotations, I guess.

NP U 571 Definitely a testosterone score.

quote:

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Ahh, shucks, I thought this would be a well-developed thread about briefs versus boxers. “Write a short something about each ... pick."

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And for the SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy)there are scores such as...

-As Good as it Gets
-While you were sleeping
-Father of the Bride

NP: As Good as it Gets *****/*****

The rhythm pounds with the western genre galloping beats.
His female soloist only intensifies through almost counterpoint,
the testosterone level of his gunslinging scores. And it is a testament
to his versatility that he can always add a soft guitar/violin love theme
to his macho western scores. I know he hasn’t scored a western
in decades, but I wish he would reconsider.

and hey, most Bond scores are manly aren't they?

NP -- Last of the Mohicans, re-recording