How Fast Can You Guess The Famous Movie Score? w/ Ben Shapiro

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ben Shapiro Show

Episode: How Fast Can You Guess The Famous Movie Score?
Date: November 8, 2025
Host: Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)

Episode Overview

In this lighthearted, fast-paced episode, Ben Shapiro tackles a movie music challenge set up by his staff. The game: Name the film and composer after hearing just a short snippet—sometimes only a second—of a well-known film score. Ben claims confidence in his encyclopedic movie music knowledge, but his staff aims to test both his skill and his self-professed "arrogance." The episode is filled with friendly banter, fun facts about film composers, and Shapiro’s trademark rapid-fire commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Movie Score Challenge Rules

• [01:33] The format is simple: hear a brief music clip, name the movie, and, if possible, the composer. Ben’s competitive side is on full display from the get-go, but the opening round rattles his confidence.
  • Ben Shapiro [03:01]: “My arrogance has already been punctured here.”

2. Ben’s Score-Guessing Streak

• After a rocky start (stumped by “Augie’s Municipal Band” from Star Wars: Episode I), Ben quickly regains his footing:

  • [03:15] Superman – John Williams.
  • [03:36] The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Ennio Morricone.
  • [03:45] Casablanca – (brief mention).
  • [03:53] Interstellar – Hans Zimmer.

• Ben Shapiro on modern scores:

  • [03:55] “All the modern scores are more thematic than the older scores… Zimmer particularly does this… you get into a kind of reduction of that all the way down to one theme repeated over and over…”

• On attending a Hans Zimmer concert:

  • [04:24] “When you hear all his scores back to back, it’s less impressive than in isolation because a lot of his scores sound incredibly similar… and they are repetitive.”

3. Testing Composer Knowledge

• [04:41] Lawrence of Arabia – Maurice Jarre.

• [05:07] Titanic – James Horner.

  • Ben identifies the composer before the film.
  • [05:28] “Every James Horner score sounds kind of similar.”

• Discussion takes an unexpected dark turn regarding the Land Before Time voice actress.

4. Rapid-Fire Guessing and Film History Tidbits

• [06:02] The Godfather – Nino Rota (Ben initially confuses with Morricone).
• [06:16] Up – Michael Giacchino.
  • [06:23] “He does his best work for Pixar. No question... His work for Star Trek is not nearly as good.”
• [06:37] Batman (‘89) – Danny Elfman (Ben first guesses Zimmer/James Newton Howard, then corrects).
• [07:04] James Bond: Goldfinger theme – John Barry.

5. Thoughts on Notable Scenes and Cues

• [11:24] Ben highlights a particularly memorable cue from Back to the Future:
  • “One of the great cues in movie history, the cue between when Doc goes up, when he's sent downstairs, before the lightning hits the tower... That’s an 11-minute cue. Amazingly good.”

6. Composer Facts and Fun Banter

• The group doles out fun facts and prompts about composer history:
  • [09:02] Vertigo – Bernard Herrmann.
  • [09:04] Rocky – Bill Conti (after a presidential quip: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”)
  • [09:35] Terminator 2 – Brad Fiedel (Ben: “Not an amazing score. It works, but it’s not amazing.”)
  • [10:12] Singin’ in the Rain – Nacio Herb Brown (Ben discusses the origins of the music in old musicals).
• The group uses zany lateral hints to jog Ben’s memory, especially around [11:05–11:21].

7. Entertaining Side Notes & Cultural Observations

• Commentary on composers’ career trajectories:
  • [11:45] “Robert Zemeckis had a big fall off.”
  • [11:51] “Francis Ford Coppola is about to auction off his watches because he spends so much money on Megalopolis.”
• Ben’s final note on participating in a watch auction:
  • [12:02] “If it were not taking place on Shabbat, I would 100% put a bid on one of his Pateks… and it would smell like weed for sure.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ben Shapiro [03:01]: “My arrogance has already been punctured here.”
• Ben Shapiro [03:55]: “All the modern scores are more thematic than the older scores... Zimmer particularly does this… like, you’ve kind of reached the apex of leitmotifs in Williams's scores, and then you get into kind of reduction of that all the way down to one theme repeated over and over.”
• On James Horner [05:28]: "Every James Horner score sounds kind of similar."
• Participant 2 [06:45]: “No, no, that’s the Elfman, yeah, yeah.”
• Ben Shapiro [11:24]: “By the way, one of the great cues in movie history [Back to the Future]... Amazingly good cue. Amazingly good cue.”
• Ben Shapiro [12:02]: “If it were not taking place on Shabbat, I would 100% put a bid on one of his Pateks, no question. Absolutely. And it would smell like weed for sure.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:33] – Game setup: "Name That Score" begins
• [03:01] – Ben’s “arrogance punctured” after tough first round
• [03:36–04:24] – Ben’s guessing streak; insights on composers Williams, Morricone, Zimmer, Giacchino
• [05:07–05:28] – James Horner’s style and filmography
• [06:16–06:24] – Discussion of Giacchino’s Pixar scores vs. Star Trek work
• [11:24] – Ben’s deep appreciation for a cue from Back to the Future
• [11:45–12:02] – Comments on Zemeckis, Coppola, and the potential watch auction

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Tone & Style

• The mood is energetic, competitive, and playful, marked by Ben’s fast-talking delivery and frequent pop culture references.
• Exchanges between Ben and his staff are friendly but teasing, especially when Ben is stumped or misses a composer.
• The conversation moves seamlessly between movie trivia, film history, personal anecdotes, and occasional digressions into unrelated—but entertaining—pop culture topics.

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Conclusion

For fans of film music, trivia games, or Ben Shapiro’s brand of culture commentary, this episode offers rapid-fire fun, insider knowledge, and a glimpse into what makes iconic movie music so memorable. Ben’s mix of encyclopedic recall and self-deprecating humor keeps the episode lively, while the on-the-fly debates about film composers and their work make it a delight for movie buffs and casual listeners alike.

Transcript

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[Host]

Alrighty, folks. Today we're going to be playing Name that Score. So I love movie scores. I know many, many movie scores. So my staff has decided to test my knowledge and my arrogance by playing just a little bit of movie scores. And we'll see what I get. And what.

[Participant 1]

I'm going to give you one second. Give you more if you need it.

[Host]

Dune.

[Participant 2]

No. I'll give you a hint.

[Host]

What is this? I don't know what this is. Oh, what? What is it?

[Participant 2]

Oh, man. I'll give you a hint.

[Host]

Get fired. What is it?

[Participant 2]

Oh, this is episode one. This is Augie's municipal band at the end of episode one where they're celebrating Naboo.

[Host]

What the. You picked the least memorable.

[Participant 2]

That is one of the most memorable ones. What are you talking about?

[Host]

No, that was bad.

[Participant 2]

No, no.

[Host]

If you're gonna. No, that's not even. That's not even. Like. Is that the part where like.

[Participant 2]

Yeah. Okay, you see?

[Host]

You see? Okay, there we go. If you gave me that, I would have gotten it. If you get. If you got into the horns, I would have Gotten it. Oh, no. Okay, this is going poorly from the outset. All right, fine. My arrogance has already been punctured here.

[Participant 2]

Hopefully that calibrates things for you.

[Host]

It does. It also tells me your selectivity period.

[Participant 2]

Oh, my God.

[Participant 1]

This was all filled. Don't look at me.

[Participant 2]

Okay.

[Participant 1]

Okay.

[Host]

Number two, Superman. Wow. Nice.

[Participant 2]

Nice.

[Host]

Wow.

[Participant 1]

Who's the composer?

[Host]

John Williams.

[Participant 1]

Okay, well, that's how we should have started.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Participant 1]

Number three.

[Host]

Good, Bad and the Ugly. Yep.

[Participant 1]

Wow.

[Participant 2]

Who's the composer?

[Host]

Morcone.

[Participant 2]

Yep.

[Participant 1]

Number four.

[Host]

Casablanca.

[Participant 2]

Nice. Yeah.

[Host]

Oh, Interstellar.

[Participant 1]

Wow.

[Host]

All the. All the modern scores are. Are. Are more thematic than the older scores. Meaning. What I mean by that is that they. They tend to repeat a theme. So Zimmer particularly does this. Like, you kind of reach the apex of leitmotifs in Williams's scores, and then you get into kind of reduction of that all the way down to like one theme repeated over and over, which is what you get from a lot of Zimmer scores. For example, if you go to the older scores, you're getting, like, full wall to wall music for an hour and a half.

[Participant 1]

You saw Zimmer in person. Was that awesome?

[Host]

When you hear all of his scores back to back, it's less impressive than when you hear the scores in isolation because a lot of his scores sound incredibly similar back to back. And also you realize that they are repetitive and also like, they're. They're a great moment in Zimmer scores.

[Participant 1]

Next one.

[Host]

Lawrence Arabia.

[Participant 2]

Nice.

[Participant 1]

Nice. That was five seconds.

[Participant 2]

Yeah. Who's the composer?

[Host]

Why am I forgetting the name of the.

[Participant 2]

Maurice Jer.

[Host]

Yeah. Jarret J. Maurice Jer. Yeah.

[Participant 1]

Here we go. This one's kind of hard.

[Host]

That's James Horner for sure. But who is it? But who's. What's the score?

[Participant 2]

You don't like this movie? 1997.

[Host]

Paint Me like one of your friends. Titanic.

[Participant 2]

Yeah.

[Host]

I'm the king of the world. Here's the funny thing. I. I'm not sure I've ever seen Titanic beginning to end, but I can identify the. The composers.

[Participant 2]

Wow.

[Host]

And I know. I know what a Horner story looks like. Yeah. Yeah. How did you know about. That was Horner? Because. Because that, That's. That every James Horner score sounds kind of similar.

[Participant 2]

You can.

[Host]

You can go to every James Horner score from Field of Dreams to A Land Before Time, and they all kind of sound.

[Participant 2]

He did A Land Before Time.

[Host]

Yeah. Horner. To Land Beforehand.

[Participant 1]

Wow.

[Host]

That's awesome.

[Participant 2]

I love those movies.

[Participant 1]

Ducky.

[Participant 2]

Yeah. You know, Ducky, the Voice actress for Ducky was murdered at like age 11 or something.

[Host]

That's a terrible story. Why are you up? Everybody's life. That's a horrible story. Thanks for that.

[Participant 2]

Cut that part.

[Host]

Nope.

[Participant 2]

Now you're doing your thing.

[Participant 1]

Okay, next one.

[Host]

Godfather. It's again. Morricone.

[Participant 1]

Nino.

[Participant 2]

Ninoroda.

[Host]

Damn it. Damn.

[Participant 2]

Italian.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Participant 1]

All right, next.

[Host]

Up, Giacchino. Five seconds. Dude, you are a five second.

[Participant 2]

Wow. Do you like Michael?

[Host]

That's his best score.

[Participant 2]

Oh, you don't.

[Host]

That's his best score.

[Participant 2]

Not the Incredibles.

[Host]

No. Well, I like the Incredibles also. Actually, he does his best work for Pixar. No question. Yeah, like his. His work for Star Trek is really not nearly as good.

[Participant 1]

11.

[Host]

Batman 5.

[Participant 1]

This is nuts.

[Host]

But it's my shot.

[Participant 1]

Now you want to get nuts?

[Host]

Come on. Let's get nuts.

[Participant 2]

Composer.

[Host]

I mean, that would be. As I said, Zimmer and James Newton Howard. No.

[Participant 2]

No.

[Host]

Oh, you're talking about the Elfman.

[Participant 2]

Yeah. Is the Elfman. Yeah, yeah. The Elfman. Yeah.

[Host]

Elfman. Wow.

[Participant 1]

Fact check by yourself. Next.

[Host]

This bond.

[Participant 2]

Which bond?

[Host]

Like all the bonds? Yeah.

[Participant 2]

I went older.

[Host]

Yeah. I don't know who wrote this. Who's the Rayner?

[Participant 2]

John Barry. John Barry in 1964?

[Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Participant 2]

Extra points. So you know which movie that's from? I'll give you a hint. It's Connery.

[Host]

Well, I knew that. I knew that when you said 64. Obviously. Yeah. What is it? Dr. No. Close.

[Participant 1]

Burch.

[Host]

The.

[Participant 2]

Really close.

[Host]

The One more. Yeah.

[Participant 1]

Burch. Goldfinger.

[Host]

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[Participant 2]

Birch. I just got that.

[Host]

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[Advertiser]

Okay.

[Participant 1]

All right.

[Host]

This is psycho.

[Participant 2]

You're really close.

[Host]

Rear Window.

[Participant 2]

Really close. A little older.

[Host]

Vertigo. Yes.

[Participant 1]

11 seconds.

[Participant 2]

Composer.

[Host]

And Martin. Was this Herman?

[Participant 1]

Yes, Bernard Herman.

[Host]

Bernard Herman.

[Participant 1]

Yes.

[Host]

Wow. Rocky. Yep.

[Participant 1]

Four seconds.

[Participant 2]

So good.

[Host]

That's. And why. Man, I'm getting old when I'm forgetting the names of the composers. I know exactly who this is. Wow.

[Participant 1]

I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

[Host]

Oh. What?

[Participant 2]

That is what a hit that is. You're not gonna get that.

[Host]

Bill Conti.

[Participant 2]

Oh, wow. That worked. That is crazy.

[Participant 1]

I'm really good at Taboo. I'm telling you. Okay.

[Host]

Terminator 2.

[Participant 2]

Wow. He knew this. Wow. It was a sequel. You knew.

[Host]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that movie. I know.

[Participant 2]

Yes.

[Host]

Wow. I know that movie. All the way down to the ground. It's a great mov I. And I cannot remember who did the score to that because it's not a great score, actually.

[Participant 2]

Brad. Fidel.

[Host]

Yeah. Brad. Fidel. It's not an amazing score. It's. It works, but it's not amazing.

[Participant 1]

Next.

[Host]

I know this.

[Participant 1]

You know.

[Host]

Singing in the Rain.

[Participant 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Participant 2]

Nice.

[Participant 1]

That was hard to start with.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah. The intro.

[Participant 2]

Do you know the composer? Because that. I've only thought about. Gene Kelly.

[Host]

No, I only know that. I only know the rest. Well, Stanley Donen is the. Is the director. Yeah. I'm trying to remember who the. Well, it's kind of weird because a lot of those songs pre. Existed the movie. And so, like, the singing. The Rain Song is. Is actually like a 1920s song that gets. That gets recapitulated and moved into the 50s. Because it's. Because the whole movie takes place in the 20s. Right. It's silent era. Who's the composer on it?

[Participant 2]

Nacio. Herb Brown.

[Host]

Yeah, I was gonna get that. Yeah.

[Participant 1]

All right, next one.

[Host]

Back to the Future.

[Participant 2]

Nice.

[Host]

Composer. It's. Oh, my gosh. I know exactly who it is. Yeah. He did. Forrest Gump. He did. It's.

[Participant 1]

You know that little groundhog that goes.

[Host]

What?

[Participant 1]

You know the name? He says.

[Participant 2]

Oh, my gosh. These are the craziest hints I've ever heard.

[Host]

Exactly.

[Participant 2]

Jurassic Park 3T Rex is saying this to Sam Neill. Alan.

[Participant 1]

Yeah.

[Host]

Alan Sylvester.

[Participant 2]

Yeah.

[Participant 1]

You knew what I was talking about.

[Host]

By the way, one of the great cues in movie history, the cue between when Doc goes up, when he's sent downstairs, before the lightning hits the tower, when the wind blows down the wire, that cue from there, it's when Marty gets back to the future, which is like an 11 minute cue. Amazingly good cue. Amazingly good cue.

[Participant 2]

What a good movie. Robert Zemeckis had a big fall off.

[Host]

He did. He's one of. It's amazing how, you know, Francis Ford Coppola is about to auction off his watches because he spends so much money on Megalopolis.

[Participant 1]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Participant 2]

No, no.

[Participant 1]

No, no, no, no.

[Participant 2]

Final Cut's important.

[Host]

Been.

[Participant 1]

Are you going to be placing any bids on any of this?

[Host]

Dude, if, if that. If it's a live auction and it's taking place on Shabbat. If it were not taking place on shabbat, I would 100% put a bid on one of his paddocks, no question. Absolutely. And it would smell like weed for sure.