It's been years since I watched Braveheart, although I still consider it one of my favorite films. Today, probably for the first time in over a decade, I slipped James Horner's movie soundtrack into my stereo and instantly could see pivotal scenes in my head.

Lest you forget, Braveheart was not very accurate from a historical perspective, but it was still a powerful film that got a lot right and deserved its many awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Director. Although it didn't win, Braveheart's musical score was nominated by the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA. (It lost, respectively, to Luis Bacalov's Il Postino, Maurice Jarre's A Walk in the Clouds and, again, Il Postino.)

But the music is stirring, potent, and it's evocative of the gripping scenes as Mel Gibson's fictionalized Wallace loses his bid for a peaceful life and foments rebellion against the English king. Horner, of course, was one of Hollywood's most prolific composers until his untimely death in 2015, and for this score he used the always-exceptional London Symphony Orchestra.

The music instantly takes me back to the sad scenes, the romantic moments and, particularly, those amazing battles.

Horner's music is a robust backdrop to the epic film, tugging at your heartstrings when necessary and steeling many a Scottish spine for battle. After all these years, it's still a moving collection of cinematic music.

The later release of a second soundtrack, More Music from Braveheart, is interesting for completists and movie fanatics, but it's largely unnecessary. Some music repeats from the original soundtrack, other incidental music is largely forgettable, and some pieces never appeared in the film at all -- including a few extraneous tunes for massed bagpipes.

Also, the inclusion of so much movie dialogue is more intrusive than enjoyable. (If I wanted to hear the actors speaking, I'd watch the movie.)

Heck, I guess some people will enjoy hearing Robert the Bruce's narration, Longshanks' plan to breed the Scots out of Scotland and Wallace's rousing "Sons of Scotland" speech -- or his dying cry of "Freeeeeeedom!!!" -- without having to fast-forward through the other scenes. Most of the dialogue, though, seems to be there simply to pad out the run-time.

For most folks, the original Braveheart soundtrack should be sufficient.