Drawing on theories of musical expectation (Huron 2006) and comparative score analysis, this presentation demonstrates the ways in which the musical features in three iconic film cues can evoke intensified emotional responses. "Bike chase" (E.T., 1982), "The Launch" (Apollo 13, 1995) and "Gryffindor Wins" (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001) serve as a lens through which my paper explores the emotive potential of contrastive valence through three different decades. The synthesis of features both shown on-screen as well as heard in the film score yields particularly emotive responses given a high degree of contrastive valence, a la Huron (2006) and LeDoux (2000). By broadening the parameters that constitute contrastive valence to transcend harmony and include meter, timbre, and form, my comparative analysis attempts to deepen our understanding of intensified emotion in a cross-section of iconic film cues which may impact film goers and music theorists alike.