Movie Music Composers

[Bark's Lounge]

My favorite music movie composer is Ennio Morricone. He is tremendous x 100. 

 

Certainly, like most I love John Williams scores in Star Wars and Indiana Jones. They are iconic.

 

I also think that Hans Zimmer's work on Inception was the ultimate. That one is dark and let's me feel emotions I don't always want to feel.

 

I love movie music, and I would like to get other people's offerings on movie music they like and have a discussion.

 

It should be fun.

[ashbury]

Did you enjoy La La Land? It had music, I believe.

[Squirrel]

Oh man, Bark, there are just so many to list, and I have different categories. I have music from the three you listed. One of the biggest thrills of my career was being involved in the recording of the soundtrack to the movie 'Lincoln,' directed by Spielberg, who was on hand during the music recording process. Daniel Day Lewis was also there during the process. And of course since John Williams wrote the music he led the orchestra. If something didn't quite fit, it would be rewritten overnight, parts produced and distributed the next day and we would record that cue over again. Each piece of music isn't titled, just a digital cue number written across the top. Just an incredible, painstaking process. My souvenir was a piece of music from those sessions with John Williams' autograph.

 

But back to the question, I don't think I have a favorite. When I watch movies, I am always listening and the question I always ask is does the music overshadow, or does it successfully become a character in the film in its own right. Does it translate/enhance the scene, or is it in the way? One of the best examples of music being crucial is 'Pshycho.' That shower scene would not have been all that without the screeching 'stabs' from the violins. (Music by Bernard Hermann who collaborated with Hitchcock on his movies.)

 

And that brings up another tidbit ... some directors form bonds and often work with specific composers ... Spielberg-Williams, Burton-Elfman, Hitchcock-Hermann, Capra-Tiomkin (although that duo 'broke up' after 'It's a Wonderful Life.'), Fellini-Rota. Successful pairings always make me wonder ... did these directors understand that these composers 'made' their movies even more? Did these pairings just have a mutual understanding of each others' minds?

 

And some of these composers work beyond movie music, too. We've performed pieces by Williams, Morricone, Rota, etc, that weren't 'movie music' works.

 

Anyway ...

[Craig Arko]

A quick reply; besides the above, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, James Horner, Tom Conti, Alan Mencken; there's a lot of them.

[ashbury]

there's a lot of them.

I think, in fact, an interesting question might be who makes you cringe, or consider avoiding the movie if you see who was involved with the score.

 

I don't really have a candidate in mind. I detested the pompous theme for the initial Star Trek TOS movie, and that was Goldsmith, right? But I don't want to generalize from just one film, and he's done so much.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Certainly, like most I love John Williams scores in Star Wars and Indiana Jones. They are iconic.

When it comes to movie scores, there's John Williams and then there's everybody else.

 

Star Wars and Indy are only the tip of the iceberg of his memorable scores. I believe Indy is his best score but I'd rank at least one or two above Star Wars, which is more a testament to Williams' career than a knock on the Star Wars theme.

 

The Superman theme is amazing, possibly his best (is it humanly possible to more perfectly capture the essence of Superman with music?). His Jurassic Park score is one of my favorites. Jaws, I mean come on. Many don't realize it but Williams also scored the first few Potter films, creating yet another memorable score that is intrinsically linked to the franchise.

 

Think about each one of those movies. I bet you can hum the score without even trying.

 

As Lucas later said about Star Wars (paraphrased); almost everything about Star Wars was a compromise. Nothing met my expectations... except the score, which didn't only meet my expectations but greatly exceeded them.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Listening to the Supes score again. It gives me goosebumps. Good lord, that score is Superman. Quiet majesty transitioning into grandiose horns and perfectly capturing the character in every way.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Aw hell, now I'm just listening to all of my favorite Williams scores.

 

How does that guy so perfectly capture a film's plot and tone through sound?

 

Jurassic Park is pure awe. Jaws is disquieting repetition and terror. Star Wars is over the top epic. Indiana Jones is swashbuckling adventure. Superman is majestic. Harry Potter is playful and slightly mysterious. Saving Private Ryan is noble sacrifice.

 

It's... amazing.

[Squirrel]

The orchestra is playing the score along with the movie 'Jaws' in June. I love those programs. And Brock, we are doing a John Williams concert next year with John Williams conducting. He hasn't been back in a number of years, but it's always a great, well-attended concert and he's such a nice man. It's always interesting to me some of the things he chooses to put into a program as he has a LOT to choose from.

 

Since Ash asked, when talking about least favorite score, I don't hesitate to say music from LoTR. BORING. Sorry Howard Shore, but ugh. I also don't like scores that are heavily synthesized and loud just to be loud.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Oh man, Bark, there are just so many to list, and I have different categories. I have music from the three you listed. One of the biggest thrills of my career was being involved in the recording of the soundtrack to the movie 'Lincoln,' directed by Spielberg, who was on hand during the music recording process. Daniel Day Lewis was also there during the process. And of course since John Williams wrote the music he led the orchestra. If something didn't quite fit, it would be rewritten overnight, parts produced and distributed the next day and we would record that cue over again. Each piece of music isn't titled, just a digital cue number written across the top. Just an incredible, painstaking process. My souvenir was a piece of music from those sessions with John Williams' autograph.

But back to the question, I don't think I have a favorite. When I watch movies, I am always listening and the question I always ask is does the music overshadow, or does it successfully become a character in the film in its own right. Does it translate/enhance the scene, or is it in the way? One of the best examples of music being crucial is 'Pshycho.' That shower scene would not have been all that without the screeching 'stabs' from the violins. (Music by Bernard Hermann who collaborated with Hitchcock on his movies.)

And that brings up another tidbit ... some directors form bonds and often work with specific composers ... Spielberg-Williams, Burton-Elfman, Hitchcock-Hermann, Capra-Tiomkin (although that duo 'broke up' after 'It's a Wonderful Life.'), Fellini-Rota. Successful pairings always make me wonder ... did these directors understand that these composers 'made' their movies even more? Did these pairings just have a mutual understanding of each others' minds?

And some of these composers work beyond movie music, too. We've performed pieces by Williams, Morricone, Rota, etc, that weren't 'movie music' works.

Anyway ...

Hey Chi. Awesome response. Have you ever seen Morricone conduct in person?

 

That would be my dream concert experience, although probably close to impossible now because of his age and location.

 

He performed in L.A. 3-4 years ago and I regret not putting my resources together and attempting to get some tickets and fly out there.

 

I did tell Glunn about it at the time and told him he should go, but I don't think he took my advice.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

When it comes to movie scores, there's John Williams and then there's everybody else.

 

Star Wars and Indy are only the tip of the iceberg of his memorable scores. I believe Indy is his best score but I'd rank at least one or two above Star Wars, which is more a testament to Williams' career than a knock on the Star Wars theme.

 

The Superman theme is amazing, possibly his best (is it humanly possible to more perfectly capture the essence of Superman with music?). His Jurassic Park score is one of my favorites. Jaws, I mean come on. Many don't realize it but Williams also scored the first few Potter films, creating yet another memorable score that is intrinsically linked to the franchise.

 

Think about each one of those movies. I bet you can hum the score without even trying.

 

As Lucas later said about Star Wars (paraphrased); almost everything about Star Wars was a compromise. Nothing met my expectations... except the score, which didn't only meet my expectations but greatly exceeded them.

Not trying to downplay Williams. He is the Babe Ruth of film scores. All of our lives would be much more empty without his magical creations.

[Craig Arko]

I think, in fact, an interesting question might be who makes you cringe, or consider avoiding the movie if you see who was involved with the score.

 

I don't really have a candidate in mind. I detested the pompous theme for the initial Star Trek TOS movie, and that was Goldsmith, right? But I don't want to generalize from just one film, and he's done so much.

Perhaps this is more to your liking?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu11QRO9BrQ

[Craig Arko]

For Williams, I like some of the lesser known pieces. And not just the theme from the original Lost in Space. But this is fine...

 

[Craig Arko]

And for Horner's bona fides, the Music from Glory stacks up with the best.

 

[Craig Arko]

And maybe a little Basil Paledouris can fit in too.

 

[Squirrel]

For Williams, I like some of the lesser known pieces. And not just the theme from the original Lost in Space. But this is fine...

Schindler' List is another beautiful, but not as popular, Williams masterpiece, imo. It's always interesting, as I said above, the programs that John Williams puts together. They often include these beautiful, but not often played, music he's composed for movies. I'm sure he's answered interview questions on what his favorites are, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't those he's most well-known for. The Indiana Jones theme and the Star Wars main title theme are usually played as encores and not pieces around which the programs are created.

[ashbury]

Perhaps this is more to your liking?

It's well attuned to the subject matter of the movie, IMO.

 

The Star Trek TMP opening credits theme isn't entirely bad, actually - decent tune, wrong movie. Maybe it should've been the coronation march for a medieval drama. (Actually, I'm having a hard time pinpointing the appropriate time period, but in any case for me it was more of a regal march than an uplifting trip to the stars.)

[Craig Arko]

It's well attuned to the subject matter of the movie, IMO.

 

The Star Trek TMP opening credits theme isn't entirely bad, actually - decent tune, wrong movie. Maybe it should've been the coronation march for a medieval drama. (Actually, I'm having a hard time pinpointing the appropriate time period, but in any case for me it was more of a regal march than an uplifting trip to the stars.)

There were so many things wrong with that film; the score was one of the least. And of course they reused that theme for ST:TNG. Maybe that was a better fit.

[Brock Beauchamp]

If you edit ST:TMP down to necessary story elements that move the plot forward, it's a fantastic 14 minute film.

[ashbury]

And of course they reused that theme for ST:TNG. Maybe that was a better fit.

No. If Masterpiece Theater ever decided they needed a new theme song, THAT would be a better fit.

[ashbury]

 OK, my sincere apologies for sidetracking Bark's good question with what inadvertently turned into a Trekkie convention.

 

My favorite music movie composer is Ennio Morricone. He is tremendous x 100.

Morricone made a real impact on Tarantino's H8ful Eight. For a certain kind of movie, he's the guy.

 

Typically I end up seeing several of the nominees for Best Picture in a given year. But, as I look back at the list of Best Original Score winners through the years, it seems that I hardly ever see them. Lion King way back in 1994 might be the most recent that I saw before 2015 (and Zimmer was indeed awesome there). The Disney animated features had a real run at that time, with Menken doing such good work too.

 

Moving down slightly to "just" the nominees for Best Score, I have seen a smattering of them, but I must confess that I don't recall the scores in Interstellar, Her, Argo, War Horse, and so on. I enjoyed the movies, and a good score will aid in that in ways one might not notice.

 

Oh, and my initial response about La La Land, while tongue in cheek, was sincere. I may have already said: I don't remember the last time I came out of a theater having so thoroughly enjoyed a movie. Snippets from it run around in my head, weeks later. Hey, an odd parallel - the complex percussion in Another Day Of Sun reminds me of the drum beats in Lion King.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

 OK, my sincere apologies for sidetracking Bark's good question with what inadvertently turned into a Trekkie convention.

 

Morricone made a real impact on Tarantino's H8ful Eight. For a certain kind of movie, he's the guy.

 

Typically I end up seeing several of the nominees for Best Picture in a given year. But, as I look back at the list of Best Original Score winners through the years, it seems that I hardly ever see them. Lion King way back in 1994 might be the most recent that I saw before 2015 (and Zimmer was indeed awesome there). The Disney animated features had a real run at that time, with Menken doing such good work too.

 

Moving down slightly to "just" the nominees for Best Score, I have seen a smattering of them, but I must confess that I don't recall the scores in Interstellar, Her, Argo, War Horse, and so on. I enjoyed the movies, and a good score will aid in that in ways one might not notice.

 

Oh, and my initial response about La La Land, while tongue in cheek, was sincere. I may have already said: I don't remember the last time I came out of a theater having so thoroughly enjoyed a movie. Snippets from it run around in my head, weeks later. Hey, an odd parallel - the complex percussion in Another Day Of Sun reminds me of the drum beats in Lion King.

As a rock/experimental musician. The influence of Morricone has had a greater impact on me than anyone other film composer. I really love the little unorthodox things he would add to a musical piece and although rare, his use of guitars is exceptional in the Leone movies... "Once Upon a Time in the West" especially comes to mind.

 

I wasn't put off by your "La La Land" post and others. I have known you as one of the good guys the past 5 years. I love your quirky and intelligent sense of humor. Sometimes it leaves me flat footed and goes over my head and I feel stupid, but that's a good thing.

[Squirrel]

 

No. If Masterpiece Theater ever decided they needed a new theme song, THAT would be a better fit.

Um ... what's wrong with the Mouret Rondeau?

[ashbury]

Um ... what's wrong with the Mouret Rondeau?

Nothing. "If... ever" didn't mean "should". A parallel was being drawn, is all. Regal and measured. The ST theme just didn't fit a space opera, for me, neither for a movie nor for a teevee series.

[ashbury]

Sometimes it leaves me flat footed and goes over my head and I feel stupid, but that's a good thing.

I'm afraid that, if one doesn't get a comment of mine that is plainly being played for laughs, look lower-brow for the source, not overhead.

[Doomtints]

Hans Zimmer's body of work is very impressive. He can probably get any TV or movie gig he wants.

[Mike Sixel]

Some of the LotR score is really good. Some, not so much, Chi. I am also ambivalent about West world and GoT, music.

[Squirrel]

 

Some of the LotR score is really good. Some, not so much, Chi. I am also ambivalent about West world and GoT, music.

You know ... I've never really seen all the movies (I sort of watched the first two on dvd, then went to the last one in the theatres ... did not like, so that could have clouded my perception of the music) ... but the orchestra has played the score with the films (and are doing a repeat of all three this summer) ... and from that perspective ... ugh ... boring.

[Mike Sixel]

I can imagine playing then is boring. Very repetitive, for one. And lots of notes very similar. I do think the different races having different sound worked well...

[Craig Arko]

No one has mentioned Michael Giacchino. I think of the score from Up as maybe my favorite; certainly different from say, Doctor Strange or Rogue One.