Favorite Film Composer?

[ReamusLQ]

I considered making this a poll, but I realized there are just way too many out there. Who do you consider to be one of the best composers for film scores? What movie helped bring you to this conclusion? WHY do you like the composer so much? I personally have a few, but in order:

1) Danny Elfman. No one can top this genious. Everything from Rock (Oingo Boing) to Edward Scissor Hands (one of the prettiest scores ever written is Ice Dance) to Jazz (He arranged all of the music for Chicago.) This man can do everything and anything. I believe him to be the most unique.

2) Jan A. P. Kaczmarek. He is a rising composer, but his latest work is the music of Finding Neverland, which I find absolutely enchanting. He is very Danny Elfman-like in his arrangements and choice of melodies, but he is aboslutely brilliant. I am actually listening to Finding Neverland as I type this, and it never ceases to amaze me.

3) Probably Alan Silvestri. Although he did rip off almost the entire score of The Polar Express from Danny Elfman's Edward Scissor Hands, he did compose Forrest Gump and the music to Van Helsing (as bad a movie as that was, the music was pretty damn cool.)

Those are probably my top three. Other's would include Han Zimmer because of Gladiator and Pirates of Penzance, and possibly John Williams, although all of his music sounds the same to me. Superman, Starwars, Indiana Jones...they all have almost the exact same theme and chord progression and they are all big and grand and like..."HERE I AM! I WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN WILLIAMS! THIS MOVIE ROCKS WOOOOHOOOO!" However, I do respect the music John Williams wrote for Saving Private Ryan, Harry Potter, and the 2002 Winter Olympics. My two cents...is anyone else even into music enough to tell me their favorites or notice the music in movies more than the actual movie itself?

[Kon-Tiki]

You forgot Badalamenti. He's awesome too.

[Wael]

Danny Elfman, yes,
But You forgot to mention Nightmare before Chrismas,
One of his best /-

[ReamusLQ]

Nightmare Before Christmas is one of his best, as is the Finale theme from Batman. Spiderman kicks major @$$ and the music is super intense, but Big Fish has such beautiful music...Although I still believe Edward Scissor Hands is his best score (he does too, from what I've researched.) It is actually one of the scores that he enjoyed writing so much, he didn't have a "ghost writer" do any of it for him.

[Strobe]

great thread, reamus!!! :ok:

my favourite composers are:

hans zimmer (the score for "the thin red line" was just marvellous)
howard shore (love him for his "lord of the rings" and "seven" music)
vangelis (amazing job on "bladerunner")
ennio morricone (nearly all of his work were amazing, imo)

of course there are others like john williams and ferry corsten, but the ones
mentioned above have entered my eternal olymp of movie composers for
suere :)

[ReamusLQ]

Originally posted by Strobe@Feb 15 2005, 11:50 AM
great thread, reamus!!! :ok:

my favourite composers are:

hans zimmer (the score for "the thin red line" was just marvellous)
howard shore (love him for his "lord of the rings" and "seven" music)
vangelis (amazing job on "bladerunner")
ennio morricone (nearly all of his work were amazing, imo)

of course there are others like john williams and ferry corsten, but the ones
mentioned above have entered my eternal olymp of movie composers for
suere :)
Howard Shore yes, I did not forget about him. And while I loved the Lord of the Rings music...I dunno :bleh: It's a personal taste.

The Bladerunner music was awesome...yeah...I never knew who did it though, so thanks.

Ennio Morcione. He wrote the music for The Mission didn't he? Gabriel's Oboe is one of the prettiest songs, even if it is only a minute and a half long. That oboe is so gorgeous...mmm...I think I might start listening to it right now! :-p

I also loved Hans Zimmer work on Backdraft. Man that's got a kickass theme.

[Strobe]

ennio morricone wrote the score of "once upon a time in the west" and
"untouchables"! he's one of the most impressive composers known to hollywood, imo!

[Stroggy]

I pretty much agree with you. Danny Elfman is my favourite composer aswell, his themes are just so amazing, its breathtaking! I think his best score was that of Nightmare Before Christmas, I still remember the lyrics
"find a deep cave to hide in
in a million years they'll find me
only dust
and a plaque
which reads: here lies poor old jack"

The theme he made for Fable is pretty good too

[Sebatianos]

Originally posted by Strobe@Feb 15 2005, 09:50 PM
...
vangelis (amazing job on "bladerunner")
ennio morricone (nearly all of his work were amazing, imo)
...
Those two are definetly high on the list!

Vangelis made some other great tracks (including Platoon, 1492 - the Conquest of Paradise,...)
Enzio made some great scores, but I can't say all of it is great. Him and Sergio Leone made around 200 moves together, but only - "only" - about 15 of them would be really great.

I'd also have to add Cole Porter (most of the old school musicals - like High Society, Singing in the Rain,...).

But what interests me more is this:

-Which soundtrack is on your top 10 list (not only music writen for the movie, but also music that was used in a movie, even if writen for a completely different purpose - like: Also Sprach Zharatustra (by Richard Strauss), that was brilliantly used in Kubrick's 2001 (writen by Arthur C. Clarke).

[Fawfulhasfury]

Elton John from the Lion King.

[wendymaree]

Thanks for this thread, Reamus. Really interesting stuff. :D

One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard was by Mike Oldfield. He composed Tubular Bells and the rest of the music for The Exorcist. When you listen to Tubular Bells (the song...not the soundtrack) you can hear the entire story of the film. Not only did he capture the story, but he composed a melody and orchestration that was utterly compelling and ahead of its time.

I loved the music from The Matrix but don't know who was responsible. Can someone help me out here?

As far as Danny Elfman goes, he seems to have done so much. You see his name everywhere. But, for me, his work is a little bland...it doesn't have enough flavour or something. But, then, I admit I haven't heard most of his work. (Getting a DVD notebook next week, so I'm hoping to catch up on all things movie)

John Williams...hmmm...he certainly does do the big orchestrations. But they've got such style and drama and power that I love them.

The work of Vangelis....I listened to some of their soundtracks ages ago, but I can't remember much about them. Their work obviously didn't move me to any great degree.

I'm fond of music from Disney animated films...The Lion King was fabulous....that's what movie music is about, I think. Who would have thought Elton John had that extra dimension within him?

[ReamusLQ]

Don Davis wrote the music to The Matrix

[Puffin]

Danny Elfman
Howard Shore
John Williams
Hans Zimmer is also really cool
and the list goes on and on...

I'm actually listening to the music from Nightmare before christmas right now ;)

@Stroggy: Those lines you mentioned, I love them. They're so.. powerful, somehow :sneaky: (Look at my sig :bleh: )

[Reup]

Morricone's score for "Once upon a time in the west" is simply superb! (Humming tunes right now). I also really like his score for 'The Legend of 1900", in which he did the non-Jelly Roll Morton songs. I'd have to say he's my number one!

Elfman I like best for the theme of the Simpsons and the Chicago score. As Wendymaree points out, he is very good, but sometimes he's just not surprising.

[gildedgirth]

Can't believe no one mentioned Morricone's score for 'Good, The Bad, The Ugly'. Ironic that one of the greatest Western's ever, and made by not an American directory by an Italian, the great Sergio Leone. While other Morricone movie score's are arguably better works, its definitely his most well known with the mass public. I still love his 'Fistful of Dollars' score but he still is putting out quality work to this day. I'd say his Kill Bill work is some of his best, unless that was recommissioned work by Tarentino.

I'd like to add Bernard Hermann to the list. Best known for his work with Hitchcock on movies like 'Psycho', his powerful, often tension filled music is also remembered well in Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. His music is unmistakable.

heh, glad to see so many film fans here. I agree with most of the other posts. Yeah Vangelis and Hans Zimmer rocks.

Another person I like a lot is Georges Delerue, who became well known for his work in French New Wave cinema, like Jean-Luc Godard's 'Contempt (Le Mepris)' and Alain Resnais 'Hiroshima mon amour'

I'm going to have to browse through my tapes and DVD's to remember more directors. Been awhile since I've thought about music director's since attending film school.

[wendymaree]

Originally posted by gildedgirth@Feb 16 2005, 12:56 PM
Can't believe no one mentioned Morricone's score for 'Good, The Bad, The Ugly'. Ironic that one of the greatest Western's ever, and made by not an American directory by an Italian, the great Sergio Leone. While other Morricone movie score's are arguably better works, its definitely his most well known with the mass public. I still love his 'Fistful of Dollars' score but he still is putting out quality work to this day. I'd say his Kill Bill work is some of his best, unless that was recommissioned work by Tarentino.


Completely forgot about that one. Thanks for reminding us. That soundtrack was incredible...has everything I like to find in a soundtrack: contained the essential essence of the move, had a stirring and memorable melody, and the orchestration was original and spot on for the type of film - not just the usual boring line-up of strings, piano, guitar. I'd go as far as saying that the opening song, especially, seemed to make TGBATU a better film than it already was. Morricone (didn't realise it was done by him) must be close to genius class.

Come to think of it, though, I like nearly all the themes from Westerns.

[ReamusLQ]

Originally posted by Reup@Feb 16 2005, 12:57 AM
Elfman I like best for the theme of the Simpsons and the Chicago score. As Wendymaree points out, he is very good, but sometimes he's just not surprising.
What do you mean he's not suprising? His music is so diverse, and he can do so many different styles! What is not suprising about his compositions? Ice Dance is one of the prettiest songs ever written. Beatlejuice has such an awesome driving theme based around two diminished chords. The Finale to Batman is so grand and hearing it just makes me smile. I find him much more diverse than John Williams...his stuff all starts to sound the same (to test this, hum the theme to Starwars, then hum the theme for Superman, then go back to Starwars, and try Superman again...most people fail miserably and get stuck on Starwars.)

[Calamity]

I'd definately say (though he does more than just films) that Harry Gregson-Williams would have to be my favorite composer. I believe his most recent movie work was the Shrek series. :P

Mr Williams has also composed probably some of the best video game music I've ever heard (he scored both Metal Gear Solid 2 and most of 3).

[bohor]

hm, well that would be more guys like Ennio Morricone, RZA aka Boby Digital, and Clint Mansell (requiem for a dream soundtrack)

[Stroggy]

Originally posted by wendymaree@Feb 16 2005, 03:54 AM


One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard was by Mike Oldfield.


As far as Danny Elfman goes, he seems to have done so much. You see his name everywhere. But, for me, his work is a little bland...it doesn't have enough flavour or something


A friend of mine is a huge fan of Mike Oldfield.

As for Elfman's work being bland, I disagree.
What exactly do yopu mean by 'bland'?

I found his fable theme amazing, it told the entire story, the dual paths of good and evil, the internal and external struggle throughout the game. He has changed styles numerous times and, whereas he used to make only dark and weird themes, he has now proven that he is also very good at heroic and uplifting themes.

My only comment on his work is that he has grown too fond of those drums (don't know what they're called but you hear them in nearly every new soundtrack of his) But except for that the man is a musical genious!

John Williams used to be my favourite but his work has deteriorated at a fast pace over the last few years. He is now getting better again but there was a very noticable decline in his work (he hit a low with the soundtrack of Episode 1, I think)

[Reup]

Originally posted by ReamusLQ+Feb 16 2005, 04:46 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (ReamusLQ @ Feb 16 2005, 04:46 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-Reup@Feb 16 2005, 12:57 AM
Elfman I like best for the theme of the Simpsons and the Chicago score. As Wendymaree points out, he is very good, but sometimes he's just not surprising.
What do you mean he's not suprising? His music is so diverse, and he can do so many different styles! What is not suprising about his compositions? Ice Dance is one of the prettiest songs ever written. Beatlejuice has such an awesome driving theme based around two diminished chords. The Finale to Batman is so grand and hearing it just makes me smile. I find him much more diverse than John Williams...his stuff all starts to sound the same (to test this, hum the theme to Starwars, then hum the theme for Superman, then go back to Starwars, and try Superman again...most people fail miserably and get stuck on Starwars.) [/b][/quote]
I don't doubt the mans versatility nor his talent, but his compositions are sometimes just what you would expect them to be, hence not surprising. That means, they're not bad or even unpleasent to listen, but just a bit... plain.

You already pointed out that you don't like Williams, and since I've not mentioned him at all I wonder why you drag him to the scene again, but compared to him, I'd have to say Elfman is an utter genious.

[ReamusLQ]

The John Williams comment was geared towards Wendymaree, sorry.

[wendymaree]

We all have different levels of experience and musical appreciation, but we can still express our opinions accordingly, without anyone taking offence :) All these composers are talented and have produced great music and we all agree about that...it's just that due to our individual tastes, we like some more than others.

@ Stroggy I've gone out of my depth here a bit with my Elfman comments as I can't even remember any of his music although I've seen his name in the credits many times. But as I don't remember any, I know this means I didn't find the music interesting or different enough to remember. But I do remember once being disappointed as I thought his music sounded unoriginal and ordinary. And the movies you mentioned I haven't seen. I'll do my best to catch up on them. However, this doesn't mean that he's not the greatest or the best. This is just my impression. And the impression of someone who rarely listens to music, too. But I do compose it, professionally, on occasions.

[Anovich]

I'm gonna have to jump on the Danny Elfman and Angelo Badalamenti train :)

[littleguybrush]

Gotta agree with just about everyone mentioned so far. As for my two cents: Jon Brion. He always manages to bring something interesting and quirky to films that are already interesting and quirky. I'm still trying to figure out where his Oscar nod is for his Eternal Sunshine score, but that's something else altogether..

[Dreadlord]

Whoever composed the music for Aliens is my top number, lemme go see his name...

(Looks at fancy Quadrilogy Set)

James Horner, the music at the end right when the queen is getting sucked through the airlock, and Sigourney closes it, that music is being used in so many commericals and films these days that it's almost impossible not to notice.

[Luchsen]

Originally posted by Strobe+Feb 15 2005, 08:50 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Strobe @ Feb 15 2005, 08:50 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ennio morricone (nearly all of his work were amazing, imo) [/b]
:ok: :ok: :ok:

over 400 films! (but only about 30 western)

Unfortunately he is only popular with
A Fistful Of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Once Upon A Time In America
Frantic
Kill Bill (not new composed).

But there are many more good ones - films and compositions.

---

John Williams: five Academy Awards (35 nominations!)

---

For TV series I prefer Mike Post and Pete Carpenter.

---

******QuoteBegin-Sebatianos@Feb 15 2005, 10:41 PM
But what interests me more is this:

-Which soundtrack is on your top 10 list (not only music writen for the movie, but also music that was used in a movie, even if writen for a completely different purpose* - like: Also Sprach Zharatustra (by Richard Strauss), that was brilliantly used in Kubrick's 2001 (writen by Arthur C. Clarke). [/quote]

Mambo Jambo by Perez Prado (Mean Guns with Christopher Lambert)
Misirlou by Dick Dale and the Deltones (Pulp Fiction)

[Sebatianos]

I recently saw The Fountainhead (an old movie with Gary Cooper) and saw Max Steiner as the music composer. I remembered that name from many other old movies, so I checked my archive. He made some of the best athmospheric movie music in the old dramas. He loved the violines.

And I have to mention Prokofiev - the Russian composer (who also wrote the music for some of the old Russian classical movies - like Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible).

Also I'd like to mention Timothy Howard. He's the one who made the music for the new release of Nosferatu. Excelent movie and because it's a silent movie, the musical score really needs to be perfect in order for the movie to work. This was is simply horrific.

[Chuck the plant]

@ Reamus: I strongly have to disagree with you about John Williams. It's true that his work is not anymore what it used to be, but the Soundtrack of Star Wars IV-VI is one of THE masterpieces of film music. Everything has its right timing, pacing etc here. If you listen carefully, the "same chords" etc is no sign of missing inspiration, those are called "themes" and "variations", because that's one of the main points of those soudtracks- characters, locations, they all have their own corresponding themes, which get varied and reprised during all of those movies. It's a sad thing Williams kinda lost that approach for his newer soundtracks. :(

Other than that:

- Ennio Morricone: Needless to say any more (maybe that there are many great soundtracks for movies that I think are rather unknown in the US, like many Belmondo-movies - LOVE "The Professional")

- Basil Poledouris: For "Conan" alone he deserves a memorial

No one else really comes to mind.

[Luchsen]

:w00t: Here in Germany the Jean-Paul Belmondo season is just over (in Germany film series are shown at more or less specific times). I've watched them all for the sixth time. :D

[Maikel]

ennio morricone all the way!

The godfather series
The good, the bad and the ugly and all related movies
Bladerunner

:cheers:

[Sebatianos]

Bladerunner - that's Vangelis...
I think I said it before, but that's just brilliant.
Vangelis also made the soundtracks for Platoon and Conquest of Paradise, Bounty (the new version with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins)...

EDIT: Sorry, that's The Year of Living Dangerously - not Platoon - my bad!

[Stroggy]

Ah, there are so many great ones out there.
Danny Elfman, John Williams (his older work), Hans Zimmer.

James Horner is okay, but he always uses the same melody and tunes... it gets annoying, almost all his works sound alike.

[Flop]

I'm going with Ennio Morricone, like a lot of you guys. But other than that I've got to admit that I kind of like a lot of John Carpenter's work. I know, it's strange, but I like it dammit!

[Luchsen]

Originally posted by Flop@Mar 27 2005, 12:59 AM
But other than that I've got to admit that I kind of like a lot of John Carpenter's work. I know, it's strange, but I like it dammit!
:Brain: Another John Carpenter fan!!! (I've forgotten to mention him - but I also can't mention all great ones.)

[Chuck the plant]

Hell Yeah, how could I forget John Carpenter. I love his Synthies.

Brings up someone else: Jan Hammer. Not really one of the greatest, but in his time and place definetely somebody...

[Tulac]

I like Yann Tiersen, he made music for Amelie...

[Danny252]

I should really start to memorise film credits