Soundtrack Composers?

[David Meek]

With the recent passing of Jerry Goldsmith and then Elmer Bernstein leaving us a couple of days ago, I've been thinking about movie composers. I dug into my personal little database and pulled up the list of composers for my 450+ DVDs. Here's all of them with at least 5 titles:

30 Jerry Goldsmith
23 James Horner
18 John Williams
18 Michael Kamen
16 James Newton Howard
12 Hans Zimmer
10 Carter Burwell
10 Danny Elfman
8 Alan Silvestri
8 Basil Poledouris
8 Graeme Revell
8 Randy Edelman
7 Ennio Morricone
7 Trevor Jones
6 David Arnold
6 Howard Shore
6 Trevor Rabin
5 Dimitri Tiomkin
5 Elliot Goldenthal
5 Elmer Bernstein
5 John Debney
5 Thomas Newman

The one thing that stands out the most is that 6 people created over 1/4 of all the soundtracks I own!

I was really surprised in that I thought James Newton Howard would be at the top. And, I was surprised that I only had 5 Bernstein titles. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite composer out of all the excellent soundtracks they've created, but SOME of my favorites are:

Ry Cooder
Tangerine Dream
Vangelis

[glangston@socal]

North by Northwest

is my favorite. It seems the CD and DVD came from different sources. The wife thinks I'm crazy to think this is worth watching again and again but I think it's the music that is really the driving force here.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000033L8/103-1728867-0435844?v=glance

[Burke Strickland]

Four Scores men of the Apocalypse

Great talent represented by the above list, no doubt about it. They've produced many memorable scores. But how easy it is to overlook or forget some of the others who haven't been around for a while to keep adding to their oeuvre, even the ones who won a lot of accolades from their peers for their work durng their lifetimes. I’ll bet the real movie buffs among us have at least a few of the film titles in our collections with scores by these great composers:

Alex North (1910 – 1991)
• Goodfellas (1990) (song "Unchained Melody")
• Ghost (1990) (song "Unchained Melody")
• Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
• Dead, The (1987)
• Prizzi's Honor (1985)
• Under the Volcano (1984) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Dragonslayer (1981) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Bite the Bullet (1975) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Shanks (1974) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Shoes of the Fisherman, The (1968 ) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Agony and the Ecstasy, The (1965) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
• Cleopatra (1963) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score) &
• Children's Hour, The (1961)
• Misfits, The (1961)
• Spartacus (1960) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• "77 Sunset Strip" (1958/I)
• Rainmaker, The (1956) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Unchained (1955) (song "Unchained Melody") (nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song)
• Rose Tattoo, The (1955) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Miserables, Les (1952)
• Viva Zapata! (1952) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Death of a Salesman (1951) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• And many others


Miklos Rozsa (1907 – 1995)
• Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The (1974)
• Green Berets, The (1968 )
• "Dragnet 1967" (1967) TV Series (theme)
• V.I.P.s, The (1963)
• El Cid (1961) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• King of Kings (1961)
• Ben Hur (1959) (won Academy Award for Best Score) &
• Lust for Life (1956)
• Julius Caesar (1953) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Ivanhoe (1952) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Quo Vadis (1951) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• “Dragnet” (1951) TV Series (theme)
• Asphalt Jungle, The (1950)
• Adam's Rib (1949)
• Double Life, A (1947) (won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Killers, The (1946) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Lost Weekend, The (1945)
• Song to Remember, A (1945) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Spellbound (1945) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Lady on a Train (1945)
• Double Indemnity (1944) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Woman of the Town, The (1943) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Lydia (1941) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Sundown (1941) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• And many others

Nino Rota (1911- 1979)
• Lost in Translation (2003) (from film score "La Dolce vita")
• The Godfather, Part II (1974) (won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Amarcord (1973)
• The Godfather (1972) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score) &
• Satyricon (1969)
• Romeo and Juliet (1968/I)
• Taming of the Shrew, The (1967)
• 8½ (1963)
• La Dolce vita (1960)
• And many others

Bernard Hermann (1911- 1975)
OK, at least North By Northwest did make the thread before now, even if Bernard Hermann didn't get a mention by name. :>)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (from score "Twisted Nerve")
• Wonderland (2003) (from "Taxi Driver")
• Obsession (1976) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Taxi Driver (1976) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• It's Alive! (1974/I)
• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
• Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
• Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The" (1962) TV Series (17 episodes)
• Cape Fear (1962)
• Tender Is the Night (1962)
• Mysterious Island (1961) &
• 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The (1960)
... aka Worlds of Gulliver, The (1960)
• Psycho (1960)
• "Twilight Zone, The" (1959) TV Series (multiple episodes) (also themes)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The (1958 )
• Vertigo (1958 )
• Man Who Knew Too Much, The (1956)
• Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The (1956)
• Trouble with Harry, The (1955)
• Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
• Anna and the King of Siam (1946) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Devil and Daniel Webster, The (1941) (won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Citizen Kane (1941) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)

(Bernard Hermann’s music will never be confused with Elvis Presley’s) :>)

• And many more

And One More For Good Measure (pun intended) :>)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 -1957)
• Of Human Bondage (1946)
• Kings Row (1942)
• Sea Wolf, The (1941)
• Sea Hawk, The (1940) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score) &
• Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The (1939)
• Juarez (1939) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938 ) (won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Another Dawn (1937)
• Prince and the Pauper, The (1937)
• Anthony Adverse (1936) (won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Captain Blood (1935) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• And more

& denotes a score I would choose as one of the "greatest of all time" if I were composing such a list :>)

[Bob]

Wow Burke! Thanks for making up such a terrific list.

[David Meek]

More good ones, Burke. I think I have 3 Norths, 2 Rozsas and 1 Korngold.

[Burke Strickland]

Another of my faves

Maurice Jarre (1924 – )
• Ghost (1990) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988 ) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Moon Over Parador (1988 )
• Mosquito Coast, The (1986)
• Tai-Pan (1986)
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
• Witness (1985) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Passage to India, A (1984) (Won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Dreamscape (1984)
• Top Secret! (1984)
• Taps (1981)
• Resurrection (1980)
• Crossed Swords (1978 )
• Last Tycoon, The (1976)
• Message, The (1976) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Shout at the Devil (1976)
• Man Who Would Be King, The (1975)
• Mandingo (1975)
• Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The (1972) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song)
• Plaza Suite (1971)
• Stagione all'inferno, Una (1970)
• Ryan's Daughter (1970)
• Condor, El (1970)
• Only Game in Town, The (1970)
• Extraordinary Seaman, The (1969)
• Topaz (1969)
• Grand Prix (1966)
• Gambit (1966)
• Doctor Zhivago (1965) (Won Academy Award for Best Score)
• Collector, The (1965)
• Dimanches de Ville d'Avray, Les (1962) (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Score)
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962) (Won Academy Award for Best Score) &
• And many more

He's written the scores for films ranging from "guilty pleasure" (Top Secret! I'm not hiding it from you -- that's the name of the movie.) :>) to "greatest movie of all time" (Lawrence of Arabia. I don't care what AFI says; that's my pick.). I have 21 titles off this list in my movie collection (not all on DVD).

Burke

[David Meek]

2 Jarre's here.

[David Meek]

I wasn't even close. :roll: Officially, I have:

4 Jarre's - Lawrence Of Arabia, The Longest Day, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, No Way Out
3 Rozsa's - Ben Hur, The Green Berets, Time After Time
1 Korngold - The Adventures Of Robin Hood
1 North - Spartacus

Also, last night Jen and I threw in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair which has a very nice soundtrack by Bill Conti. Recommended.

[David Meek]

Okay, "score" one for Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker. I cannot get the theme music from The Day After Tomorrow out of my head. Listening to other music hasn't dislodged it either.