For the way he handles each scene, and the pieces he's written... I'd have to put my money on Randy Newman. What does he have like 14 Oscars??? Enough said!
He range is so wide. You have the scene where the thread roll off the baseball in "The Natural", the campfire scene in "The Three Amigos!", theme to "Maverick"... not to mention songs he's written for "Toy Story" and "Meet the Parents".
He comes from a long list of great composers, including Alfred Newman... his father. I'm a huge fan of Randy's, outside of everything he did for Hollywood... I got a bunch of his albums... so maybe I'm a bit bias.
Don't get me wrong... Hollywood is full of great people like Randy. Being a huge fan of PTA pictures, there is something about Jon Brion but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't mention Randy.
Just curious what others think? Who are your favorites???
alan silvestri
danny elfman
jerry goldsmith
ennio morricone
angelo badalamenti
Quote from: ckad79I'd have to put my money on Randy Newman. What does he have like 14 Oscars??? Enough said!
He's been nominated 16 times, but only has one Oscar. And I think his cousins David and Thomas are better composers. Alfred was his uncle, not father.
Quote from: ckad79Who are your favorites???
Bernard Herrmann
Ennio Morricone
Max Steiner
Franz Waxman
Elmer Bernstein
Danny Elfman
Angelo Badalamenti
Danny Elfman is the standard in innovative film music. And Nino Rota before him.
Recently I really like Thomas Newman.
I'm conflicted about James Horner.
..rza..clint w/kronos(all it took was one collaborative effort .and its classic)...and angelo.....
and lastly special mention has to go out to tony Basil for her brilliant musical cues in lynch's sci-fi epic magna -opus-epical conception of Dune.....
Philip Glass's work in The Hours is one of the only scores that has really stood out for me. So yeah, him.
u got to give it up to hans zimmer. even when the movie sucks, the music is good.
and i enthusiastically second thomas newman.
elfman's last few scores were pretty forgettable.
Bernard Hermann is still the best. I've always loved Elfman, and he's definitely one of the all time greats thanks to Batman, Pee Wee and Edward Scissorhands, but he's become rather boring. So have most well-known composers, actually. Thomas Newman sometimes does good stuff but is also very safe (although not necessarily as safe as James Newton Howard), and James Horner has only done one good score (A Beautiful Mind) since he fell in love with Irish and Scottish string instruments. Howards Shore and Carter Burwell still consistently impress me, though. Howard Shore's stuff in 'The Cell' was really original, not to mention his Cronenberg collaborations and the LOTR films (and Burton's only non-Elfman collaboration).
Most underused composer would have to be Wojciech Kilar (or however you spell it) who did an absolutely amazing score for Bram Stoker's Dracula, and briefly resurfaced last year to provide The Piano with its original music.
I hate to sound cliched, but the most exciting composer working today would be Jon Brion. It's just a fact.
Quote from: GhostboyJames Horner has only done one good score (A Beautiful Mind) since he fell in love with Irish and Scottish string instruments.
I'm a fan of the Braveheart score, though it may be a Holst rip-off.
Quote from: GhostboyI hate to sound cliched, but the most exciting composer working today would be Jon Brion. It's just a fact.
I have to agree, and I honestly think there's nothing more underappreciated than his Magnolia score.
I have the Braveheart score too -- and the Titanic score :oops: !
But I would counter the high quality of those soundtracks with almost every other score he's written since, the worst most likely being Bicentennial Man, which was almost a note-for-note rip off of his Braveheart score, which was indeed a huge ripoff of Holst in the first place.
Moriconne. all the way.
morricone. I think that "for a few dollars more" is his best work
ghostboy, you're right about dracula, I don't know the guy, but I'm now remembering how great that score was.
Goran Bregovic- underground, arizona dream and black cat white cat have awesome scores
Thomas Newman and John Williams are our best
Quote from: rustinglassmorricone. I think that "for a few dollars more" is his best work
ghostboy, you're right about dracula, I don't know the guy, but I'm now remembering how great that score was.
Goran Bregovic- underground, arizona dream and black cat white cat have awesome scores
didn't Emir Kusturica did the music for Underground and Black Cat White Cat?
Uhh..
John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry?
I can't believe I didn't seen them at least mentioned. These guys are icons.
Obviously Danny Elfman is on this list. I love Jon Brion's scores of both Magnolia and PDL. I think he's an up and coming composer. Howard Shore is fantastic as well.
Some others..
Philip Glass
Hans Zimmer
Thomas Newman
Elmer Bernstein (Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mocking Bird)
definately Thomas Newman.
Quote from: chuckhimselfo.Quote from: rustinglassmorricone. I think that "for a few dollars more" is his best work
ghostboy, you're right about dracula, I don't know the guy, but I'm now remembering how great that score was.
Goran Bregovic- underground, arizona dream and black cat white cat have awesome scores
didn't Emir Kusturica did the music for Underground and Black Cat White Cat?
I checked:
goran did underground and arizona dream; the black cat white cat score was done by emir kusturica and the no smoking orchestra, a cool cool band.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emirkusturica-nosmoking.com%2Feng%2FPhotos%2FKust1.jpg&hash=3528e78884159e3e0cc556f66945621d443e6fe7)
my favourite director, he rocks.
Yes, he's a true artist, IMO. I liked his cameo in The Good Thief.
Yeah he's great
I love Badalamenti a lot of course, Morricone is obvious. These are the only two that I immediatly recognize I think, maybe with Elfman too.
I loved Neil Young's score for Dead Man. Loved !
glad to know you're kusturica fans! there can never be enough of us.
He's got a new film coming out in cannes this year. I would like him to be the first director to ever win 3 golden palms.
Quote from: MyxomatosisI love Jon Brion's scores of both Magnolia and PDL. I think he's an up and coming composer.
Up and coming? I think he's already made better film music than most hollywood veterans, including Hans Zimmer and Jerry Goldsmith, who I think are incredibly overrated.
My favorite is Angelo Badalamenti and Danny Elfman is right up there too.
Jon Brion and Angelo Badalamenti are great too.
Call him repetivie, call him boring or clichèd, but I won't allow this tread to go on without another mention of John Williams, it would be criminal. Not that the Oscars are any standard to judge quality by, but the guy's got 42 noms for christ sakes! Five wins! Not too many composers (if any) can top his body of work. Love him, loathe him, don't ignore him.
John Williams (favorites include: E.T., Indiana Jones Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy, Seven Years in Tibet)
Thomas Newman (favorites include: The Shawshank Redemption, Finding Nemo, American Beauty)
Jerry Goldsmith (favorites include: Basic Instinct, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential)
i'm a fan of mark motherbaugh's work. I think it is truly unique
and of course thomas newman. I love his score to The Shawshank Redemption
Quote from: Jeremy BlackmanQuote from: MyxomatosisI love Jon Brion's scores of both Magnolia and PDL. I think he's an up and coming composer.
Up and coming? I think he's already made better film music than most hollywood veterans, including Hans Zimmer and Jerry Goldsmith, who I think are incredibly overrated.
I didn't mean "up and coming" in the sense that he isn't as good as any composer working today. I meant that he hasn't worked on that many films yet.
Composer - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Blossoms & Blood (2003) (V)
... aka Blossoms and Blood (2003) (V) (USA: DVD title)
Home Video: The Making of Mad Matt (2002)
... aka Adventures of Mad Matt, The (2003) (USA: new title)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Magnolia (1999)
... aka mag-no'li-a (1999) (USA: promotional title)
Sydney (1996)
... aka Hard Eight (1997) (USA: changed title) He's composing his 4th feature film. His career is pretty fresh.
Quote from: Myxomatosis
Composer - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Just when I thought my anticipation for this film couldn't get any higher...
Quote from: ®edlumElmer Bernstein (Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mocking Bird)
...and
World of Henry Orient and
Far from Heaven (fantastic score, that) and his re-do of Herrmann for
Cape Fear... yes, he's a good one.
Michael Nyman.... has anyone mentioned Michael Nyman yet? It's impossible to think of Greenaway without him, and he did really excellent scores for
Wonderland and
End of the Affair, as well.
The Piano- meh. But he's had more hits than misses, absolutely.
Badalamenti and Brion are brilliant, as well.
Danny Elfman really helps me to relax...
I've grown tired of scores that sound like every other score that's ever been written. Elfman and Williams do what they do well, but they do it over and over.... and over.....
Jon Brion does great stuff, of course. Clint Mansell, specifically "Requiem For A Dream"; great. My current favorite, though, is Cliff Martinez. His scores are almost more atmosphere than music (such as "Narc" or "Solaris"), but they're so different, and so powerfully moving. He goes a long way toward proving that the whole orchestral arrangement that's in 99.8% of all movies might not, in fact, be the most effective approach. "The Limey" was another classic of his.
Quote from: polkabluesI've grown tired of scores that sound like every other score that's ever been written. Elfman and Williams do what they do well, but they do it over and over.... and over.....
Jon Brion does great stuff, of course. Clint Mansell, specifically "Requiem For A Dream"; great. My current favorite, though, is Cliff Martinez. His scores are almost more atmosphere than music (such as "Narc" or "Solaris"), but they're so different, and so powerfully moving. He goes a long way toward proving that the whole orchestral arrangement that's in 99.8% of all movies might not, in fact, be the most effective approach. "The Limey" was another classic of his.
I do actually remember the music from
The Limey more vividly than I remember anything else about it...
Oscar-winning composer Goldsmith dies
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Academy Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith, who created the memorable music for scores of classic movies and television shows ranging from the "Star Trek" and "Planet of the Apes" series to "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Dr. Kildare," has died. He was 75.
Goldsmith died in his sleep Wednesday night at his Beverly Hills home after a long battle with cancer, said Lois Carruth, his personal assistant.
A classically trained composer and conductor who began musical studies at age 6, Goldsmith's award-dappled Hollywood career -- he was nominated for 17 Academy Awards, won one, and also took home five Emmys -- spanned nearly half a century.
He crafted an astonishing number of TV and movie scores that have become classics in their own right. From the clarions of "Patton" to the syrupy theme for TV's "The Waltons," Goldsmith sometimes seemed virtually synonymous with soundtracks.
He took on action hits such as "Total Recall," which he considered one of his best scores, as well as the "Star Trek" movies and more lightweight fare, like his most recent movie theme, for last year's "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." His hundreds of works included scores for "The Blue Max," "L.A. Confidential," "Basic Instinct" and "Chinatown."
Goldsmith's output also spilled into television, with the themes for shows including "Dr. Kildare," "Barnaby Jones" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He also wrote a fanfare that is used in Academy Awards telecasts.
He won his Oscar for best original score in 1976 for "The Omen." He also earned five Emmy Awards and was nominated for nine Golden Globe awards, though he never won one. (List of Goldsmith's credits)
"He could write anything. He did Westerns, comedies," Carruth said. "He preferred writing for more character-driven, quiet films but somehow they kept coming back to him for the action films."
Born February 10, 1929 in Los Angeles, Goldsmith studied with famed pianist Jacob Gimpel and pianist, composer and film musician Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He fell in love with movie composing when he saw the 1945 Ingrid Bergman movie "Spellbound," Carruth said, and while attending the University of California took classes with Miklos Rozsa, who wrote the Oscar-winning score for that film.
In 1950, he got a job as a clerk typist at CBS and eventually got assignments for live radio shows, writing as much as one score a week. He later turned to television.
In the late 1950s he began composing for movies. His career took off in the 1960s with such major films as "Lonely Are the Brave" and "The Blue Max." He earned his first Academy Award nomination for his work on 1962's "Freud."
Goldsmith was known for his versatility and his experimentation. He added electronics to the woodwinds and brasses of his scores. For 1968's "Planet of the Apes," he got a blaring effect by having his musicians blow horns without mouthpieces. With a puckish sense of humor, he reportedly wore an ape mask while conducting the score.
"He experimented a lot and that's what made him so popular with his fans," Carruth said. "When he wrote, he got inside of the characters and he wrote what he felt they were thinking and feeling."
Some of his motion picture scores were adapted for ballets. Goldsmith also wrote composed orchestral pieces and taught occasional music classes at local universities.
He is survived by his wife, Carol; children Aaron, Joel, Carrie, Ellen Edson and Jennifer Grossman, six grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
cnn.com (http://www.cnn.com)
jon brion
danny elfman
philip glass