On July 6, 2020, we said goodbye to one of the best film soundtrack composers, Ennio Morricone. At 91 years old, he has left an indisputable legacy in the history of cinema and music. With more than 500 soundtracks, Morricone has worked with great directors and has received countless awards for his work. In addition to Morricone, we also enjoy other great composers. ‘Star Wars’ would not have been the same without the soundtrack of John Williams, who with his stellar collaboration has managed to make the saga transcend generations. So, if you want to review the great soundtracks in history, we encourage you to continue reading this post. We will talk about its authors and their great successes in the film industry.
Who are the great composers of film soundtracks?
You will agree that without music, films would lose half of their essence. In addition to making them more entertaining, they also provide information to the viewer. What would horror films be without the appropriate music? Or if we talk about silent films, instrumental music served as a great support, to contextualize what was happening on the big screen.
It is since then, “the age of the silver screen” or silent cinema, that music accompanies any film that is lent. So many composers have stood out in the genre of film music throughout all this time. Let’s review some of them.
Ennio Morricone
Born in Rome on November 10, 1928, Ennio Morricone is known for having composed the music for more than 500 films and television series. He has composed numerous soundtracks for films that you are sure to know.
Under the direction of Sergio Leone and with Clint Eastwood as actor, Morricone has composed the soundtracks for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Death Had a Price ( 1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He is also the author of the music for Roland Joffé’s The Mission (1986), Brian de Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988) and Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015), among many others.
John Williams
This is another of the great composers of soundtracks in history. He was born in 1932 in Floral Park, United States, and is the author of great gems of cinema. His list of collaborations includes such famous films as Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), Superman (1978), Indiana Jones (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Schindler’s List (1993), Jurassic World (1993), followed by a long etcetera.
Vangelis
Of Greek origin, Evangelos Odysseas better known as Vangelis (1943), is the composer of the soundtrack of great films, which are part of any consolidated film library. We are talking about Chariots of Fire, released in 1981 and winner of the Oscar for “Best Soundtrack” in 1981. He is also the author of the BSO for Blade Runner (1982) and 1942: Conquest of Paradise (1992).
Hans Zimmer
The German composer (1957) is known for being a pioneer in incorporating electronic music into traditional orchestral arrangements. He is also known for being the composer of the soundtrack for The Lion King (1994), for which he won the Academy Award. He is also the author of the soundtrack for Rain Man (1988), directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Gladiator (2000), Pirates of the Caribbean, and Interstellar (2014) are titles that also bear his seal.
Nino Rota
Surely, if you listen to the first chords, you will recognize the film. The Italian Nino Rota is the composer of the soundtrack of The Godfather, directed in 1972 by Francis Ford Coppola, one of the great works of cinema without a doubt. In addition, he worked on several occasions with the director Federico Fellini, for whom he composed the soundtracks of La Dolce Vita (1960), 8½ (1963), and Casanova (1976), among others.
John Barry
Originally from Yorkshire, England (1933), he is the composer of the first 12 James Bond films. He has also been awarded the Golden Statuette on five occasions for the soundtracks of The Lion in Winter (1968), Mary Queen of Scots (1971), Born Free (1966), Out of Africa (1985) and Dances with Wolves (1990).
James Horner
The American composer is the soundtrack composer for one of the highest-grossing films in history: Titanic. Written and directed by James Cameron, it was released in 1997 and sold more than 27 million copies worldwide. With this film, James Horner won the Oscar for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song”. He is also the author of the soundtracks for other great works of cinema, such as Braveheart (1995) and Apollo 13 (1995).
Max Steiner
We go back to 1988, the year in which one of the first great composers of film soundtracks was born. Steiner, a native of Vienna, wrote the score for King Kong in 1933, with which he achieved success. After that, he composed the soundtracks for other films, for which he was nominated for an Oscar on up to 20 occasions. But it was with The Informer (1935), The Strange Passenger (1942), and Since You Went Away (1944) that he achieved success. He is also the author of the soundtrack for another classic film, Gone with the Wind (1939).
We do not want to end this review without mentioning the soundtrack of such notable films as Life is Beautiful (1997), composed by Nicola Piovini. We cannot forget The Pink Panther (1963), whose soundtrack bears the name of Henry Mancini, also composer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Psycho (1960) and Citizen Kane (1941), soundtracks composed by Bernard Herrmann and the American Bil Conti, composer of the film Rocky (1976).
As you can see, the list of composers and soundtracks is long, and their films are worth seeing. It is also true that we must include the work of women in this list since they are the authors of great compositions in film music. An example of this is the British composer Rachel Portman, the first woman to win the Oscar for “Best Soundtrack” for Emma (1996). She is also the author of the soundtrack for Chocolat (2000).
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The great female composers of film soundtracks
The world of cinema wouldn’t be the same without its iconic soundtracks, but unfortunately, many of the artists who created them haven’t received the credit they deserve. Do you know any of these female film soundtrack composers? They are responsible for adding the soul and emotional touch of music to great titles such as Emma (1996), American History X (1998), Joker (2019), and Coco (2017).
Shirley Walker
Shirley Walker was an American composer and conductor known for being a pioneer in film and television music. Her major works include film scores for such films as Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992). Additionally, Walker is known for her collaboration with Danny Elfman in creating the musical design for Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995).
Anne Dudley
This British composer and arranger was known for founding Art of Noise, an electronic music group. Among her projects as a film soundtrack composer, her work on The English Patient (1996) stands out, a film that made her an Oscar winner. In addition, she has also composed music for films such as Poldark (2015-2019) and American History X (1998).
Rachel Portman
Rachel Portman is another Oscar-winning film score composer, in this case for her work on Emma (1996). In addition to having won the golden statuette in her category, she has also been nominated on two other occasions for Chocolat (2000) and Cider House Rules (1999). Her style is characterized by a combination of classical and contemporary elements.
Mica Levi
Her experimental and avant-garde approach is what has placed Mica Levi on the list of the best film score composers. Her work on Under the Skin (2013) received numerous critical acclaim and was nominated for a BAFTA. Since then, she has worked on feature films such as Jackie (2016), for which she was nominated for an Oscar, and Monos (2019).
Lolita Ritmanis
This Latvian-American composer and conductor has worked on a wide range of film and television projects. Ritmanis has composed music for animated series such as Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000) and Teen Titans (2003-2006). In 2020, she received an Emmy nomination for her work on the film Blizzard of Souls (2019).
Hildur Guðnadóttir
This Icelandic composer has experienced a meteoric rise in the last decade and with good reason. She won an Oscar for her soundtrack for Joker (2019) and has worked on acclaimed productions such as Chornobyl (2019) and Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). Her soundtracks have one thing in common: the innovative way of using instruments and creating sound textures that contribute to the creation of emotional and immersive atmospheres.
Tamar Kali
Punk and hardcore music are part of the origins of Tamar-kali, an American composer and singer who composed the emotional soundtrack for Mudbound (2017). Her work on this film caught the attention of the industry and led her to work on other acclaimed feature films, such as Shirley (2020) and The Last Thing He Wanted (2020). She is characterized by a style that fuses elements of classical music, jazz, and rock.
Germaine Franco
Last but not least, we find the work and oeuvre of Germaine Franco. This Mexican-American composer and arranger has worked on numerous film and television projects, with Coco (2017) being one of the most notable. It earned her an Annie Award nomination and opened the doors for her to compose music for Tag (2018) and Dora and the Lost City (2019). The fusion between the traditional and the modern is what sets her apart from other composers.
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