Composer Appreciation

[Dowdsy McDowds]

This idea has been whirling around in my head for a few days now and was spawned from a recent conversation I had with one of my friends. We were on our way to film a wedding and started speaking about what we were going to do with our day off the next day. My mate said he was in the mood for a Clint Eastwood film and the conversation soon revolved around the 'Dollars/Man With No Name' trilogy, and then about the music in the films, composed by Ennio Morricone.

For my dissertation at Uni, I was comparing Samurai with Cowboys and how they were presented in films and subsequent remakes. A minor but fascinating part of the research was how important the music of the cowboy films was in comparison to minor musical cues in the samurai films. Through the research, I came to realise how familiar I was with Morricone's work and had a newfound appreciation for how it could add to a scene/movie. For example, his piece 'The Ecstasy of Gold' from 'The Good The Bad The Ugly' is a rousing musical triumph on its own, but when coupled with the image of Ugly running in circles in a graveyard trying to locate the treasure, is just about perfect.

When music is done right it can enhance whatever is on the screen, whether it is an originally composed piece like Ecstasy, or Where is my Mind at the end of Fight Club, where throughout the film it is predominantly techno music being used which makes the use of The Pixies' song stand out more (as well as being a perfect reference to The Narrator's freedom at the end.)

Of the current era, Clint Mansell is surely one of the best composers in the film industry. Having made his break-through with the Kronos Quartet on Requiem for a Dream, he has teamed up with Aronofsky on all his films as well as expanding into TV (2011's United) and games (Mass Effect 3).
Navigating from composing original scores to selecting songs, he is rapidly becoming a sought after name and moving away from his cult-like status.

This isn't a comparison thread, the reason I mention these 2 is that I've downloaded quite a lot of their works and immensely enjoy both. What I'd like to hear is which composers do you feel are the best, who do you think deserves more recognition, any instances where a piece of music enhances a scene/film and anything else you'd like to share!

 

[¡Roján!]

Fantastic idea for a thread, Dowds. Music can make or break a scene in a movie, all the time, yet many overlook the score of a movie when really, it's just as important as every other element in a movie.

When you're talking about composers in movies, you really need to mention two powerhouses in the area, that are now legends at the art.

The first one of these two is Hans Zimmer. You may know of Zimmer's work from such epic scores as the ones from the Sherlock Holmes saga, Nolan's Batman trilogy and other other individual movie scores like the one's in The Simpson's Movie or Rain Man but, where I really noticed his work was in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies where ''He's a pirate'' stands out as being, to me, the greatest movie theme of the 21st century. It's iconic and it perfectly fits the character of Jack Sparrow in such a way that it is just perfection. His themes for the Dark Knight and for Batman Begins also fitted nicely into the movie too, so for these things alone he deserves a mention.

My favourite movie composer has to be John Williams, though. If you haven't ever heard a John Williams score, then you have deep problems. The countless classics from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter and Jaws, the best theme tune ever, make this guy the Michael Jordan of movie composers. He's never ever produced a score that I haven't taken to and that hasn't added to the movie. He's just that good. There are often times where I may just watch the movie just because he is producing a score, he's that good.

 

[Davi323]

Since John Williams is the obvious choice, I am going to focus on a few lesser known composers that some might not be as familiar with.

Basil Poledouris. Out of all the non-John Williams composers, he is probably my favorite, for two reasons: Conan the Barbarian and the Hunt for Red October. Amazing soundtracks.

Alan Silvestri. Back to the Future would just be wrong without his score, and I am also a huge fan of his work on The Abyss. He also did the score for Predator and Forrest Gump.

James Horner. Apollo 13, Star Trek II and III, Aliens, Braveheart and Titanic all feature his music.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Basil Poledouris. Out of all the non-John Williams composers, he is probably my favorite, for two reasons: Conan the Barbarian and the Hunt for Red October. Amazing soundtracks.

I've always enjoyed Poledouris' work. He was fantastic, and Poledouris did provide one of my favorite scores ever:

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This was such a great score, and this score was a perfect fit for all the battle scenes in Starship Troopers. The soldiers were facing inevitable doom, as they prepared to battle the bugs. These creatures could destroy human life throughout the galaxy, and this score really did help drive that "it could all end" feeling home. Amazing stuff.

I could mention a lot of guys, but I want to give John Ottman some spotlight for X2: X-Men United. He can always work wonders with any Bryan Singer film (The Usual Suspects would be a prime example), and I really enjoyed his modified Halloween theme for H20. But his work for X2 was simply outstanding. The "Playing With Fire" theme was a nice fit for Pyro's character. On the surface, Pyro (or John) was a rebellious bad ass, but you could also sense a troubled and lonely guy, who wanted a family. The "Mansion Attack" score helped enhance the feelings of fear and chaos during Stryker's invasion of the school, and "Magneto's Old Tricks" made Eric's escape from the plastic prison feel more glorious and awe-inspiring, and Ottman's score really did help provide a breathtaking scene here. I absolutely love these themes, and all three scores are burned in my memory:

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I always enjoy Ottman's stuff, and he did create a great soundtrack for X2, easily one of the best soundtracks for any science-fiction/action film.

And I'll have to join the John Williams fan club. Williams has been a favorite of mine for years, and his scores have provided some great Star Wars' memories for me, especially during the lightsaber duels.

 

[Champ1432]

A bunch of good entires already here. I like the James Horner call from Davi, underrated in my opinion. Hans Zimmer is a good call too.

I know John Williams is the obvious choice, but he's who I have to go with. He's just done the music for so many iconic films. Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, E.T., Superman. Superman!!!!!! Perhaps my favorite movie theme ever. In fact, Superman, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars are all up there. The only music from a movie not done by Williams that I like on that level would be Rocky. But the guy has just given us so many iconic movie tracks. They're instantly recognizable, even when just played on their own.

He's also done notable work for other things outside of movies, like the Olympics a few times. He's just the man, what else can you say.

I do like the call on Horner though, as I said. Especially Star Trek II, good stuff there. His music really went well with that film and the atmosphere it was trying to convey. Part of the reason it was the best Star Trek movie until VI, in my opinion.

But like I said, for my money, it has to be Williams. You just can't beat the stuff he's done.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I'm appreciating the replies and names being thrown up for your favourite composers. John Williams was someone I thought about mentioning but kinda figured he'd be a lot of peoples number 1 choice, and quite rightly so.

There is a brilliant French film called Tell No One that I would highly recommend to anyone. Do not be put off by it being a) subtitled and b) French, as it is such a well-crafted film with the pacing, dialogue, plot beats, characters and so much more on top form. It has 2 scenes where the song choices are, dare I say, inspired.

1 has U2's With or Without You playing while the protagonist believes he may have found out some good news about what has happened to his wife. The second is the scene that I knew I really fucking dug this movie as it not only uses Jeff Buckley's beautiful cover of Lilac Wine, but manages to montage footage from a funeral and a wedding while the hero recalls the events and drinking vodka to the song too. When I saw it I was blown away by how simple and effortless it seemed to use a song to enhance what is going on on the screen but also give an insight to what the character is thinking too.
(Volume may be a bit low)

 

[Shotaro]

Reznor has impressed me quite considerably since I saw The Social Network, he's he has a particular style of discordant industrial music, but he seems to use it in the right places.

Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead also did the soundtrack to a documentary called Bodysong. It was so good I bought the album.