Greatest film composers EVER

[Man of Harveys]

1. Bernard Herrmann - every shriek of a violin that illustrates that shower scene, that weird, whistley space noise on The Day The Earth Stood Still, the gorgeous jazz and terrifying drums of Taxi Driver - they found him dead, slumped over the score he'd just completed in 1975 - and, best of all, the extraordinary, petrifying score to Vertigo: every note came from the pen of this true genius.
2. John Barry
3. Henry Mancini/Maurice Jarre/Yann Tiersen

That's NOT including any (better) composers whose musicals were filmed, such as Rogers and Hammerstein or Leonard Bernstein, say.

But who do YOU think? I bloody love soundtracks, me.

 

[Dave the OAP]

john barry is my favourite


ennico morricone spaghetti westerns

 

[NMH]

Barry for me.
Ennio Morricone comes to mind though, for those cool spaghetti westerns with Clint

edit - doh, I see that's already been said!

 

[Buzzer]

My favourite soundtracks are:

Dead presidents
I am Sam
Bugsy Malone (Genius, just genius)
Kill Bill vol 1
Dr Zhivago



My girlfriend books musicians for top films so gets to see a lot of the musicians and composers at work and is always telling me how good Mr X and Madam Y is but Ennio Morricone and Henry Mancini are the tops for me.

 

[London Calling]

Morricone really left a landmark with the Spag films.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

John Barry

John Williams - his association with Spielberg will mean of course he is obligatorily slagged off and told he is shit

Yared

Nyman

Horner

Zimmer

Jarre

 

[Meade's Ball]

John Barry George and his tunefulness in Do Or Die.

 

[Bad Ash]

Zimmer

Is the correct answer.

 

[Parson Henry]

Magnificent 7 - Elmer Bernstein

Big Country - Jerome Moross

 

[Icy Gull]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKHc-U2FNHk

Eric Coates

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

favourite soundtracks

Yared - English Patient
Nyman - End of the affair
Williams - ET, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan
Horner - Titanic
Zimmer - Gladiator
Barry - Somewhere in Time, Out of Africa, theme to Indecent Proposal

 

[Muzzman]

Basil Poledouris

Jerry Goldsmith

James Horner

John Williams

Ennio Morricone

Danny Elfman

Alan Silvestri

Howard Shore

James Newton Howard

John Carpenter

Hans Zimmer


Probably in that order

 

[Pevenseagull]

Ignoring musicals as I'd spend all day doing this

Top 3:

John Barry - THE DADDY - personal favourites The Ipcress File & Midnight Cowboy

Bernard Herrmann - Cape Fear for me

Ennio Morricone - The Mission and a host of others

Other true greats:

Michael Nyman - If I'd seen Peter Greenaway's films as many times as I'd listened to the soundtracks I would be even more profoundly odd and he makes all the difference to films like Gattaca

Roy Budd - for Get Carter and Fear is The Key

John Williams is gloriously skilled at punching the right emotional buttons - a perfect foil to Spielberg. Not necessarily a composer I'd listen to in his own right but he's been scoring big for 50 years.

Philip Glass - although I'm not sure I would classify his highest profile stuff (the "3-qatsis") as soundtracks in a traditional sense

add to that Nino Rota, Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein and Henri Mancini and I think I've pretty much covered 'The Greatest'

of the new boys:

David Holmes does a good job of assembling a fine soundtrack although his original scores tend to be used mainly as incidental music

Hans Zimmer - the new John Williams, adept at bombastic blockbuster scores but when needed can produce some magnificent subtle work e.g. Malick's magnificent "The Thin Red Line"

Yann Tiersen's got off to a flyer with Amelie and Goodbye Lenin

Danny Elfman - maybe not right to classify him as a new boy as he's been at it for 20 years. Great fun


"One offs" - they may have done other scores but none spring to mind

Vaughan Williams - Scott Of The Antarctic - later developed as his Sinfonia Antactica - f***ing quality

Vangelis - Blade Runner. Perfect

Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

Chef The Scientologist - Shaft

 

[Brovion]

I've got to say Hans Zimmer - because I used to play in a band with him! He used to live in Brighton. He was a lovely guy, really laid back, although I haven't seen him for about twenty years since he was in the Buggles so I hope Hollywood hasn't turned his head. Check him out on google, he's written the music to about 100 films, including Gladiator as stated but also recently Pirates of the Carribean.

 

[Monkster]

Not a film composer but

Mike Post


Is the Greastest

 

[Silent Bob]

Williams - ET, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan

You have missed out two of the most memorable and best scores of all time, Jaws and Star Wars.

 

[Captain Haddock]

1. Bernard Herrmann - every shriek of a violin that illustrates that shower scene, that weird, whistley space noise on The Day The Earth Stood Still, the gorgeous jazz and terrifying drums of Taxi Driver - they found him dead, slumped over the score he'd just completed in 1975 - and, best of all, the extraordinary, petrifying score to Vertigo: every note came from the pen of this true genius.
2. John Barry
3. Henry Mancini/Maurice Jarre/Yann Tiersen

That's NOT including any (better) composers whose musicals were filmed, such as Rogers and Hammerstein or Leonard Bernstein, say.

But who do YOU think? I bloody love soundtracks, me.

I agree with your Top 2, an' no mistake, Man Of Harveys. (Don't forget Hermann's brilliant score for NxNW, too.

 

[Captain Haddock]

...and Morricone too.

 

[Captain Haddock]

John Barry

John Williams - his association with Spielberg will mean of course he is obligatorily slagged off and told he is shit

Williams is decent but listen to the works of Miklos Rosza (classical Hollywood composer) and you'll find plenty will sound familiar!

 

[Nibble]

I don't think he has a big enough body of work on films to be classed as the gretaest ever, but I really like the soundtrack to Requiem for a Dream by the guy from Pop Will Eat Itself (or was it Sonic Youth?) Clint something?

Anyway - it has been used to trailer Lord Of The Rings and unfortunatly Britains Got Talent.

Blinding work though.