# Favorite contemporary film composer



## TudorMihai

Who is your favorite contemporary/modern film music composer (post 1970)? Write your choice. My pick is James Horner.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Brian May (28 July 1934 – 25 April 1997) not the one from Queen!!
An Australian film composer. His best known scores are those for Mad Max and Mad Max 2!
He composed more than 30 feature film scores, including 
Patrick (1978)
Mad Max (1979) – Won Best Original Music Score award by AFI.
Snapshot (1979)
Thirst (1979)
Harlequin (1980)
Nightmares (1980)
Gallipoli (1981) (additional music)
Mad Max 2 (1981) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
Roadgames (1981) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
The Survivor (1981)
Breakfast in Paris (1982)
Kitty and the Bagman (1982)
Turkey Shoot (1982)
A Slice of Life (1983)
Cloak & Dagger (1984)
Innocent Prey (1984)
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Frog Dreaming (1986) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
Sky Pirates (1986)
Death Before Dishonor (1987)
Steel Dawn (1987)
Bloodmoon (1990)
Dead Sleep (1990)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Dr. Giggles (1992)
Hurricane Smith (1992)
Blind Side (1993)


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## ptr

I'd vote for "Other" ... Nino Rota still wrote music in the 70's, Pole Wojciech Kilar has written some awesome film music, but my two favourites are Lisa Gerrard and especially the giant of modern Russian film music Eduard Artemyev!

/ptr


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## SiegendesLicht

I voted for Howard Shore. He composed music for my favorite film trilogy ever. John Williams is good too.

As for James Horner... I still associate him with that "Titanic" chic flic (I used to be a huge fan of it when it first came out, but now I am kind of ashamed of this fact).


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## TudorMihai

SiegendesLicht said:


> I voted for Howard Shore. He composed music for my favorite film trilogy ever. John Williams is good too.
> 
> As for James Horner... I still associate him with that "Titanic" chic flic (I used to be a huge fan of it when it first came out, but now I am kind of ashamed of this fact).


A few years ago I would've voted for Hans Zimmer. I used to be a huge fan of him but in the last years his scores became too electronic and too commercial. He hasn't written anything memorable since The Last Samurai. Plus, for many years now he hasn't written a full score on his own; he is working only with collaborators. My favorite Zimmer score remains Beyond Rangoon from 1995.

James Horner, on the other hand, while he isn't the greatest nor the most original film score composer, he's my favorite because he's a wonderful composer of big lush orchestral scores and he has a wonderful talent of writing beautiful themes and melodies. Plus, he's a pretty good song composer.


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## Ramako

Hans Zimmer is ok, but I usually discover he's the composer for a film when I think "this sounds like Pirates of the Caribbean". Sherlock Holmes isn't bad though.

I can't vote though. My favourite soundtrack has to be LOTR, however I have been unimpressed by Howard Shore elsewhere, and I thought the music to The Hobbit very mediocre except for the ONE new theme (which I don't think is actually by him anyway). John Williams seems a much more versatile composer, who has written great soundtracks too in Star Wars, Harry Potter etc. In fact only Indiana Jones seems a little too similar to his other works, but that is great anyway! But then Morricone has written some good stuff too... I find him also versatile like John Williams, however more musical but sometime less suitable for film so it's hard to compare. Once Upon a Time in the West was absolutely brilliant though - and relies on the music to such a huge extent.


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## DeepR

Morricone
Williams
Goldsmith
Vangelis

Goldsmith's Star Trek music FTW:


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## Prodromides

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Thirst (1979)
> Harlequin (1980)


These are my 2 favorite Brian May soundtracks.


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## Prodromides

I'm not able to vote for only one.

Multiple favorites from different countries:

Great Britain: Richard Rodney Bennett & Stanley Myers

USA: Jerry Goldsmith, Leonard Rosenman, Jerry Fielding & many others

Italy: Piero Piccioni, Egisto Macchi, Giorgio Gaslini, etc.

France: Pierre Jansen, Jean Prodromides & Antoine Duhamel

Japan: Toru Takemitsu

Australia: Brian May


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## Arsakes

John Williams, Bernard Hermann and Ennio Morricone are boss. 

John Barry's music seems nice based on what I've heard.

Alan Menken and his Disney works are nice 

Some Vangelis works are quite good.

Hans Zimmer's music isn't attractive enough.

I should discover more good composers of 1930s-60s movies.


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## Vaneyes

John Barry and other, Maurice Jarre.


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## TudorMihai

Arsakes said:


> I should discover more good composers of 1930s-60s movies.


Apart from the famous Max Steiner and Alfred Newman, I would recommend Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Bronislau (or Bronislaw) Kaper (especially his music for Mutiny on the Bounty), Victor Young and most of all, Alex North, considered to be the first modern film score composer (see A Streetcar Named Desire and Viva Zapata). I would also mention Ernest Gold, Malcolm Arnold and David Raksin.


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## ScipioAfricanus

John Williams. I can still hear that Wagnerian Star Warz and Superman themes


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## Tapkaara

Bah, not a fan of contemporary film scores. Kilar is probably the only composer I actually like who writes film scores (more or less) currently. Danny Elfman is good...at least he has a singular sound. Practically no other film composer has a truly distinctive sound. I don't know...do they all go the same music school and study under the same teacher.

Williams used to be an original but he ran out of new ideas a long time ago. Now he sounds like eveyone else.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I can't decide between Joe Hisaishi and Michael Nyman, glad they're both in "other."


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## Guest

Ramako said:


> however I have been unimpressed by Howard Shore elsewhere,


I think I liked _Silence of the Lambs_...I say I think because I can't easily separate the scores from the movies. Do I like James Newton-Howard for his score, or is it just that I liked _Sixth Sense_ (so much that I sobbed uncontrollably at the end: my wife was embarrassed) and _Blood Diamond?
_
I'd probably vote for Jerry Goldsmith on the grounds that his score for _Alien _was so badly treated...
John Barry - I hate his lushness, but just rediscovered that he did _Zulu_, so I guess I can forgive him.



Tapkaara said:


> Danny Elfman is good...at least he has a singular sound. Practically no other film composer has a truly distinctive sound.


Oh I don't know. I used to play 'Spot the Zimmer' with my sons. It used to be quite easy until Marco Beltrami and Klaus Badelt started copying him!


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## Mordred

Howard shores lord of the rings is awesome. I saw it played live by the Queensland symphony orchestra while they showed the movie on the big screen in the concert hall which made it more epic. So I picked him but at the same time felt like a traitor to John Williams who I decided when I was five years old and heard the opening theme to Star Wars that he was the greatest composer On Earth and always would be!
So tough choice!


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## Spafon

Joe Hisaishi.
Wojciech Kilar.


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## Andreas

How about Angelo Badalamenti. Especially his scores for David Lynch.


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## lovetheclassics

I like Angelo Badalamenti too. I also like some scores of Cliff Martinez (Solaris, Drive).


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## DeepR

I like Joe Hisaishi too. Was just listening to this one:


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## schuberkovich

Joe Hisaishi by far!


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## MagneticGhost

Some great names there.
Some greats missing.

Gabriel Yared
Zbigniew Preisner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Preisner


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## Nariette

definitely Ludovico Einaudi or Yann Tiersen, though I'd prefer Einaudi, because Tiersen always uses a constant beat in the left hand, so only eights or sixteens.


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## Ebab

No Michael Giacchino at all?

His score to "The Incredibles" ‒ I hadn't had such fun in years. Couldn't say his quality is really consistent yet, but never a true let-down. He's on my radar. (And such a nice guy, a doll to his fans, and passionate for his work.)


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## Guest

Ebab said:


> No Michael Giacchino at all?
> 
> His score to "The Incredibles" ‒ I hadn't had such fun in years. Couldn't say his quality is really consistent yet, but never a true let-down. He's on my radar. (And such a nice guy, a doll to his fans, and passionate for his work.)


He did 'Up' as well.

What about Carter Burwell?


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## StevenOBrien

Michael Giacchino.


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## TrevBus

I try not to list those that have been already spoken for BUT: Howard Shore. Ring trilogy, IMO best. 
However, I am starting to like Atticus Ross(THE BOOK OF ELI and the American THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO)a great deal.
Now leaving contempory; My favorite of all time: Miklos Rozsa.


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## poptart

This is a tough call because I love John Williams and Thomas Newman, but Jerry Goldsmith gets my vote because his music did so much to lift some good movies into the "Great" category, like Alien, The Omen, LA Confidential and even saved the odd crap movie, like Basic Instinct, from complete oblivion.


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## Guest

poptart said:


> This is a tough call because I love John Williams and Thomas Newman, but Jerry Goldsmith gets my vote because his music did so much to lift some good movies into the "Great" category, like Alien, The Omen, LA Confidential and even saved the odd crap movie, like Basic Instinct, from complete oblivion.


I like JG too, and the score from Alien.

The thing is, it's not a 'pure' score.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(soundtrack)



> However, the music was not originally used or heard as intended. The score was substantially cut for the film's released versions, and some recordings from other sources were added, notably portions of Goldsmith's original score for the 1962 film Freud (which were that film's Main Title, as well as the tracks Charcot's Show and Desperate Case), and the first movement (adagio) from Howard Hanson's 1930 "Symphony No. 2, Romantic" for the film's end credits.


Goldsmith himself laments the treatment of his work on the 25th (or was it the 30th?) anniversary DVD.


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## poptart

MacLeod said:


> I like JG too, and the score from Alien.
> 
> The thing is, it's not a 'pure' score.
> 
> From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(soundtrack)
> 
> Goldsmith himself laments the treatment of his work on the 25th (or was it the 30th?) anniversary DVD.


This is interesting, thanks. I wasn't aware parts had been written for another film. I'm sure many composers, in common with writers and actors, lament the cavalier way their work is treated by Hollywood. Tis the nature of the beast, it seems. But whatever the purity the finished product is still remarkable.


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## Fermat

John Williams, easily. 

Least favorite is James Horner


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## RobinG

I opted for John Williams, but it was not an easy choice especially with such names as James Horner and Alan Silvestri. Williams has done so much over the years that you can not put your finger on any particular theme he has written But one that does come to mind is Harry Potter and Hedwig's theme simply wonderful.


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## Guest

My favorite right now is Jonny Greenwood, who scored PTA's There Will Be Blood and The Master. A more progressive film composer with a rock background. Second favorite would be Thomas Newman (Shawshank, obviously).


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## ericdxx

I'm a fan of all these Composers but I'm also very critical at times:

John Barry - The Dancing with wolves theme is legendary for supposedly being one of the most popular themes of all time. Other than that I guess he is mostly famous for NOT writing the James Bond theme. 

John Williams . All he did was to rip off classical works left and right early in his career. His Star wars work is a big fraud. The big bulk of his career is **. His biggest talent was writing themes. Especially late 80s, early 90s. The Indiana jones theme is great, the Jurrassic Park theme is great, I love the song from Home Alone

James Horner Wonderful talent. Mostly I come to find out that he ripped off stuff. The Troy theme in Troy is from Benjamin Britten, The Three note danger motif is from Shostackovic. The rumbeling piano and brass could be his invention. The entire Bischops countdown from Aliens is an incredible track

Jerry Goldsmith - I like many of his themes but he was NOT a gifted orchestrator. Orchestrations throughout his career mostly sucked. 

Hans Zimmer - The question is how much of that unique style he brought into film music was unique? Some of it came from Vangelis, the big action themes came from Wagner. Maybe some of it was his own style and that is something I respect. 

Danny Elfman - I would say an intelligent Composer and stylistic buthe always suffers from his lack of formal training and education


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## arpeggio

*Orchestrators*



ericdxx said:


> Jerry Goldsmith - I like many of his themes but he was NOT a gifted orchestrator. Orchestrations throughout his career mostly sucked.


Because of the time constraints (Film composers frequently have only several weeks to compose sixty minutes of music)film composers would employ orchestrators. The one that Goldsmith employed the most was Morton Stevens. John Williams started out as an orchestrator. He orchestrated the music for the _Guns of Navarone_.



ericdxx said:


> James Horner Wonderful talent. Mostly I come to find out that he ripped off stuff. The Troy theme in Troy is from Benjamin Britten, The Three note danger motif is from Shostackovic. The rumbeling piano and brass could be his invention.


The background concerning the sound track for Troy is interesting.

Composer Gabriel Yared originally worked on the score for Troy for over a year, having been hired by the director, Wolfgang Petersen. However, after having screened the film with an early incomplete version of the score, the reactions at test screenings were against it and in less than a day Yared was off the project without being given a chance to fix or change his music, while Warner Bros was already looking for a replacement. According to Yared, his score was removed due to a complaint by the screening audience that the score was too "old-fashioned".

The replacement score was written by composer James Horner in about four weeks. I recall reading an interview of Horner where he admitted that he was stealing left and right in order to get the score completed in time.


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## Zabirilog

John Williams, of course.
And Howard Shore, though I use to think that he's the scariest composer ever! :lol:


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## TudorMihai

ericdxx said:


> I'm a fan of all these Composers but I'm also very critical at times:
> 
> John Barry - The Dancing with wolves theme is legendary for supposedly being one of the most popular themes of all time. Other than that I guess he is mostly famous for NOT writing the James Bond theme.
> 
> John Williams . All he did was to rip off classical works left and right early in his career. His Star wars work is a big fraud. The big bulk of his career is **. His biggest talent was writing themes. Especially late 80s, early 90s. The Indiana jones theme is great, the Jurrassic Park theme is great, I love the song from Home Alone
> 
> James Horner Wonderful talent. Mostly I come to find out that he ripped off stuff. The Troy theme in Troy is from Benjamin Britten, The Three note danger motif is from Shostackovic. The rumbeling piano and brass could be his invention. The entire Bischops countdown from Aliens is an incredible track
> 
> Jerry Goldsmith - I like many of his themes but he was NOT a gifted orchestrator. Orchestrations throughout his career mostly sucked.
> 
> Hans Zimmer - The question is how much of that unique style he brought into film music was unique? Some of it came from Vangelis, the big action themes came from Wagner. Maybe some of it was his own style and that is something I respect.
> 
> Danny Elfman - I would say an intelligent Composer and stylistic buthe always suffers from his lack of formal training and education


A few completions:

John Barry - Apart from his theme for Dancing with Wolves, he wrote beautiful themes for Out of Africa, Born Free and he composed a masterful score for The Lion in Winter

James Horner - Indeed, his notorious danger motif is becoming quite tiresome. But it was not written by Shostakovich, but by Rachmaninoff. It is a motif from the first movement of his First Symphony. Apart from that, he has a wonderful talent for writing sweeping scores, especially for romantic-themed films.

Hans Zimmer - Yes, his contribution to film music is somewhat debatable. There are two facts that I find disturbing about him:
One, he hasn't composed a film score on his own for a very long time. Two, for the last few years his scores sound way too artificial. Too many electronics.

Jerry Goldsmith - He wasn't the best orchestrator but I always admired his creativity and his habit for experimentation. His music for The Russia House is one of the greatest scores I've ever heard. And his experimental music for The Planet of the Apes is quite original and adequate. Plus, he was one of the first film score composers to use electronic instruments, particularly synthesizers. And he did a wonderful job with that, listen to his music for Hoosiers and you'll see what I mean.


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## mchriste

I voted for "other" - Eric Serra.

I love his soundtrack of The Fifth Element (even if the movie is kinda goofy)






and particularly of The Big Blue


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## Guest

Personally, I can't bear John Barry (even though he scored Zulu). I find his work...can't think of the right words...too heavy, serious, over-dramatic: those soaring and dipping strings, those massed horns.


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## DeepR

Vangelis does have a distinct sound. He isn't a good orchestral composer in the traditional sense, but he is good with melody and atmosphere.... and of course electronics. If only he had made a few more atmospheric electronic soundtracks in the vain of Blade Runner, Antarctica and The Bounty....


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## TudorMihai

DeepR said:


> Vangelis does have a distinct sound. He isn't a good orchestral composer in the traditional sense, but he is good with melody and atmosphere.... and of course electronics. If only he had made a few more atmospheric electronic soundtracks in the vain of Blade Runner, Antarctica and The Bounty....


And let's not forget 1492: Conquest of Paradise (which, in my opinion, is his masterpiece), L'apocalypse des animaux, Opera Sauvage, Alexander and El Greco.


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## ericdxx

arpeggio said:


> Because of the time constraints (Film composers frequently have only several weeks to compose sixty minutes of music)film composers would employ orchestrators. The one that Goldsmith employed the most was Morton Stevens. John Williams started out as an orchestrator. He orchestrated the music for the _Guns of Navarone_.


I tried to think if there was one Goldsmith score where I liked the orchestration and I could only think of Mulan so I looked it up and surprise surprise it wasn't orchestrated by this Morton Stevens! So you're right in a sense...

With that being said I think of James Newton Howard who is revered among orchestrators because he makes it so easy for them but because all the groundwork is already there for the orchestrator(s) to build on. So it goes both ways. So part of blame has to be on Goldsmith for all those poor orchestrations...



> The background concerning the sound track for Troy is interesting.
> 
> Composer Gabriel Yared originally worked on the score for Troy for over a year, having been hired by the director, Wolfgang Petersen. However, after having screened the film with an early incomplete version of the score, the reactions at test screenings were against it and in less than a day Yared was off the project without being given a chance to fix or change his music, while Warner Bros was already looking for a replacement. According to Yared, his score was removed due to a complaint by the screening audience that the score was too "old-fashioned".
> 
> The replacement score was written by composer James Horner in about four weeks. I recall reading an interview of Horner where he admitted that he was stealing left and right in order to get the score completed in time.[/


I remember reading about that. Horner did a great job with Troy outside of those rip-offs and the love-theme that I don't like (it's actually from Glory I believe and a very similar theme was used as the theme for Stargate and SG-1)

Speaking of Newton Howard. He had a similar assignment with King Kong and as far as I know managed to not rip-off classical works with that score.


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## ericdxx

TudorMihai said:


> John Barry - Apart from his theme for Dancing with Wolves, he wrote beautiful themes for Out of Africa, Born Free and he composed a masterful score for The Lion in Winter


I like that stuff. Nothing tops the theme from Dancing with wolves though...probably the most relaxing, Beautiful theme in all of filmmusic....there are other good themes like Horners theme for Cocoon but nothing beats that theme ...

Definitely sounds like he was ahead of his time with Lion in the Winter. That sounds like 80s and 90s filmmusic but it was composed in what, 69?



> Hans Zimmer - Yes, his contribution to film music is somewhat debatable. There are two facts that I find disturbing about him:
> One, he hasn't composed a film score on his own for a very long time. Two, for the last few years his scores sound way too artificial. Too many electronics.


It's weird that he went from composing wonderful scores like Lion king and Prince of Egypt, all by himself...to always working with a team of composers.


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## KenOC

Where's Basil Poledouris? A very talented, reliable, and on-time guy. Maybe his movies are a little too mass-market? A few of his efforts:

The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Red Dawn (1984)
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
RoboCop (1987)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Free Willy (1993)
Lassie (1994)
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Lonesome Dove (TV mini-series) (1989)


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## JCarmel

Definetly it's Ennio for me!


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## DaDirkNL

Jerry Goldsmith, especially the Masada theme.


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## Lerouse

I am not sure if this qualifies as "film" as such but I love Jo Blankenburg who composes quite a lot of music for TV and Move Trailers. One of my favourite pieces from his at the moment has got to be Illumielle.






Some of the UK members may recognise this as the 2012 Debenhams Christmas Advert music. Was quite funny as I owned one of Jo's albums prior to the advert being aired but when I seen the advert for the first time I fell in love with this track and it took me quite a while and a lot of google searching to find the song title.

(sorry if this is not classified as "film" music)


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## My Requiem

I'd easily have to go with Clint Mansell. His music is mind blowing to me.


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## Jos

Hello all,

newbie signing in with Howard Shore for the score of "Dead Ringers" (David Cronenberg, 1988)
The dramatic final scene is beautifully accompanied with pastoral yet haunting music. 
Great movie, must watch it again soon !!

Cheers,

Jos


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## PeterJB

I would have to go with James Horner. He re-uses a lot of his own material, but it's really good material!


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## Stephano

Hans Zimmer definitely is it for me. He's the most underrated film score composer nowadays and a total genius. He actually deserves to be in a row with John Williams and Max Steiner. 
Many of the comments about his music are pretty negative, often to a point of insulting him personally (I once even came across a death threat on a blog). I don't know if I should find it hilarious or sad that some people won't tolerate specific artists and their music and find it to be terrible news if said artist announces a new project. This phenomenon isn't new though. Just think of how much **** Wagner had to take from "old-schoolers", including Nietzsche himself who found his music to be absolutely horrible and destructive to what was then known as orchestral music.
That's exactly what Zimmer is to film music. He came up with something new and changed the industry permanently. His success should prove him right but nevertheless he's polarizing. Many of his fans don't ascend from the classical or even the film score field, but rather from a particular subcategory of the mainstream-pop-crowd that barely has an ear for complex and serious music. And that's exactly where critics of him categorize him - in the pop genre. That may be true to some extent since his recent works "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Man of Steel" were top-sellers in the billboard charts (almost topped the iTunes download charts), but the problem is that he's not taken seriously as a composer, both classical and modern-influenced, although he should be. I'm going to post a few videos down there to show of how much versatility he's actually capable

epic and bold





soft and soothing





vibrant and cheerful 





deep and melancholic


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## mikey

Stephano said:


> Hans Zimmer definitely is it for me. He's the most underrated film score composer nowadays and a total genius. He actually deserves to be in a row with John Williams and Max Steiner.


You're kidding right? While perhaps creating a unique sound, I'll say just that, he has 1 sound. And that's when it's actually him and not the league of other writers he surrounds himself with.
His earlier stuff get's all the accolades it deserves (personally I love the Lion King) but lately, he certainly is getting wayyyy over exposed.

I voted Elfman coz I can't believe he doesn't have a vote. Edward Scissorhands is some of the most gorgeous music ever written period!
Silvestri and Michael Giacchino are also favourites.


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## Morimur

99% of film music can't stand on its own two feet; it services films.


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## tokatila

John Powell. HTTYD (II). The best movie soundtrack ever made.


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## Stephano

mikey said:


> You're kidding right? While perhaps creating a unique sound, I'll say just that, he has 1 sound. And that's when it's actually him and not the league of other writers he surrounds himself with.
> His earlier stuff get's all the accolades it deserves (personally I love the Lion King) but lately, he certainly is getting wayyyy over exposed.
> 
> I voted Elfman coz I can't believe he doesn't have a vote. Edward Scissorhands is some of the most gorgeous music ever written period!
> Silvestri and Michael Giacchino are also favourites.


Zimmer is expanding into a more modern field of music, electronical music. Actually he's getting back to his roots. I'm sure a lot of people here deny that the early pioneers of electronical classical music (Stockhausen...and Hans Zimmer for example) should be considered proper composers for their electronical work alone, when they, in fact, should be. It won't take too long until synthesizers will find their way into the classical mainstream and that we start interpreting the "old stuff" on them. Bach and Mozart didn't have a piano and still, we're interpreting them on it today.

You mentioned "his league of writers". Well, it's a common misbelief that people think he lets others do the work while he gets all the fame. These people don't do more than one guy (often Nick Glennie-Smith) did in the past for him - and that is rearranging or adding a few layers to what he composed before, and adapting it to the movie. They just can do it faster and that is, inter alia why he still hasn't got one rejected score. Zimmer does the drawing, his co-composers do the construction work. Even Michelangelo and Rubens worked that way.

Zimmer may not have the same great legacy as Beethoven, Mozart or John Williams, but nevertheless he did a huge contribution to contemporary classical music with scores like Gladiator, Lion King, Inception and The Last Samurai.

P.S.: Wait for Interstellar, it's said to be radically different from what we usually got to hear from Zimmer.


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## graziesignore

Patrick Doyle had a distinctive sound in his early days but, alas, with bigger Hollywood films, he too seemed to become more generic...


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## tortkis

Morimur said:


> 99% of film music can't stand on its own two feet; it services films.


I love Michael Nyman's film music, though I have not watched any of the movies for which Nyman composed.

Another favorite is Angelo Badalamenti.


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## Albert7

Michael Nyman and John Williams


Star Wars, who can ever forgot that music!?!


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## Cesare Impalatore

My top five:

1. Ennio Morricone: Few things get as much under my skin as the soundtrack for Leone's masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America.

2. John Williams: Star Wars, nuff said. 

3. Nino Rota: The Godfather, 8 1/2, Amarcord, all memorable, sublime music.

4. Howard Shore: His Lord of the Rings score is at times a bit overblown but still more than worthy of the film's beauty. 

5. Danny Elfman: As a kid Batman (1989) was my favourite movie and I couldn't get Elfman's awesome theme out of my head, still can't. 

Honourable mentions: Philip Glass, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Hans Zimmer (pre-Nolan era) and Goblin.


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## Albert7

From the Piano soundtrack... Nyman is awesome.


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## Troy

I voted for Ennio Morricone because he's the only composer on your list where I listen to the soundtrack without necessarily having seen the film. Of the films he's written for I've only ever seen _The Mission_. On the other hand just before I saw his name I was going to vote for Hans Zimmer mostly for _Out of Africa_ and _The Thin Red Line_.


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## Guest

Troy said:


> I was going to vote for Hans Zimmer mostly for _Out of Africa_ and _The Thin Red Line_.


Good job you didn't. Zimmer didn't do _Out of Africa_!


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## Albert7

MacLeod said:


> Good job you didn't. Zimmer didn't do _Out of Africa_!


Out of Africa... ouch didn't enjoy it much.


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## atsizat

Ennio Morricone. His musics are full of sadness. I like his music. When some people hear the name Ennio Morricone, only some western movies' themes come to their minds. He didn't only compose musics like the good, the bad, the ugly, he also composed so depressing musics. If you are in a sad mood, his depressing musics get you so depressed. I like getting depressed with his musics. I like feeling sad with his depressing musics.


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## TwoPhotons

My true favourite is John Powell, who amazes me with his ability in writing in so many different styles of music. But out of the composers listed in the poll I voted for John Williams, whose complete mastery of the orchestra I admire.


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## joen_cph

Voted "Other" back then, thinking of the Czech Lubos Fiser, the Pole Kilar, Schnittke, Takemitsu ("Ran"), etc. 
And Morricone.


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## The nose

After watching "the Hatefoul Eight" I change my vote to Morricone.




(I think Tarantino would vote for him...)


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## Knuala

I'm new to this and note that the last 'thread?' was in 2013! Perhaps that's why Morricione isn't standing out as a favourite. I'm quite surprised really. Think of 'The Good, the Bad & the Ugly' v ' Once upon a time in America'. The Mission v Malena. So different and really draws the time/story out. And that's only the start!
Opps! Definitely new to this! I was on the 1st page not the last! Glad to see Morricione up there!


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## Robert Eckert

Many of the more recent scores written by the above composers were recorded at least initially on high end samplers. This leads one to think that, it might be a fine idea to open a thread on algorithmic composition. I helped develop E-mu systems, Emulator IV series of samplers used by James Horner and others to write. We recorded many sample libraries back in the day, as a small group within the company, called "Great Sounds". The current leaders in this world of technology are the Vienna Symphonic Library and Spectrasonic, to name a few. Just an idea to possibly help cover what I've noticed was absent from this great website.


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## mahler76

Ι might also pick Michael Nyman


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## Guest

So, no votes for Alexandre Desplat? Given that the man is never out of work, that's odd. Is it that the movies he has scored are less well known than Williams' and Shore's? Is it that they don't stand up away from the movie, so don't sell well as soundtrack albums? Perhaps he's being boycotted for having the temerity to have finished the job on the Harry Potter movies?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006035/

I'm not complaining, by the way. He's not my favourite. I'm just curious.


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## HeadingSouth

John Williams. There are many whom I admire, but the number of great scores he has done is phenomenal.


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## geralmar

By contemporary, I presume living; therefore Christopher Young:

Hellraiser:




[/

Fly 2:





Species (main title):


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## tortkis

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd: Mysterious Skin (Music from the film)





Very atomospheric and beautiful.

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd: White Bird in a Blizzard


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## lehnert

1. John Williams - great, memorable themes in a number of good movies.
2. Ennio Morricone - great mood and suspense

I absolutely don't understand the Hans Zimmer phenomenon (not in this poll but in general). He made a few decent soundtracks at the beginning of his career. Right now all of his music is generic, is terribly uninteresting and it all sounds the same.


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## Rosie

I don't like film composers much, their music frustrates me heaps. I like movies that use already existing music, it's nicer!


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## Keef

I voted Morricone, for the atmospheres he creates but mainly for the spaghetti westerns.


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## Bellinilover

Of the composers on the list I'd say Alexandre Desplat. However, my _actual_ favorite contemporary film/TV composer is Christopher Gunning, who wrote the scores for the _Poirot_ TV series, among other things.

Edited to add: I just realized that the poll has an "Other" category! I should have chosen it.


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## Pugg

Bellinilover said:


> Of the composers on the list I'd say Alexandre Desplat. However, my _actual_ favorite contemporary film/TV composer is Christopher Gunning, who wrote the scores for the _Poirot_ TV series, among other things.
> 
> Edited to add: I just realized that the poll has an "Other" category! I should have chosen it.


Doesn't matter I did the same.


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## delilahx

Danny Elfman is really overlooked.


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## FDR

*Howard Shore *(_especially Lord of the Rings trilogy_), *James Newton Howard* (_esp Restoration and Lady in the Water_), *John Horner* (_esp A Beautiful Mind and Willow_) and *John Debney* (_esp The Passion of the Christ and Cutthroat Island_) are the four that I listen to the most.

*John Williams* (_esp. ET and Jurassic Park_)and *Ennio Morricone *(_esp The Mission and The Good, the bad and the ugly_) are two of the all time greats that I enjoy very much too.

Add *Vangelis* _(esp Chariots of Fire and Alexander)_ with his electronic sounds and that would be my seven favorite "contemporary film composers".


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## Pugg

delilahx said:


> Danny Elfman is really overlooked.


Never ever heard from this man.


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## Flamme

I would go with Shore...


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## Alkan

Ebab said:


> No Michael Giacchino at all?
> 
> His score to "The Incredibles" ‒ I hadn't had such fun in years. Couldn't say his quality is really consistent yet, but never a true let-down. He's on my radar. (And such a nice guy, a doll to his fans, and passionate for his work.)


I'm a fan of the Incredibles score. The way he uses snippets of the same music in upbeat scenes as well as quiet ones such as the exhausted family arriving at the beach after dark... it's so well done.


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## Carol Rein

Well, while Howard Shore LOTR work is amazing, I had to vote for Hans Zimmer, because everytime I watch a movie and I say :"wow I love this music!!" always happens that is a Zimmer's job... And it happened to me since The House of the Spirits or even earlier movies, when I didn't even know Hans Zimmer existed... I just loved his music since I listened it first time (even not knowingly) .. May be because I found it quite similar to the melodies and moods I feel myself when I'm inspired.
I have to admit that he can be a little too repetitive sometimes, but his melodies and epic monumental pressence is so amazing.
I have to say that his music is not so special nor masterpieces, but so so beautiful!!! (Which makes it finally so so good, as the art itself has everything to do with beauty and less or nothing to do with complexity)


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## Ehab

1- Ennio Morricone for the Dollars trilogy
2- John Williams for Jaws
3- Danny Elfman for the different sounds he uses in his compositions
4- John Barry for the James Bond scores


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## Bob516

Thomas Newman, I love many of his soundtracks


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## Vaan

Joe Hisaishi is the best ever.


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## xrysida

Philip Glass and Ennio Morricone!!!


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## MarcoLusius

But what's about some neoromantic composers? "Good bye, Lenin" won't be the same without such magician Yann Tiersen soundtrack!


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## jazzthieve

...


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## jazzthieve

...


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## Larkenfield

Mark Isham for his atmospheric film scores for “The Public Eye” and “The Moderns”. I’ve played them many times over the years as standalone works. I believe that some of these film composers are among the most talented in the world for their skill and productivity. I consider the truly great ones with a high degree of respect.


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## Guest

Some reasonable options in the poll, but some "modern/contemporary" who are no longer with us! Is there another poll looking at composers working now on films since, say, 2000? Here's a few who've worked on top Hollywood movies in the past few years as a starting point.

Justin Hurwitz
Steven Price
Nicholas Britell
Max Richter
Jonny Greenwood


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## Red Terror

Nino Rota
Henry Mancini
Ennio Morricone
Bernard Herrmann


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## Ethereality

I used to be bigger on Williams, but nowadays I think his music lacks the depth and purity of the true classical greats.

The true contemporary film giant was Horner. His metering and balance, I wish I could interpret melodies and sounds this brilliantly. It's baffling:


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## Dimace

John Barry, Barry John & John Barry Prendergast, without second thought.


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## Guest

Ethereality said:


> I used to be bigger on Williams, but nowadays I think his music lacks the depth and purity of the true classical greats.
> 
> The true contemporary film giant was Horner. His metering and balance, I wish I could interpret melodies and sounds this brilliantly. It's baffling:


I'm sorry, but how can a 'contemporary' film composer be a 'was'? ? ?

Sorry again. I've just read the OP. Three of them are dead!


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## vincula

I follow with interest the impressive output of the young Nico Muhly:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_Muhly

Recommended.

Regards,

Vincula


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## Rogerx

Ennio Morricone OMRI (Rome, 10 November 1928 – June , 6 juli 2020) 
Just in, he's passed away


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## Aliputera

Jóhann Jóhannsson


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## Jacck

Goldsmith > Morricone > Poledouris > Williams

Williams is skilled and wrote like 5 absolute masterpieces, but many of his scores are average (or I don't care about them). The number of great scores by Goldsmith is much higher, he is also much more varied and experimental than Williams.


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