Who's The Greatest Film Composer Of All Time?

[TheVamp]

I found this article at Slate magazine (a web mag I read almost every day)...

http://www.slate.com/id/2151656/?nav=ais

I must say I was surprised at the author's choice, but then again, I've only heard one score from this composer (a damn fine one, by the way).

Sometimes I think so-called intellectuals are obscure for the sake of being obscure...

[flight]

To me it's John Willams, no doubt.

[TheVamp]

Well, there's really no right answer. For you it's Williams, for me it's Goldsmith.

The only opinion that really matters is your own.

[flight]

Exactly.

But this person has to write about something :D

[Clockworker]

Me! :D



hihi! (Clint Bajakian) :o

[dcoscina]

Composers who had a style and sound of their that influenced following composers were:

Herrmann
North
Goldsmith
Williams (although he was drawing from the rich late Romantic idiom that Rosza, Korngold and Steiner worked in)

[nickysnd]

Newman.

umm... Alfred. :)

[JosephF]

Newman.

umm... Alfred. :)

Not Randy?

[hemloc]

I gotta go with John Williams, even though I really like Steiner(Mainly for Gone With The Wind! Then again, I have a thing for Vivienne Leigh, hehe!).

Seriously.... How many themes from John Williams scores can the average joe recognize and instantly associate with the character or movie that it represents. Not to mention they are prevalent in theme parks that have associated rides..... There is no escape from Williams-zilla....

And who could forget the other John?? John Barry?!?!

007 is another one that can't be left out in the cold!! My favorite Barry moment has to be the strings in "You Only Live Twice", though...

[Maverick]

My vote goes to Bernard Herrmann.

[shnurgle]

Zimmer. No doubt.

Not Randy?
I don't know man, Randy is pretty ridiculous. I mean the dude definitely has a cheese side, but man can he write. Some of my favorite cues are his, and I'm always flabberghasted by his chops with the orchestra, especially considering his penchant for whisky-drown piano bar songs.

Seriously though, I have to go with Herrmann on this (but 'ol Johnny Dubbs brings it in for a close second to be sure).

[Andrew Sigler]

Zimmer. No doubt.



I didn't know Gwen Stefani did movies...

[Tmon]

Jerry Goldsmith for me.

[lovelysilence]

Craig Armstrong (for Moulin Rouge primarily, but his other work as well as it is so emotionally expressive)
John Williams comes second, if you will, but the two are barely comparable.
I understand the intent of the topic question, but it's not possible to answer it as such IMO.

[LEX]

Bernard Herrmann!

LEX

[Sean R. Beeson]

There have been certain composers that although not the greatest at composing are great for other reasons. I suppose someone could argue that Debussy is the best "film" composer of all times, as that his music has been in at least 100 films.

http://imdb.com/name/nm0006033/ :P

Seriously though, answers will definetly be all over the place.

[LEX]

There have been certain composers that although not the greatest at composing are great for other reasons. I suppose someone could argue that Debussy is the best "film" composer of all times, as that his music has been in at least 100 films.

http://imdb.com/name/nm0006033/ :P

Seriously though, answers will definetly be all over the place.
Only 100 films.

Mozart's music has been in 564 films, so he is clearly much better than Debussy.;)

http://imdb.com/name/nm0003665/

Followed by Beethoven - 432
http://imdb.com/name/nm0002727/

Followed by Bach - 398
http://imdb.com/name/nm0001925/

Followed by Strauss - 275
http://imdb.com/name/nm0006310/

Followed by Chopin - 249
http://imdb.com/name/nm0006004/

Even Gershwin - 136
http://imdb.com/name/nm0006097/

LEX

[shnurgle]

Yeah, but Debussy's been ripped off more than Mozart and Beethoven combined when it comes to film score.

[JMDNYC]

To quote John Williams quoting Bernhard Herrmann: Herrmann asked a student what kind of composer he wanted to be, and the student answered a "film composer." "Wrong Answer!" Herrmann snapped (easy to imagine). "You should have said a 'good composer.'"

[nickysnd]

What did Elfman say about anyone with a good orchestrator?... :p

[LEX]

What did Elfman say about anyone with a good orchestrator?... :p
Can write a film score!

LEX

[Lenny]

There have been certain composers that although not the greatest at composing are great for other reasons. I suppose someone could argue that Debussy is the best "film" composer of all times, as that his music has been in at least 100 films.

http://imdb.com/name/nm0006033/ :P

Seriously though, answers will definetly be all over the place.

Debussy hit a home run when George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and the gang gathered at the fountain at the Belaggio in Vegas and just stared at the dancing waters during "Clair de Lune."
(and some people thought it was the end of the movie and walked out - I was mesmerized).

[Sean R. Beeson]

I agree 100% That was a gem

[handz]

Im for Williams - noone ever written so many remarkable themes... IMO

[gljm99]

Herrmann and Korngold

[Dannthr]

Williams...


Ralph Vaughan!

[IceWindFireSnow]

I would go with Brian Tyler, anyonre else agree with me on that one?

[shnurgle]

no-TEEEEEVEN my brother, noTEEEEEEEEven.

[solo]

I'd add Ennio Morricone. Don't know if he's the best but he's up there.

[PPH]

Tough one. I don't think there is one single best of all. My five nominees are John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, John Barry and Ennio Morricone. The firstr three, which are the first names that come to my mind, seem to appear several times in this topic. That's quite a signal.

[PPH]

Williams...


Ralph Vaughan!

Someone had to make that joke :D

[dcoscina]

Sergei Prokofiev

Alexander Nevsky and Ivan The Terrible both are monumental scores that spawned many many immitators.


When HErrmann was asked what he thought was the greatest film score, he mentioned Ivan The Terrible. So there ya go!

[nickysnd]

From versatility pov, I can't see anyone beating John Williams. Also he seems to have a sense of musically "short-cut"-ing to the dramatic vein of the film that I find totally disarming. A very effective composer, that would maybe explain the amont of scores he has done, and counting.

But the sense of sheer perfection that I am getting from Alfred Newman's scores is the most awe-inspiring experience that I ever had when listening to film scores - nothing comes even close to that. There is something special about his music that I cannot put my finger on, but it always gets me, can't help it. I am getting a similar feeling only from listening to Mozart, a feeling that I can describe only as "angels are right here" (which is scary sometimes... :) )

So, I will go for Alfred Newman - he is my Mozart of film scoring! :cool:

[fongi]

Well, there's really no right answer. For you it's Williams, for me it's Goldsmith.

The only opinion that really matters is your own.

You got that right !

[PPH]

Sergei Prokofiev

Alexander Nevsky and Ivan The Terrible both are monumental scores that spawned many many immitators.


When HErrmann was asked what he thought was the greatest film score, he mentioned Ivan The Terrible. So there ya go!

Prokofiev was great, indeed. But he didn't make many scores. I've loved his "Peter and the Wolf" since I was a child :D

[stmiller]

I think Bruckner is the greatest film composer who never did film. :) /end bad joke

I listen to Bruckner 8 mvmt 4 and always think: THIS is the score for the Lord of the Rings.

[amplayer]

It is awfully difficult NOT to pick Bernard Hermann or John Williams. Both of them were/are incredible.

Still, my personal favorite is Thomas Newman. All the Newmans are great, but to me, Thomas Newman is the most inventive and artistic in his approach. Also, I never go away from a Thomas Newman scored film and think that the score had places it didn't really fit or that it stuck out.

[Nanto Warrior]

I think its foolish to not pluralise the question to greatest film composers of all time. There are too many, Herrmann, Steiner, Goldsmith, Williams, Conti, (The Rocky Theme pretty much encapsulates The American Dream-you dont get more epic than that.) Menken, the list goes on and on, and I am not even doing justice to the hundreds of greats who I havent even mentioned!

Quite simply, its a silly topic anyway-composers in Hollywood are typecast in many ways and succeed only according to their ability to handle the politics of the filmmaking process. That doesnt mean the thousands of undiscovered and underrated film composers are not as good as those at the top! It simply means that they have not scored the required number of projects to propel them into a state of recognition and stable work. There are many undiscovered geniuses, you who read this message could be one yourself-but although you may be an absolute magical prodigy in terms of capturing the inherent emotional essence of a film's narrative, you may be held back by many other obstacles in Hollywood which have NOTHING to do with your ability.

Marco Beltrami/Tyler Bates are typecast as 'horror guys'
Henry Mancini tended to get more comedies.

Should we ignore the efforts of certain individuals because they have not had the opportunity to break preconceptions? This would be a tragic day comrades.

No individual composer deserves that title alone. There are TOO MANY talented people in the world!

[Nanto Warrior]

And on that note, this topic is closed, in the name of the Warrior. :cool:

[SBallard]

Camille Saint-Saëns' music for L'Assassinat du duc de Guise in 1908. The first to compose music for film.

Since time has not ended, no one is. :p

[dcoscina]

I think it depends on what the criteria is. If it's most effective film composer, I could name dozens od greats. If it was originality of sound, than North would be at the top along with Herrmann (goldsmith as much as I like does sound quite a bit like Alex North IMO). If it's a mastery of the orchestra and the ability to harmonize complex chords to catchy melodies than its John Williams. I think Prokofiev should have a place in there too as his Alexander Nevsky score was used as a temp plate for many composers in the years to come. Listen to CONAN and then listen to the Crusaders in Pskov- very similar.

[MUSE]

I think there is no such thing best composer, each has his own strength and weakneses. One of the few I can list is Alan Silvestri (Forest Gump is N1 followed by Predator and Back to the future). Music that touches strings of my soul gets my attention, unfortunately these days there are not many good stuff out there, mostly some accents with colosal orchestra sounds compensating lack of a talent.
Thats my opinion though :)

[bobbyem]

Williams and Goldsmith tie. John williams seams abit to stuck up but his music is incredible so i cant dislike him :)

[flashman]

Hermann, Williams and Morriconne.

[chocothrax]

Williams and Goldsmith tie. John williams seams abit to stuck up but his music is incredible so i cant dislike him :)

Why do you say Williams is stuck up?

[bobbyem]

Turtleneck Sweater.... :D

[Stonzthro]

Max Steiner, JW and James Newton Howard (unless he's reaching for Stylus or replacing a Howard Shore score).

[jologman2000]

hermann for his wonderful imagination. williams for his technical mastery. zimmer for his marketing skills.

i'd like to learn and be able to do all three aspects. haha. i wish...

regards.

[Jeff Hayat]

Williams and Goldsmith tie. John williams seams abit to stuck up but his music is incredible so i cant dislike him :)

Why do you say Williams is stuck up?

Wondering this too. I have seen several interviews, and he seems rather modest and down to earth.

[bobbyem]

Wondering this too. I have seen several interviews, and he seems rather modest and down to earth.

Never mind guys, i dont know John so i cant really say what hes like. I just got that feel from the stuff ive seen. But then again who can be them self on camera? I really have nothing against Williams, at all. And like most of us here i grew up listening to his music on the tv and is probably the biggest reason i love film music.

[greenhorn999]

I've always liked Alan Silvestri. He keeps me thinking outside the box. John Williams is pretty good too.

But one of my favorites and a man who consistently breaks the proverbial mold, is Danny Elfman. I've always liked his stylings and his work changes it up each time so it never sounds the same. Similar yes. And his daughter Jenna is someone I'd definitely call a lady.

[Phantom]

I vote for Hans Zimmer. I like many film composers, but Hans Zimmer has got something in his music that makes everything perfect :)

[MUSE]

How could I forget Joe Hisaishi, another hell of a musician. Saw lots of movies with his music and his truly briliant.
Example is right here :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IRpFXTvMQw8&feature=related

[Jeff Hayat]

....Hans Zimmer has got something in his music that makes everything perfect :)

Yeah - it's called a team of 30 people! LOL

[Tosho]

My favourite without a doubt is John Williams, his understanding of harmony,counterpoint and odd time is just awesome, combine this with a natural flare for thematic melodies and in my book he cann't be beat ! Danny Elfman is another favourite , Hans Zimmer for me is hit and miss and a person who regurgitates a lot of his material in an obvious way , a lot of the themes in Pirates of the Carribbean would have been more effective if i hadn't heard them in one of his scores for an Arnie movie , having said that his work on those scores is great ....

Other favourites

Alan Silvestri
Jerry Goldsmith
Bernard Herrmann....and many others ...

[MUSE]

Agreed with John Williams as well as other HG Williams.
May I add another unique musician is Eric Serra who scored "The Professional".
Now thats a score!!!

[Infineum]

If you've seen the Harry Potter movies, you know John Williams can compose. But did you know a young, new guy, composed the score for the 5th one? I was blown away by that score. His name is "Nicholas Hooper", I think. I expect to hear more music from him.

Hans Zimmer is my favorite as of now, though.

[keysersozeh]

I have to say Basil Pouledouris and ofcourse Zimmer.

[benwalken]

Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith...

[mdobrowolski]

Bernard Herrmann,John Williams, Alan Silvestri, Wojciech Kilar, Thomas Newman (for Meet Joe Black) and Alexandre Desplat. These are my favourite composers, though I think B. Herrmann is (was...) no. 1 in film music.

[fulltimemusician]

enio morricone

[SHKEVE]

My vote for the best film composer of all times has to go to Elliot Goldenthal. Without a single doubt. Alien 3, Final Fantasy, In Dreams, Titus, you name it, they were all masterfully composed and orchestrated. Sure he uses an orchestrator to save time, but he still personally chooses all of the textures and articulations. It also doesn't hurt that he seems to be batsh*t crazy in his interviews. If you're not very familiar with his work, the score for Final Fantasy is a surprisingly good example of his orchestral abilities. Though you shouldn't expect anything less from someone who studied with Copeland.

Toru Takemitsu is another favorite of mine. Though he focused mainly on composing concert music, his ear for orchestral textures was incredible.

[Jesse Searls]

Hermann. Definitely Bernard Hermann. Fahrenheit 451 is very well done. Also, Frank Skinner from the mid-early days of Hollywood. "Written on the Wind" is prime example and a good movie. Rock Hudson is in it.

Rock!

[Peabody]

Defiantly the man with the pipe, Bernard Herrmann!

[Ishvara]

that's a good topic^^

For me, i would say John Williams, owning to large number of great movies he composed for.
And of course his soundtracks are great to. A living and dreaming music...

But i can't omit great composers like Joe Hisaishi, Thomas Newman, Howard Shore, Jeremy Soule (video games like Guild Wars, Oblivion...), Hans Zimmer, Eric Serra, James Horner...
All of them have composed marvelous original soundtracks...

[Software]

György Ligeti.

Even Stanley Kubrick new it when he stole over 30 minutes of Ligeti's music for his Space 2001.

[dcoscina]

Ligeti was not a film composer. Kubrick tracked existing music of Ligeti's into his film. That is NOT a film composer.

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

[guy theaker]

Well, for me it has to be between the 2 Johns.
John Williams, or John Barry.
Both are able to write in a whole variety of styles, and have a fabulous feel for what works with the visual.

Star Wars verses James Bond.

I can't decide!

[Dannthr]

Ralph Vaughan Williams

[Nanto Warrior]

I do wish someone would close this thread. Its incredibly subjective, a waste of time, and wont help any of US reach the position of Greatest Film Composer of All Time-will it?

The Warrior.

[Vincent Bergbahn]

START A POLL WITH ALL THE NAMES A VOTE !!!

[Pumaman Roar]

For me the names who marked the difference (in American Cinema) are BERNARD HERRMANN, ALEX NORTH and JERRY GOLDSMITH, in Europe are JOHN BARRY, GEORGES DELERUE , NINO ROTA and ENNIO MORRICONE

[nickysnd]

I am coming closer and closer to two conclusions on the matter: "film composer" is a misleading expression that should be replaced with "film-scorer," and, also, there can be no such thing as "the greatest film-scorer of all time."

Actually, in all honesty, there is no way a film-scorer can be compared to another film-scorer. A film-scorer's only rapport is with the film at hand. And even that rapport is hard to evaluate, when you think of the hidden concessions made to the film-makers decisions. In film-scoring, the old adage "good art conceals the artist" is truer than anywhere else.

IMHO

[likecmposr]

Marco Beltrami!

[PaulR]

Marco Beltrami!

Yeah? I would say based on what I've heard so far that MB has as much idea about a filmscore as Bernard.

[flickfan82x]

Oliver Stone

[tmhuud]

Oliver Stone

Stanley Kubrick. ;)

[nickysnd]

Sharon Stone.

[peter5992]

For me, it is Bernard Hermann and John Williams. I have a CD with the Vertigo soundtrack in my car, play it all the time. And a few years ago, the SF symphonic orchestra did a special performance here in Golden Gate Park to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ET, performing the ET theme sound and other John Williams' music. It is not just great movie music, it is great music in and by itself - everyone knows and loves that stuff.

John Williams is a excellent classical guitar player too, by the way, something which raises my esteem for him as a universal music man even higher (I have been playing classical guitar for +20 years and once even studied it at the conservatory of music, I know how hard it is to achieve technical and musical perfection).

[PaulR]

John Williams is a excellent classical guitar player too, by the way, something which raises my esteem for him as a universal music man even higher (I have been playing classical guitar for +20 years and once even studied it at the conservatory of music, I know how hard it is to achieve technical and musical perfection).

Excellent taste in film music I would say.

John Williams is an excellent classical guitar player too? I knew he was a pretty good pianist, but classical guitar player - you got me on that one. ;)

[paulwr]

Excellent taste in film music I would say.

John Williams is an excellent classical guitar player too? I knew he was a pretty good pianist, but classical guitar player - you got me on that one. ;)

Yea, I have never heard of John Williams playing the guitar. I read he made money in NY while in school playing jazz piano in clubs. Where did that info come from?

-Paul

[mirrored]

http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=StxpWgfhjIg

John Williams. :D

[nickysnd]

http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=StxpWgfhjIg

John Williams. :D
Coup de maître! :cool:

[theyarecomingforyou]

John Williams, Thomas Newman, Hans Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith and Danny Elfman... plus Jeremy Soule for computer game music (as mentioned earlier in this thread). It's a very subjective subject but these people really standout in my mind. This doesn't even acknowledge the talented work of those that place commercial music into films - Lost In Translation stands out as a film that does this well.

[studio2860]

Just wanted to mention to somebody in this thread that the John Williams that plays classical guitar is not the same person as the film composer John Williams...

[A.Leung]

Just wanted to mention to somebody in this thread that the John Williams that plays classical guitar is not the same person as the film composer John Williams...

lol. I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. ;)

[mirrored]

Just wanted to mention to somebody in this thread that the John Williams that plays classical guitar is not the same person as the film composer John Williams...

Sorry, I was first with my youtube link. :P

[PaulR]

Don't worry Peter - everyone makes that mistake at some point or another. :D

John Williams - American - Jurassic Park theme

John Williams - English - Cavatina - Stanley Myers

No worries. :)

[JCL]

I read once that John Williams (the Guitarist) was the one and only person the great Andres Segovia ever took on as a student. It shows.

[Dean Krommydas]

Off topic - I don't think there are quite enough people at that John Williams concert.

OMG :eek:

[peter5992]

lol. I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. ;)


Ouch - I stand to be corrected. That hurts. :o

I seriously believed - not kidding you folks - that they were one and the same guy, but no, they are different indeed, looked them up on wikipedia.

When I attended conservatory of music in the early '80s we were taught in the "Segovia" style (if I can recall correctly - not totally sure here, believe it was related to the angle of fingers of the right hand vis-a-vis the strings). Williams was a pupil of Segovia, so he has always been a big figure in my mind.

Well, whatever, they are both great. And John Williams the composer is still one of my favorite film composers.

[Daryl]

Don't worry Peter - everyone makes that mistake at some point or another. :D

John Williams - American - Jurassic Park theme

John Williams - English - Cavatina - Stanley Myers

No worries. :)
When I was a student I met the guitar John Williams at a party. I didn't recognise him and we weren't talking about music. All I knew was that he was called John. Then he mentioned that he played the guitar. I asked him if he was any good, and he said "OK, I suppose". Imagine my embarrassment when I saw him playing at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of days later. :o

D

[A.Leung]

:eek:When I was a student I met the guitar John Williams at a party. I didn't recognise him and we weren't talking about music. All I knew was that he was called John. Then he mentioned that he played the guitar. I asked him if he was any good, and he said "OK, I suppose". Imagine my embarrassment when I saw him playing at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of days later. :o

D

[peter5992]

When I was a student I met the guitar John Williams at a party. I didn't recognise him and we weren't talking about music. All I knew was that he was called John. Then he mentioned that he played the guitar. I asked him if he was any good, and he said "OK, I suppose". Imagine my embarrassment when I saw him playing at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of days later. :o

D

That is a good story - could have happened to me. ;)

Seriously, there's so many great musicians, artists and composers that you have been admiring for a long time - and when you would meet them on the street, you would not recognize them in person.

[PaulR]

When I was a student I met the guitar John Williams at a party. I didn't recognise him and we weren't talking about music. All I knew was that he was called John. Then he mentioned that he played the guitar. I asked him if he was any good, and he said "OK, I suppose". Imagine my embarrassment when I saw him playing at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of days later. :o

D

Yes - he's a great player. When I was at the RCM, my best friend there was studying classical guitar and John Williams came round a few times, although I never saw him. Julian Bream was another great player. We have some great classical guitar players come to think of it. I never liked The Royal Festival Hall btw - hasn't it been revamped recently?

Everyone, including me, makes the JW faux pas at one point or another. He's had people ask him how he has time for filmscoring and do guitar concerts too, loads of times I expect.

As an aside - this reminds me of a non musical conversation I was having (topically) about the Dalai Lama with another guy years ago. There was a third guy who was a friend of the guy I was talking to who never said a word. The conversation on the Dalai Lama went on for about 5 minutes in earnest - and like a lot of conversations, at the end there's the usual pause.
The third guy filled this pause admirably by saying - 'Yes, and isn't it marvellous the way they jump from rock to rock when they're on the side of a mountain.'
:o:o:o

You can't make this stuff up - and people wonder why I get worse as I get older.

:D

[Jack Moik]

Jerry Goldsmith. Many people say he stood behind Williams, but for me he deserved a couple of more Oscars then he actually had won. Think about his wonderfull Star Trek theme, Gremlins, Rambo, Alien...the list is endless. I miss him.

[A.Leung]

Beyond a doubt. Dont have to even THINK about it... JG.

[Vatroslav]

Beyond a doubt. Dont have to even THINK about it... JG.

It's James Horner, not James Gorner. :D ;)

[keysersozeh]

Robert Rodriguez writes fine music for his own music.. so ill add him to the list.. and i loved the darkness in Brad Fiedel's piece for terminator.. so I add him as well.. sorry for bringing up an old thread btw :D

[soundeziner]

Williams, Ennio, Howard, yes you have all named some very fine composers. But alas my dear friends you have all forgotten the one who, I would dare say, was first to perk the ears of nearly every one of us. Even when he borrowed themes from other composers it was incredibly effective.

Cue the lightning


Hunter enters stage right


He takes a deep breath


and sings


"Kill da Wabbit!"


Carl Stalling is the ONE Baby! :D

[Robbie_2327]

Well I didn't read all 10 pages of this thread so I apologize if I make the same point that somebody else has already made. But I think there really are 2 ways to answer this question.

Who is your favorite film composer of all time?

and

Who is the most influential film composer of all time?

I would probably go with James Horner for my favorite and John Williams for most influential.

Of course if we were just talking about straight up composers I would have to say that Claude Debussy (as someone pointed out several pages ago) probably has had the most influence in film music, stylistically speaking that is.

I believe it was Igor Stravinsky who said, "Good composer's borrow and great composer's steal". Of course he himself was known for stealing a few phrases from Debussy too.

[The Engraver]

Beyond a doubt. Dont have to even THINK about it... JG.


Very, very, bur veeeeeeery happy to agree with You.

[PNS]

There is no "best", but I really like Alan Silvestri, and of course, John Williams

[mtryon]

Danny Elfman

[ChrisXYZ]

· Ennio Morricone
· Basil Poledouris
· Bernard Herrmann
· John Williams
· Danny Elfman

[Bubowski]

Maurice Jarre? Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai. Use of obscure electronic instruments melded perfectly into an orchestral fabric.

[Frandays]

For me is John Williams!!! with no reserves.

[ai6276]

Easily John Williams. Easily.

[jahumaster]

My vote is for John Williams.
He really knows how to tell story with music.


Jan

[mtryon]

Mike Post;)

[OneThrow]

If he'd been alive at the right time - Mozart! :D Probably. :D

Otherwise there's a lot of really good ones don't you think?

[steakslim]

Elliot Goldenthal gets my vote, but only because he's still alive. :( So many we've lost

[LittleLeadMen]

It's a pretty easy answer. Film scoring is a purely commercial endeavor. The composer that has made the most money at his profession is the winner.

[Matthias King]

I'd have a hard time narrowing it down to one, so here's a list of a few of the composers I think are the best:
John Williams
Jerry Goldsmith
Basil Poledouris
Alan Silvestri
James Horner
Howard Shore
Danny Elfman

There are a lot more great composers too. I think it's impossible to narrow it down to a single one.

[henry sellers]

The idea I got from the title of this thread was what was each of our own favourite film composers, and not a debate on who wins. My top three favourites are;
Philip Glass
James Horner
Jerry Goldsmith

[Uber Mega]

Three of my favorites are probably John Williams, Jerry goldsmith and James Horner...even narrowing it down to three is hard though!

I didn't move for 5 mins after last year's "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" finished, I was stunned, Horner made those last 10 minutes absolutely devastating.

[Lostin Space]

Alan Silvestri has given me most up to now.

I like the Zemeckis/Silvestri combinations very much.

[ErikSchroder]

My favorite must be Danny Elfman, I love weird and eerie music. I also like Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams... and James Horner. I used to like Zimmer very much, but I'm getting a bit tired of his chord progressions. Though his "older" scores are still golden. Though the music in the ending scene of The DaVinci Code ("Chevaliers de Sangreal") was majestic.

[AnFcollege83]

I look at it from this angle:

There are certainly other composers who fullfill my aesthetic love of film music in ways that John Williams doesn't but, most of them have been in commission some time after Williams showed up and a lot of these composers are undoubtedly influenced by him.

Having said that, John Williams is the big-daddy master!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA STAR WARS FOREVER!

Nah, just kidding . . . kind of . . .
Truth be told, he's the most in demand composer on the planet and has been for around 4 decades. He's like Haydn in some ways. Of course, Haydn was much more influential on Western Music than John will ever be, but their careers have similarities.
Like Haydn, John has a synthesized sound from combining different genres of music (Jazz, Romantic, Classical, Piano concert music and contemporary) into his own unique and often extreeeeemely creative "sound." Like Haydn, John's music is accepted and often loved by almost all class or societal levels from the rich, middle class, and low classes; by connoisseurs and amatuers; movie buffs and occassional film goers. Besides being popular with the masses, he, like great composers of baroque, opera and classical, is often commissioned by the wealthy and influential to compose music (The Best Film makers, The Official Olympic Theme, NBC, Barack Obama's inauguration to name a few).
He truly is composing for the most popular and widely renown entertainment genre of this time in our world: movies. This is really no different than the best composers writing for Kings, Churchs and Opera Houses in centuries past.

But besides his credentials, when studying his work with a scrutinizing eye, it becomes apparent that he doesnt just stay within contemporary styles. He masters those styles if he hasn't already (in some way) helped to create them.

The biggest arguments against Williams aren't that he borrowed from Stravinsky or others in the Romantic Era, rather, the accusation that a lot of his material starts to "sound the same" after a while.
Well, if you've ever though that, consider this: He has done the most widely-played, universal movies of the two generations. Who in the world hasn't seen atleast one of the following: Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Hook, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jaws, Harry Potter, Schindlers list, Close Encounters, Superman or the Olympics? And what do 90% of those movies have in common? They're all big, iconic films and that's the very reason why they've reached the masses along with their big, iconic scores. Now if you're someone who hasn't heard much of Williams, considering the above, it would be easy to assume that he just has a "big, hollywood sound." Even the educated composer can identify surface characteristics of his music (The acending 5th interval used, once again, most commonly in his large works like Star Wars, Jurassic Park and E.T). However, one should not only look at his other themes, but all the work in between thematic development: the transitional underscore. There is where sooo much of his creativity is displayed and where the merit for his reputation as a master/genius is validated.

Now consider the aforementioned claim but applied to other film composers. Have you ever studied the works of David Arnold up close? Listen to StarGate and then listen to Independence Day and the most recent Godzilla and ask yourself if he doesn't borrow from previous works. Check out Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Debny and any other mainstream composer and cross-examin their individual scores. No disrespect to those fine composers, of course. Most of us has already done this, and that's why a lot of composers agree that while John's sound is Universal, it's (more importantly) original and maybe even timeless.

There's my take on it!

[frankjgonzales]

Id say Gustav Holst for THE PLANETS

[Raymeous]

Ok I have to put in my two cents on this one....

Even though there are a bunch of great composers out there I have to say John Williams hands down. Think about some of the biggest movies ever; Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park (he did em all but the first one was the "good' one), E.T., Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List... the list goes on and on when you consider he's done every George Lucas movie and Steven Spielberg flick as well as other more obscure pieces. He even did the theme for the Olympics?!! The Olympics man!! How cool is that?!

You can whistle or hum half a dozen notes of any of the above pieces and anyone in the WORLD will know what movie its from. One of the things I really like about his scores is that you can listen to the music by itself and you KNOW what part of the movie your at. Not many film scores can do that, and I have about a hundred of them on CD

I love Goldsmith, Howard, Zimmer, Serra, Goldenthal and all those guys, including Elfman every once in a while, but I think Mr. Williams music is it. Anyone that can come up with something as intense as Dual of the Fates or Imperial March, and then turn around and come up with such a light and delicate piece as Yoda's Theme.... Thats talent.

Can you tell I saw Star Wars when it came out ? .... the first time.

Ok thats my rant! Now back to your regularly scheduled thread. :cool: