Reviews by Composer
David Arnold
Arnold has quickly become one of the best of the new generation of film
composers. He writes in a lush, Williams-esque style.
Stargate
Howard Blake
Howard Blake produced several popular orchestral scores in the '80s. He is
best known for his classical works, however.
Flash Gordon
Bruce Broughton
Broughton is one of those composers who has been around forever and has
composed some spectucular work, but is somewhat unfamiliar to the typical
soundtrack collector. He is best known for his western scores.
Lost
in Space Expanded
John Carpenter
Best known as director of several horror films, most notably Halloween.
Surprisingly, he also composes his own music for his films.
Big
Trouble in Little China
Don Davis
I don't know why, but it seems that Davis isn't very well-known in the
soundtrack community. Maybe it's because all of his excellent scores
are for horrible movies. His profile rose early in 1999 with his
excellent score to The Matrix.
House
of Frankenstein
The
Matrix
John Debney
One of the latest victims of corporate Hollywood, this talented young composer
began with the grandiose, awe-inspiring choral score for Cutthroat Island,
but has since been reduced to kiddie comedies and slasher flicks.
Dick
(25 Minute Promo)
Anne Dudley
Dudley is one of the pre-eminent female composers in Hollywood, and also
one of the most popular. She won an Academy Award for her work on
The Full Monty, and some of her latest work was on American History X.
Ancient
and Modern
Cliff Eidelman
A relative newcomer, Eidelman showed great promise with Star Trek VI and
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. Unfortunately he has been getting
boring dramas to score lately and has not had a chance to show his true
colors.
Star
Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Danny Elfman
Probably the wackiest composer out there, lately he has been experimenting
with atonal compositional techniques. His earlier scores include
Batman and Edward Scissorhands. Lately, he has done Men in Black
and A Simple Plan.
Anywhere
But Here (8 Minute Suite from Song Compilation)
Batman
Sleepy
Hollow
Michael Giacchino
As far as I'm concerned, Giacchino is the KING when it comes to video game
scores. He consistently comes out with game scores better than most
film music today. His biggest assignments have been The Lost World
and Medal of Honor. IMHO, a director REALLY needs to hire him on
a movie - just listen to Medal of Honor!
Medal
of Honor
Elliot Goldenthal
A true innovator, former classical composer Goldenthal has been melding
dissonant 20th Century writing with traditional film scoring tones.
Although his work is not always listenable, it IS always creative.
The
Alien Trilogy
Alien3
Batman Forever
Sphere
Titus
Jerry Goldsmith
Goldsmith has been working in the film
music industry since 1950 and is one of Hollywood's most prolific composers.
He began with modernistic, atonal scores, but lately has become more traditional.
Air
Force One
The
Alien Trilogy
Alien
The Challenge
Contract
on Cherry Street
Hollow Man
The Last Run
Legend
Logan's Run
The
Mummy
The
Omen
Police Story
Poltergeist
Rambo:
First Blood Part II
Star
Trek: The Motion Picture
Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star
Trek: First Contact
Star
Trek: Insurrection
Supergirl
The
Twilight Zone 40th Anniversary Collection
The
Thirteenth Warrior
The
Wind and the Lion
Ron Goodwin
Goodwin is a prolific British composer, who isn't as widely known to US
film score fans. He's quite good, though.
Battle
of Britain
Lawrence Nash Groupe
One of the better up-and-coming composers, with several indie flicks under
his belt. All of his scores show intense compositional talent.
The Contender
Deterrence
Deviants
Bernard Herrmann
Probably best known for his work with Alfred Hitchcock, Herrmann is one
of the greatest composers of the 20th century (both film and classical.)
Although his music is not always easy listening, especially some of the
Hitchcock scores like Psycho and Torn Curtain, it's always intelligent
and perfectly suited for the picture.
Citizen
Kane: The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann
The
Day the Earth Stood Still
Psycho
The
Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
The
Twilight Zone 40th Anniversary Collection
Vertigo
Joe Hisaishi
I'm not really familiar with most of his work, but Hisaishi is apparently
the John Williams of Japanese anime.
Princess
Mononoke
James Horner
Horner takes a more traditional approach to scoring. Unfortunately,
he has always been one to copy music from both himself and others.
Lately, he has been scoring heavy dramas.
The
Alien Trilogy
Aliens
Apollo
13
Krull
The Perfect Storm
Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star
Trek III: The Search for Spock
James Newton Howard
Previously known as the newest composer for huge action blockbusters, Howard
has since mutated his style for intelligent dramas always heavy on minimalism.
Snow
Falling on Cedars
Maurice Jarre
Mainly known for his epic scores to David Lean films. Lately he has
been obsessed with synthesizers, turning out a lot of entirely synthetic
ambient scores.
Doctor
Zhivago: The Essential Maurice Jarre Film Music Collection
Lawrence
of Arabia
Michael Kamen
A former rock musician, he has since composed several ballets and classical
film scores. He is probably known most for his action scores.
The
Iron Giant (8 Minute Suite from Song Compilation)
Wojciech Kilar
Polish composer Kilar routinely utilizes dark minimalism in his scores.
Most famous for 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The
Ninth Gate
Hummie Mann
Mann has been around for a while, orchestrating for people like Marc Shaiman.
In the '90s he has started composing his own scores, including Dracula:
Dead and Loving It.
P.T.
Barnum
Mark McKenzie
McKenzie, while still a relative unknown to most film score collectors,
has been stepping up the popularity ladder with scores for direct-to-video
sequels and Hallmark miniseries.
Durango
Joel McNeely
Another newcomer, he has been stuck with low-budget action flicks and has
not had a chance to truly show off his talent. Still, Shadows of
the Empire is an awesome concert work, refreshingly departing from Williams'
established norms.
Star
Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Ennio Morricone
Morricone is undoubtedly the most prolific film composer of all time (so
far) with something like 1000 scores under his belt. He first made
a name for himself by introducing the definitive sound of spaghetti westerns
with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Mission
to Mars
David Newman
Newman is just now making a name for himself with scores like The Phantom
and Galaxy Quest.
Galaxy
Quest
Alex North
Easily the most underrated musical genius in film music history.
Does the name Spartacus mean anything to you?
Bite
the Bullet
Viva
Zapata!
Basil Poledouris
Even though he's been on the film scoring scene for over 15 years, Poledouris
has been ignored by many film score fans. He has written some of
the best score literature ever, including Conan and The Hunt for Red October.
Conan
the Barbarian
Sergei Prokofiev
Mostly known for his classical works, Prokofiev also made a short foray
into film music, composing such Russian films as Alexander Nevsky, Lt.
Kije, and Ivan the Terrible
Alexander
Nevsky
Graeme Revell
Revell has been lauded for his combination of traditional orchestral
melodies with modernistic electronics.
Red
Planet
Leonard Rosenman
One of the older generation of composers, Rosenman is known for his atonality
and 20th Century classical style of scoring. Unfortunately, most
of his work sounds the same.
The
Lord of the Rings
Star
Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Alan Silvestri
Silvestri, who appeared in the 1980's, is most famous for his Back
to the Future action/adventure scores.
What
Lies Beneath
Mark Snow
Probably the most talented TV composer working today, Mark Snow has been
nominated for 9 major awards (2 for The X-Files) and has composed scores
for numerous high-profile TV series, miniseries, and films.
The
SnowFiles: The Film Music of Mark Snow
Max Steiner
If it weren't for the efforts of Steiner on Gone With the Wind and King
Kong, film music as we know it today wouldn't exist.
King
Kong (Original Recording)
Sir William Walton
One of the most successful British film composers, Walton is also widely
known in the classical field.
Battle
of Britain
John Williams
Probably the most popular composer at the moment, Williams has done many complex
scores that hearken back to the days of Korngold and Steiner. Lately
he has developed a mature style completely unlike the rest of his work
(i.e. Schindler's List)
Close
Encounters of the Third Kind
Close
Encounters: The Essential John Williams Film Music Collection
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Jaws
Jaws (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Lost
in Space Vol. 3
The Patriot
The
Spielburg/Williams Collaboration
Star
Wars: The Phantom Menace
Star
Wars: A New Hope
Star
Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star
Wars: Return of the Jedi
Superman
(2000 Rhino Release)
Superman (Rerecording)
Christopher Young
Veteran composer of over 50 films, Young has proven he can write in just
about every genre of movie, although he's most adept to horror. Despite
his enormous talents, he's somewhat underappreciated in the film score
world, but he gains popularity daily.
Bless the Child
Entrapment
Hans Zimmer
Zimmer basically writes in two styles: the bombastic action style heard
in The Rock, etc., and the moving, epic style from The Lion King and The
Thin Red Line.
Gladiator
Mission:
Impossible 2
The
Peacemaker
Compilations
Greatest
Science Fiction Hits IV
Lost
in Space Vol. 3
Mega Movies
Psycho:
The Essential Alfred Hitchcock
Signatures
in Suspense
The
Twilight Zone 40th Anniversary Collection
Books
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