Who are the film composers that wrote scores that really moved you? Maybe they were the only saving force in a film, or maybe they added so much, that the film would have been forgettable without their score? This list can also include your favorite film soundtrack/score. My opinions:

James Horner. His scores have moved me countless times. His scores from Glory, Legends of the Fall, A Beautiful Mind and Braveheart were amazing, not to mention his many others.

Hanz Zimmer If you’ve been watching films at all in the last two decades, you’ve heard Hanz Zimmer. Some of his most memorable scores are from The Rock, The Thin Red Line (which was almost ruined when it was put in Pearl Harbor) and Gladiator.

John Williams Self-explanatory.

Danny Elfman His scores have contributed unequivocally to the history of cinema with such great scores as Batman, The Nightmare before Christmas and most recently, Big Fish (which I loved).

Thomas Newman I will let Jakal comment on Newman. My favorites of his are Meet Joe Black, The Green Mile and Road to Perdition.

Two of my favorite scores are Zimmer’s Thin Red Line and one by a lesser-known composer, Samuel Barber. His Adagio for Strings, which most of you will remember from Platoon, is one of the most moving pieces I have ever heard. It was subsequently heard in a number of other films like Lorenzo’s Oil and even the piece of Al Pacino’s character’s film we saw in Simone.

Excellent and well-considered topic, JtB.

Bernard Herrmann
It's hard to decide where to begin or where to end with Herrmann. We had not seen his like before. I fear we will not again. The score to Psycho is perhaps his best known bit of genius. My personal favorite is the electronic, theremin-driven score to The Day The Earth Stood Still. What I admire most, though, is the staggering variety he brought to his craft. Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Taxi Driver, each is remarkable and remarkably different.

Miklós Rózsa
Perhaps the best example of a composer who successfully negotiated both the world of film and the concert hall. At a time when he was producing the scores to Spellbound and Ben-Hur, he also produced his first string quartet and the Heifetz-commissioned violin concerto. The bias against tonal, melodic music in the classical world today means that his works for the concert hall will probably not be remembered as well as his film scores, which is a pity.

Nino Rota
Rota was nowhere near the musical giant Hermann or Rózsa were, but his scores were distinctive, orignial, and engaging in a way that is rarely heard today. The aforementioned Danny Elfman is the only composer working consistently today that comes to mind as his logical successor.

Ennio Morricone
I sometimes find my admiration of Morricone tempered a bit by the sheer volume of his work. There is simply so much of it, that not all of his scores maintain the high quality of which he is capable. When he acheives his best work, though (The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, The Mission, Cinema Paradiso), his gifts are undeniable.

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Originally posted by JackietheBlade:
...a lesser-known composer, Samuel Barber...

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Ooohhhh...this just hurts! Barber's stature among twentieth century composers cannot be underestimated. With two Pulitzer Prizes to his credit and the mere fact that week simply does not pass in the U.S. without one of his major works receiving a performance in a major venue, "lesser-known" is a somewhat parochial statement.

Do you know, JtB, that the "Adagio for Strings" is an arrangement of the Second Movement of Barber's String Quartet? If you have only encountered the string orchestra arangement, I encourage you to find a copy of the string quartet. If anything, the smaller ensemble is lovelier.

Now Playing: "Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 29" Miklos Rozsa (perf. New Zeland Symphony Orchestra/James Sedares) <-- Thanks for the morning inspiration, JtB!

I wish I had something more original here, but instead of maybe getting as personal as I should, I'll just mention a few oldtimers and some of what they had to offer.

Alfred Newman: Among his accomplishments, he composed the theme for Twentieth-Century Fox, was the father of composers Thomas, David and Maria Newman, and the uncle of Randy Newman.
He composed some of the most affecting and exciting scores ever. Among my faves are "Captain From Castile"(any Trojan football fans out there?), "How Green Was My Valley" (always makes me bawl), the Charles Laughton "Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Gunga Din", "Wuthering Heights", "The Prisoner of Zenda", "The Black Swan", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", "Twelve O'Clock High", "Heaven Can Wait"(1943), and "How the West Was Won."

Dimitri Tiomkin: Let's see, "I can name that composer in two notes." That's not a slam, but Tiomkin had a few signature motifs which make him one of the easiest composers for me to identify and enjoy. Even though born in the Ukraine, he seems mostly identified with westerns. My faves of his would include "The Guns of Navarone", "Red River", "The Old Man and the Sea", "Giant", "Friendly Persuasion", "The Fall of the Roman Empire", "High Noon", "Gunfight at the OK Corral"( I really love the theme sung by Frankie Laine), "Lost Horizon"(Capra),"55 Days at Peking" and "Town Without Pity"( another classic title song with Gene Pitney vocals.)

I have a few comments to add on Bernard Herrmann and Miklos Rozsa.

Herrmann was the conductor in the pit at Albert Hall in Hitchcock's remake of "The Man Who Knew Too Much". As well as LT's mentions, I have to include his scores for "The Trouble With Harry", "North By Northwest", "Sisters", "Fahrenheit 451", "Jason and the Argonauts", "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "7th Voyage of Sinbad", and "Anna and the King of Siam." Also worth noting is that although "The Birds" had no musical score, Herrmann was credited as sound consultant, and the next time you watch and listen to it, you'll probably notice many reasons why.

Rozsa's lushness made him easy to identify also, and I really love the music in "The Lost Weekend"( another theremin!), "Thief of Bagdad", "Lust For Life", "Last Embrace", "El Cid", "Time After Time", "King of Kings", "Eye of the Needle", "Quo Vadis", "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", "Double Indemnity", and "Dragnet"!!! That's right, he composed the famous theme for all the "Dragnet" movies and the TV shows.

I know I'm being tedious and long-winded, but I really love the music in all those movies, as well as hundreds (thousands?) others. I can't leave without mentioning a few themes, such as Max Steiner's for "Gone With the Wind", Ernest Gold's for "Exodus", Mario Nascimbene's for "The Vikings" and David Amram's for the original "The Manchurian Candidate." Also, any harmonica work from virtuosos Toots Thielemans ("Midnight Cowboy", "The Sugarland Express", "Jean de Florette", "Manon of the Spring", "French Kiss", etc.) and Larry Adler ("Genevieve", "The Hook", "King & Country", etc.) always bring chills or smiles.

Shut up already, mark.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Angelo Badalamenti should be mentionned. His score for "Mulholland Drive" was one of the all time greats!!!

Phillip Glass!

Vampyros Lesbos has one of my favorite scores of all time. Pretty lame movie, but a great soundtrack!

Who composed the score for the Kill Bill movies. They both have amazing music.

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Originally posted by kraftdeluxe:
Who composed the score for the Kill Bill movies. They both have amazing music.

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The RZA composed new music for both films and Robert Rodriguez composed and played with his band the new stuff in Vol. 2 that sounds like it's from a spaghetti western. Of course, most of the music is old songs or music from older movies and TV shows.

while the greats have already been mentioned, i have two pet soundtracks that i love: clint mansell's work on "requiem for a dream" and michael nyman's work on "gattaca." not really sure exactly what it is that i love about these, but they just strike some chord with me.

I want to mention another current composer who's able to express a huge variety of emotions in his scores, from the subtly-haunting to the intensely-manic. That would be Carter Burwell, who's composed the score to every single Coen Bros. film (not counting most of the T-Bone-produced folk songs in "O Brother".) If my memory is any good (debateable), my fave Coen scores are "Raising Arizona", "Miller's Crossing", and "Barton Fink."

I also liked his score to "Rob Roy", but my favorite Carter Burwell score has to be "Gods and Monsters." His music and the visuals in the final scene in the rain make this "girlie-man" (thanks, Gov) want to bawl.

Dave Grusin's work on The Goonies. What a great score.

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Originally posted by mark f:
I want to mention another current composer[...]Carter Burwell[.]

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That's a really good call, mark. I like Carter Burwell a great deal as well, though I think he's terribly overlooked. Something I find interesting is he seems to be a favorite among musicians that I know.

Now Playing: NPR's Morning Edition

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Originally posted by slimeBalrog:
Dave Grusin's work on The Goonies. What a great score.

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Hey, slimey, you do know that Sloth's theme is from "The Adventures of Don Juan"(1948), composed by Max Steiner.

My favourite composer ever has to be Danny Elfman, his themes are just always original, entertaining and unforgettable! When his scores are in Tim Burton they add a dose of magic and that's just wonderful.

His best work, for me, is Edward Scissorhands but Batman Returns and Beetlejuice are both excellent.

Max Steiner's work on The Goonies. What a great score.

Danny Elfman is the most incredible composer ever. His work on all the Tim Burton movies (especially Nightmare Before Christmas) is amazing.

I agree! I was watching this recent Steve Martin film a few days ago: Novocaine, and I was surprised to hear that the Theme music of the film was composed by Danny Elfman (even though I recognised his style right away). The Theme was excellent. He is definitely the best.

This one's pretty much for you, mark.

Saturday morning, my clock radio was set to the Beethoven Satellite Network, which woke me to a lovely piece of music that sounded familiar, but I could not quite place. It turned out to be the String Sextet of Erich Korngold. I remembered you citing his excellent score for The Adventures of Robin Hood elsewhere, and it occured to me that we hadn't given him his due here, I'm embarrased to say.

It's a shame his name doesn't come up more often among classical or film score buffs. He was a giant in both worlds, though his esteem and reputation suffered in the former for being an unrepentant Romantic and his ties to Hollywood. Fortunately the latter gave him a good home and he returned the favor with great scores for Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and Of Human Bondage to name only a few.

Anybody who appreciates Korngold's work would be well-served by seeking out Kempe's recording leading the Munich Philharmonic in the Symphony in F-sharp.

Now Playing: "Hey Brother" Camper van Beethoven New Roman Times (Vanguard) <-- my first time through, mark, and it's every bit as good as you and pE have suggested

Danny Elfman for the bulk of Tim Burton's movies has been excellent, and his theme tune for Tales From the Crypt is my favourite from his work.

My favourite score though is from Hellraiser. Can't remember who composed it.

Ennio Morricone is easily the greatest, if not the most prolific, film composer in the history of the world.

I would put Bernard Hermann as a close second, followed by Angelo Badalamenti and John Zorn.

I also enjoy John Williams, Danny Elfman, Thomas Newman and Howard Shore.