Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Currently, Zimmer is definitely one of the best. John Barry's score for Dances with Wolves is a classic. And I adore Basil Poledouris's score for Conan the Barbarian.
But the best composers of all time are Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, and John Williams. They are in a class all by themselves.
I've heard Jerry in concert. Really good solid stuff. John Williams is great with themes, but I have to say that much of his work is typical of Hollywood - derivative. It is pretty easy to pick out segments that he lifted out of Holst's "Planets" in "Star Wars." There are other examples, but those are easiest to find. Morricone is simply amazing and if the directors work with him their films can become poetic with the interaction between music and visuals. I'll add Shostakovitch and Moroder to the list. "Flashdance" would have been a flash in the pan without Moroder.
My favorites: The Shining (Carlos/Elkind), Road to Perdition (T. Newman), American Beauty (T. Newman), Risky Business (Tangerine Dream), Twin Peaks / TP:FWwM (A. Badalamenti), Mulholland Dr. (A. Badalamenti), Taxi Driver (B. Herrmann), Psycho (B. Herrmann), Vertigo (B. Herrmann)
The first Pirates of the Caribbean. Klaus Badelt as Hans Zimmer's understudy is/was AMAZING.
I actually think Hans Zimmer tends to be a little shallow. I think what Klaus did with POTC 1 was exaggerate every thing that made Hans so good. Just listen to the soundtrack of the first one (excellent) and the second one (mediocre). The first one blows the second one out of the water. It was light and fun, dark and mysterious, and possessed a depth that few other composers can match.
Seems to me that Klaus has shied away from that type of music and gone in his own direction, but I definitely think he has the potential to be the best in the business. He's a musician's composer.
Exodus ~ Ernest Gold Legend ~ Tangerine Dream Beetlejuice ~ Danny Elfman Jurassic Park ~ John Williams Doctor Zhivago ~ Maurice Jarre Joseph Andrews ~ John Addison Gone with the Wind ~ Max Steiner Lawrence of Arabia ~ Maurice Jarre King of Kings (1961) ~ Miklos Rozsa The Mummy Returns ~ Alan Silvestri Romeo and Juliet (1968) ~ Nino Rota Pee-wee's Big Adventure ~ Danny Elfman The Adventures of Robin Hood ~ Erich Wolfgang Korngold Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ~ Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ~ Klaus Badelt Two Mules for Sister Sara ~ Ennio Morricone~ Yes, I love his other scores, but this stands out for me. Conan the Barbarian ~ Basil Poledouris~ This could be the most stunning combination of images and music I've ever witnessed. Several places give me chills! Patton ~ Jerry Goldsmith ~ He's generally reliable for enjoyable music though I don't care for the one he did for "Legend". I'm glad they went with Tangerine Dream, at least for the version I prefer. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial ~ John Williams ~ Critics complimented it for its manipulative quality. I've read that Steven Spielberg was so impressed that he styled some of the action to go with the music instead of vice versa. Yes, John Williams does "channel" older composers such as Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, etc. However, James Horner and other symphonic composers draw from the same sources. I still find their soundtracks worth collecting. Along with other soundtracks, I added copies of "Jaws", "Star Wars", "Poltergeist" and "CE3K" to my collection. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) ~ Bernard Herrmann ~ This is only one of his soundtracks that I have in my collection. Other outstanding works are "Psycho" (1960), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959), and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963). King Kong (1933) ~ Max Steiner Consider that this amazing composer also scored "GWTW" and "A Summer Place"! As I recall, he was the first to create a complete score for a movie; he had written several before this one.*
* From Wikipedia:
The score for "King Kong" (1933) became Steiner's breakthrough and brought his name to everyone’s attention. Actor and musician Oscar Levant later called the film "a symphony accompanied by a movie" and an expression of Steiner's mastery of "illuminating action with sound." According to music critic and writer Bruce Eder, many critics at the time attributed a quarter of the film's success to the music.
There are so many others that I could list, as I have a rather large collection of LPs, with a few CDs.
Last edited by MystMoonstruck; 02-07-2013 at 03:12 PM..
Reason: trying to fix bold!
The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plains.........
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
