Favourite Film Composers/Scores

[Negative Spectrum]

I thought we could use this thread to discuss our favourite movie music and composers. For me, its John Barry (R.I.P.), i discovered him as a teenager when i saw the movie "Raise the Titanic" on TV and immediately was carried away by the scope of his music. To this day, RTT and Out of Africa are two albums i listen to on a regular basis and he has also inspired my recent work. Heres my favourite piece:

[Nemo]

John Barry is amazing. I know it came a little later in his career, but I really love the what he did for Dances With Wolves.

Out of all the soundtracks in my collection, I would say the names that crop up the most frequently are James Horner, James Newton Howard, and Hans Zimmer.

This evening I've been listening to Blade Runner the 3cd version... and though I don't think of him specifically as a film composer per se (he's done so much more), I would probably have to put Vangelis at the top of my list. Besides Blade Runner a favorite stand out for me is 1492 and El Greco... well that's two.

I also listen to a lot of Anime music (Yoko Kanno, etc.)

And if you're talking about TV music... the old stuff from Babylon 5 many moons ago by Christopher Franke is fantastic, imo!

[IOK-1]

Howard Shore
Probably because he often picks weird and interesting movies to score.

[aoVI]

I do not know that I have a favorite, but was recently impressed by Jon Brion's work watching Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Future.

[GaryG]

Howard Shore
Probably because he often picks weird and interesting movies to score.

That's a great soundtrack though think Ornette Colemans input is a big factor.


I like the soundtrack Thurston Moore composed for 'Heavy' (much under rated film too), his little guitar sounds are quite ambient in a way.


Like Clint Mansells work too, loved his 'Moon' soundtrack: