no movie would be complete without these
musically inclined individuals
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
composers for film for this list we’re
choosing composers based on their film
work and how memorable iconic recognized
and/or critically acclaimed they have
been in my bones I feel the wolf-bats
call me number 10 and yo Morricone have
you ever seen a Western standoff parody
without this ultra iconic theme from the
good the bad and the ugly
the daring composer was also innovative
and resourceful adding sound effects
like gunshots to his scores when he
couldn’t use a full orchestra
while he is perhaps most well known for
his Western soundtracks Ennio Morricone
repertoire is full of instantly
recognizable works
in fact he is written for and with a
huge range of genres and emotions just
take a listen to his melancholic theme
from Days of Heaven if you need to hear
more
number nine Jerry Goldsmith consider the
soundtrack of Disney’s Mulan
there are the songs we love to sing oh
man
and then there are the quieter more
reflective tracks
credit the latter to this composer who
claimed he tries for emotional
penetration with his work
goldsmith certainly succeeded
considering the Milan soundtrack earned
him both an Oscar nod and a Golden Globe
nomination
this is also evident in his other
compositions as he’s written
spine-tingling pieces for the omen and
the hopeful heroic theme from Star Trek
first contact Goldsmith has been
recognized as one of the most versatile
composers out there which allowed him to
work with some of the biggest directors
around number eight James Newton Howard
this popular composer has made great
films greater
you first and has given us something
good to say about certain others she is
led by love the world moves for love
like many other composers on this list
James Newton Howard demonstrates a great
ability to write four different styles
unlike some of our other favorites his
work is not as easily recognizable
that’s certainly not a bad thing though
Newton Howard being so chameleon-like
lets his scores speak for themselves and
they are truly music to our ears
one listened to the music behind pretty
woman
the Dark Knight my turn and the Hunger
Games and you’ll see why
please add something
number 7 James Horner
while our previous entry might be tough
to distinguish from film to film our
number seven is the complete opposite as
he’s one of the most easily identifiable
composers in Hollywood after all he’s
the man behind the best-selling
orchestral film soundtrack ever Titanic
and when you listen to James Horner’s
tracks from different movies you may
pick up on common melodies and motifs
just compare some of the music from
Avatar with enemy at the gates to see
that consistency I have a class you must
let the growth
please but if ten Academy Award
nominations are any indication sticking
to what works obviously works for Horner
number six Howard sure
you probably know him best for this
precious theme and though he’d been
scoring film since the early 70s it was
his work for the Lord of the Rings
trilogy that won Howard Shore three
Oscars don’t suppose we’ll ever see them
again
the mayhem mr. Frodo
he then went on to write critically
celebrated and award-nominated scores
for movies like Hugo
The Aviator wrap yourself in right there
you ought to be able to see just great
and Eastern Promises
when it comes to his music for the film
adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy
novels sure was considered an odd choice
he was associated with darker films
rather than epic adventures California
stay away from here stay away from me
I’ll come in here it may have been a
risk but obviously it was one that paid
off a hundredfold
number five alan silvestri
this composer is another one who has
written an incredibly memorable theme
just listen to the sweet main title from
Forrest Gump
Alan Silvestri’s Forte is uplifting and
exciting soundtracks such as the scores
for the afro mentioned comedy drama and
the Polar Express
if you want to feel fuzzy inside look no
further than this composer and
apparently we’re not the only ones who
think so I started moving around
music Silvestri whose other credits
include the Back to the Future trilogy
and several films in the Avengers
franchise
has been nominated for two very much
deserved Academy Awards and Golden
Globes number four Hans Zimmer
when you start looking into modern film
soundtracks this composers name is going
to be one of the first and one of the
most frequent that you see on Zimmer
is everywhere having composed not only
from many popular live-action movies
like The Thin Red Line gladiator
and inception
but also for animated films like The
Lion King which won him an Academy Award
adaptable and innovative Zimmer is
easily one of the best composers today
because he can take it
because it’s not a hero
number three bernard herrmann
we bet that even viewers who haven’t
seen psycho can identify this track can
you believe that Alfred Hitchcock
originally wanted the shower scene
without music
bernard herrmann had a fantastic knack
for setting up moods try asking your
film professor to analyze psychos
opening credits and he or she will tell
you the whole movie is right there
Herman has also composed for two of the
most famous and possibly the two best
films of all time vertigo
and Citizen Kane this composer had some
serious talent
number two Danny Elfman
this composer is in a lot of cases
beloved for his work on the small screen
and on a certain directors films and we
agree with his beloved status
wholeheartedly
however Danny Elfman has scored for many
films beyond Tim Burton’s such as men in
black
and milk when we think of his work
though we think of sweet and beautiful
but at the same time weird and offbeat
and this explains his great match with
Burton
Elfman has also performed his own scores
onstage and lent his singing voice to
Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before
Christmas and our Jack the pumpkin King
have grown so tired of the same old
before we unveil our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
Oh
you
number one John Williams
where do we begin with this composer
John Williams is practically a household
name or at least the music he’s composed
should be
he’s just everywhere and his adventurous
scores for movies like Star Wars
et
Jurassic Park
and Harry Potter have become the
cornerstones of many a childhood
we can’t even begin to cover the entire
work of this five-time oscar-winning
composer though we can’t leave without a
mention of Star Wars
you
and Indiana Jones
without a doubt john williams has gone
down in history as one of the film
composing giants
do you agree with our list Judy gah
who’s your favorite film composer
for more sweet-sounding top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com about
musically inclined individuals
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
composers for film for this list we’re
choosing composers based on their film
work and how memorable iconic recognized
and/or critically acclaimed they have
been in my bones I feel the wolf-bats
call me number 10 and yo Morricone have
you ever seen a Western standoff parody
without this ultra iconic theme from the
good the bad and the ugly
the daring composer was also innovative
and resourceful adding sound effects
like gunshots to his scores when he
couldn’t use a full orchestra
while he is perhaps most well known for
his Western soundtracks Ennio Morricone
repertoire is full of instantly
recognizable works
in fact he is written for and with a
huge range of genres and emotions just
take a listen to his melancholic theme
from Days of Heaven if you need to hear
more
number nine Jerry Goldsmith consider the
soundtrack of Disney’s Mulan
there are the songs we love to sing oh
man
and then there are the quieter more
reflective tracks
credit the latter to this composer who
claimed he tries for emotional
penetration with his work
goldsmith certainly succeeded
considering the Milan soundtrack earned
him both an Oscar nod and a Golden Globe
nomination
this is also evident in his other
compositions as he’s written
spine-tingling pieces for the omen and
the hopeful heroic theme from Star Trek
first contact Goldsmith has been
recognized as one of the most versatile
composers out there which allowed him to
work with some of the biggest directors
around number eight James Newton Howard
this popular composer has made great
films greater
you first and has given us something
good to say about certain others she is
led by love the world moves for love
like many other composers on this list
James Newton Howard demonstrates a great
ability to write four different styles
unlike some of our other favorites his
work is not as easily recognizable
that’s certainly not a bad thing though
Newton Howard being so chameleon-like
lets his scores speak for themselves and
they are truly music to our ears
one listened to the music behind pretty
woman
the Dark Knight my turn and the Hunger
Games and you’ll see why
please add something
number 7 James Horner
while our previous entry might be tough
to distinguish from film to film our
number seven is the complete opposite as
he’s one of the most easily identifiable
composers in Hollywood after all he’s
the man behind the best-selling
orchestral film soundtrack ever Titanic
and when you listen to James Horner’s
tracks from different movies you may
pick up on common melodies and motifs
just compare some of the music from
Avatar with enemy at the gates to see
that consistency I have a class you must
let the growth
please but if ten Academy Award
nominations are any indication sticking
to what works obviously works for Horner
number six Howard sure
you probably know him best for this
precious theme and though he’d been
scoring film since the early 70s it was
his work for the Lord of the Rings
trilogy that won Howard Shore three
Oscars don’t suppose we’ll ever see them
again
the mayhem mr. Frodo
he then went on to write critically
celebrated and award-nominated scores
for movies like Hugo
The Aviator wrap yourself in right there
you ought to be able to see just great
and Eastern Promises
when it comes to his music for the film
adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy
novels sure was considered an odd choice
he was associated with darker films
rather than epic adventures California
stay away from here stay away from me
I’ll come in here it may have been a
risk but obviously it was one that paid
off a hundredfold
number five alan silvestri
this composer is another one who has
written an incredibly memorable theme
just listen to the sweet main title from
Forrest Gump
Alan Silvestri’s Forte is uplifting and
exciting soundtracks such as the scores
for the afro mentioned comedy drama and
the Polar Express
if you want to feel fuzzy inside look no
further than this composer and
apparently we’re not the only ones who
think so I started moving around
music Silvestri whose other credits
include the Back to the Future trilogy
and several films in the Avengers
franchise
has been nominated for two very much
deserved Academy Awards and Golden
Globes number four Hans Zimmer
when you start looking into modern film
soundtracks this composers name is going
to be one of the first and one of the
most frequent that you see on Zimmer
is everywhere having composed not only
from many popular live-action movies
like The Thin Red Line gladiator
and inception
but also for animated films like The
Lion King which won him an Academy Award
adaptable and innovative Zimmer is
easily one of the best composers today
because he can take it
because it’s not a hero
number three bernard herrmann
we bet that even viewers who haven’t
seen psycho can identify this track can
you believe that Alfred Hitchcock
originally wanted the shower scene
without music
bernard herrmann had a fantastic knack
for setting up moods try asking your
film professor to analyze psychos
opening credits and he or she will tell
you the whole movie is right there
Herman has also composed for two of the
most famous and possibly the two best
films of all time vertigo
and Citizen Kane this composer had some
serious talent
number two Danny Elfman
this composer is in a lot of cases
beloved for his work on the small screen
and on a certain directors films and we
agree with his beloved status
wholeheartedly
however Danny Elfman has scored for many
films beyond Tim Burton’s such as men in
black
and milk when we think of his work
though we think of sweet and beautiful
but at the same time weird and offbeat
and this explains his great match with
Burton
Elfman has also performed his own scores
onstage and lent his singing voice to
Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before
Christmas and our Jack the pumpkin King
have grown so tired of the same old
before we unveil our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
Oh
you
number one John Williams
where do we begin with this composer
John Williams is practically a household
name or at least the music he’s composed
should be
he’s just everywhere and his adventurous
scores for movies like Star Wars
et
Jurassic Park
and Harry Potter have become the
cornerstones of many a childhood
we can’t even begin to cover the entire
work of this five-time oscar-winning
composer though we can’t leave without a
mention of Star Wars
you
and Indiana Jones
without a doubt john williams has gone
down in history as one of the film
composing giants
do you agree with our list Judy gah
who’s your favorite film composer
for more sweet-sounding top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com about
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