Picture & Sound: Five Best Film Composers All Time

It's hard to imagine Star Wars without the music. That iconic opening theme that plays under the title instantly transports the audience to a galaxy far, far away. That is the job of film scores; to help the movie tell the story more convincingly, more believably. Fortunately for us, the best film composers have been creating film scores for decades that capture our imaginations and provide us with hours of listening pleasure.

The Best Film Composers of All Time

So, who are the best film composers? Clearly, any answer to that question will be somewhat subjective, as everyone prefers one style over another. However, there are a handful of film composers who are so important to the development of the art of film scoring that they are universally lauded. Some you may not have heard of. Yet their talents and contributions to the genre are so great, they must be included on a list of best film scorers. Here are the top five in chronological order.

1. Max Steiner (1888-1971)

Film scoring might look very different today without Max Steiner. He was one of the first on the scene, coming to Broadway and then to Hollywood to escape WWI in Europe. Born in Vienna, he studied with the important classical composer Gustav Mahler and was Richard Strauss' godson. He was educated in Richard Wagner's compositional style of leitmotif, which he brought with him to the silver screen.

The leitmotif is a short musical idea that represents a person, object, or place. When a character on the screen is thinking about home, for example, the leitmotif for his home may play in the background. This technique has been passed down from Steiner to just about every film scorer working today.

Steiner's most famous film scores include Gone With the Wind, King Kong, and Casablanca. Just those three scores alone set the tone and the standard for the next 70 years of film scoring. All young and upcoming film composers knew they had to get close to the Steiner sound.

2. Alfred Newman (1900-1970)

Another of the best film composers who played a huge role in the development of movie music style and function was Alfred Newman. If you don't recognize the name, you've certainly heard his music. He worked for 20th Century Fox and composed the famous fanfare that accompanies the studio's logo at the beginning of films.

He won a record nine Oscars for film scores, including such gems as Alexander's Ragtime Band and Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. He became quite successful with adapting Broadway musicals to the big screen and also received Oscars for The King and I and Camelot. He is part of the Newman dynasty of film composers, which includes his brothers Lionel and Emil, his sons David and Thomas, and his nephew, the much-beloved Randy Newman.

3. Maurice Jarre (1924-2009)

A classically trained composer and percussionist from France, Jarre's career path took a dramatic turn when director David Lean asked him to score the epic film Lawrence of Arabia. Jarre took home the Oscar for Best Original Score for that film, and a star was born.

Jarre's scores were known for their lush, orchestral sound. In this sense, he was a successor to the traditions and styles begun by Steiner and Newman. However, as modern music and pop/rock genres began to influence the medium, Jarre successfully bridged the gap and began including electronic elements in his scores.

In addition to Lawrence of Arabia, Jarre received Oscars for Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, both of which were David Lean productions. His more recent movie scores include Witness, Dead Poets Society, and A Walk in the Clouds.

4. Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)

The title theme to Star Wars may be the most famous film score ever composed, but Ennio Morricone has a theme that's right behind it in terms of universal recognition. Born in Rome, Italy, it's fitting that Morricone's career was launched when he scored Sergio Leone's 1960s spaghetti westerns, often known as The Dollar Trilogy. The second of these films, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, has an opening theme that has transcended the film itself.

This theme, intended to evoke the howling of a coyote in the wilderness, is played with an ocarina, flute, nativist drums, whistling, and wordless vocals. It has become synonymous with the West and has been quoted and imitated ceaselessly. Morricone was a versatile composer, however, and also created the stunning soundtracks to Cinema Paradiso and The Mission.

5. John Williams (b.1932)

Considered by many in the profession to be the best film composer who has ever lived, John Williams has more scores on the AFI's top 25 list than any other composer, and Star Wars is ranked number one. Just a brief partial list of the movies Williams has scored contains some of the most important films of the past 50 years, such as:

• Jaws
• Star Wars
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Superman
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Home Alone
• Jurassic Park
• Schindler's List
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Williams studied composition in LA and piano in NYC at the Juilliard School. When he moved back to Hollywood in the late 50s, he began working as a studio pianist on various films. This gave him the needed exposure; soon, he was writing music for television and eventually film.

Williams has been nominated for over 50 Academy Awards and won five. His scores are known for their full orchestral sound, including the use of eight French horns. His music follows in the footsteps of Max Steiner by employing leitmotifs as part of the storytelling process.

The Future of Film Scores

In recent decades, film scoring has lost some of its symphonic glory. More and more directors are asking for soundscapes rather than scores. Soundscapes use instruments, often electronic, to create a mood or evoke an emotion. They do not use leitmotifs or concern themselves with recognizable melodies.

As the art of film scoring continues to develop and change, it's important to remember the musicians who started it all and the amazing music they left for all to enjoy.

Sources

• https://www.classicfm.com/composers/jarre/guides/15-best-movie-soundtracks/witness/
• https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-of-film-scores/
• https://www.mfiles.co.uk/composers/Max-Steiner.htm#:~:text=Max%20Steiner%20(1888%2D1971),musical%20credentials%20are%20without%20doubt.
• https://www.enniomorricone.org/
• https://www.vintagemusic.fm/artist/alfred-newman/