Who's The Best Film Composer?
Since the departure of David Edelstein, Slate's film section hasn't had a single, strong critical voice. But it's had a series of intriguing essays about various aspects of cinema, including this week's look at the best film composers.
Writer Jan Swafford looks at the work of Max Steiner (KING KONG, DARK VICTORY), Bernard Herrmann (PSYCHO, TAXI DRIVER) and Toru Takemitsu (WOMAN IN THE DUNES, RAN).
Whose film music carries you away? Whose soundtracks have you sought out, even when the film doesn't live up to the score?
Comments
Well three names that at the VERY LEAST deserve mention are John Williams who's musical scores have truly transcended the films he has composed.
Next, and I hate to state the obvious would be Hans Zimmer. He finds the mood the movie is looking for and amplifies it. The Last Samurai was an awesome flick and I think the music lent heavily to the atmosphere.
And finally a man who's music often times often times determines the course of the movie in itself...Danny Elfman, a man everybody's heard of but few people know. Those three are giants in their craft and deserve to be noted.
Posted by: Dustin Hisel | October 19, 2006 02:03 PM
My favorites tend toward what I guess would be the "classics", in this case -- Herrmann, Rosza, Morricone, etc. -- but of anyone working today, I think one of, if not the best, would have to be Howard Shore, if only for his versatility, alternating as he does between the avant garde stuff he does for Davids Cronenberg and Fincher and more accessible old school "Hollywood" soundtracks like LORD OF THE RINGS.
Posted by: Ian Toll | October 25, 2006 08:45 PM