@JWL said:

In no particular order:

On The Waterfront, Leonard Bernstein (1954)

Goldsmith-- Powder, Alien, others

Miklos Rozsa-- King of Kings

On the Waterfront is a seminal film of course and a great lesson in 'the method'. I personally thought Lee J Cobb was better than Brando - but everyone remembers Brando. Karl Marlden, Rod Steiger etc - those actors had character.

The score by Bernstien was later borrowed, I believe by Goldsmith for LA Confidential.

When we were kids - we were all trouped off to the cinema to see King of Kings - for religious education I believe. I came out with a musical one. Miklos Rozsa was the best at the 'biblical' sound and any fanfare you care to mention. He was friend of Herrmann's - when Herrmann wasn't wearing him down with constant grumbling and shouting.

Wow. I didn't think anyone was aware of King of Kings. Everyone always pushes Ben Hur. KoK was a very important score to me as a kid. I saw the film once on a network broadcast when I was in fifth grade. The music stayed in my head for years until a chance encounter with the Estate, which has since led to a reconstruction of the lost score.

The Rosenman and Bernstein scores just pulled me inside those films and wouldn't let me go. In all cases, the use of harmony, rhythm, orchestral texture, and leitmotif just slayed me into the next life. I don't think I've ever recovered.

The other mentions had similar personal impact, but there are several I've failed to mention only because they were important in different ways-- and I'd exceeded my "three most" quota!!

@JWL said:

Wow. I didn't think anyone was aware of King of Kings. Everyone always pushes Ben Hur. KoK was a very important score to me as a kid.

You want to hear a really good and perhaps not so well known Miklos Rozsa score - hire out The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. He had the great ability to mark a film in exactly the right way when he was on form. That is a lesson in scoring a film that perhaps didn't have a huge budget - and making it something special.

@JWL said:

JW- Harry Potter, Star Wars, BTTF

BTTF = Back to the Future? That was Alan Silvestri

Hey Paul have you heard (and seen) "The Power" with Rosza's score? That is one of his best and a very weird one. Nothing like his epics. Though of course he was famous for (to some degree) rewriting one score to fit each new movie assignment. He only really did this on films he was not inspired by. He had great taste in cinema, because his most inspired music is always from the truly best films he scored, not merely the most popular. For example again, "The Power." A totally forgotten film, not even on video now, even though it was brilliantly directed by Byron Haskin who directed the original "War of the Worlds."

On the epic side of Rozsa though, people always talk about Ben Hur it is true. But he wrote his best march ever for Quo Vadis. That is an awe-inspiring 6 minutes of music.

That's good that JWL mentions Leonard Rosenman. He is one of the most interesting and little known film composers. In the midst of the flowery romanticism or Mancini-copycat stuff being done by everyone else, he was writing pure, powerful atonalism. One extremely bizarre example is "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." Yes, I know that is a fairly tacky movie, but it had some great surreal scenes in it (which is why I like it better than the more intelligent original film), and a fantastic score. Another clinic on how to do a movie score first of all, but beyond that, some weirdly beautiful sounds created for the more insane scenes of the film, including a devotional hymn for chorus and organ to the glory of the hydrogen bomb.

@William said:

Hey Paul have you heard (and seen) "The Power" with Rosza's score? That is one of his best and a very weird one. .

I haven't seen The Power for many years Bill - a strange, almost psychedelic sixties film with unusual casting of George Hamilton. I recall Suzanne Pleshette and Yvonne de Carlo of course. Hehehe!

Qua Vardis is great fun and a great Rosza score - most memorable for Rosza and an immensely funny portrayal of Nero by Peter Ustinov. That takes me back to the 'way I see Nerrow' by the director to Ustinov - son of a bitch that plays with himself nights. Great music in that one.

Korngold said that Rosza was the best composer working in film. Hard to imagine a more authoritive source.

Rosza's scores have a directness and almost simplicity that serve the film perfectly without complicating things for the listener. At least that's what I always thought until I happen to watch Ben Hur with headphones one night. The detail and subtlety of moving parts astonished me - genius level writing everywhere.

Of course no one loved canon more than Rosza.

@dpcon said:

Korngold said that Rosza was the best composer working in film. Hard to imagine a more authoritive source.

Rosza's scores have a directness and almost simplicity that serve the film perfectly without complicating things for the listener. At least that's what I always thought until I happen to watch Ben Hur with headphones one night. The detail and subtlety of moving parts astonished me - genius level writing everywhere.

Of course no one loved canon more than Rosza.

Hello Dave,how are you? Long time no hear. Hope you're well and successful.

Rosza had that magic touch that gives me heart for a change from the current batch. Great writer, and not afraid to put the full weight of his aural symphonic education up against the images. For me, he's the undisputed master of epic writing, grand entrances (be they Caesar or otherwise), without being limited to that genre. And given the wide scope of style, sound, and nuance he employed, he must have had some imagination.

Regards,

Alex.

I think Miklos Rosza Taught Burt Bacharach also. I hope I'm talking about the right Composer. Bacharach said he composed a short sonatina learning from Rosza. And Rosza incouraged Bacharach not to be ashamed of his songwriting.

Bacharach and Roger nichols, Paul mcartney, are they the worlds best songwriters?

Roger Nichols used the best orchestrators , composers, arrangers, Producers to produce and perform the circle of friends with the Mcloeds brother & sister team. I think. My opinion is, this is the best songwriting production ever in the world. Was it because the skill of songwriting or the skill of Orchestrating, arranging, scoring ?

Most Likely all of the above ?

Alex you're on to something here. It all is intertwined somehow.

@hermitage59 said:

Hello Dave,how are you? Long time no hear. Hope you're well and successful.

Hello Alex! Well Let's just say that I'm well my friend. Actually did have a bit of (artistic) success lately.
Seems I've heard about the Bacharach - Rosza connection so you are right about that I think. Interesting how the debate has raged on about the value of musical study while no one would debate the impact it had on the composers we mention here.

Nice to see the intelligent writing of the usual suspects on this thread.

Oh, man. It does my heart well to hear folks chiming in about Rosza.

compsr2000-- sorry about the bad reference! I was typing fast, thinking too quickly, and over my three-score limit! You are correct.

only 3? damn, that's a tough one..

My choices:

- Adventures of Robin Hood (or The Sea Hawk...mmm..any Korngold) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold

- Vertigo - Bernard Herrmann

- Any major work by Max Steiner

In addition, some other GREAT GREAT works:

- The Red Shores - Brian Easdale (a personal favorite, from the 1947 Powell & Pressburger Film)

- Alexander Nevsky - Prokofiev

- Any Aflred Newman, have you heard his colaboration with Herrmann on "The Egyptian"? it's awesome

- Citizen Kane, Jayne Eyre, Psycho, Obsession, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Taxi Driver... - Bernard Herrmann

- Chinatown, Star Trek: Motion Picture, The Omen - Jerry Goldsmith

- Star Wars - Indiana Jones - John Williams

- Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone (i saw him conducting last march here in chile)

- Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Howard Shore

- Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman

- Laura - David Raksin

- Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre

- The Incredibles - Michael Giachinno (one of my favorite "young" composers)

- Suspiria - Goblin (Dario Argento italian horror movie)

Miklos Rosza, Elmer Bernstein, Franz Waxman, Hugo Freidhoffer, etc etc etc

Good choices SvK.

Here are mine: Bullitt (Schifrin), The Untouchables (Morriconne), The Insider (Gerrard/Bourke).

But we need a thread for favorite cues also, dont we? I'll start it.