Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman is one of my favorite composers and continues to maintain high quality in his scores after more than 30 years. Elfman was the lead singer and songwriter of the band Oingo Boingo before Tim Burton pulled him into the world of film scoring. Elfman is a self-taught composer, and his sheer innate talent puts him on equal footing with other classically trained composers. He is best known for scoring all but two of Tim Burton's feature films (Ed Wood, scored by Howard Shore, and Sweeney Todd, based on Stephen Sondheim's already existing stage musical). From the start, Elfman displayed inventiveness, taking the influence of classical Russian composers Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich and film composers Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann and adding his own macabre sense of humor. Offsetting his sometimes wacky stylings as showcased in films like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, Elfman has also written some of the most emotional and dramatic pieces of film music that I've heard. He is especially strong at awe-inspiring finales, as evidenced in Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Men in Black, The Family Man, Corpse Bride, and Spider-Man 1 and 2. Subtler scores such as A Simple Plan, Good Will Hunting, Dolores Claiborne, Taking Woodstock, and Restless are also highlights.  He often writes main title pieces that define the tone of the film to come and that can stand alone as musical compositions. Despite his lack of formal training, Elfman writes complex and multi-layered music and is not afraid to use dissonance and atonality. The "darkness" omnipresent in much of his music is characterized by melancholy and loneliness, though he can also write hardcore action with the best of them. He also is adept at "lighter" music, as shown in Black Beauty, Sommersby, Big Fish, and Charlotte's Web. Elfman is a master at portraying beauty without cheese and writing wild action without sacrificing coherence. Also typical of Elfman is a main theme that can be used in many different settings without sounding forced or awkward.
 
In addition to his collaborations with Burton, Elfman has also worked with Sam Raimi, scoring one track from Army of Darkness and the scores for Darkman, A Simple Plan, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2. Raimi and Elfman had a falling out after the composer's music was hacked up in Spider-Man 2, but the two have since reconciled and collaborated on Oz The Great and Powerful. Elfman is a fabulous songwriter and a great singer, singing every voice in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and featuring as the singing voice of Jack Skellington in the classic Nightmare Before Christmas. The multitalented composer has also written music for ballets, a concert work called Serenda Schizophrana, and the Cirque du Soleil show Iris. He even sang a rock song for the first time in 13 years with "The Little Things," featured in the film Wanted, and contributed a score track for Kick-Ass. On top of that, he is married to actress Bridget Fonda. I could rhapsodize about Elfman for a lot longer, but suffice to say that he is a wild and unique talent whose music is truly exceptional.

Alice in Wonderland**
Alice Through the Looking Glass**
Anywhere But Here
Article 99
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (with Brian Tyler)
Back to School

Batman**

Batman Returns**

Beetlejuice
Big Eyes

Big Fish*
Big Top Pee-Wee

Black Beauty**

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*

Charlotte’s Web
Chicago
The Circle
A Civil Action

Corpse Bride
Dark Shadows

Darkman

Dick Tracy
Dolores Claiborne

Edward Scissorhands**
The End of the Tour
Epic
Extreme Measures

The Family Man
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Freed

Flubber

Forbidden Zone
Frankenweenie*
The Frighteners
Freeway
The Girl on the Train

Good Will Hunting
Goosebumps
Heartbreakers (theme only; score by John Debney)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hitchcock

The Hulk

Instinct
Jimmy Callicut (demos)
Justice League*

Kick-Ass** (1 track)

The Kingdom
Little Demons* (demos)

Mars Attacks!

Meet the Robinsons

Men in Black

Men in Black II
Men in Black 3

Midnight Run

Milk

Mission: Impossible
Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Music for a Darkened Theatre Volume 1 (compilation)

Music for a Darkened Theatre Volume 2 (compilation)
Nacho Libre

The Next Three Days

Nightbreed

The Nightmare Before Christmas**
Oz: The Great and Powerful

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Planet of the Apes
Promised Land
Proof of Life
Rabbit & Rogue (Ballet)*
Real Steel

Red Dragon
Restless
Scrooged*

Serenada Schizophrana** (Concert Work)
Silver Linings Playbook

Sleepy Hollow**

Sommersby**
A Simple Plan

Spider-Man*

Spider-Man 2**

Spy Kids (with Harry Gregson-Williams, John Debney)

Standard Operating Procedure

Taking Woodstock

Terminator Salvation
To Die For
Tulip Fever
The Unknown Known

Wanted*

Wisdom

The Wolfman

Oingo Boingo Albums:
BOI-NGO
Boingo
Dark at the End of the Tunnel
Dead Man's Party
Good for Your Soul
Nothing to Fear
Only a Lad
So-Lo