Michael Kamen

Michael Kamen was one of those rare composers who could both compose in the classical vein and collaborate with pop musicians without sounding cheesy. Early in his career, he provided arrangements for Pink Floyd, Metallica, and Queen, which led to later collaborations with musicians such as Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton, and David Sanborn in his film scores. Kamen had a wonderfully whimsical style suffused with clever musical gestures and bold melodies. His music for the New Line Cinema logo depicts his lilting style perfectly. For a while, Kamen's style for action writing became de rigueur for the genre. This is typified by his scores for the original Die Hard trilogy, the cues of suspense balancing the furious orchestral pyrotechnics. Similar music can be found in Tony Scott's Last Boy Scout, the James Bond film License to Kill, the first X-Men, and Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon films. The latter series also features electric guitar work by Eric Clapton and saxophone performed by David Sanborn. Despite his acumen in this genre, Kamen had a particular strength for more romantic films. He collaborated with Terry Gilliam, providing colorful melodies for Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves features a masterful fanfare and a sweeping love theme used as the melody for Bryan Adams's hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You." Adams also sang in Kamen's scores for Disney's Three Musketeers and Don Juan De Marco. Kamen, like the best composers, scored films of many genres, from the melodrama of What Dreams May Come and the unsettling strains of The Dead Zone to the flighty adventure of 101 Dalmatians and the beautiful elegies of the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. One of Kamen's best scores is for Brad Bird's debut feature The Iron Giant. Although the score features plenty of enchantment and wonder, it also features unexpectedly dark and dramatic action material as well as one of the most emotionally cathartic musical finales in modern film scoring. Especially close to Kamen's heart was his score to Mr. Holland's Opus, for which Kamen composed a transcendent symphony for the title character. Following this, Kamen founded the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, providing funds for musical education and instruments to underprivileged schools. Sadly, Kamen passed away in 2003 at the much too young age of 55.

Adventures in Babysitting
Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Back to Gaya

Band of Brothers*

Brazil
Concerto for Saxophone

The Dead Zone

Die Hard
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Die Hard with a Vengeance

Don Juan De Marco

Frequency
Guitar Concerto*

The Iron Giant**
The Last Boy Scout

Lethal Weapon*

Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 4
Lifeforce (Additional Score)

Mr. Holland’s Opus**
Renegades
Road House

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

The Three Musketeers

What Dreams May Come

X-Men (synths by Klaus Badelt)

101 Dalmatians