Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone is the most prolific living film composer, with over 500 scores to his name. Most of these films and shows are Italian, but Morricone has also composed for prominent Hollywood films as well, and his music has been tracked in films from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds to Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass. His most influential work has been for director Sergio Leone, especially the spaghetti Westerns. A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and Once Upon a Time in the West feature eccentric orchestrations, bold vocal chants, rapid trumpet calls, and the signature electric guitar that has become associated with the genre. The sound he creates is almost indescribable to one who hasn't heard it, but is immediately and distinctively recognizable. Apart from these groundbreaking Italian westerns, Morricone also composed atmospheric music for John Carpenter's The Thing, expressive love themes for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, a famous oboe melody and a stunning choral finale to The Mission, and the score to Brian DePalma's The Untouchables, including an exultant, triumphant fanfare. He also wrote a heavenly and glorious score to What Dreams May Come that was rejected in favor of Michael Kamen's more intimate (but still beautiful) approach. Although Morricone has won an honorary Oscar, he has for some reason never won an Oscar for Best Original Score. Nevertheless, his fantastic music will leave (and already has left) a legacy that will last far longer than the music of certain other composers who have won Oscars. Particularly one who inexplicably won two Oscars in a row in 2005 and 2006.

Fat Man and Little Boy
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly**

The Mission*

Once Upon a Time in the West*

The Untouchables**

What Dreams May Come (rejected)