Basil Poledouris

Basil Poledouris was a mighty force in film music, composing some of the most powerful and lyrical scores of his time. He had a strongly melodic style with an emphasis on bold themes. Poledouris studied film at USC along with George Lucas and John Milius. Poledouris found himself scoring numerous student and instructional films, and Milius gave him his first major assignment with the surfing film Big Wednesday. Poledouris eschewed stereotypical surf guitar music and wrote grand, symphonic tunes worthy of an epic. His next film with Milius proved to be one of the greatest film scores of all time--Conan the Barbarian. The film had minimal dialogue, and much of the drama was carried by Poledouris's massive score, punctuating the film with brutality, beauty, and lyricism. Poledouris scored three more films with Milius; writing noble, militaristic strains for Red Dawn; lush, flowing music for Farewell to the King; and adventurous tunes for Flight of the Intruder. Along with Jerry Goldsmith, Poledouris also became the composer of choice for Paul Verhoeven, composing swashbuckling heroics for Flesh and Blood, creating an orchestral-electronic soundscape with a rousing main theme for Robocop, and playing noble military action for the satirical Starship Troopers. These scores proved Poledouris a master of action scoring, along with Hot Shots! Part Deux, On Deadly Ground, No Man's Land, The Jungle Book, and Under Siege 2. His robust score for The Hunt for Red October features a powerful Russian chant for the titles, while Cherry 2000 mixes Poledouris's futuristic writing with Morricone Westernisms. Yet Poledouris also wrote wonderful scores for more romantic films, assignments that he enjoyed. Blue Lagoon, Wind, Free Willy, Lassie, It's My Party, Les Miserables, and Kimberly showcase the gentler side of Poledouris, and it is no less spectacular than his action side. He also had an affinity for Westerns, with Quigley Down Under, The Legend of Butch and Sundance, and the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove containing stunningly emotional themes. One of his last major Hollywood assignments was for Sam Raimi's baseball drama For Love of the Game; Poledouris wrote an epic finale for the main character's final pitch conveying more drama and emotion than there is to be found in the film itself. Unfortunately, he did not get as many prestigious assignments towards the end of his career, scoring masterpieces like Serial Mom, Mickey Blue Eyes, Cecil B Demented, and Crocodile Dundee in LA. His approach to scoring fell by the wayside in favor of more atmospheric, droning approaches. His original score for Breakdown was rejected, and his replacement score is highly textural and far removed from many of his other scores. One of his very last films, for the Chinese film The Touch, offered one last hurrah, combining the best of his action and romantic styles. He was one of the composers considered for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which would have been fascinating, but it was not to be. Poledouris passed away in 2006, with an incredible musical legacy behind him.

Big Wednesday**

The Blue Lagoon

Breakdown

Cherry 2000
Conan the Barbarian**
Conan the Destroyer

Farewell to the King*

Flesh and Blood*
Flight of the Navigator

For Love of the Game

Free Willy*

Hot Shots! Part Deux

House of God

The Hunt for Red October*

The Jungle Book

Kimberly

Les Miserables*

Lonesome Dove*

No Man’s Land

Quigley Down Under

Red Dawn
Return to the Blue Lagoon

Robocop*

Robocop 3
Spellbinder

Starship Troopers*
Switchback

The Touch
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
A Whale for the Killing
White Fang
Wind